Author: Natalie Porter
-
Skate Like a Girl
Skate Like a Girl has developed over the last twenty-plus years from a simple concept in 2000, providing workshops and events for girls, to an inclusive community, actively extending support to trans and gender non-conforming skaters by offering safe spaces and clinics. According to their About page, their vision is social equity, “promoting confidence, leadership,…
-
Resistance
On a day like today, it’s tempting to be consumed with disgust, rage, and fear. My heart breaks for those who are being targeted specifically for their immigration status, their race, sexuality, gender, and those brave individuals who chose right over wrong in relation to January 6th in condemning terrorist behaviour, now deemed permissible. How…
-
Ellen Berryman
Ellen Berryman is among an elite group of competitive 1970s pro skateboarders recognized today for being pioneers. But while some individuals are still very much entrenched in this scene and identity, Ellen or El, as she prefers to be called has cultivated her own path, one that led her to become an environmental consultant thanks…
-
Villa Villa Cola
In 1996, skateboarding twins Tiffany Morgan (Campbell) and Nicole Morgan (Young) decided not to use a college fund that their parents had set aside for education, but rather to use the money to start a female-focused skateboard and apparel company. Lisa Whitaker of Meow Skateboards recalled that the sisters tried to pitch their idea to…
-
Happy New Year 2025
Happy New Year! It’s 2025 and I couldn’t be more excited. 2024 was a bit of a rollercoaster, at least health-wise but it certainly ended on a high note. Plus, the sun came out briefly yesterday, so I went to the skatepark (rescued a bunch of worms in puddles) and found a small patch of…
-
Christmas 2024
I love when all the vintage photos of Christmas mornings past are posted showing kids who are absolutely stoked to receive a new skateboard (The Skateboarding Hall of Fame hosts an awesome collection of these images). You know their whole world is about to be altered forever like this image of “Gretchen” in 1977 that…
-
Jessie Van Roechoudt
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Jessie Van Roechoudt was someone to look up to and revere if you were Canadian, especially if you were a female skater. Beyond being talented on a skateboard, Jessie was a photographer, creative writer, well-traveled, and always articulate in her views. She emphasized the importance of inclusion and…
-
Anarquia! Brazil
There’s a certain mystique about skateboarding in the 1980s and its association with punk aesthetics and anti-establishment attitudes. This style wasn’t isolated in the United States, which I’m becoming more aware of, especially now that I’ve slowly started to piece together a history of skateboarding in Brazil. Brazil loves skateboarding, and their history and heroes…
-
Gallaz
We have female skateboarders of Australia in the late 1990s and early 2000s to thank for the launch of the skateboard shoe brand, Gallaz, which was owned by Globe Industries. On April 10th, 1999, the Girls Street Skate Jam (sponsored by Split Clothing / Hardcore Distribution/Globe) was hosted on Flockhart Street at the Sailyards Skate…
-
Lulu Hart
Lulu Hart (Bentley) from Coconut Grove, Florida was age 17 when the iconic photos of her skating freestyle on the South Beach Pier, Miami in 1977 were taken by Jonathan Utz. The photos then appeared in the book, A Secret History of the Ollie by Craig B. Snyder, and Lulu was interviewed for BackSide Skateboard…
Womxn Skateboard History 