Category: 1990s
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Jean Rusen
Jean Rusen Keyser (aka Calamity Jean) is someone who has successfully challenged the myth that skateboarding is purely a youthful pursuit, best taken up as a pre-teen before you have a chance to be deterred by pain and distracted by adult responsibilities. Jean is a skater, surfer, musician, and mother of two girls, Jada and…
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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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The Frumpies
The Frumpies were a punk band that formed in 1992 out of Olympia, WA who also happened to have skateboarding and Riot Grrrl connections. According to Wikipedia, the original members were Tobi Vail, Kathi Wilcox, and Billy Karren (who all played in Bikini Kill) and Molly Neuman of Bratmobile, with the addition in 1993 of…
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Lucie Kalinová
In the summer of 1999, I was fortunate to pursue a semester abroad in Prague, Czechia at Charles University. My motives were not academic. I had heard of a derelict plaza covered in marble slabs where skateboarders gathered simply called “Stalin,” in reference to a monument that had been blown up, and I wanted to…
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Jessica Krause
Jessica Krause loves skateboarding, and if you witnessed her skills during the 1990s and early 2000s, consider yourself privileged because she was always willing to step up and take on the burliest rails, gaps, and ledges. I was fortunate to learn more about Jessica’s story during an interview February 1st, 2024, including her experience with…
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Jodi McDonald
Jodi McDonald from West Palm Beach, Florida began skateboarding in 1986 when she was 14 years old, and according to fellow vert skater Heidi Fitzgerald, “Jodi brought speed, aggression – it was like, beautiful chaos when she skated.” [October 24th Update: Jodi’s battle with breast cancer continues, so please enjoy this post but consider donating…
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Rookie Skateboards
Beyond the skatepark, skateboarders tend to look for visual cues when determining if someone is aligned. For example, scuffed-up shoes that indicate the wear and tear of ollying and flicking your board against the rough surface of grip-tape. If you were a female skateboarder in the mid-1990s and you saw someone rocking Rookie gear, that…
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Alison Matasi
In the early 1990s, Alison Matasi started skateboarding by butt-boarding at age 4, and properly riding by age 10. She was often accompanied by her big brother, Lee ‘Avers’ Matasi (RIP) at skateparks and DIY spots around Vancouver, Canada. In an interview by Rose Archie, Alison stated, “There were always skateboards around my house from…
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Leaf Treinen
Leaf Treinen was originally from Hawaii before growing up in Eugene, Oregon where she became a factory-sponsored skateboarder in the late 1980s / early 1990s. In March of 1986, nearing the end of 8th Grade, Leaf began skateboarding and was aware of the local Willamette Dammitt contest, which took place for the first time on…
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G.B. Jones
G.B. Jones is an artist who collaborated on the queer punk zine called J.D.’s (AKA Juvenile Delinquents / James Dean / J.D. Salinger / Just Desserts diner / Jack Daniels / Joy Division) with Bruce LaBruce and The New Lavender Panthers out of Toronto, Canada from 1985-1991. In the zine, they cultivated the queercore movement…
Womxn Skateboard History 