It’s obvious that Perri Morgan was a badass based on the fact that she is acknowledged for being a photographer behind a collection of photos of Fugazi performing in 1997 at Fort Reno park.
Perri is from Washington, DC and became a sponsored street skater for the Washington skateshop East Board Co. and 5BORO NYC in the late 1990s and early 2000s. She was also the first female rider on 5boro, which is an iconic company that emerged in New York City in 1996, founded by Steve Rodriguez and Mark Nardelli, and included familiar names like Aaron Suski.
5boro team, including Perri in 1996 & 2004:
Perri was credited in the 5boro videos including the original 5boro promo video in 1997, Fire it up (1999), EZ Pass Vacation (2002), and Word of Mouth (2004).
Here’s Perri’s full part in Word of Mouth:
In a random online search, I found that Perri was quoted in an article by Elena Romero called “A New Skate Scene: young women are putting their stamp on the skate world” (Women’s Wear Daily,May 31, 2001). It was stated that, “Amateur skateboarder Perri Morgan agreed, ‘We’ll definitely see more girls out there as time passes. Girls have looked at skateboarding as intimidating. It doesn’t take a lot of upper body strength and guys are willing to give you that respect once you show that you can do the tricks.’”
At the time of the interview, Perri was living in Arlington, Virginia. She also explained to Romero that, “When I skate, I want to wear shirts that fit and not necessarily what guys are wearing… I go with comfort, function and then style. Wearing oversized pants is part of function, and girls also have different body types. A girl can’t ollie very well in tight jeans.”
Photo: Jay Westcott 2002
I’m hoping to hear more from Perri and glean a backstory of her skateboarding highlights as it appears that she never stopped skating and it’s a big part of her life. In fact, there’s a cool video from 2015 by D.C. Wheels Charity Team who were raising funds and awareness for Parkinson’s Disease, Ovarian Cancer, and homelessness, etc. Perri Morgan and Rebecca Davis Marcias are seen skating as the female reps at 7:55 and 9:34 respectively. An article in Skate Chronicles said that it was a “great job to all involved in producing this testament of goodwill through skateboarding.”
Photos from 2009:
This clip is from March 8, 2010, with Perri warming-up at a new park in DC:
And this video features Perri in 2017 for Vicio Skateboards, along with her adorable three-legged dog:
As well, I found a reference saying that Perri was included within issue number 37 of Juice Magazine, and I’d be grateful if someone could send a scan. There’s only a handful of women in the 1990s, like Elissa Steamer and Jaime Reyes who were welcomed onto a male-dominated team, so I’m excited to learn more about her.
Perri now lives in Bristol, New Hampshire. Please give me a shout if you get my messages or read this…
Womxn Skateboard History 