For a number of reasons, interest in skateboarding has exploded during the pandemic. When COVID made outdoor activities necessary for safety and sanity, skateboarding entered a bit of a golden age. The boom in popularity has left companies scrambling to keep up with the demand for boards, driven in part by TikTok and the sport’s debut at the Olympics this summer.

But just because it’s popular doesn’t mean it’s easy to learn how to skate. It’s harder to practice and fall in front of complete strangers at your local skate park when you’re just starting out. That’s why Hannah Bauer, a 27-year-old D.C. resident, started the group Flo DMV with their close friends two years ago.

Bauer, who is non-binary, started skating about three years ago when they moved to D.C. from Indianapolis to work in public health. They struggled to find a way for new and experienced skaters of all gender identities and sexualities to learn skating without judgement and freely express themselves.

“It’s difficult to show up in a skate park setting when you are not a cis, heterosexual male. It can be very overwhelming,” Bauer says. “There is a lot of toxic masculinity when you walk into a skate park, and it’s nice to have someone else there that you can look at and say, ‘I see myself.'”

At noon on Saturday, in honor of the group’s second anniversary, Flo DMV is hosting a group skate event at the newly renovated Shaw Skatepark, and is inviting all trans women and men, cis women, and non-binary and queer skaters of all levels to join. While they haven’t technically reserved space at the park, they’re asking for respect and space to skate freely that day. (Bauer also says the renovated basketball court next to the skate park is great for beginners who want to ride on a flat surface.)

The event is also open to rollerbladers and skaters. Bauer says the group will be raffling items from Crushed Skate Shop on U Street.

The collective is dedicated to welcoming more people into the skating community, but has also tackled social issues since its inception. Bauer and Flo DMV co-founder Tracy Ennesser collaborated with U Street’s Crushed Skate Shop to host the annual “Go Skate Day: Push for Freedom,” this past summer: a ride from the Malcolm X Park fountains to Freedom Plaza, in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

Bauer also created a deck design with Admeliora Skateboards that promoted their message of inclusivity, and 25% of the proceeds from the board sales went to local mutual aid funds run by Casa Ruby and Occupy D.C. Capitol Hill art gallery The Fridge hosted the free event.

“It’s blossomed into this really beautiful thing,” Bauer says.

Flo DMV hosts skating events at Malcolm X Park, Arlington Skate Park, and Olney Manor Skate Park. Shaw’s park is the most convenient and popular for D.C. residents, Bauer says. Even Tony Hawk made an appearance recently while visiting D.C. (Bauer says they happened to not be in the mood to skate the day Hawk visited — after all, “it was 10 a.m. on Sunday.”)

“We don’t have really anything else like [Shaw Skatepark] in the whole District,” Bauer says. “A lot of people skate there and it can be very busy, so it can feel a little overwhelming … To have the event there, we want people to feel like it is okay to show up whatever level that you are. I, myself, am still very much a beginner.”

Beginners can show up on Saturday and learn how to stand on the board, kick-push, and drop-in. (Bauer recommends participants bring their own skateboards — only a few extras will be available for use.) They might even meet a skateboarding buddy.

“Somebody actually said to me that they met one of their best friends at one of our group skates, and they have been inseparable ever since,” Bauer says. “So the connections like that are the root of why I want this group to sustain itself.”

Flo DMV group skate, Nov. 13, 12 p.m. Shaw Skatepark.