Claire Glavin (St. James) was originally in my mystery section, but thanks to her friend Judith Cohen we connected and had a conversation on April 11, 2024. I was grateful for the introduction because in the June 1978 issue of the National Skateboard Review, in the Women’s Special Feature Claire’s name was misspelled and labeled as “Clare Cavin” under a photo of her from the Carlsbad skatepark. Claire and Judith had had a photo shoot with Lance Smith, and the caption explains that she was 17 years old and living in Cardiff-By-The Sea, CA.
Claire shared that she took up surfing and skateboarding around the same time at age 16, and started out just playing around on the driveway, doing 360s and practising freestyle. Sometimes she would ride her skateboard down to the waves with her surfboard under her arm.
Ellen Berryman went to her school, and they became great friends. When the Carlsbad skatepark opened up, they immediately checked it out, including the giant pool which Claire dropped into. It reminded her of surfing, “I was scared to death, but I loved it, so that was the end of freestyle.” Claire didn’t want to tictac anymore, she wanted the adrenaline rush of ripping around the bowl and pools.
Photos: Lance Smith
Claire became a regular at the Carlsbad skatepark, and said “I remember when they opened the mogul maze and the big bowl. The original bowl had seemed so big at first. I have so many memories of watching the moon rise while skating there.”
Carlsbad was the locale of the photo shoot with Lance Smith, but she recalled that there were other photographers who documented her skating like Warren Bolster (RIP) and Marc Margulies. Claire was briefly sponsored by the Sparks team but “the only thing I remember about being on the team is that I got to skate [Carlsbad] for free.” Claire decided not to pursue the contest scene, she was more about the social aspect of skateboarding and loved going to the Girls’ Nights at different skateparks like Oasis and Spring Valley.
Claire was also sponsored by Caster Skateboards (a 1970s company best known for being represented by pro skater, Tom “Wally” Inouye), although the “only thing I remember about that was getting free boards and Curtis Hesselgrave talking about learning to fall.” Another friend, whom Claire was grateful for was Brad Standlund, “who used to pick me up on his way to different skateparks. Great memories.”
In the 1970s, Claire made skateboarding more of a lifestyle, traveling to different parks and going cross country to North Carolina, New York, Florida, etc. She had fond memories of going to Colorado and enjoying these giant pipes and ramps, and then in Kalamazoo, Michigan she got to check out the Cosmic Waves skatepark. “When I traveled across the country skating, I hooked up with friends that I had shared a lot of skateboard places with in San Diego; reservoirs, drainage ditches and skateparks.”
Growing up with four brothers, Claire was always unconventional. She took up mechanics and auto-shop in 10th and 11th grade, and now has a metal workshop where she lives in the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. Claire loves the open space of Mexico and Ellen Berryman even lives close by!
Beyond skateboarding, Claire was an avid rock-climber and these days she creates these amazing glass mosaics and ceramics. It was a pleasure having a conversation with Claire and even though she was completely unconcerned by the spelling error below the photo of her in the National Skateboard Review since her friends and family knew, I’m glad I had the opportunity to correct the detail and have a lovely conversation.
Womxn Skateboard History 