Category: 1960s
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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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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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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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Carol Schuldt
Carol Schuldt has been described as the “Goddess of the Beach,” “Queen of Ocean Beach,” “San Francisco Carol,” or “Mother Teresa of the Sunset,” and was one of the original Beach Bums featured in a legendary article from Life magazine August 28, 1950, with a photo taken of her as a teenager by Loomis Dean…
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Valerie Perez
In the August 1965 issue of Skateboarder magazine a significant portion of the publication was dedicated to the first International Skateboard Championships in May 1965, held at La Palma Stadium in Anaheim, CA. Valerie Perez was a fierce competitor in the girl’s division as stated in the article and it looks like she was competing…
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Marina Gera
In the 1960s, skateboarding was taking off as not only an alternative activity for surfers but an accessible and social activity for all youth that wasn’t dependent on access to waves. In the same issue of Skateboarder magazine that features the legendary Pat McGee on the cover (October 1965), there’s a small photo of Marina…
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Laurie Turner DeMott
The first appearance in a skateboarding magazine of a female skateboarder (and photographer) was of Laurie Turner from Berkeley, CA in Volume 1 / Number 1 Winter 1964 issue of The Quarterly Skateboarder on page 37. The caption reads, “Laurie Turner of San Diego submitted three photos above with a note that the money received…
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Leslie Jo Ritzma
Leslie Jo Ritzma (Anderson) 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…
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Suzie Rowland
Suzanne Rowland-Levin was originally a surfer who pursued skateboarding in the early 1960s along with her friends. This time-period was considered the First Wave of skateboarding primarily based around the Palisades, CA. Several teams were forming and gaining sponsorship who didn’t seem particularly interested in recruiting girls, but that was not a deterrent. In 1963,…
Womxn Skateboard History 