Welcome to Womxn Skateboard History archive! The site is a digital collection organized into decades to help celebrate and create visibility of female and non-binary skaters.
Latest posts:
Leigh Zaremba
This photo and article of Leigh Zaremba and Dee Jay Cobb is from spring 1959! Woah! It was featured in the May 29, 1959 issue of the Pasadena Independent, and…
Girls Who Skate 1995
In the early 1990s the Riot Grrrl movement, which originated in the Pacific Northwest was not only having an impact on young women who loved punk music, but also skateboarders…
Cyndy Pendergast
Cyndy Pendergast was a confident skater in the Mid-West in the 1970s and 1980s and is listed as a “notable member” of the Turf skateboard park on a Wikipedia page.…
Suzette Owens
Suzette Owens was a competitive freestyle skateboarder out of Long Beach, California in the late 1970s. I was reminded of Suzette during a recent interview with Kim Adrian, as they…
Marilyn Latta
Marilyn Latta (not to be confused with Michelle Matta) was featured in a two-page interview in June 1978 for the Wild World of Skateboarding magazine. Marilyn was age 16 at…
One Year Anniversary
One year ago I launched the skate history archive and Instagram account. Thanks to everyone who has supported the project, shown me kindness, taken time to follow, read posts, celebrate,…
Karen Trimble
Karen Trimble of San Marcos, CA, along with her brothers John and Terry, was a competitive freestyle skateboarder in the mid-1980s. She was mentioned in passing within Terry’s Freestyle zine…
Sussi Berglund
Sussi Berglund (Mabbe) of Stockholm, Sweden was skateboarding in her teens and even appeared in a local newspaper performing a handstand in 1978 at age 16, evidently having a great…
Leigh Parkin
Leigh Parkin (Blake) was a Del Mar Skate Ranch local who began skateboarding in the 1970s and competed strongly in the early 1980s. Renowned photographer, J. Grant Brittain remembers documenting…
Beth Fishman
Beth Fishman appeared in a four-page spread within the April 1978 issue of Wild World of Skateboarding after winning the SKAbo ESA Eastern Skateboard Championships held over three days in…
Stephanie Person
Stephanie Person is the first black female professional skateboarder and her contributions throughout the 1980s are legendary. Back in the day, Stephanie was acknowledged in the zine Ladies Skateworld by…
Vicky Voughn
Vicky Voughn is currently a mystery, possibly spelled “Vicki” and short for Victoria. All I know is that she appeared in April 1989 to compete in the mini-ramp contest in…
Kate the Skate
“Kate the Skate” was the name of a column dedicated to women in skateboarding within the British magazine called Skateboard Scene from January 1978 (issue 3) until August 1978 (issue…
Caia Koopman
Caia Koopman, who is a renowned artist living in San Diego, was born and raised in California and was skating during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In an interview…
MaryAnne Uyemura
MaryAnne Aquino Torres Uyemura was the first female member on the Pepsi Skateboard team in the Philippines from the ages of nine to eleven in the years 1978-1980. She was…
SK8HERS
During the early 1990s in Santa Barbara, where skateboarding was thriving in backyard mini-ramps and the Powell Skate Zone indoor park, a core group of women had found a connection…
Life
Life is precious and skateboarders are beautiful. There is so much heartbreak and anger right now in light of the violence and brutality that took Tyre Nichols away from his…
France 1960s
Skateboarding in the 1960s is primarily associated with the scene in California, as surfers found a new outlet for fun when the surf was flat and the activity took off…
Maria Elaigne Ferreira
Maria Elaigne Carmen Rita Rodrigues Ferreira was born in 1960 and is among the earliest female skateboarders in Brazil – a country with a rich history of amazing skateboarders! Thanks…
Jeannie Narducci
Jeannie Narducci (Figurski) was inducted into the Florida Skateboard Hall of Fame in 2003. She was an active skateboarder in the 1970s, along with her brother Dave. Jeannie appeared in…
Laurie McDonald
Laurie McDonald was a sponsored skateboarder in the 1970s, riding for team Powerflex. Although photographs, let alone an interview was elusive, she appeared in the freestyle results of a Hallowe’en…
Lisa Forman
Lisa Forman was a solid skateboarder in both transition and slalom, and further proof that there were some amazing female skaters during the 1980s. While she is practically ignored by…
Sandy Chadbourn
Sandra “Red” Chadbourn was a ripping skateboarder in the 1970s based out of Atlanta. She became sponsored by the best team around called Progressive Skateboards, which was the very first…
First Championships – May 1965
In May 1965, the first International Skateboard Championships was hosted at La Palma Stadium in Anaheim, CA. The event was televised by ABC’s Wide World of Sports and an article…
JoAnn Gillespie
JoAnn Gillespie, AKA Rawkmom, is given props in the book Skater Girl: a girls’ guide to skateboarding (2007) by Patty Segovia and Rebecca Heller for her role in taking on…
Kathy Sierra
In the February 23, 2015, issue of Wired magazine, an article by Katherine Sierra (a former freestyle skater from the 1980s) appeared called, “Silicon Valley could learn a lot from…
2022 Reflection
It’s been a pretty awesome year, especially since I launched this website and Instagram page back on International Women’s Day! Even though I’ve been researching and collecting information on women…
AKA: Girl Skater
The skateboard video AKA: Girl Skater (dir. Mike Hill, 2003) on VHS and DVD, was highly anticipated since it showcased the Gallaz pro team including Jaime Reyes, Vanessa Torres, Amy…
Mystery Christmas Kids
Whatever seasonal festivity you’re celebrating, may you be part of something that brings joy and love to others… especially a fellow skateboarder! Thanks to everyone who has shown support for…
Mystery Jacksonville Skaters
In an article within the Florida Times-Union (May 17, 2022) about the evolution of skateboarding in Jacksonville, Florida, a 1977 photo appears featuring Michelle Thibodeau and Ellen Moomaw by Joe…
Thea Cutts
Thea Cutts was a British skateboarder in the 1970s, who not unlike Robin Logan and her brothers, didn’t receive the same amount of limelight compared to Seth and Shane, although…
Kristy McNichol
Kristy McNichol was one of the biggest child stars of the 1970s performing within an ABC series called Family (1976 – 1980) in the role of Letitia “Buddy” Lawrence, winning…
Karen Schirm
Karen Schirm of Bremen, Germany was a street skater in the early 2000s and needs acknowledgment as one of the few female skaters-of-colour at that time, especially in Europe. While…
Begoña Cortés
Begoña Cortés (AKA Bego) from Alcorcón (Madrid), Spain is recognized today as one of the earliest female skateboarders who held her own at iconic skatespots like Sants Station and MACBA…
Debi Eldredge
Debi Eldredge (sometimes misspelled “Debbie Eldridge”) was on the Unity Skateboard team back in the mid-1970s along with her friend Andra Malczewski. The two skaters were revered by Laura Thornhill,…
Anita Tessensohn
You’ve most likely seen the iconic Powell Peralta ad featuring Anita Tessensohn and Leaf Trienen which declared that “Some Girls Play With Dolls. Real Women Skate.” The ad came out…
Kelly Marsh
Kelly Marsh was described as “one of the best teenage freestyle riders in Florida” back in 1977 within the November issue of Wild World of Skateboarding. She was featured in…
Lauren Mollica
Lauren Mollica of New Brunswick, New Jersey (born in 1980) initially was a snowboarder, although she started dabbling in skateboarding in the late 1980s with her brothers. Lauren received her…
Wendy Gooding
Wendy Gooding was born in Santa Monica, CA making her way to the San Fernando Valley. She was featured in the August 1978 issue of Skateboard World magazine at age…
Michelle Ticktin
Michelle Ticktin of Glasgow, Scotland was a ripping vert skater in the late 1980s and besides the legendary Sue Hazel, she was one of the few female skaters known to…
April Hoffman
April Hoffman (Weems) is indeed fortunate being the grand-daughter of the legendary couple Jeanne and Stan Hoffman who opened and operated the Pipeline Skatepark (AKA Badlands) from 1977-1988 in Upland,…
Carol Schuldt
Carol Schuldt has been described as the “Goddess of the Beach,” “Queen of Ocean Beach,” “San Francisco Carol,” or “Mother Teresa of the Sunset,” and was one of the original…
Nicole Boronat
Nicole Boronat was born in 1962 at Vitry-sur-Seine near Paris and took up skateboarding in the late 1970s when her high school friend Laurence Lannes introduced her to it. Lannes…
Crystal Loges
Crystal Loges was inducted into the Florida Skateboarding Hall of Fame back in 2005 for her skateboarding skills during the 1970s. Crystal won the Women’s Bowl contest in March 1979…
Maggie Behle
In the mid-1990s female skateboarders were practically never included within the main contents of Thrasher magazine, but sometimes they could sneak into the pages through the “Photograffiti” section where readers…
Zhenya Arguelles
Zhenya Arguelles [Женя Аргуэльес] is regarded by skateboard historians in Russia as the first female to land an ollie and take up skateboarding with enthusiasm back in 1991 at Moscow’s…
Cara-Beth Burnside: Part One
Cara-Beth Burnside is a skateboarder of legendary status whose presence and perseverance within the subculture has transcended decades. She has witnessed the highs and lows of skateboarding as an industry,…
Rebecca Williams
Rebecca Williams started skateboarding in 1976 at age 24 after she had her twin boys. Back in the 70s, it was pretty exceptional for a mom to compete in skateboarding,…
Ericka and Rhonda Watson
Ladies Skateworld zine from 1986, created by Lauri Kuulei Wong was especially important because it celebrated women like Rhonda and Ericka Watson who were learning to skateboard. It was a…
Tara Kaylor
Giddyup! This is Tara Kaylor, who first appeared in skateboarding media within a report on the “Easter Week Contest” in San Diego on April 8, 1977 by Di Dootson in…
Antonella Ferrero
Antonella Ferrero was an Italian slalom skater who won the Italian championship in 1980. She competed in the Junior division and either matched or surpassed Giammarco Luca, who became a…
Violet Kimble
Violet Alvarez Kimble was born in Oceanside, CA in 1988 and grew up in Vista near San Diego. She enjoyed surfing at an early age and began skateboarding in the…
Sue Smith
Sue Smith took up skateboarding in the 1970s and appears in contest results in the early 1980s in the girls 13 and under categories, representing Lakewood park. Thanks to the…
Alison Lee
Alison Lee was a skateboarder based out of San Jose in the mid-1990s, who was included in the two-page article called “Damsels” in the June 1996 issue of Thrasher (along…
Starla Stewart
In the Fall 1975 issue of Skateboard magazine a true sidewalk surfer named Starla Stewart entered the Huntington Beach City Festival contest. The results show that Starla placed first in…
Christy Jordahl
Based solely on an interview with Saecha Clarke from the magazine Check it Out in 2005 and a lone photo that was repeated within the zines Girls Who Grind and…
Sunshine Lee
In the late 1970s Sunshine Lee was an up-and-coming skateboarder in southern California sponsored by Vans but her full story has yet to be discovered. In his memoir, Authentic: a…
Sue Hazel
Sue Hazel is the UK equivalent to Cara-Beth Burnside considering her long-standing skateboarding career from 1977 to the present and her role in supporting the progression of female skaters in…
Terry Verdoia
Terry Verdoia (now Teresa Verdoia-Walker) appeared in the December 1978 issue of Skateboarder in an article by Craig Fineman. Fineman was reporting on and documenting the First Annual Endless Wave…
Yuki Kuwabara
Yuki Kuwabara was a skateboarder at Wild Wheels skateboard park in Covina, California in the late 1970s. She was featured in an article called “Surfers with wheels: skateboard parks banking…
Michelle Sanderson
Michelle Sanderson (Hart) from West Covina, California was a competitive freestyle skater in the early 1980s who persevered during an era when skateboarding had dramatically declined in popularity compared to…
Kym Milburn
Kym Milburn from San Diego was primarily a freestyle skateboarder during the mid-1970s riding for Grand Surf, Team Bahne, and eventually Tracker trucks. She practiced her skills at the Bay…
Fabiana Duclos
In 1973, Fabiana Duclos (Badie) received her first skateboard and within four years she was being recognized as a freestyle expert. Fabiana was showcased by the Wild World of Skateboarding…
Nathalie Richter
Nathalie Richter from Bonn was Germany’s amateur female skateboarding champion in the late 1980s, and thanks to the ‘zine Equal Time, edited by Lynn Kramer, her story isn’t lost! Nathalie…
Stephanie Fernández
Stephanie Fernández is a skateboarder from Mexico that I thought I would never find! It all began with Vicki Vickers, who was interviewed for Skateboarder magazine (December 1979) in a…
Lynn Kramer
Lynn Kramer has currently won the World Slalom Champion title sixteen times, received the first-ever women’s pro slalom board through Sk8Kings, and continues her relentless dominance in that field with…
Cindy Hernandez
Cindy Hernandez (Ochirosi) was a skateboarder from the late 1970s, that I would love to know more about. She is from Culver City, CA and now lives in Stockholm, Sweden.…
Sasha La Rochelle
Sasha La Rochelle from Santa Rosa, California was a versatile skater in the early 2000s and contributed regularly to the “Gurlz on Boardz” website, which was one of the earliest…
Sophie Bourgeois
In the late 1970s and 1980s, the best female skateboarder from Canada was Sophie Bourgeois from Drummondville, Quebec but you would hardly know it due to the limited acknowledgement, if…
Andra Malczewski
Andra Malczewski is from Encinitas, California and lived in South Bay, Hermosa Beach, graduating from Torrance High School in 1971. In the mid-1970s at age 20, Andra competed in all…
Valerie Perez
In the August 1965 issue of Skateboarder magazine a significant portion of the publication was dedicated to the first International Skateboard Championships in May 1965, held at La Palma Stadium…
Babs Fahrney
Babs Fahrney is from San Jose, California and lives in Santa Cruz. She was a skater in the 1980s and was included in Bonnie Blouin’s classic Thrasher article, “Sugar and…
Terry Brown
Terry Brown from Santa Cruz began skateboarding at age 5 and was encouraged to skateboard by her brothers, even though her parents were less enthusiastic. At age 14 pro skater…
Lia Halloran
Lia Halloran is now a globally recognized artist creating massive, surreal images of space and sky, and at the heart of her story and creative inspiration is a passion for…
Yvonne Cucci
Yvonne Cucci (Summerfield) was originally a mystery until this post was shared on social media and we connected for an interview on Friday, September 2nd, 2022. Yvonne grew up in…
Elisabeth “Eli” Meyers
Elisabeth “Eli” Meyers (RIP) was from Schoten, a town in Antwerp Province, Belgium and is considered the country’s first ripping female skater. Meyers was introduced to skateboarding by her brother…
Minh Duc Tran
In the very first issue of Skateboard! (Britain’s first skateboard magazine), which came out in August 1977, there’s a photo and short blurb on a skater named Minh Duc Tran…
Kathy Bomeisler
Kathy Bomeisler from Torrance, California “was one of the first girls to compete in contests with a women’s category” according to Di Dootson. In 1975, at the 1st Annual Southern…
Lauri Kuulei Wong
Ladies Skateworld was a ‘zine that launched on April 15, 1986 highlighting the scene at Del Mar Skate Ranch, and was possibly the first skateboarding ‘zine written by and for…
Rhonda Doyle
In the early 1990s, when asked about other female skaters in the scene, Rhonda Doyle was given props by Cara-beth Burnside in her October 1991 interview for Thrasher. Burnside stated…
Marina Gera
In the 1960s, skateboarding was taking off as not only an alternative activity for surfers but an accessible and social activity for all youth that wasn’t dependent on access to…
Michelle Pezel (and Antisocial)
For skateboarders living in Vancouver, Canada, and the countless skaters who have visited the city and made their way to Antisocial skateshop (or even found refuge on her couch), Michelle…
Ellen Oneal (Deason)
In May 1975, Ellen Oneal from San Diego, CA received a skateboard for her sixteenth birthday and began to translate her skill and athleticism from activities like gymnastics, bike-riding, ballet,…
Lora Lyons (Medlock)
Lora Lyons (Medlock) was from Edinburgh, Pennsylvania and began skateboarding after she graduated high school in the late 1970s when her boyfriend (later husband) “bought a crappy plastic board and…
Mystery skaters – Skateboarding prohibited
It’s June 25, 2022 and I’m not sure what to say to radiate strength and hope for women in the U.S. after recent decisions at the Supreme Court, and to…
Renata Škrabalová
Renata Škrabalová is the original female skateboarder from the Czech Republic. Renata started skateboarding in 1984, competing in slalom until 1989 when she started her family, and then returned to…
Laurie Turner DeMott
The first appearance in a skateboarding magazine of a female skateboarder (and photographer) was of Laurie Turner from Berkeley, CA in Volume 1 / Number 1 Winter 1964 issue of…
Lori Rigsbee
Lori Rigsbee* from Del Mar, California skated purely for the love of it and in the late 1980s and early 1990s she was one of the few female skaters in…
Jodie Cooper
In the May 1979 issue of Skateboarder there’s an article about a skate contest in Albany, Australia, located on the southwest coast which had a surprise competitor being the now-legendary…
Vicki Vickers
While attending the National Surfing Championships in Port Isabel, Texas, Vicki Vickers at age 14 overheard Dogtown skater, Nathan Pratt declare that “Girls Can’t Skate.” At age 18, in her…
Gina Esperanza
Gina [Esparza?] Esperanza appeared to be a prodigy skateboarder in the late 1970s, based out of San Diego with her home skatepark being “Skateboard Heaven” in Spring Valley. She was…
Bonnie Blouin
Bonnie Blouin (RIP) and her younger brother Blaize (RIP) were powerhouse siblings in the skateboarding community during the 1980s. While this entry does end tragically [*Warning*], the goal is to…
Pam Judge
Pam Judge is the earliest known, high-calibre female skateboarder from Calgary, AB, Canada from back in the late 1970s. Pam had been competing in downhill skiing since the early 1970s…
Cindy Whitehead
Cindy Whitehead was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame in 2016 for both her accomplishments as a pro skater in the 1970s and her relentless advocacy for women in…
Kathy Zatko
Kathy Zatko appears in the January 1989 issue of Thrasher, celebrating her accomplishment of being the first girl to enter an Eastern Skateboard Association (ESA) contest, which was held at…
Georgina Matthews
Georgina Matthews of Tauranga, Aotearoa (New Zealand) is regarded as a Wahine toa—a heroine! While there were female skateboarders in New Zealand since the 1970s, Georgina is the first in…
Di Dootson Rose
I recently learned about the term “archival silence” and it absolutely resonated in regard to women in skateboarding. It also reminded me that I wanted to extend gratitude to Di…
Mystery Skaters – Japan
I’m fascinated by the incredible progression of women skateboarders in Japan and only have a few leads from back in the day, in the form of mystery photos. First off…
Sheenagh Burdell
Sheenagh Burdell may not be a household name in North America, but her impact as a British skateboarding legend is being recognized in the U.K. and needs to be represented…
Leslie Jo Ritzma
Leslie Jo Ritzma (Anderson) from Redondo Beach, California started skateboarding in 1964 at age 7. “I made my own skateboard in 2nd grade from some roller skates and ended up…
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Womxn Skateboard History 