Author: Natalie Porter
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Corina GoGo Spreiter
In the 1970s and 80s, an awareness of women skateboarding outside of the U.S. was rarely acknowledged or tracked in mainstream skateboarding magazines, but Corina “GoGo” Spreiter of Switzerland was hard to miss! In a report on the skate scene in Europe, a photo of Corina practising slalom in Lake Geneva appears in the November…
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Dodie Hackemack (Johnson)
In an early issue of the National Skateboard Review (April 1976), a small blurry photo of Dodie Hackemack appears racing slalom at the 2nd annual Skateboard Championship hosted by the Recreation Department of Ventura, California. The course was created using traffic cones for approximately 80 yards. Hackemack placed first for Junior Women ahead of Kim…
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The Skate Witches
For most skateboarders today, when you hear mention of “The Skate Witches,” you might associate the reference to The Skate Witches zines by Kristin Ebeling and Shari White or the Bronx-based skate crew The Brujas, which both emerged simultaneously in 2014, or even The No Comply Coven that formed in 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa.…
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Mary Mills
The title of an article from Textured Waves website asks, “Do you know Mary Mills? Well you should.” And it’s true! Mary Mills, as an African American surfer has been raising awareness about diversity in subcultures like surfing and skateboarding, and her Instagram byline describes herself as a “middle aged nonconformist.” The photo that triggered…
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Denise Fleming
Denise Fleming is a skateboarder who went pro back in 1976 and continues to skate! These days she has many tattoos, vibrant dyed hair, a rad style, and epitomizes true commitment to skateboarding especially considering the ordeal she went through after a random drive-by shooting incident in 2004. Denise first appeared in the Long Beach…
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Lisa Jak Wietzke
The skateboarder movie genre, with classic titles like Thrashin’ (1986) and Gleaming the Cube (1989), has tended to dismiss female roles as “the love interest” or just a sidekick or non-existent. This changed in 1990 with the release of a little-known student-made movie called Grinding to Win. It is set in West Vancouver, written and…
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Steffi Weiss
Steffi Weiss (Wolter) was a competitive skateboarder in the early 2000s who received significant attention after a series of solid contest results and was even described as the “German Elissa Steamer.” Obviously, a huge compliment and while German skaters like Nathalie Richter came before her, Weiss was the first pro female skateboarder in Germany, so…
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Renee Tantillo
In the late 1980s and 1990s, Renee ‘Ne’ Tantillo started skateboarding and became a Riot Grrrl. She was featured in a Venture Trucks ad as an “average kid” in the September 1987 issue of Thrasher, but the ad itself was a contradictory mess. It reads, “Who the hell are these little dudes? Where’s the pros?…
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Julie Cheng
Julie Cheng appears briefly but successfully in a handful of contest results in the late 1970s. She is listed in August 1978 as a Pro Rider from Citrus Heights, CA by the International Skateboard Association, riding for Cal. Pro. In the November 1977 issue of the National Skateboard Review, Cheng places first at the California…
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Brenda Devine
Brenda Devine started out competing as an amateur in the spring of 1978, but soon became selected for the very first Powell skateboard team, as their first sponsored female rider. She rode for Powell for a year-and-a-half, just in time for her first pro event. Brenda came third in Women’s Pipe behind Terry Lawrence and…
Womxn Skateboard History 