Sasha La Rochelle from Santa Rosa, California was a versatile skater in the early 2000s, and in an interview on October 30, 2023 she revealed that her introduction to skateboarding was essentially destiny! Her mom’s partner at the time was a heavy equipment mechanic and noticed a brand new skateboard at the dump, a “Maui & Sons” 80s-style deck. He immediately brought it home to Sasha and she was hooked!
Photos by Amanda Marsalis 2000 for WithIt Girls
Sasha took advantage of a parking-lot at her apartment complex and around age 8 or 9 she ventured over to the local skatepark, but without any mentors she was entirely self-taught. One year, when Sasha was 11, a CASL contest (California Amateur Skateboard League) was held at her park. “So I did that contest and then the guy that was running it was like, ‘Hey, we do these all over the place. You should come out to all of these,’ and so that’s how I started competing.” By the age of 13, Sasha was invited to compete at Slam City Jam in Vancouver which she participated at every year until she was 17.
Because Sasha was often on the road, competing in skateboarding, her teacher had an innovative way for her to do independent studies. Sasha ended up incorporating her skateboarding into writing projects for English class, which led to interviews and publication. Sasha was stoked on “meeting so many different people and I’m like, ‘this is cool.’ I can learn about everything and everyone and kind of kill two birds with one stone.”
Sasha contributed regularly to the “Gurlz on Boardz” and Frontside Betty websites, which were one of the earliest websites focused on female skateboarders. The Gurlz on Boardz domain was supported by Clarkie at Real Skate Magazine and the content can still be viewed online! The website states that, “It is a special kind of woman that participates in these difficult, alternative sports. Her dedication, persistence, focus, and athletic ability is admired dearly by most women less endowed. And recognitions I on the rise; every event, every new Web site, every new sponsorship, every new female-owned sportswear and equipment business, every new video, little by little is leading to full and complete respect and recognition for these awesome, gurlz on boardz. Shout outs to ya, ladies, YOU GO!”
Sasha interviewed several ripping skateboarders of her era, including Heidi Fitzgerald (2007) and Kim Petersen (2003) for “Gurlz on Boardz” and reported on the women’s events at contests like the Strawberry Bowl Jam in 2003 and Slam City Jam 2004.
It was evident that Sasha was having success at contests, both in street and slalom (see results below). Over the years, her sponsors included: Gallaz shoes, Ocean Pacific (OP), Tracker trucks, Vision Footwear, Global Nomad, Hello Kitty, Curly Grrlz, Eco Lips, S-One, Scarykid, Webb, Emily, Velvet, Harbinger, Withitgirl, and Revolution Board Shop. She even helped host an “OP Girls Learn to Ride” event at Woodward West Camp in October 2003.
And yet, back at the local skatepark in the late 1990s and early 2000s the vibes weren’t always friendly, in fact they were hostile. The guys would ridicule her, scream at her and use her as target practise. In Sasha’s words, “it was bad. I took on a pretty thick skin with a very loud vocabulary, very quickly.” Finally, one older chick who was part of the local skateboarding party crew started to befriend Sasha and introduced her to a leading pro skater at the time. It turned out this guy was originally one of the worst bullies of the group, but this woman called him out for being an asshole. “And ever since then he was always super chill. Nobody ever gave me shit anymore. And like anytime that we would see each other at a contest, he’d always come over and give me a hug.” So, a big shout out to that rad woman wherever you are!
One of Sasha’s sponsors, “WithIt Girls” is back in action and posted this interview of Sasha back in 2000:
Photos of Sasha also appeared regularly (taken by Nicole La Rochelle) on the website and one of her sponsors, Curly Grrlz, actively featured her in their advertisements for both Push magazine (Vol 1, No 2) and Check it Out (No. 15) in 2003. The photo was taken by Machado at the 2002 All Girl Skate Jam at Huntington Beach and the accompanying article states that, “Sasha LaRochelle turned heads and grabbed 2nd place with an awesome airwalk and solid frontside boardslides.”
Sasha’s mom, Nicole often took her photos considering that “I lived in the North Bay and all of the companies were based out of Southern California. They couldn’t hook me up with photo shoots, except for the occasions I would go down and do PR stuff with sponsors… but the rest of the time it was left up to my mom and me to figure it out.”
Because there were such limited prizes, funds and sponsors for female skaters, the competitive scene could be pretty intense, and most of the time Sasha kept herself at a distance from the other girls. She has she noticed that over the last five years, the support for women has definitely improved.
One of her best memories of those competitive years was one of the Vans Triple Crown finals at Huntington Beach, and Microsoft happened to be launching the Xbox, and were a big sponsor for that event! It was a big deal, and in the skater’s lounge they had set up massive bean bags, easily accommodating four people per bag, with the new Xbox hooked up. You could relax, pass out, or play Xbox games – very strategic promotion by Microsoft! That particular contest was also memorable because “I saw super on my game… like I landed tricks that I don’t normally do, so that was definitely one of the more fun ones.”
In 2005, Sasha was one of the recipients for the Patrick Kerr Skateboard Scholarship, receiving $1000. Juice magazine reported that it was presented to her by Mountain Dew and that, “Sasha teaches skate clinics, is a member of the Skaters for Public Skateparks, writes articles and conducts interviews for skate magazines and websites, and is a professional skateboarder.” This quick video from June 2007 shows Sasha “ripping at Santa Rosa Skate Park.”
There was still the behind-the-scenes drama that got to Sasha, related to judging and the disappointment of being invited to the first X Games Women’s demo and then being told that her spot was bought out by someone else’s sponsor a mere week ahead of the event. The politics was a real turn off. And when she took a turn as a judge, and discovered firsthand how unfair the process was, that the skater who stomped all their tricks wasn’t going to be rewarded, Sasha disconnected from the scene and didn’t touch her skateboard for four years.
Denise Williams, editor of Push magazine reported that Sasha had broken her wrist multiple times in the past, including during the Vision Slalom Championships in 2002, but that wasn’t the worst of it. Sasha revealed that she cracked her heel bone in two places after launching a 7-foot air to flat, which you can imagine how painful that must’ve been! Needless to say, Sasha now prefers low impact activity like carving and cruising. But, Sasha still enjoys fun activities like snowboarding, hiking, back-packing and getting outdoors. Sasha has been living in Oregon for around 8 years, organizing banquets and events at a resort. Thanks again for taking time to chat with me, Sasha!
Reference:
- La Rochelle, Sasha, personal interview, October 30, 2023.
- Williams, Denise. “Egos and Launch Ramps: All Girl Skate Jam, Huntington Beach 2002.” Push magazine. December 2002 (volume 1, issue 1), p. 8.
- Juice Magazine. “Patrick Kerr Skateboard Scholarship.” July 2005.
Contest results:
- 2004 World Rankings: 13th overall in street with placings at Slam City Jam and Huntington Beach.
- 2003 World Rankings : 15th overall in street competing only at Oceanside Triple Crown.
- July 2003, All Girl Skate Jam at Oceanside, 5th place in Pro Women’s Mini Ramp.
- 2002 World Rankings : 7th overall in street with placings at Slam City Jam, and Oceanside Triple Crown.
- 2002 All Girl Skate Jam at Huntington, 2nd place in Pro Women’s street.
- 2001 World Rankings : 6th overall in street with placings at Slam City Jam, Cleveland, Oceanside.
- September 2001 All Girl Skate Jam New York City, placed third in women’s pro street. *One week before the September 11th Trade Center attacks.
Womxn Skateboard History 