On a gusty Sunday afternoon Levi Carmichael is at the Esperance waterfront fine-tuning "The Disaster".

"It's where you go up on the ramp and kind of air out … and then you roll in," the 11-year-old tries to explain. 

Adding to his bag of tricks at the local skate park has become one of Levi's favourite after-school activities.

He is not alone.

In the coastal community, about 700 kilometres south-east of Perth, the skate scene is on the rise.

So popular is the foreshore facility — which only opened in 2016 — that locals are lobbying the local council for its expansion.

"They come here not to just skate or scooter, they also come here to chill out," said Esperance skateboarder Stuart Sinclair. 

"It just makes it a very congested area." 

Value of visibility

Across regional Australia, skate parks are enjoying greater investment and participation as the sport's benefits to individuals and the broader community are realised.

Dr May Carter worked for decades as a researcher and consultant on public spaces.

She said the growing popularity and visibility of skate parks, in both cities and regional areas, reflected a gradual shift in their public perception.

"Years ago they tended to be out in the back of the industrial area or somewhere where no one wanted that bit of land," she said.

Dr Carter cited the town where she currently resides, Denmark in southern WA, as an example of increased investment in "informal" sports like skateboarding.

A multi-million-dollar youth precinct, including a skate park, is set to be built on the picturesque town's riverfront, giving skaters a more central facility to socialise and hone their skills while activating a public space.

"At the moment the Denmark skate park is at the footy ground," she said.

"It's quite isolated, whereas this new skate park will bring that activity into town.

"Places where they [young people] can be active and socialise and be together and be seen as part of the community … are really, really important for their health and the health of the community."

'Incredible skate parks'

Mr Sinclair was introduced to skateboarding as a 12-year-old in his home city of Liverpool, England.

Over the past 24 years he has travelled and skated extensively through Europe and Australia. 

"I've seen many skate parks and skated with many amazing skateboarders. The skate park in Esperance, it's world-class," he said.

"It's just very small for the amount of people who use it."

The 36-year-old said the emergence of skateboarding as an Olympic event — in which Australia has won multiple gold medals — had contributed to the sport's popularity nationwide.

"It's so televised now and so public, and everywhere you go you've got skate parks like this one on the foreshore and it's a perfect thing for the youth to do," he said.

He said for many young people skateboarding was a popular alternative to more organised team sports that followed strict schedules for training and fixtures.

'Good people'

Esperance Shire president Ron Chambers said there was a strategy in place for the skate park's growth, but finding funding was a challenge.

He attributed part of the facility's popularity to its family-friendly location.

"It's not tucked away in the back of some residential area, it's down on the foreshore where there's lots of people moving around," he said. 

For Mr Sinclair, even after all these years, the thrill of nailing a trick inside the skate park bowl remains.

"I just really enjoy it," he said.