Our objective for this video was to inspire and uplift people with a compelling story of age and gender equality. The idea driving our work was to connect to our 50-plus, female audience by telling the story of 64-year-old skateboarder Judi Oyama. As a teenager, Oyama broke gender barriers in the sport as one of the first professional female skateboarders and a member of the legendary N-Men crew where she was almost always racing against men. Today, almost 50 years later, Oyama continues to push boundaries in skateboarding. She is a top-ranked skateboarder who was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame and recently competed in both the 2022 and 2024 World Skate Games, where she faced off against competitors more than half her age. Oyama attributes much of her recent success to the wisdom and experience that comes with age.
The video is part of AARP’s “Real People, Real Stories” series, which celebrates the actions of ordinary individuals from diverse backgrounds whose actions have made an extraordinary impact on themselves and a wider community.
We wanted Oyama’s story of excelling in a male-dominated sport to inspire our audience. We particularly wanted to show our 50-plus female audience that they can be fit and athletic at any age – and show how age and experience are an asset in pursuing your passion.
We brought this story to life by building trust with our main subject and staying committed to the key elements of our “Real People, Real Stories” storytelling format. At every touch point, we established a connection with Judi Oyama, which allowed her to feel comfortable and share her personal story in a compelling way.
Since this story was all about skateboarding, we faced challenges in capturing footage of Oyama in action so that the audience could experience the rigor and intensity of what she does. We worked hard to position our crew and cameras in a way that would result in dynamic and unique camera angles, including gimbal shots and footage from a GoPro attached to her skateboard.
Oyama has had a long and storied skateboarding career, so another challenge we overcame was tracking down archival footage and photos, so that the audience could see her in every stage of her life. We acquired footage of Oyama from her friends, family, fellow skateboarders, and old photographers in the skateboarding world.
We intentionally published the video to align with the 2024 Paris Olympics, when there would be an uptick in organic searches around sports and skateboarding. This allowed the video to be optimized within the Facebook algorithm and reach a wider audience.
This video was a phenomenal success and resonated strongly with our audience on Facebook. It reached more than 750,000 people, earned more than 738,000 views and received over 60,000 engagements. Viewers connected with the video’s message that they can pursue their interests and achieve their goals because of their age and experience, not in spite of it. Countless people mentioned how Judi was a role model for women and girls and that she inspired them to try new things in their own lives. Here is a sample of the hundreds of comments on Facebook:
