A photo of Jane Pan (short for Panagiotis) from 1968 appeared in an ad for Watershed Skate Shop / Surf Shop out of Rhode Island in the July 1988 issue of Thrasher (*shout out to editor, Michael Burnett for the heads up) giving a nod to the shop’s “hardcore roots.” What I love about this photo is that it’s from 1968, which is period in skateboarding when the industry was practically non-existent, and Jane is still embracing it.
As well, the fact that Jane appeared twenty years later, when the male-dominated industry never acknowledged the prevalence of women in the 1960s and 1970s, this small image was exceptional. In 1988, Bonnie Blouin had her “Skater’s Edge” column in Thrasher but in the 13 issues that year (including the Collector’s issue) the only photos of women skating besides Jane appeared in the May 1988 issue of Bonnie and her friend, Amy Paul. Brutal.
Skateboarding initially peaked in 1964-1965 and wouldn’t start gaining traction again until 1975 when skateboards dramatically improved thanks to urethane wheels and innovative truck design. Meanwhile, back in the 1960s, skateboarding had been condemned and banned across North America (and beyond) and deemed a threat to life.
In 1968, skateboarding was not a popular, mainstream activity, but Jane didn’t seem to care. In the photograph she appears oblivious to fashion, all geared up, wearing heavy gloves and makeshift elbow pads, evidently gaining speed.
Jane was the wife of Peter “Pan” Panagiotis (she notes on her Facebook page that they met in 1967), who was a surfer with the Hobie Surf Team of Narragansett, Rhode Island thanks to Will Somers who opened the Narragansett Surf Shop in 1962 and sold Hobie surf boards exclusively. Two years later, in 1964 the shop was sold to Bill and John Spicer of Stonington, Connecticut and moved to Beach Street.
Images from Dave Levy Surf Designs
According to the History page for the Narragansett shop, “When urban renewal leveled Beach Street in 1971, Peter Pan moved the shop franchises to his house, close by. For several years, under the name Gansett Surf Supplies… He then partnered with Dave Levy, who was a top lifeguard at the town beach, and continued to supply Hobie surfboards, skateboards, and wetsuits to local clientele.” Finally, in 1976 Levy and Pan launched Watershed Surf Shop on Main Street in Wakefield becoming the top Hobie dealer on the east coast.
I have a sneaking suspicion that Jane was also an avid surfer since she appeared in another Watershed ad from 1984 rocking a thick “Rip Curl Polar Insulator.” I liked how the ad emphasized that they were the only retailer stocking women’s Polar suits.
Jane and Peter’s daughter, Tricia continued the legacy and owns Narragansett Surf and Skate Shop today. Tricia was featured in an article about women addicted to winter surfing in New England for the website Outdoors.org, and her story was shared in 2018 for The Boston Voyager. Tricia said that “I grew up in Pawtucket RI, an outskirt of Providence, to two awesome hard working parents. My mother Jane worked as a phlebotomist while my father Peter ran a surf shop and sidelined as a freelance graphic designer.”
Tricia and her brother Ted “were exposed to surfing and skateboarding as opposed to more regular sports like baseball and soccer.” And while Ted leaned towards skateboarding, Tricia picked up surfing and would compete in contests with her dad, even helping him to run the Eastern Surfing Association, and teaching lessons. While the Watershed shop closed in 2001 after 26 years in business, Narragansett Surf & Skate was revived years later by Tricia and Peter.
Another fun fact about the Watershed skate shop is that artist Shepard Fairey worked there in the late 1980s while he studied at the Rhode Island School of Design. In a feature for the Miami New Times it was written that in the summer of 1989 he was making his own stencils and printing t-shirts, and “If his boss wasn’t around, he would sell the extra shirts in the shop. One day, when a friend wanted to learn how to cut a stencil, Fairey flipped through a newspaper and came across an ad for wrestling featuring Andre the Giant.” He proposed making a stencil out of Andre’s face, and his friend that the idea was stupid, but Fairey declared, “What are you talking about, man? Andre’s posse is taking over.”
Now we just need to know more about Jane! I’m hoping that the Pan family will unearth some more vintage photos and backstory.
Womxn Skateboard History 