Category: 1970s
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Debi Eldredge
Debi Eldredge (sometimes misspelled “Debbie Eldridge”) was on the Unity Skateboard team back in the mid-1970s along with her friend Andra Malczewski and Mary Zerkie. Debi and Andra were revered by Laura Thornhill, as they were the first female skaters that she rode with on Hermosa Beach, and Thornhill originally dreamed of being sponsored on…
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Kelly Marsh
Kelly Marsh was described as “one of the best teenage freestyle riders in Florida” back in 1977 within the November issue of Wild World of Skateboarding. She was featured in an article called “Doin’ it Double Double,” all about how to perform tricks utilizing two skateboards. The writer shared that, “We were lucky enough to…
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Wendy Gooding
Wendy Gooding was born in Santa Monica, CA making her way to the San Fernando Valley. She was featured in the August 1978 issue of Skateboard World magazine at age 16, interviewed and photographed by Marc Margulies. Wendy had had a great year competing “in the short and giant slalom, bowl riding, and speed runs,…
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Nicole Boronat
Nicole Boronat was born in 1962 at Vitry-sur-Seine near Paris and took up skateboarding in the late 1970s when her high school friend Laurence Lannes introduced her to it. Lannes had a family home in Biarritz where she enjoyed surfing and skateboarding, and then shared the love with her friends. Boronat expressed gratitude to Lannes…
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Crystal Loges
Crystal Loges was inducted into the Florida Skateboarding Hall of Fame back in 2005 for her skateboarding skills during the 1970s. There’s a great photo of her in the SkatnNews newsletter from February 27, 1980 working on her inverts: Photo: L.P. Crystal won the Women’s Bowl contest in March 1979 at the 2nd Annual Fun…
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Cara-Beth Burnside: Part One
Cara-Beth Burnside is a skateboarder of legendary status whose presence and perseverance within the subculture has transcended decades. She has witnessed the highs and lows of skateboarding as an industry, as well as the shifting attitudes towards female skaters, which she helped transform. Considering the impact of her story, this feature is in two-parts, beginning…
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Rebecca Williams
Rebecca Williams started skateboarding in 1976 at age 24 after she had her twin boys. Back in the 70s, it was pretty exceptional for a mom to compete in skateboarding, and Rebecca was probably considered geriatric back then for a skater! Rebecca was married to pro skater Mike Williams who was known for designing Gullwing…
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Tara Kaylor
Tara Kaylor (Garner) first appeared in skateboarding media within a report on the “Easter Week Contest” in San Diego on April 8, 1977 by Di Dootson in the May 1977 issue of the National Skateboard Review. The contest was hosted at the Standley Recreation Center with 300 spectators. Dootson wrote, “Tara (the Terror) Kaylor was…
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Starla Stewart
In the Fall 1975 issue of Skateboard magazine a true sidewalk surfer named Starla Stewart entered the Huntington Beach City Festival contest. The results show that Starla placed first in the girls’ category ahead of Daisy Apodaca, and was 13 or 14 years old at the time. The photo of Starla skating barefoot in classic…
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Sunshine Lee
In the late 1970s Sunshine Lee was an up-and-coming skateboarder in southern California sponsored by Vans but her full story has yet to be discovered. In his memoir, Authentic: a memoir by the founder of Vans Paul Van Doren explained how “Each Vans store manager was encouraged to choose seven or eight skateboarders and supply…
Womxn Skateboard History 