Patiane Freitas had the honour of being the first female skateboarder to grace the cover of the Brazilian publication, Tribo in 2005 for Issue #112! She executed a frontside boardslide down a handrail, and the magazine included an interview. It took Tribo five years before another female skater appeared on their cover (Leticia Bufoni, March 2010).
For female skateboarders, Patiane was already well-known as she was a strong competitor in the early 2000s and was regularly featured in the Brazil-based skateboard magazine, Check it Out: skateboarding 4 girls (CIO). Patiane was born in Limoeiro, Brazil in 1983 and started skateboarding in 1999 after receiving a skateboard from her mom. Her first sponsor was BRUAKA, followed by Gallaz shoes, and then a board sponsor called Daehonna, who gave her a full-page ad in issue #18 of Check it Out.
In June 2003, Patiane decided to head to California for the first time after hearing about the All Girls Skate Jam for several years. It was her friend Karen Jones, who convinced her to go traveling, even though they had to secure a visa, money and passports. Patiane shared that it was a good experience, even though she was disappointed in her contest performance. They appeared to have an awesome time while attending the YMCA Skate Camp in Visalia, CA as featured in Check it Out magazine for Issue 15, along with Cindy Gorset, Patricia Teixiera and photographer / skater Ana Paula Negrao.
Patiane enjoyed the social aspect of contests, but not always the actual competing part even though she guessed that she had competed in 90 odd contests as she felt it was important. Some of the contests she was pleased with at the time of her interview in CIO included Action Girl Betty series in Oceanside (placing 2nd in street, July 2003), Vans Triple-Crown aka XBox World Championships at Oceanside (3rd in street, September 2003), and the Gallaz contest in Munster, Germany.
Patiane was interviewed for The Side Project website, celebrating how she won the 2003 Xbox World Championships in Street at Oceanside, CA with switch heelflips and nollie flips.
Patiane stayed in California for 6 months, and then returned in March 2004. As much as she liked Los Angeles, she admitted that Brazil was much better. In São Paulo, “I had my family, my house, my mom, everything, here I have nothing. I have to do everything by myself, it’s hard!” Patiane also missed her little brother, family, friends, and the food from back home.
As a Portuguese speaker, Patiane also learned English, which took practise but something she accomplished. She made many skateboarding connections in California, including Lisa Whitaker who filmed and documented her progress. Patiane’s favourite tricks were nollie varial heelflips and other switch variations.
Photos: Ana Paula Negrao, Luciana Ellington.
In 2004, Patiane took the cover for CIO issue #16 kick-flipping a 9-stair set, which was included in her part for the Villa Villa Cola video, “Getting Nowhere Faster.” She also competed in the World Championships in Dortmund, Germany that year taking a top 10 finish, placing 6th in the Ladies Street Jam, with Vanessa Torres taking the win.
At the time of her interview, Patiane had just recovered from a knee injury that took a year to heal, but she never considered quitting. She did imagine herself becoming a teacher, as she loved helping out at skateboard clinics.
Patiane had a solid year in competition in 2004, which landed her a fourth-place World Ranking in street. A photo sequence of her landing a heelflip big spin in issue #17 of Check it Out was showcased from her contest run at the Globe World Championships in Dortmund, Germany (6th place in street, July 2004),
Patiane’s top result that year was 2nd place at the Gallaz Skate Jam (November 2004) at the Torrance skatepark, behind Leo Baker, which meant that she secured a spot at the Australian Gallaz Skate Jam in Melbourne.
In 2005, Patiane joined her fellow Gallaz skaters in Australia for a tour and to compete at the Globe World Cup, alongside Australians Hilary Pearce, Monica Shaw and Sally Clark. Whitaker reports on the experience here for the Girl Skate Network. Patiane is also included in this 2005 clip from Woodward West Skatecamp:
Patiane’s board sponsor, Daehonna announced her professional status in issue #18 of Check it Out magazine in 2005 and request for readers to submit their ideas for a graphic design. Patiane continued to skate and moved to the U.S. in 2006, with cameo appearances in Girls Skate Network video blogs in 2007, but two ACL reconstruction surgeries ended her skateboarding career.
Patiane is shown below autographing a copy of Check it Out magazine for a fan during a fundraiser for the All Girl Skate Jam in 2006.
By 2009, Patiane’s focus returned to her studies and she received a degree in Kinesiology from the California State University. She then received a Campanella scholarship in 2012, a Masters degree in Physical Therapy in 2014, and finally a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Western University in the field of child development. Wow! Nice work, Dr. Freitas.
References:
- Araujo, Liza. “Patiane Freitas.” Check it Out: skateboarding 4 girls. No. 16 (2004), pp. 19-25.
- Whitaker, Lisa. Girls Skate Network and “Getting Nowhere Faster.”
Womxn Skateboard History 