Lulu Hart (Bentley) from Coconut Grove, Florida was age 17 when the iconic photos of her skating freestyle on the South Beach Pier, Miami in 1977 were taken by Jonathan Utz. The photos then appeared in the book, A Secret History of the Ollie by Craig B. Snyder, and Lulu was interviewed for BackSide Skateboard magazine (vol. 9, End Winter/Summer 2022).
In her interview, Lulu shared that she started skating after seeing Dave Bentley skating the pier where she would sometimes skip school to visit with her girlfriends. “My parents bought me a board and I started. I would smoke pot and skate. Loved the feeling of it. I wasn’t interested in competing or the whole culture of it. Just smoking and skating! (laughing).”
While Lulu wasn’t exposed to any other female skaters, there were certainly other women in Florida who pursued it in the 1970s like Crystal Loges, Jeannie Narducci, Judith Cohen, Kelly Marsh, Lisa Muir, and Peggy Turner. In fact, when Lulu’s photos were posted to a Facebook page all about Florida history there was some confusion because another woman named Carol Canner had always thought the photo was of her, and her friend, Susie Hawksadoo Wildeski was also confused.
Thankfully, all was resolved, and the doppelgangers, Lulu and Carol reminisced over their memories from the era and all the things they had in common. But Lulu had to explicitly state: “that is definitely me in the picture. I was wearing my custom-made Connie Banko bikini riding my G&S fibreflex skateboard, and wearing a puka shell necklace that I made. The picture was taken by a photographer named Jonathan Utz.”
When asked about how she was treated as a female skater for Backside mag, Lulu said she always felt accepted. “After Dave [Bentley] and I got together I would go with him and his friends to skate parking garages. I loved that! We would start at the top and skate all the way down into the street.” Lulu explained that she didn’t perform a ton of tricks besides handstands “but mostly enjoyed the speed of the parking garages and riding on Dave’s shoulders.” Lulu said she felt wistful for her teenaged years whenever she sees the girls skating and progressing today.
The best part about the interview was how Lulu and her former skater boyfriend, Dave reunited and married in 2016! Apparently, their relationship in 1977 was short-lived. Lulu married and got divorced, and Dave was also divorced when Lulu posted some vintage photos on Facebook and the two reconnected and started a long-distance relationship since she was in Florida, and he was in Pennsylvania. After five years the two got married! Lulu said, “Skating brought us together and then reunited us!” and Dave echoed her sentiments because it was skateboarding that essentially changed his life.
Lulu still visits her family a few times a year in Miami, splitting her time between Florida and Pennsylvania.
Photos: Jonathan Utz
Reference:
Addelio, Michele. “Lulu Hart,” Backside Skatebaord magazine 9 (End Winter / Summer 2022), p. 108-111.
Womxn Skateboard History 