Young Woman Finds Her Hidden Knack at Longboarding

Skateboarding enthusiast Ko Hyo-joo has become popular among Instagrammers. Her viral skating videos, which show her skillful movements and dance-like stunts on the elongated skateboards, first came to public attention overseas, as she has collaborated with a number of luxury labels such as Cartier, Chanel and Gucci, and even appeared in a music video by British music band Clean Bandit.

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Her videos are not simply about riding a longboard or traveling. Her graceful maneuvers and riding skills with scenic backdrops make her videos unique and attractive. "I put a lot of effort into editing to create attention-grabbing videos, because my videos made more people familiar with longboards, as they went viral", she said.

Ko first rode a longboard in 2014, as she was looking for something to help her relieve stress. "Until then, I had never really tried any proper workouts. My life was limited to going back and forth between home and work, so I just needed to find an excuse to get out. Then I came across longboards, and instantly fell into that".

Longboarding gave her something she could completely immerse herself in. "Riding a board was more difficult than I thought. I fell down a lot while getting used to it, and it took a long time to master. It requires a great deal of concentration not to fall. But that allowed me to forget about work and get relief from stress", Ko recalled.

"No matter how good you are, longboarding always carries the risk of falling, and no matter how much you love what you do, you'll inevitably hit a slump", she warns. Rather than trying to avoid this, she simply accepts it. "If I feel like not doing it, I take a break and do something else".

But words of encouragement and positive comments keep her going. "It gives me a great feeling that I can motivate other people to start something new to them. I hope people who watch my videos believe they can do it too", she said.