How Friday nights at Tuggeranong skatepark became Canberra’s coolest community hub
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Something special is happening at Tuggeranong Skatepark on Friday nights.
Since 2024, BMX riders as young as three have been flocking to the concrete ramps beside Lake Tuggeranong, turning one of Canberra’s largest skateparks into a vibrant community hub.
Hosted by South Side Freestyle BMX and led by ‘skatepark dad’ Robin Brown, it’s part training ground, part social club, and part youth hub – complete with a barbecue or pizza dinner.
And it’s entirely free.
Starting as a simple desire to ride bikes with his kids and evolving into a self-funded program that includes free coaching and bike repairs, Robin’s unlikely path to Canberra’s freestyle BMX scene began with retirement.
When he stepped back from the football field and hung up his boots, he started taking his kids around the lake to get back into shape. While they rode balance bikes, he pushed the pram and jogged beside them. But eventually, jogging wasn’t enough.
“I had to start to ride with them because I couldn’t keep up with them running anymore, and we progressively got further into long-distance riding,” explains Robin.
“My eldest, when he was nine, pulled a 72-kilometre ride with me.”
Falling in love with long-distance riding, the wheels of South Side Freestyle BMX started to turn the day the family rolled into a skate park.
Where others might see concrete bowls and rails, Robin saw a training ground.
“I instantly recognised how excellent skate parks are for mountain bike skill development,” he says.
“On a 30 km mountain bike ride, you go over each little bump and jump once. But at a skate park, you can really dial in your skills by going over the same jump 100 times in an hour.”
“We’ve been at a skate park more than anyone in the last six years in Canberra, I suppose. I’ve fallen in love with it.”
Noticing the constant ebb and flow of people and how it affected the energy at the park, as Robin got to know some of the senior riders at Tuggeranong skatepark, he learned that there used to be a Friday night tradition – everyone would just show up and ride together.
So, he decided to bring it back. But this time with a twist.
“I said, ‘Well, I tell you what I’m going to do: food attracts people. I’m just going to bring my barbecue down, and people will naturally come.’ And that’s exactly what’s happened.”
Image: Undialled Photography – Supplied.
For the past two years, Robin has been personally funding the Friday night gatherings and connecting members of the Canberra BMX community. He recently purchased a quarter pipe airbag (a jumping castle for BMX) to practice more extreme tricks on, and says the whole point of the event is for riders to inspire each other.
“One of the things that I’m proud of with our club is that we’re helping kids access some of those benefits from organised sport totally for free, without any government assistance,” explains Robin.
“They don’t feel embarrassed because they have to get their football fees paid for through some program. They just rock up to a skate park with a $100 second hand BMX bike that they bought off Facebook Marketplace, and they all look after each other.”
And for a city better known for politics than park sessions, it turns out that Canberra punches well above its weight in Freestyle BMX.
Recently returning from the National Freestyle BMX Championships in Melbourne, Robin says the group has helped produce several ACT and NSW state champions.
“We’ve shown with our success that you can produce state champions and national competitors and have lots of success at the highest levels without coaching,” he explains.
“Sarah Nicki is now Australian champion. She comes from Canberra… Canberra produces the best female riders in Australia. I’m so proud of that.”
The impact of South Side Freestyle BMX also goes beyond the sport.
Supporting riders as they excelled at the competition level, Robin’s work has also seen several young boys start their own businesses – including Impulse Bikes and Undialled Photography.
Looking ahead, Robin has big plans – including a professional-level competition in 2027 or 2028 to complement the iconic ACT Jam and attract international riders.
But no matter how big it grows, one thing won’t change: Friday nights will always be free, and everyone is welcome.
“That’s what I love about this sport,” he says. “It’s positive. It’s supportive. It’s not cutthroat at all.”
For more information, follow South Side Freestyle BMX on Facebook and Instagram.
