Rebecca Heller co-authored the book, Skater Girl: a girl’s guide to skateboarding with Patty Segovia back in 2007 as an introduction for girls to get comfortable with learning the basics, the lingo, the gear and even some history. YouTube videos were still evolving as the default teaching tool, although there were some very cool efforts by the likes of Crystal Solomon, a BIPOC skater in the early 2000s with some technical know-how, but this book filled a void.
In an interview by Bonnie Ferrante, Rebecca shared that “In 2001, I moved from New York City to Los Angeles, within the month I had taken my first surf lesson and have been in the water ever since. I was 28 at the time—an old lady by surfing standards, but you are never too old to learn.” Rebecca also returned to skateboarding once she arrived in L.A., although had skated as a kid but it was important for her to collaborate with an expert in the scene, which was Segovia.
Heller was motivated to write the book, and a follow-up about girls in surfing because she felt “passionately about empowering women to do whatever they set their mind to, whether that is athletic, academic, or creative. For me, ‘Like a Girl’ translates to ‘Like a Badass!’”
Skater Girl also includes a foreward by Cara-beth Burnside, loads of photos and advice, but what I loved was chapter nine on history. It is brief, but there’s some important details about Linda Benson back in 1962, Peggy Oki’s role as the lone female on the Z-Boys crew, and the history of the zine Equal Time by Lynn Kramer. The only detail needing attention is a tiny typo that had me stumped… in 1986 it was “Lora Medlock” (who returned to her maiden name Lora Lyons) who started the rallying cry for a Women’s Skateboard Network, as seen in the zine Ladies Skateworld by Lauri Kuulei Wong.
As it’s now 2023, Skater Girl is a historical document, but such a great insight into the movement at the time that hollered girl power from the rooftops.
Photo: Josh Kimball
Rebecca is still authoring books and you can learn more about her here.
Reference:
- Ferrante, Bonnie. “Surf’s up! Rebecca Heller is hitting the waves.” Bonnie Ferrante – Books and More. September 13, 2017.
Womxn Skateboard History 