Nesha
Queen La Turka Skates
52 years young. London Skate Mum. Mini ramp learner. Freedom on four wheels.
The ground was still damp at Potters Bar when Nesha rolled in. Tenzing in one hand, board under the other arm, laughing before she’d even dropped in.
You notice her straight away. Not because she’s loud. Because she belongs there.
At 52, Nesha, better known as Queen La Turka Skates, carries herself like someone who’s fought hard to become comfortable in her own skin. No performance. No trying to look like a skater. She just is one.
Nesha, London Skate Mums, and the sort of session that keeps you coming back.
She started in lockdown, back in 2021. At the time she was a solo quad roller skater, slowly getting to know the local skateboarders around North London.
One session turned into another. Then came the inevitable encouragement from people at the park.
"You should try it."
Most people never do. Nesha did.
The setup
Second 8.6 Welcome Nora board.
Indy trucks.
Dragon wheels.
Big enough to feel stable. Honest enough to punish you when you get cocky. Skateboards are lovely like that.
Photo: @amandafordycephoto
The spots
Potters Bar, where the community feels like a second home.
Lloyd Park in E17.
SkateHub, where she’s focusing on mini ramp this year.
PDG in Lisbon and Concrete Waves when the travel gods behave.
This year’s focus is mini ramp. Which means hours of repetition, fear management, tiny breakthroughs and pretending you’re not absolutely bricking it before dropping in.
Her favourite trick right now is a half-cab rock. The no comply is close too.
"Very close."
And the trick that still messes with her?
"Everything!"
Skating hasn’t gone easy on her. In 2023 she fractured her shoulder at the Selfridges bowl after hanging up on the coping cutting a corner.
Four or five months off the board followed. Long enough to wonder if fear might quietly win.
It didn’t.
"My FOMO, passion for something I really enjoy and missing the community brought me back."
Going back to the scene of the crime and dropping in again was a big day.
Photo: @keeprolling_co
As a midlife woman entering a new life stage, skating became something bigger than a hobby.
Nesha talks about a busy overthinking brain. One that doesn’t naturally slow down. Skateboarding gives her the thing sitting still sometimes can’t: presence.
A moving meditation. A reset button. A place where fear, progress, slams and laughter all somehow fit in the same hour.
London Skate Mums
Nesha is part of London Skate Mums, a growing community helping make skateboarding feel more open across age, gender and ability.
More women. More beginners. More returning skaters. Less standing at the edge wondering whether you’re allowed in.
She’s watched skate culture shift in real time. More diversity. More inclusion. More people understanding that skateboarding is for everyone.
She wants more skaters talking about mental health, addiction, ageing as a skateboarder and women and girls feeling safe around skateparks.
Because the park can still feel intimidating when you’re new. Or older. Or both.
But the right community changes that.
Photo: @jayzview_
Freedom on four wheels
At 52, Nesha isn’t trying to prove anything anymore. She’s just rolling forward.
"It’s who I am. It’s part of my life. It’s my secret superpower."
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