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 Spice..?” on the female skate scene in the April 1986 issue along with the likes of Michelle Sanderson, April Hoffman, Stephanie Person, and KZ Zapata.
In Thrasher it’s noted that Babs was known for her hospitality and based on her social media it sounds like she often stepped up for her friends, and even strangers. She met two British skaters who wanted to cross the Golden Gate bridge, so Babs simply drove them from San Diego to SF, over the bridge and back down to San Diego. And, during a roadtrip she said, “I remember paying for a hotel room in Huntington where about 15 people slept… one in the tub, one under the desk, 3 in each bed, and bodies scattered on the floor.”
Babs worked at Tower Records in the 1980s in Campbell, CA which looked to be an absolute blast, hustling vinyl, cassettes and VHS tapes. I’ve tried connecting via Facebook, so hopefully more to come.
References:
- Blouin, Bonnie. “Sugar and Spice..?” Thrasher. April 1986, pp. 56-61.
Womxn Skateboard History 