No images? Click here

Hello and welcome to Best Of Maclean’s.

At 43, I started skateboarding. Then I went viral on Tik-Tok.

“If I can inspire somebody to try something unconventional and have fun doing it, then I’m living the dream” By Oorbee Roy.

I started skateboarding after decades of watching my husband blow off steam in the skatepark after work. I’ve always found his hobby cool, but I never considered joining him—I thought I’d probably fall flat on my face and make a fool of myself.

Five years ago, my son and daughter, who were then five and seven, started skateboarding with their dad. We would go to the skatepark as a family, and I would stand by the halfpipes watching them and thinking: I don’t want to be on the sidelines for the rest of my life.

I think I surprised my husband when I told him I wanted to skate with the family. It’s not that I don’t like trying new things—I did a lot of weightlifting when I was younger and was a bit of an adrenalin junkie. But I lost that adventurous spirit when I became an adult. After graduating high school in New Jersey, I got my computer science degree, moved to New York and got a job on Wall Street. Work became my life. In 2007, I moved to Toronto, and spent most of my thirties building and running a home furnishing and baby clothing business. After I had kids, I felt like there was no time for me to try new things.

That changed once both my kids started school.

Continue reading

On newsstands now:

The Year Ahead: Our Guide to 2023

Read expert predictions on what’s to come in 2023 in health-care, food, entertainment, housing and more!

Also in this issue:

Check it out

Buy the latest issue of Maclean’s here and click here to subscribe.

Want to share the Best of Maclean’s with family, friends and colleagues? Click here to send them this newsletter and subscribe.