Hi Natasha, I'm in Brisbane :). I have a friend that moved down to Melb earlier this year, I think there's a group of skaters that meet at the pier if you were interested in meeting up with other locals. I also started skating in my late 30s a few years ago as I always wanted to learn and am having a blast. If you're scared of falling (fair!), just wear your gear, it makes falls so much less scary knowing you're less likely to do damage. I literally wear crash shorts, elbow pads and knee pads almost every time I skate...it's not aesthetic but it helps my confidence in learning new skills that frighten me haha!

I would attend every week if I could but in my timezone its 11pm and I don't have a space I can skate in at that hour. Maybe one day!

Suregrip? I don't think I know of any others that start with s. Also I just came across Diamond Skates yesterday by @TheDiamondWalker

@Jay Griffin looks like he has, the first one is available for preorder

Joining from Brisbane Australia. There's not a huge skate community here, I've been learning a mix of dance and artistic so far, wanting to learn more about rhythm styles since our rinks are complete wastelands lacking any style or skater musicality.

@Mark Early You got this, I'm sure it will start coming back to you :)

I'm going for the first time this year! Currently trying to skate at least every other day to level up my skating (it's a slow process...!) and build up my tolerance. If you have any tips for a first timer, please let me know 😅