Author: Natalie Porter
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Pam Judge
PJ McKenzie (AKA Pam Judge) was Canada’s first female National Champion winning the 1977 and 1978 championships, which would result in sponsorship by Gordon & Smith (G&S) – a leading skateboarding company in the U.S. If there was a Canadian Skateboarding Hall of Fame, PJ would have my vote! While I can get riled up…
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Cindy Whitehead
Cindy Whitehead was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame in 2016 for both her accomplishments as a professional skater and her relentless advocacy for women in skateboarding that continues today. She spearheads the skateboarding movement “Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word,” which includes a website, archive, interviews, social media, and publications It’s Not…
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Kathy Zatko
Kathy Zatko appears in the January 1989 issue of Thrasher, celebrating her accomplishment of being the first girl to enter an Eastern Skateboard Association (ESA) contest, which was held at the Brooklyn Banks in New York City. She placed fourth overall in the freestyle contest, and the photo of her holding her trophy is taken…
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Georgina Matthews
Georgina Matthews of Tauranga, Aotearoa (New Zealand) is regarded as a Wahine toa—a heroine! While there were female skateboarders in New Zealand since the 1970s, Georgina is the first in her country to be sponsored and compete internationally, and she’s still skating hard over 20 years later. Born in 1987, Georgina had always pursued action…
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Di Dootson Rose
I recently learned about the term “archival silence” and it absolutely resonated in regard to women in skateboarding. It also reminded me that I wanted to extend gratitude to Di Dootson Rose, the legendary editor of the National Skateboard Review (1976-1979) and the efforts that went into archiving and digitizing this motherload of incredible content…
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Mystery Skaters – Japan
I’m fascinated by the incredible progression of women skateboarders in Japan and only have a few leads from back in the day, in the form of mystery photos. First off is this kickass 1980s photo by legendary photographer Yoshiro Higai showcasing a gang of female skaters from his book Judo Air (2015). Who were they?…
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Sheenagh Burdell
Sheenagh Burdell may not be a household name in North America, but her impact as a British skateboarding legend is being recognized in the U.K. and needs to be represented here. Dave Arnold in his interview with Sheenagh for The Skateboarder’s Companion explained that “in the UK in the late 70s there were virtually no…
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Leslie Jo Ritzma
Leslie Jo Ritzma from Redondo Beach, California started skateboarding in 1964 at age 7. “I made my own skateboard in 2nd grade from some roller skates and ended up breaking my arm… Roller skate wheels nailed onto a 2 by 4.” The injury didn’t deter her, and in 1977 at age 20, Leslie Jo decided…
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Ramdasha Bikceem
In 1990, when Ramdasha Bikceem (they/them) from Basking Ridge, New Jersey was 15 years old they started an all-girl skater gang and band, both called Gunk. Ramdasha taught themself to play guitar without formal training, and the band’s early shows were held in the basement of a friend’s parent’s place. The following year Ramdasha launched…
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Deanna Calkins
In 2020, Deanna Calkins was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame and her bio provides a thorough history of her impact. What is also worth noting is how Deanna advocated for amateur women skateboarders and was part of the massively popular Wednesday “Girls Night” events in the late 1970s at Runway skatepark in Carson,…
Womxn Skateboard History 