Bluebird was built from the belief that movement can become more than sport.

For many young people, especially within skateboarding and action sports culture, movement becomes confidence, identity, emotional expression, belonging, resilience, and connection.

What began as a small skate-inspired apparel brand has grown into a youth-centered wellness and community platform rooted in courage, emotional regulation, creativity, and psychologically informed programming through movement culture.

Bluebird exists for the kids learning to trust themselves. For the ones figuring out where they belong and the ones doing hard things anyway.

Every piece, event, workshop, and community initiative is built around the idea that support matters, confidence is built through experience, and young people deserve spaces where they feel safe to grow.

About the Founder

Bluebird was founded by Chantel McDougall, a mental health and addictions nurse with over 15 years of experience working in emergency mental health, addiction medicine, crisis intervention, and youth-centered care.

Chantel holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Toronto and a Diploma in Nursing from Conestoga College. Her professional background includes mental health assessment, crisis intervention, concurrent disorders, suicide prevention, addiction medicine, harm reduction, and interdisciplinary healthcare collaboration.

Alongside her healthcare work, Chantel has remained deeply connected to skateboarding, snowboard culture, youth development, and community-based programming. Bluebird was created from the intersection of those worlds: movement, psychology, resilience, creativity, and belonging.

Her work focuses on confidence development, emotionally informed coaching, nervous system awareness, autonomy-supportive environments, and helping young people build resilience through movement and community.

As Bluebird continues to grow, the vision also extends into athlete wellness and mentally informed performance environments. Through workshops, educational programming, and psychologically informed coaching approaches, Bluebird aims to support young athletes, teams, and communities in building confidence, resilience, emotional regulation, and sustainable performance from the inside out.

The focus is not simply performance outcomes, but creating environments where athletes feel supported, connected, regulated, and capable of growing through challenge.

 

What Bluebird Offers

Bluebird currently offers:

• Youth wellness and confidence workshops
• Community-based skate and movement programming
• Female confidence and belonging sessions
• Parent education and youth wellness discussions
• Psychologically informed sport and movement programming
• Community events and collaborations
• Educational content focused on courage, resilience, and emotional regulation

Bluebird does not currently provide:

• Technical skateboard coaching or trick instruction
• Competitive athlete training
• Clinical counselling or therapy services
• Mental health crisis services

Bluebird’s focus is creating supportive, confidence-building environments where young people can grow through movement, creativity, challenge, and community.

This is where we find each other.

Professional Background + Training

Education

• Bachelor of Science in Psychology & Sociology - University of Toronto
• Diploma in Nursing - Conestoga College

Mental Health & Healthcare Experience

• 15 years of experience in mental health, addictions, crisis intervention, behavioural health, and youth-centered care
• Current roles in Emergency Mental Health and Addiction Medicine at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital and Milton District Hospital

Certifications & Specialized Training

• Substance Use & Addiction Nursing Certificate - University of British Columbia
• Addiction Care & Treatment Certificate - University of British Columbia
• Perinatal Substance Use Certificate - University of British Columbia
• Mental Health First Aid - Mental Health First Aid Canada
• Nonviolent Crisis Intervention (CPI)

Coaching & Sport Training

• NCCP Coach Initiation in Sport
• NCCP Emergency Action Plan
• NCCP Making Head Way in Sport
• Mental Health in Sport
• Safe Sport Training
• Currently completing NCCP skateboard-specific coaching pathway and Psychology of Performance training