Jean Rusen Keyser (aka Calamity Jean) is someone who has successfully challenged the myth that skateboarding is purely a youthful pursuit, best taken up as a pre-teen before you have a chance to be deterred by pain and distracted by adult responsibilities. Jean is a skater, surfer, musician, and mother of two girls, Jada and Sadie.
While Jean had always been athletic, playing lacrosse and field hockey competitively, she didn’t start skateboarding until age 25 when she moved from Ocean City, Maryland to Tempe, AZ in January of 1994, but only spending the winter months there for the first 2 years. There’s even a teeny tiny photo of Jean published in the mailbag section of the November 1994 issue of Thrasher showing her fearlessly bomb-diving a ditch called Hell Bank as a beginner.
Without any access to surfing in AZ, Jean pursued skateboarding, but was back and forth between the two cities throughout 1994 and 1995, with summers back east. From her first go at skateboarding Jean was hooked, and as a musician she embraced the whole skate punk connection.
In the May/June 2009 issue of AZ Steez: Arizona’s skate culture magazine (Issue 5), Jean took the cover which was followed by an interview by Kim Cook called “Bang! Bang! Make Room for Calamity Jean” (31-34). Jean explained that “I began surfing about 5 years before I started skating. I was dating a guy who surfed, skated, snowboarded and wakeboarded (we called it ‘skurfing’ back then). Wakeboarding was actually my first ‘board’ experience… I didn’t get bit by the skating bug until I moved to Tempe and had to find a way to get my surf fix… When I was first starting out though, skating, especially round wall, was all about that surf feel.”
From 1994-1997, Jean was fortunate to have access to a “beautiful, piece of shit ramp (and the crazy ass skaters who lived and sessioned there)” in her backyard at the Roberts Road house, which evolved over time from seven transitions with gaps, a bank and a parking-block, as a roll-in was added, bowled corners, pool coping, a 6 ft extension, as well as Masonite replacing the plywood. “I was damn lucky to have it as my home turf and proving ground.” And the skaters that Jean met would then take her “to huge ditches, burly pools, even hills and street spots… They hooked me up with ‘real’ boards and wheels.”
Jean expanded on how she put in the time and commitment to gain confidence in skating. “I’ve definitely paid my share of dues and suspect I’ll be paying a lot more, as I don’t intend to close my account anytime soon. Over the past 15 years I’ve tallied 3 cracked teeth, one broken ankle, approximately 15 stitches, a mangled toe, bursitis of the knee, numerous sprained joints, extensive flesh loss, at least 2 concussions and more bumps, bruises and scrapes than I could ever keep track of. Oh yeah, not to forget, the dreaded staph (infection).”
As a mom who skates, Jean recognized that there’s a whole other realm of “dues” that one experiences. Jean relayed some very unique scenarios, like “Sleeping in my car outside an indoor skatepark in Rhode Island with my 15 month old daughter and two other women… Sitting outside the fence of our new city park (Wilmington, NC), watching everyone tear it up while I was 8-1/2 months pregnant… Taking my first runs in that new park exactly two weeks to the day after the birth of our second child… Sitting on a bench outside numerous parks nursing an infant between runs.”
In 2009, Jean was a big advocate for collective action and finding ways for marginalized groups of skaters, like women to be allocated equal pay for their efforts and positive representation. And this sentiment is extended to all skateboarders, regardless of gender. Jean shared with me her appreciation for how skateboarding continues to evolve becoming more inclusive and welcoming, especially for non-binary skaters, which she values.
Photo: Wicked Wahine 2004 in Glendale by Naka
In AZ Steez, Jean acknowledged people like Tammy “BamBam” Williams for her hard work organizing the Wicked Wahine bowl and pool contest series from 2004-2009, Sue Krause her “original skate sister,” the Concrete Divas, which was Jean’s first official sponsor out of Idaho, and too many skateboarding friends to name.
The Wicked Wahine contest series was a gamechanger for Jean, as she entered the very first event in September 2004 at the Glendale skatepark and placed second in the amateur division, where it was reported that she “pulled a sick 5-0 layback” during her run. Jean would compete in all of the contests with the exception of one due to an obligation for her child.
Concrete Divas “Photo of the Month” – 2005
Jean was now 35 years old, and when she received a phone call from the owners of Concrete Divas, that they were willing to provide her with skateboards, gear, her contest entry fees, and cover her travel expenses, she was shocked but wasn’t about to dismiss their generous offer.
Photos: Jean competing at the Tim Brauch Memorial in 2009 (Michael Chantry) and 2013 (unknown)
Jean would continue to enter contests, but when she became part of a crew called the Old Man Army in 2008, it prompted her to enter the Grandmasters Division at the 11th Annual Tim Brauch Memorial contest on September 27, 2009, where she placed 20th out of 24 senior male competitors. Don Bostick himself approved her decision, saying that a woman over 40 had never entered the Masters before but, “but there ain’t no rule against it.”
An article in Concrete Wave magazine by Kim Cook explained Jean’s rationale:
“Imagine showing up to a contest to compete against other skateboarders only to find out everyone in your division is less than half your age. That’s how it is for female skaters in contests; all are lumped in one category despite age, experience and skill level. For Jean Rusen, rider for the Vets Division of Old Man Army, competing against skaters the same age as her daughters wasn’t exactly her idea of a fair and healthy competition… She made a huge statement as the movement takes shape by female skateboarding organizations to make competitions more representative of the female skateboarding population as it grows in numbers and diversity.”
In 2010, when Jean turned 40 she was celebrated with a Thrasher “Stoke of the Day” photo by Mike Furst online. As well, Old Man Army celebrated Jean with a photo and caption explaining that “down at the skatepark, if you’re over the age of 30, then you are pretty much viewed as a fossil. Regardless, I have some good news for you… Skaters are pushing the envelope these days and cruising barriers and the stereotypes that skateboarding is just for kids. It’s no secret among older skaters that skateboarding IS the fountain of youth.”
Jean would be ranked in the World Cup Men’s Masters division for 3 years in a row (2009-2011), with her best ranking in 2010, placing 24th out of 79 men. She would also win the first-ever Women’s Masters competition in August of 2010.
Photos of Jean 2011-2013 by Scott Greene, MRZ, Dan Hughes
After this, we would slowly start to see age categories emerge and the occasional Masters’ division, like the Vans Combi Pool Classic in 2013, where Jean placed 3rd with “frontside airs, Indys and exceptional use of the bowls” in Blue Tile Obsession, behind Karen Jones of Brazil and Katherine Folsom. The event would boast three categories for 14 years and under, 15-27, and 28 and over according to the Girls Skate Network.
The placing was a big deal for Jean, as it included a cash prize and silver cup, and she was 43 against eleven other women who were just closing in on 30. Even better is the photo above, taken by Ray Zimmerman of Jean being celebrated by her two daughters at the event.
Photos: Vans Pool Party 2014 by Olga Aguilar, as seen in the Skate Witches zine
Around the same time, Jean became part of an Arizona-based crew called Las ChicAZ in 2013 formed by Natalie Krishna Das. The group started out small including Natalie, Jean, Courtney Ramos, Hailey Villa, Laura Logue, and Nicole Pothen, before expanding across the globe, and opening their membership to all genders, as reported on in Nylon magazine in 2016.
Photos by Natalie Krishna Das from 2014-2017
The group would venture out on skate roadtrips, like their surf / skate adventure in Baja, Mexico written up by Natalie for Everything Skateboarding website. Members of Las ChicAZ continue to meet up and session pools together today, and I was fortunate to meet them in Tempe, at the Slow Impact conference in February 2024.
Jean acquired more sponsors, including Original Betty Skate Co. in 2014, which was run by Hailey Villa the daughter of 1960s skater Patti McGee, who graced the cover of Life magazine back in 1965.
And, on February 28, 2015, Jean was honoured with a signature board by OG Betty as a pro skater in the Masters division. There was a morning skate session at the Tempe skatepark in AZ, followed by a release party and BBQ at Sidewalk Surfer skate shop, and Jean’s band the Kevin Daly’s Chicken and Waffles even serenaded the crowd.
Photos: Natalie Krishna Das OG Betty ad, and image for launch poster was Brandon Wong
There’s even a cool back-story about the graphics, which were designed by Shannon O’Connor – who is on the animation department for The Simpsons!! Apparently, creating skateboard graphics was a dream of hers, and who better than Jean Rusen. The graphics depict “Calamity Jean” as a kind of octopus mom, juggling the world with style.
Photos from 2014-2016 by Steven Keyser, Kathleen Hayes (for Yeah Girl zine issue 3), Geoff Graham, Jeff Ament, Chauntae Schwoegler, Jon Burgess and Doug James.
In 2013, Jean competed as a pro in the first Exposure event in Encinitas, which is an epic contest and fundraiser for women and non-binary skaters. Amelia Brodka requested her services as a judge for the following years, which was a great way for her to give back. And, Jean followed it up as judge at the Vans Combi Pool Classic in 2016, and now she is an official World Cup of Skateboarding judge, which is a role she’s well suited for.
Photos from 2017-2022 by Mike Hathcote, Ken Hada, Andrew Lomas, Kathleen Hayes and John Holman.
Here are my favourite photos of Jean, gapping the channel from April 2016 at the Malmo, Sweden “Vert Attack X” by Bjorn Handell and Mike John. What a badass!
And when Barb Odanaka and the organizers of the Mighty Mama Skate-O-Rama celebrated their 20th Anniversary, on May 12th 2024, Jean was there with her daughter Jada (25), considering that they both attended the very first event some twenty years ago. The mother / daughter duo skated together in the bowl, which was documented in The Orange County Register newspaper by photographer Mindy Schauer.
To hear more about Jean’s legacy, including her connection to Sue Krause, some gnarly bails on vert, summer sessions at the Ocean Bowl, her introduction to Jen O’Brien via the Women’s Skateboard Network, and what it was like at the Tim Brauch memorial contest in 2009, check out the podcast called In the Patch with Cabbage from July 11, 2022, when Jean was interviewed.
Jean proved that it’s never too late to get sponsored with a signature board or be part of a girl gang like Las ChicAZ. Thank you Jean for being such an absolute ruler and pushing those boundaries, creating space for older women skaters to continue to compete and feel part of the community. Bring on the women’s 50+ category!
References:
- Cabbage Bradfield. “Jean Rusen.” In the Patch with Cabbage (July 11, 2022).
- Kim Cook. “Bang! Bang! Make Room for Calamity Jean.” AZ Steez: Arizona’s skate culture magazine 5, (May/June 2009): 31-34.
- Remy Ramirez, Yasmeen Gharnit, and Nora Maloney, “Meet the coolest all-girl skate squads in the country,” Nylon magazine, May 9, 2016.
Womxn Skateboard History 