Category: 1980s
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Chicago Girls Crew
In 1982, Cyndy Pendergast wrote in to Thrasher with photos of her female skate crew from Chicago. Cyndy would go on to be a legendary skater from The Turf skatepark, competing and often beating the local guys in pool and bowl, and it’s thanks to fellow skater Marla Rainey, who preferred to be behind the…
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Monica Polistchuk
Monica Polistchuk is a legendary Brazilian skater from São Bernardo do Campo, who began skating in the early 1980s. Her website Oopskate.com is a treasure trove of skateboard history, featuring the likes of Renata Paschini, Karen Jonz, Christie Aleixo, Melissa Brogni, Déborah Badel, Yndiara Asp, and Tati Marques. Monica was motivated to create the site…
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Lisa Whitaker
Lisa Whitaker carved out space and opportunities for girls, women and non-binary skaters at a time when they were practically non-existent. She is a skater, filmer/photographer, creative producer, webmaster, mom, and as the owner of Meow skateboards, she continues to support the community today. Lisa was one of very few individuals documenting women’s skateboarding in…
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Yuka
This is Yuka [ ゆか ] skating freestyle in Japan in 1990, and I’m determined to learn more about her! Using Google translate and google.jp I stumbled upon this photo from a Japanese skater’s blog from 2006-2011. The caption under Yuka’s photo translates to: “Yuka is a genius female freestyler… She also won top prizes…
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Skate and celebrate
Happy Go Skateboarding Day and Indigenous People’s Day! Fun fact… Trevor Adolph of the Xaxli’p First Nation won the Canadian Nationals in the 12 and under amateur boys in both 1980 and 1981. He was celebrated in the September 1980 issue of Indian World where it was written that the contest was held in Burnaby…
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Stacey Roper
Stacey Roper (aka “Stace the Ace”) is a legendary pin-striper from Aotearoa (New Zealand), best known for her highly detailed work and official Rat Fink artist status. And yet, I had first heard about Stace because of the website, Frontside Betty which was hosted by a fellow Canadian, Denise Williams in the late 1990s /…
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Gale Webb
Over the years, Gale Webb has been dubbed “Mrs. Skateboard,” “The Skateboarding Mom,” “Rad Mom,” “Motocross Mom,” “Mrs. Moto,” and “America’s Sports Mom,” all of which she embraced. In Gale’s Skateboarding Hall of Fame bio, it’s explained that she was born in Brooklyn, NY and at age 12 she had dismantled her old roller skates,…
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Sally Affleck
Sally Affleck (Felice) of Australia was a competitive skater starting out in the late 1980s, consistently holding her own throughout the 1990s and beyond. In North America, you might have unknowingly seen her within Thrasher in the February 1995 issue that contained a six-page collage of female skaters in the “Girls Who Skate” article, chock…
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Denise Danielson
Denise Danielson was introduced to skateboarding in the mid-1970s when she was 14 years-old while living in Louisiana near New Orleans. I’m so pleased that we had the opportunity to connect because her experience is not the typical SoCal origin story! Denise would become a pro competitive pool and bowl skater in the early 1980s…
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Leslie Anne Miller
Leslie Anne Miller was a competitive skateboarder in the early 1980s, and like her peer, Diane Veerman (Desiderio) she had a classic 80s look! Freestyle was her preference, and Leslie was consistently placing strongly, even against the guys. Note: sometimes her name is misspelled “Leslee Ann Miller.” Photo: this nose wheelie image by Per Holknekt…
Womxn Skateboard History 