Author: Natalie Porter
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Sally Patterson
Sally Patterson (Gibson) from Rochester, Minnesota, began skateboarding in 1976 and became the lone female member of the Rochester YMCA skateboard team from 1977 – 1980 out of thirteen boys. Photos: Sally in 1976 performing a daffy on the left and an elbow stand on the right. Sally’s first skateboard was handmade with the help…
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Amanda Kitt
Amanda Kitt is most recognizable for her street-skating cameo in the Villa Villa Cola video called Getting Nowhere Faster (2004), and for a feature interview in Issue 14 of Check it Out: skateboarding 4 girls magazine from 2003, where it was noted that she was age 16, sponsored by Lee Lee skateboards and on flow…
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Skateboarding is for Me
I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the variety of digitized 1970s skateboarding books on the Internet Archive, including Skateboarding is For Me (1978 Lerner Publications) by Lowell A. Dickmeyer with photos by Daniel E. Gross. I had briefly flipped through the book in the hour before launching my book at Antisocial Skateshop, since it’s part of Michelle…
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Shirley McLelland
In the October 1983 issue of Thrasher, there’s mention of one Shirley McLelland competing against the amateur guys in the “tight slalom” contest at the Southern California Summer World Series finals at Del Mar. Shirley placed 11th out of 14 and I was relieved to see her name considering what happened a few years prior.…
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Jane Panagiotis
Jane Pan (short for Panagiotis) began skateboarding in 1968 and even appeared in an ad for the Watershed Skate / 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…
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Happy Holidays 2025
This festive photo, published on December 22, 1975, features Wayne McKeown, age 12, from Annandale, CA, transporting his Christmas tree by skateboard. That’s 50 years ago to the day… woah. Photo: Martin James Brannan Wishing everyone a lovely holiday and a happy new year! I managed to cram in one more last-minute interview last week…
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Àngels Borrell
Àngels Borrell was 13 years old in 1978 when her skateboarding story began near Barcelona, Spain. And decades later, in her forties and fifties, she continued to skate thanks to a reunion with her childhood friends. Àngels also became a key resource when a dedicated crew of skaters began a movement to unearth the very…
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Patty Segovia AGSJ
Patty Segovia (Krause) was born and raised in Los Angeles and is revered for being the organizer and promoter of the All Girl Skate Jam (AGSJ) from 1997-2013, as well as a photographer. The AGSJ started out in 1990 as a girls’ vert demo at an NSA contest in Reno, Nevada, before returning with a…
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2025 Wrap Up
2025 has been an epic year, and there’s still a few more weeks to go that I suspect will be super busy! While I’m mindful that some of the promotion activities for Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides: a history of badass women skateboarders have been distracting me from my regular research and the writing of…
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Stefanie Åkesson
Stefanie Åkesson (she/her) is from Falun, Sweden and has a long legacy of competitive skateboarding and an inspiring story. Her full list of contest wins can be found on her website such as being the Swedish freestyle champion over fifteen times! Stefanie explained via Facebook that “I got my first skateboard August 28, 1978. But…
Womxn Skateboard History 