Teresa Gamboa (nicknamed Tee or T-Styx) of Redondo Beach, CA is best known for being a surfboard glasser (applying fibreglass and resin to a surfboard and adding “lams” or laminates during the glassing process to distinguish the design) at E.T. Surfboards at 904 Aviation Blvd, Hermosa Beach. And while she was a solid surfer, Teresa could also hold her own as a skateboarder.
I was able to get in touch with Teresa, thanks to Facebook and she shared some of her story via email! She explained that her first skateboard was a Black Knight which was “a gift from my parents for Christmas 1964,” when she was seven years old. “My home had a sidewalk with a slight hill. The Robinson street hill was a playground” and it was where Teresa learned how to skate. “I have 8mm film of my dad skateboarding down the hill, I think the original interest [in skateboarding] came from him. It was fun and I took to the sport quickly.”
When I asked about other female skaters, Teresa said, “My sister Debra learned to roller skate from Fred Blood so she was mostly my female companion. Debra was good. Cindy Whitehead is 5 years younger; we rode in the same parks but never traveled together. She’s a good friend.” Teresa also noted that “Before the parks, my friends and I were riding the Vermont Funnel, Birney school called Birney’s bowl, and Riviera school. These were all local spots close to home. Also, several spots in Beverly Hills and Hollywood.”
There’s a photo of Teresa in the Walla Walla Union Bulletin newspaper from April 7, 1978, showing her kick-turning on a ramp. The caption reads, “Teresa Gamboa, 20, of Redondo Beach, Calif., skates down a skateboarding ramp here recently. Many sidewalk surfers are maintaining their amateur status in case skateboarding becomes an Olympic event. Gamboa was in Walla Walla to help promote a skateboarding contest.” Teresa noted that she was never that interested in competing in skateboarding, but in surfing contests she was taking part and often winning!
I was sent the newspaper photo from a follower on Instagram who was especially curious about Teresa’s connection to Gambi’s Mexican restaurant on Ninth Avenue in Walla Walla, that also acted as a local skateboard shop. Walla Walla is nowhere near Redondo Beach, but Teresa clarified the backstory.
“My mom graduated from Walla Walla high school; we have lots of family there. My parents bought an old dairy with a cow on top. (The cow is in Montana with us.) My mom, Nancy wanted a Mexican food restaurant; she was a great cook. I was already deep in sk8boarding and working at ET. As a family we decided to open a skateboard shop in the leftover space. My parents pushed for the cow logo for the sk8 shop. I hated the cow. I was already a bit hardcore [skater and surfer.] With the construction of a big wood ramp the place was fun.”
There was some promo for Gambi’s in the local newspaper, including an announcement of a skateboard contest held on July 1st 1978 at Yantis Park. Teresa said, “I had some friends from California come up for a demo, Steve Olson was one and he went on to be a professional. The paper covered the event, and I landed on the cover. The business did good but ultimately, we lived in Redondo Beach, California and home was missed.”
Surfing became a priority for Teresa. On her Facebook page, she said that she purchased her first Surfer magazine (Volume 13, No. 5) in January 1972. “I was in 8th grade. Every page worn out. This mag changed my life.” Teresa started working at ET Surf in 1974, and the following year, she made her first board in 1975. Teresa shared with me that, “I hung out with the boys, mostly surfers that skateboarded. We surfed in the AM, worked at ET Surf and at night hit the parks.”
E.T. Surf was opened in 1971 by Eddie Talbot and Pat “Gumby” Ryan, and Teresa said that her first job there “was pouring catalyst from a gallon container into little bottles for resale. The glassing factory was in a garage, and I would transport blanks/boards back and forth.” She also assembled and sold thousands of skateboards, and “at first we had to manually count bearings one at a time, until one day Eddie gave us this little metal bearing counter. It was a real time saver.”
“The surfboards were built at Sakels house by the Galleria mall. I transported boards in the family station wagon. Basically Jarvis worked retail (he was just a kid) Pat and Bob M shaped. Billy R and Kevin started at the second shop. I started retail at 2nd store. It was getting busy and Eddie needed help. I was there. Eddie worked 7 days a week for years!! George came on and Billy went lifeguarding full time. Dave Forrest started working. The factory moved to the back rooms of the 2nd shop. We all were board builders… Long story short” (May 18, 2023).
Teresa remembered how, “I’d peel out of my wetsuit only to have the night befores concrete scabs rip off. Mostly it was me, Kevin Anderson, Dave Forrest, and Bob Moore. We were always together at a park. We met the Olson brothers, Bucky and Steve who were working at the Anaheim sk8 park Concrete Wave – they are surfers.”
Teresa became a surfboard glasser and said, “I was fortunate to basically grow-up in a glassing factory at ET. I only know of one other female at the time who was a board builder, and she was an airbrusher. I competed for years in surfing contests but as ET Surf grew I worked and competed less.”
Teresa received praise from the legendary skateboarder, Skip Engblom of Santa Monica Airlines (SMA) who said she was the first woman glasser that he ever met, and her longtime friend, Cindy Whitehead also sang her praise:
“You are a trailblazer, Teresa!! Proud to know you all these years – you made me aware that as girls/women we could do anything we wanted and set our sights on!!” (March 15, 2024).
To the whole E.T. team Cindy said, “Love you all!! Best part of my youth was being sponsored by ET and knowing all of you” (May 28, 2024). Cindy reported that her grandma used to take her to ET surfshop to shop for gear, and she just loved the scene and the staff. The shop reciprocated by carrying the Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word skateboard, which is the company / movement that Cindy runs.
Another cool thing that Teresa did was set up skateboarding demos in the parking-lot of ET Surfboards. “The first demo was Powell Peralta” and it drew a huge crowd. Her sister “was living by Venice breakwater and in the apartment behind her, Chris Cook from Alva team was living. We became friends and I set up demos bring the Alva team all over. The demo at ET, Eddie (ET) let us build a huge ramp, ride it and a day after the demo, made us tear it down. I worked at ET Surf for 34 years.”
Photo: Teresa Gamboa, Debra ‘Chach’ Gamboa (front), Fred Blood, Steve Olson, mystery, Bucky Olson, and Dave Forrest (back).
Teresa is now retired and one very cool grandma, but she did say that she continued to skateboard well into adulthood.
Reference:
- Gamboa, Teresa. Personal email interview. September 14, 2024.
*Special thanks to @worse_arms for sending the news clippings
Womxn Skateboard History 