Author: Natalie Porter
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Kate the Skate
“Kate the Skate” was the name of a column dedicated to women in skateboarding within the British magazine called Skateboard Scene from January 1978 (issue 3) until August 1978 (issue 9), for a total of seven features. Under the list of Editorial Staff appears the name Kate “Kicktail” Mahony as Assistant Editor. Kate now lives…
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Caia Koopman
Caia Koopman, who is a renowned artist living in San Diego, was born and raised in California and was skating during the late 1980s and early 1990s. A photo of Caia skateboarding Derby Park appeared in the zine Equal Time (Vol 1. No. 3) in 1989, created by Lynn Kramer. Caia also designed the cover…
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MaryAnne Uyemura
MaryAnne Aquino Torres Uyemura was the first female member on the Pepsi Skateboard team in the Philippines from the ages of nine to eleven in the years 1978-1980. She was living in Manila and instantly fell in love with skateboarding. MaryAnne wrote, “I have an older brother who borrowed a skateboard, and he showed me…
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SK8HERS
During the early 1990s in Santa Barbara, where skateboarding was thriving in backyard mini-ramps and the Powell Skate Zone indoor park, a core group of women had found a connection and were fortunate to skate together. And their efforts were noticed! In 1992, Ethan Fox directed the first female-focused skateboard video called SK8HERS and thanks…
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Life
Life is precious and skateboarders are beautiful. There is so much heartbreak and anger right now in light of the violence and brutality that took Tyre Nichols away from his family and friends. Not sure how to process anything. I glimpsed the footage and it is beyond sickening. And while reviewing the RIP section of…
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France 1960s
Skateboarding in the 1960s is primarily associated with the scene in California, as surfers found a new outlet for fun when the surf was flat and the activity took off with children dismantling their roller-skates and securing them to boards. Over in France, within surfing communities on the Atlantic coast like Biarritz and Hossegor, “sidewalk…
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Maria Elaigne Ferreira
Maria Elaigne Carmen Rita Rodrigues Ferreira was born in 1960 and is among the earliest female skateboarders in Brazil – a country with a rich history of amazing skateboarders! Thanks to Skate Mania Brasil, it was shared that Maria grew up in Curitiba, Paraná, where she started skateboarding around 1972 at the age of 12.…
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Jeannie Narducci
Jeannie Narducci (Figurski) was inducted into the Florida Skateboard Hall of Fame in 2003. She was an active skateboarder in the 1970s, along with her brother Dave. Jeannie appeared in the East Coast magazine called Skate Rider within issue No 3 (Winter/Spring 1978) ripping up a plywood ramp, with the photo taken by Mike Green.…
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Laurie McDonald
Laurie McDonald was a sponsored skateboarder in the 1970s, riding for team Powerflex. Although photographs, let alone an interview was elusive, she appeared in the freestyle results of a Hallowe’en contest on October 30th 1977 at the El Cajon skate which she won, ahead of Tina Guasti and Leilani Kiyabu. Laurie and Sylvia Scott were…
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Lisa Forman
Lisa Forman was a solid skateboarder in both transition and slalom, and further proof that there were some amazing female skaters during the 1980s. The earliest photo I could find of Lisa was from the June 11, 1980 issue of Skat’n News newsletter, competing in slalom against Cara-Beth Burnside. Early contest results show that Lisa…
Womxn Skateboard History 