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 Equal Time (Vol. 1, No. 2) in April 1989 by George Medlock, we know that Christy Jordahl was an early street skateboarding pioneer.
The Girls Who Grind zine was technically Vol. 1, No. 1 of Equal Time, and within it was a report by Lynn Kramer on a streetstyle contest called “Street Life” in San Diego, hosted on November 19, 1988. Five women showed up and represented being 8 1/2 year old Jennifer Burbank, Karen Trimble, Lainey Edwards, Lisa Forman, and Christy. A blurry, heavily photocopied page says that Christy was sponsored by SMA (Santa Monica Airlines) and “won the event with handrail slides, ollie tailsliding on the steel boardslide machine, and ollie kickflips.”
Saecha Clarke explained that she knew two other female street skateboarders in the late 1980s being her friend Christy and Anita Tessensohn. Christy knew Steve Rocco and was sponsored by World Industries, and would compete in contests around Long Beach, CA. There was also mention that she phased out of skateboarding to pursue her education.
Would love to know more about Christy!
Reference:
- Araujo, Liza. “Saecha Clarke.” Check It Out Magazine No. 16 (2005): 54-57.
- Kramer, Lynn. “Street Life.” Girls Who Grind Vol. 1, No. 1 (1988).
Womxn Skateboard History 