Lauren Perkins (Marvle) was a pro street skateboarder from Huntington Beach, who made an impact during the early 2000s with sponsors that included Etnies, World Industries, Oakley, Nixon, Stussy, Skull Candy, Kickers and Volcom, over the years.
At age five, Lauren “was already developing her thrill for danger by taking her first spins on a motorcycle, as well embarking on her dad’s skateboard for the very first time” (Ferrantino). She was also fortunate that a skate park was built near her house in the late-1990s, and since she figured it looked like fun, Lauren received a Nash skateboard for her 9th birthday and never looked back, according to her interview with Lisa Whitaker for the Girls Skate Network.
Photos: Lauren in 2000 with her hero, Elissa Steamer, and then winning a contest against all the boys in 2001
In January 2006, Lauren was interviewed for American Superstar magazine, which was a thorough report of her experience in skateboarding. Lauren explained that with consistent practise, and a friend to skate with, she improved everyday. “The more I skated, the easier it got.” For example, in 2001 when Lauren was age 12, “she had become so skilled that she captured first place at a Gravity Games contest — defeating 45 boys in the process.” Dang! This success resulted in a sponsorship with Volcom. “That was huge… It’s the one contest that I’ll always remember.”
With few female peers in her vicinity at the start, Lauren was motivated to compete against the guys, but once she learned about the All Girl Skate Jam contests (launched in 1997), she embraced them. In 1999, Lauren had a 2nd place finish in the Amateur Street contest behind Kea Duarte and ahead of Amy Caron in San Diego. Lauren would go on to win her local Huntington AGSJ contest in 2002 and said, the contest “was still hard because there was still these new girls that I had never seen before,” which would push her to learn new tricks.
Check it Out skateboard magazine often featured Lauren in their pages from 2003-2005. Photos by Luciana Ellington, Fondo, Magda Wosinska. Her highlight appeared in issue #18 from 2005.
Elissa Steamer was always Lauren’s hero, and within a few years of competing, she ending up touring and performing demos with Elissa, as they both rode for Etnies. Lauren said, “When I was younger, I looked up to girls skateboarding and I think everyone needs a role model. I hope that the younger girls can look at me and be like, ‘She’s out at the skate park, skating all the time, always having a smile on her face.’ That’s what I wanted and what I hope to bring.”
Lauren’s sponsor Etnies included her in several advertisements in 2004 / 2005, with the “Step Up” photo over Lauren’s Yamaha by Patty Segovia. The World Industries ad appeared in the December 2006 issue of TransWorld.
Lauren’s name started registering in the World Cup Rankings in 2001 and she was consistently in the top 10 for Women’s Street: 7th overall in 2001 based on 2/3 contests; 3rd overall in 2002 behind Amy Caron and Vanessa Torres; 2nd overall in 2003; 5th in 2004 with the return of Elissa Steamer in the contest circuit; 2nd overall in 2005, 6th in 2006; 5th in 2007; 12th in 2008.
In 2002, Lisa Whitaker featured footage of Lauren skating street for the Girls Skate Network:
2003 was an especially good year because Lauren was the stunt double for the film Grind (2003), and she was the first female skateboarder to appear on the cover of SG magazine (skate, surf, snow) for the October / November 2003 issue.
There’s even some footage of Lauren from Slam City Jam that year, thanks to Meghan McGuire (Migzy!) of Bigfoot magazine:
And, in 2004 Lauren appeared in a “Girls Skate Montage” by Whitaker, again for the Girls Skate Network:
Lauren was apart of the epic Getting Nowhere Faster (2004) video that was filmed by Whitaker for Villa Villa Cola, which helped solidify women’s skateboarding and provide heroes for a whole new generation of skaters.
Lauren and Elissa were interviewed for a short feature in a Canadian magazine called Exposé in 2005 (by me) when they came to Vancouver for the 2nd annual “Skateover not a Makeover” event with 65 girls taking part. Lauren shared that she was more motivated to get out and take photos when she’s on the road, and how she enjoyed meeting new people and exploring new skate spots when traveling.
In 2006, Lauren explained that “Skating is unlike any other sport… Regular sports, you can go to the gym and work out and that really, really improves your abilities. With skating, a lot of it actually has to do with skating. Being on the board. Getting on the board. And getting used to it.” She did benefit from having a personal training, Scot Prohaska who would help motivate her to set goals, learn new tricks and stay strong and healthy.
Contest photos of Lauren from 2002 in Melbourne, the X-Games, and Maloof Money Cup. X-Games photos in 2005 by Rob Meronek.
Even though contests were nerve-wracking, Lauren said, “Skateboarding in general is growing bigger and bigger… Women’s skateboarding getting into the X Games is huge. There are more girls, and every year the bar gets pushed up another level with the tricks and the stuff the girls are trying. It’s becoming quite the sport.” At the same time, Lauren still loved to rip around L.A. with her friends and get footage for her video parts. “Contests are good, but it’s not up to you. To get really good footage for this is one of my main goals.”
Photos: Lauren demonstrating her massive pop and flip tricks. Garbage can photo by Lisa Whitaker.
Lauren was successful in accumulating some solid footage. In 2008, she was featured along with Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins in a film made by Oakley called Uniquely (dir. John Roderick). The 35-minute video highlighted women’s action sports including skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding, skiing and wake-boarding from around the world.
Annie Fast, the editor of Transworld Snowboarding was quoted on the Oakley website as saying, “I loved the movie… I mean, I really loved it. The snowboarding in Japan got me pumped up, but the skateboarding was inspiring.” A premiere screening party was held at the Oakley headquarters in Foothill Ranch, and the entire cast was in attendance, including Lauren and Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins who was rocking a cast for her ankle.
Lauren’s part was filmed at the Etnies Skatepark in Lake Forest:
In the 2008 SG Supergirl Jam contest at Huntington Beach, a video was produced, which had commentary from Lauren, who ended up being the winner of the event ahead of some strong talent like Rachel Reinhard, Evelien Bouilliart, Leticia Bufoni, Lorena Lima, Amy Caron, Sophie Poppe, and Vanessa Torres. And, she also got “best trick” for a FS bluntslide on the hand-rail.
Lauren said, “it’s really good to see more girls coming up, especially the young ones, it’s really cool.”
Lauren concluded her interview with American Superstar with wisdom, recognizing that at any moment an injury could sabotage her experience. “With one crazy injury, I could not be able to skate any longer. I take it day-by-day and look at it as, every day that I can skate, I’m stoked to be skating. When I am going to stop is probably when I can’t skate.” And when asked about skateboarding in the Olympics, Lauren said, “That would be awesome… I can’t see why skateboarding couldn’t be [in the Olympics.]” Good call, Lauren!
Through skateboarding, Lauren traveled to Canada for Slam City Jam in Vancouver, Australia for the Globe / Gallaz World Cup, Germany for the Munster Monster Mastership, Mexico for a photoshoot in SG magazine, and even attended a Girls Skate Camp in Barcelona, Spain which was reported on by Lucy Adams for Realskate.com, among other destinations.
Here’s a montage from 2009 of Lauren tearing up the park:
Photos from 2011 & 2014:
Lauren now has a family and continues to surf, snowboard, and rip on her motorcycle.
References:
- Ferrantino, Jeff. “Pro Skateboarder Lauren Perkins has a thrill for danger,” American Superstar (January 31, 2006).
- Whitaker, Lisa. “Pro Spotlight: Lauren Perkins,” Girls Skate Network (April 11, 2008).
Womxn Skateboard History 