Last night, the Skateboarding Hall of Fame at the Vans Headquarters in Costa Mesa, CA recognized their 2023 and 2024 inductees, and there was a fantastic line-up of women receiving recognition. I was literally there “in spirit” because about two months ago I received a phone call from none other than Laura Thornhill-Caswell, encouraging me to submit video blurbs for several of the women which would get montaged into features with photos and clips of the skaters. I was not super comfortable with the proposal, but one does not say “no” to a legend like Laura, plus she forwarded a bunch of cool content for me to update her bio.
Of the five female inductees, which included Lynn Kramer, Saecha Clarke, Anita Tessensohn, Terry Brown, and Di Dootson Rose in the Icons category, I was advised to submit for three of them. It’s surreal making little videos from the safety of your home, trying not to imagine how they will be received, but I truly was stoked for all the recipients, so I sucked it up and tried to project confidence, wisdom, and joy. All the same, even though the ceremony was streamed live, I just couldn’t watch it.
Fortunately, there was lots of kind feedback today (including a lovely text from Lynn, supportive words from Jeff Greenwood of Concrete Disciples, and a funny note from Kevin Marks of the Lookback Library who said he lost his shit when he saw me on the big screen, haha!). I’m happy I pushed myself out of my comfort zone. Congratulations everyone!
Womxn Skateboard History 