Category: Profile
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Elisabeth “Eli” Meyers
Elisabeth “Eli” Meyers (RIP) was from Schoten, a town in Antwerp, Belgium and is considered the country’s first ripping female skater. Meyers was introduced to skateboarding by her brother and friends, and she consistently skateboarded into her fifties. “In those days, there were no videos – we had to wait for Skateboarder Magazine to come…
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Minh Duc (Jasmin) Tran
In the very first issue of Skateboard! (Britain’s first skateboard magazine), which came out in August 1977, there’s a photo and short blurb on a skater named Minh Duc Tran in the “Who’s Hot” section. The feature shared that Minh was 17, had been skating less than a year and was from the Kensington neighbourhood…
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Kathy Bomeisler
Kathy Bomeisler from Torrance, California “was one of the first girls to compete in contests with a women’s category” according to Di Dootson. In 1975, at the 1st Annual Southern California Skateboard Championships on the Orange County Fairgrounds, Kathy appears in the results representing Makaha and Logan Earth Ski at age 14. In the Women’s…
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Lauri Kuulei Wong
Ladies Skateworld was a ‘zine that launched on April 15, 1986 highlighting the scene at Del Mar Skate Ranch, and was possibly the first skateboarding ‘zine written by and for female skaters. The DIY publication was signed by an elusive skater named “Lauri” or simply “L.K.W.” Some clues to her identity included reference to Hawaiian…
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Rhonda Doyle
In the early 1990s, when asked about other female skaters in the scene, Rhonda Doyle was given props by Cara-beth Burnside in her October 1991 interview for Thrasher. Burnside stated that, “My friend Rhonda Doyle skates vert and pools really well. She’s an aggro grinder girl” (47). Photos: Ethan Fox Rhonda was part of the…
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Michelle Pezel (and Antisocial)
For skateboarders living in Vancouver, Canada, and the countless skaters who have visited the city and made their way to Antisocial skateshop (or even found refuge on her couch), Michelle Pezel is a legend. She is the co-owner of Antisocial with Rick McCrank, and has relentlessly offered community-building, launch parties, creative outlets, and even activist-activity…
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Ellen Oneal (Deason)
In May 1975, Ellen Oneal from San Diego, CA received a skateboard for her sixteenth birthday and began to translate her skill and athleticism from activities like gymnastics, bike-riding, ballet, body-surfing and water-skiing to skateboarding. As a guest columnist for Skateboard Journal (November 1977), Ellen contributed some of her back story. She said, “My own…
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Lora Lyons (Medlock)
Lora Lyons (Medlock) was from Edinburgh, Pennsylvania and began skateboarding after she graduated high school in the late 1970s when her boyfriend (later husband) “bought a crappy plastic board and told me to come over after work. So the first time I got on a board I was wearing a skirt and pantyhose, no shoes!…
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Renata Škrabalová
Renata Škrabalová is the original female skateboarder from the Czech Republic. Renata started skateboarding in 1984, competing in slalom until 1989 when she started her family, and then returned to the scene in 2009 with renewed energy. Her story was highlighted in the book, Prkýnka na maso jsme uřízli [We Cut the Chopping Boards] (2013) by…
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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…
Womxn Skateboard History 