MY NAME IS LAURA HATWELL, AND I AM A HAPPY SKATER.

Well I suppose I should start at the beginning, because it always helps to not start in between.

Three years ago, my life was very different. I'd left university with a great degree, got myself one of the best jobs a graduate could get in television, and I was working in some of the most responsible roles imaginable. The hitch? I wasn't happy. Not really at all. What's the point in pulling in a great pay cheque if you're only going to spend it on a new toy each month to distract you from what's really going on - the destruction of your inner child, your joy, your freedom?

That's when I found out about longboarding. I'd always dreamed of being able to transport myself from A to B in an exciting fashion, with the potential to look cool (ha!) and make a lot of friends in the process. When my first board arrived, I was spellbound. The smooth lines, the intricate woodwork, the shiny trucks and the glowing wheels...such a thing of beauty. What could it possibly do for me?

Well, I'll tell you what - it only went and blew the padlock off my prison cell, didn't it?

From then on, I taught myself to skate, as there was no one else to learn with in my area. I took myself up to car parks, isolated hills, bike trails and anywhere else that was skateable. I perspired, I fell, I bled a little, I embarrassed myself in front of pedestrians, but it was all worth it in the end for the smile I carried home with me.

My enthusiasm for longboarding prompted me to skate 26 miles from Glasgow to Loch Lomond to raise money for the charities supported by Boardfree. This was an initiative set up by man named Dave who was skating the length of the UK for charity. I managed to raise £600 (including Gift Aid!) for his three charities, and I had a great time with two friends doing the trip as well. It wasn't quite the 800+ miles he was doing from John O' Groats to Land's End, but it was my little effort and I was quite proud of it.

Then I had to return to work. After all the hard work gaining sponsors, publicity and training for the journey to Loch Lomond, it was a major comedown. To tell you the truth, I was pretty gutted. I worked 12 hours a day, in a windowless room filled with screens and monitors, with no fresh air or natural light - it was not a good situation. It was someone's dream job, but it wasn't mine.

Just as I was reaching the end of my tether, an email arrived from Dave. Turns out the UK journey was just a little warm up for a journey across Australia. And he wanted me to join their support team out in Melbourne, halfway through the trip. I was ecstatic, no - I think I was higher than that, I was floating around the hall of work, in a dream. But there were realities to be faced.

Taking the trip would cost me a lot, and it would mean at least 3 months off work. I approached my boss about it, and after an initial period of agreement (signed off and everything!) to the project, they came back with a "NO". Not really what you need to hear midway through running the video tape operation for a national news bulletin, but hear it I did. End of tether reached. So, what was it to be: 3 month Australian skate trek, with an uncertain future - or a 'dream' career with a steady pay cheque?

I handed in my resignation the very next morning.

Sometimes you've just got to go with your heart, no matter how scary things might seem. And one month after that sweet morning (which seemed as if the very birds themselves had written a special chorus for), I was flying off to Melbourne, to fundraise, feed a team, and survive the harsh Australian sun and the beasties! And when I wasn't doing that, I would try to squeeze in a bit of a skate too. A stunning experience, one which I will never regret taking part in.

On my return, I brought back a jetload of enthusiasm. Living back with my parents again soon sorted that out. I'd lived independently for 8 years, and now I was back to square one. With some help from a relative, I finally made it back to renting my own space, got a job, and went back to college.

Distance skating is my thing - I'm going to state that right now. I love skating around town, don't get me wrong, but I love the idea of being able to take yourself anywhere in the world by your own steam. You meet so many people, hear innumerate stories, and have enough experiences to tell quite a few of your own as well. You sleep in strange places, eat strange things, and I think the freedom that comes from this is when absolutely all of it feels quite normal. That's freedom to me.

In the last year, I've been lucky enough to skate hundreds of miles, set a world record, tried loads of new boards out, got sponsored, and I've involved myself deeply in the skate scene where I live. I've been invited to speak at events, and most importantly of all, met tonnes of new people, minds opened to the possibility of 'another way'.

And all the way through, with me, have been my very best friends - my global skate family. Friends are my most precious possession (with my boards coming a close second), and this site is my way of hopefully making more, and hopefully bringing people together a bit.

I don't ever want to ridicule stressful jobs. Some people like their lives that way, and I'm not exactly letting up on my own stress levels. In September this year, I'm starting teacher training! It's taken me a while to settle down again after Australia, but I hope very much to be the teacher that doesn't fall on her butt skating into school every day, and I hope to show the young people I teach that there are some things that are better for you than video games.

I started Happy Skater as a response to the attitudes and egos I'd seen thrown around in forums and on major industry websites. The idea is to promote the lives and times of longboarders globally, with 'pros' and 'regular joes' all scrunched together. We're all skaters, some of us get discounts and sponsorships, some of us just go out on the road by our houses and play, but at the end of the day, we love what we do.

I wish you all the best in your skating lives, experiences and hope only that you have smooth roads and the sun overhead to warm you.

Laura xxx