It’s been an exciting week with everything happening at once! First up, an article that I wrote for Adjacency Bias which focuses on skateboarding in the NorthWest, was published online. It was fun to really zero in on a specific region and trace the history of women skaters with meaningful connections to Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.
I ended up featuring Gail Yarbrough, Denise Danielson, Stephanie Férnandez, Denise Frohlick, Anita Tessensohn, Leaf Trienen, Lisa Jak Wietzke, the Frumpies, Cindy Gorset, and Skate Like a Girl, trying to offer up a snippet of history from each decade.
And then, Backside magazine, which I believe is based out of Germany pulled together an epic issue focused on women, with non-binary representation, too. I was interviewed some time ago and didn’t quite realize what kind of production it was going to be. The editor, Michele did an amazing job in their interviews, research, and exploration and I was stoked to support the issue – Volume 25, May 2024.
Cover photo features Vitória Mendonça by Fernando Menezes Jr. and there’s a full page with my Instagram wallpaper
In fact, I had a little cry when I went through the whole issue. I just can’t believe that after so long there’s finally an audience for this content, and that someone thought to acknowledge me. It’s really humbling and overwhelming, especially to be alongside some amazing skaters and innovators. I didn’t expect to have such an emotional response, but I guess everyone likes to feel appreciated.
It was great to see my fellow nerds from the Smithsonian team (Betsy Gordon and Jane Rogers) featured, and such a diverse range of interviews from skaters throughout history to the present, photographers, journalists, editors, artists, and skate crews!
I have a little jar where I put “gratitude notes” and then review them all on New Year’s Eve, and this week will definitely be a highlight.
Thank you to both editors, Alex at Adjacency Bias and Michele at Backside magazine for reaching out.
Womxn Skateboard History 