It's time for Small Stars! This week, we headed to the skate park to meet one of our local, rising stars in the extreme sport of skateboarding.
She's just 10 years old, but Mia Lovell is already tearing up a skate park like a seasoned veteran.
"There's a lot of fear involved," Lovell said. "You just have to get past that."
Fear? When you watch Mia navigate her backyard skate park, you wouldn't think she's afraid of anything. But maybe that's because she's been skating since she was just five years old.
"My dad, he grew up skating and just got me into it, and I loved it," she said.
You'd better believe Mia when she says it's taken a lot of work to get to where she is right now. What is it that drives her to spend nearly every day on her skateboard?
"Just the feeling when you learn tricks, riding around, having fun," she said.
And when it comes to flying around, she's a pro. It looks fun, but there's clearly an element of danger.
"It's pretty tough, like the falls that you have to go through to get to like just one simple trick," she said. "And it takes time to do them and a lot of patience, so you just have to get through all of the mental blocks."
And the injuries?
"My shins, they're all bruised, and I've had a couple falls on my face," she said. "So, my body gets pretty scraped up."
But even though she's a daredevil, Mia is always thinking safety first.
"I always wear my knee pads and helmet, and then I have elbow pads that I wear," she said.
Oh, and she loves to air over people. "Been trying to do those a lot," she said.
I'm guessing people get a little scared when you ask them to lie down, Mia.
"Usually they do, but I just tell them that I go really far out," she said. "It's like the best thing ever."
Congratulations, Mia Lovell: You're this week's Small Star!
