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 it was Seth who introduced skateboarding to his older siblings by inviting them to Skate City (London’s first skatepark). In the Skateboard Special newsprint (Issue 22, July 1978) there’s an article called “Logos Team Interview.” Thea appears in the group photo (misspelled as ‘Theo’) and the introduction alludes to there being a girls’ team, and yet, all the other skaters are featured with a bio except her.
Fortunately, an article called “The Skating Cutts: Seth, Shane and Thea” in Skateboard! magazine (Issue 11, July 1978), was a bit more balanced. At the time, Thea was 16, Shane was 15, and Seth was 12 and their collective skill was impressive. Two photos of Thea by Robert Vente were published, including a kickflip and some freestyle moves, which was pretty remarkable since she had only been skating for less than a year, transferring her skill as a dancer to a skateboard.
It was also shared that “Thea usually rides a Connoiseur deck with Lazer Trucks and Powerflex 5’s and her favourite skate spots are the South Bank, Kettering Indoors and Skate Circus.” Thea herself is quoted as saying that, “I wear safety equipment when I have to. I hate using it for freestyle.” And regarding her future plans she said, “I’m definitely finishing school this year and I hope to carry on skating after.”
Thea also received more focused attention by Kate Mahony who was the writer behind the “Kate the Skate” column in the UK magazine Skateboard Scene. Within the March 1978 issue, Thea is celebrated. It was written that, “Thea, who comes from London, has recently been snapped up by Lovely Florence of Skate 2 who manages the Logos team… Thea started out by going to watch Seth at Skate City, then Bobby Gillam (Logos) suggested she might help as a marshal there. From there it was a case of borrowing a board from any one who could spare his precious possession for a couple of hours” (Mahony).
Kate continued to share that, “Thea didn’t find it embarrassing learning at Skate City amongst all the other kids – ‘I learned faster by copying the others and taking their advice – no-one teases you.’ She has a fair display of bruises to show for it, but nothing too serious… Thea does a lot of freestyle but also enjoys riding bowls. Her next step is to handle the Black Bowl at Skate City… And what does she like about skateboarding? ‘The fact that it takes real guts to do it’” (Mahony.)
It appeared that Thea had influence and gathered a crew of fellow female skateboarders around her! There’s a group photo of her with four other girls at Skate City within the index of the December 1977 issue of Skateboard! Thea also skated at the Brighton Barn and within an interview of Mark Baker for Juice Magazine (October 4, 2019) he gave a shout out to “the gorgeous Thea Cutts.”
Can anyone help fill in some of the gaps regarding Thea’s skateboard story?
Photos: Robert Vente
References:
- Mahony, Kate. “Kate the Skate.” Skateboard Scene (No. 5). March 1978.
- Vente, Robert. “The Skating Cutts: Seth, Shane and Thea.” Skateboard! (Issue 11). July 1978, p. 58-59, 71.
Womxn Skateboard History 