Author: Natalie Porter
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Sandy Chadbourn
Sandra “Red” Chadbourn was a ripping skateboarder in the 1970s based out of Atlanta. She became sponsored by the best team around called Progressive Skateboards, which was the very first dedicated skate shop in Atlanta, initiated by Mike Maloof. Progressive had its own boards and innovative wheels for the time called the “Excellerator.” Within a…
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First Championships – May 1965
In May 1965, the first International Skateboard Championships was hosted at La Palma Stadium in Anaheim, CA. The event was televised by ABC’s Wide World of Sports and an article was published in the August 1965 of Skateboarder Magazine. Skateboarding was a booming youth activity, although the equipment was quite primitive and notorious with its…
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JoAnn Gillespie
JoAnn Gillespie, AKA Rawkmom, is given props in the book Skater Girl: a girls’ guide to skateboarding (2007) by Patty Segovia and Rebecca Heller for her role in taking on the Women’s Skateboard Network in 1991, which had been established by Lynn Kramer in 1989 through the ‘zine Equal Time and had grown to some…
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Kathy Sierra
In the February 23, 2015, issue of Wired magazine, an article by Katherine Sierra (a former freestyle skater from the 1980s) appeared called, “Silicon Valley could learn a lot from skater culture. Just not how to be a meritocracy,” which was in response to a Wired article lauding skateboarding legend, Rodney Mullen. Sierra explained how…
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2022 Reflection
It’s been a pretty awesome year, especially since I launched this website and Instagram page back on International Women’s Day! Even though I’ve been researching and collecting information on women and non-binary skaters since 2003, I had mostly been hoarding everything to myself harboring a pipe-dream that I would one day publish a book. I…
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AKA: Girl Skater
The skateboard video AKA: Girl Skater (dir. Mike Hill, 2003) on VHS and DVD, was highly anticipated since it showcased the Gallaz pro team including Jaime Reyes, Vanessa Torres, Amy Caron and Monica Shaw during their roadtrip through Australia, performing demos and competing at the Globe World Cup with bonus footage of New Zealand local…
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Mystery Christmas Kids
Whatever seasonal festivity you’re celebrating, may you be part of something that brings joy and love to others… especially a fellow skateboarder! Thanks to everyone who has shown support for this project or shared cool photos and memories. I’m grateful! In the meantime, it’s snowing and pouring slush rain up in the Pacific Northwest without…
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Mystery Jacksonville Skaters
In an article within the Florida Times-Union (May 17, 2022) about the evolution of skateboarding in Jacksonville, Florida, a 1977 photo appears featuring Michelle Thibodeau and Ellen Moomaw by Joe Caldwell. The girls are skating barefoot across a sketchy wall of slabbed concrete on the side of an Interstate 10 overpass (near McDuff and Post…
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Thea Cutts
Thea Cutts was a British skateboarder in the 1970s, who not unlike Robin Logan and her brothers, didn’t receive the same amount of limelight compared to Seth and Shane, although it was Seth who introduced skateboarding to his older siblings by inviting them to Skate City (London’s first skatepark). In the Skateboard Special newsprint (Issue…
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Kristy McNichol
Kristy McNichol was one of the biggest child stars of the 1970s performing within an ABC series called Family (1976 – 1980) in the role of Letitia “Buddy” Lawrence, winning two Emmy Awards as a result. Her skateboarding prowess on television made her an early influencer, and she also became an unknowing queer punk icon…
Womxn Skateboard History 