Pattie Hoffman received her induction into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame in 2018 for her skills, contest results, and contributions to the scene which began back in the 1970s and peaked in the early 1980s. Pattie was born in Pennsylvania but moved west to California with her family, where she attended high school in the San Bernardino area.
Photo: Cassimus
When Pattie turned 10, she received her first skateboard after being envious of her brother who has five years older. “He got a skateboard for his birthday so I wanted one too… My brother and I were very competitive, especially when The Ranch opened.” The Ranch being the Rancho Mediterrania Skatepark / Colton Ranch skatepark.
Even with a sibling rivalry, Pattie was grateful for her brother since she would often join him on road trips around the San Bernardino and Riverside counties, according to her SHOF bio. She said in her Skateboarder interview that, “He took me to backyard pools and skateparks which helped me a lot.” As a result, within two years of skating Pattie was sponsored by Variflex on the amateur team at age 12!
At the Hang-Ten Skateboard Olympics in April 1978 at Magic Mountain, Pattie was ripping in the Girls 9-12 Slalom and won the event ahead of Shirley Perkins and Canon ‘Bunny’ Price with a faster time than the boys her own age. She was representing the Skater Crater park, and the event was reported on by Di Dootson in the May 1978 issue of the National Skateboard Review.
In the spring of 1979, Pattie won the USASA Nationals in pool-riding for girls 13-15, and because of her consistent wins at Lakewood, Pomona and Upland in February in freestyle, slalom, halfpipe and pool, she was the overall point winner, with Jaime Luster doing the same for girls 10 and under.
It was evident that Pattie was thriving although she met her match in July 1979 at Del Mar for the Hester #3 contest where local skater Leigh Parkin took first place among amateurs and pro. Pattie’s second place was still solid, and reported on in the November 1979 issue of Skateboarder. In that same issue a photo of Pattie (by Nex) was published while competing at the Marina Del Rey All-American contest in the upper keyhole, where she took first place ahead of Julie Madradechian and Amy Pike (Bradshaw).
Photos: Nex, Cassimus
Elaine Poirier of Vans was also a contender, nudging Pattie into second at Upland in September and the Big “O” in October of 1979 in pool. But Pattie forged on and took first place at the Hester Series final at Upland against pros like Brenda Devine, even though she was still an amateur. James Cassimus and Ted Terrebone provided photos of her win in the January 1980 issue of Skateboarder. It was evident that women’s competition was hot in the late 1970s!
In high school, Pattie wasn’t limited to just skateboarding, as she also competed in volleyball, racquetball, and skiing, but she had her eyes on going pro for skating. At age 15, she was already receiving offers, as noted in her four-page interview in the July 1980 issue of Skateboarder by Don Hoffman. It was shared that, “When asked how it feels to be the only girl on the [Variflex] team, she gives the impression that it’s no big deal. Patti feels that she is treated pretty much as ‘an equal’ and that’s the way she likes it… she seems destined to always come up a winner.”
Photos: Cassimus
In fact, Pattie was described as “Skateboarding’s winningest amateur female competitor” and she was likely stressing out the pros! Pattie won the Pro-Am contest at the Big-O in February 1980 ahead of fellow amateur, Cara-beth Burnside, and pro skaters Leigh Parkin and Brenda Devine, who both received cash prizes, which must have stung! And yet, by November there’s an ad by Variflex in Skat’n News announcing that Pattie was officially pro and #1 in the rankings.
Curtis Hesselgrave reported on the first Gold Cup event in June 1980 at Oasis in San Diego, CA within Action Now magazine. He wrote: “Sunday kicked off the women’s event which involved a single pro-am category. Pro Patti Hoffman blazed into first place with a score of 89.33. Finishing second was amateur Carabeth Burnside scoring 86.56. Third was Leigh Parkin; fourth, Cindy Whitehead; and fifth, Joanna Field. The women skated very well and proved a welcome addition to the Gold Cup line-up.” Not long after Pattie was crowned the official 1980 Gold Cup Series winner for dominating every contest with a total of 500 points, just as Burnside did for the amateur division.
Photo: Cassimus
A rivalry was emerging between Pattie and Cara-beth, and in the March 1981 issue of Action Now magazine, Julie Halsey wrote,
“Patti Hoffman is #1 and wouldn’t settle for anything less… She realizes Carabeth will be a challenge when she turns pro this season; however, Patti intends to defend her ranking, claiming the title for two years in a row.” Three pages later, there’s a feature on Cara-Beth with the opener saying, “I’m going to beat her…”
The competition between the two women was later discussed in October 2012 by the late Jeff Grosso in “Grosso’s Loveletters to Skateboarding – Girls” for OfftheWallTV, which included some footage of Pattie skating:
Pattie was a popular rider, and in the Third Annual SkateBoarder magazine poll she was acknowledged as the “Most Improved Female Skater” in 1980, which Terry Lawrence had won the previous year and then she made a clean sweep voted as the winner of all three Amateur categories being Freestyle, Slalom / Downhill, and Vertical with Jana Payne in close contention for slalom and vertical, and Canon “Bunny” Price taking 3rd in all three categories.
1980 proved to be a great year, as Pattie went on a Summer Tour with Team Variflex, her name emblazoned on the tour van, heading all the way to Kona skatepark in Florida.
In the September 3, 1980, issue of Skat’n News, a reader named Bernice Beauchum from Fontana, CA asked, “Please run more interviews in the paper as there’s lots of new skaters now competing. Will you also do one on Pattie Hoffman, she’s such a hot skater!”
The following year the impact of the skateboard industry blow-out, with skateparks closing due to insurance issues and injuries, dramatically affected the contest scene. It seems unfair that these young promising skaters would soon have limited opportunities. In the May 1981 issue of Skat’n News there was a report that the Variflex Pro-Am event in April at Colton anticipated 23 pro skaters, but only 16 showed, and only five girls entered total, with Pattie in first receiving a mere $100, followed by Cara-Beth (given the amateur trophy), Denise Danielson, Joanna Field and Leigh Parkin.
Photo: Randy Aparicio
At this point there’s a pause for almost a decade, but Pattie was still in the mix! Apparently by 1992 the rivalry with Cara-Beth was old news because they appear together in the iconic group photos taken by Ethan Fox for the October 1992 issue of Thrasher hanging out at Powell Skate Zone!
Photos: Ethan Fox
And, Pattie even had a part in the game-changing video SK8HERS (1992), directed by Fox, demonstrating some smooth, consistent style in ramp.
It was reassuring to see Pattie still ripping ten years after her contest domination, and then receive her well-deserved SHOF 2018 award. A true legend!
Photos: James Cassimus; Ted Terrebone; Randy Aparicio; Nex
References:
- Halsey, Julie. “People on the Go: Patti Hoffman.” Action Now magazine. March 1981, p. 76.
- Hesselgrave, Curtis. “Oasis/G&S Cup.” Action Now magazine. September 1980, pp. 22-29.
- Hoffman, Don. “Profile: Patti Hoffman.” Skateboarder. July 1980, pp. 49-52.
- Skateboard Hall of Fame. “Pattie Hoffman.” 2018.
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