Category: Profile
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Leilani Kiyabu
Leilani Kiyabu (Glasheen) was called an overnight success in her “Who’s Hot” feature by Jim Goodrich in the December 1978 issue of Skateboarder. “Lani” was born in Germany, then moved to Hawaii where she learned to skate at age 11, but without support, she set it aside until her family moved to San Diego, where…
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The Hags
This hardcore all-female skate crew was launched in 1983 and was the inspiration of Sevie Bates and her punk friends living in West Los Angeles. Bates had received her first skateboard in the early 1970s at age 9 – a wooden board with clay wheels called, “The Black Knight” and she was an inspiration to…
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Patti McGee
Patti McGee (born August 23, 1945) began surfing at age 12 in San Diego and was part of the Pump House Gang in her teens. When she saw a skateboard in 1962 at the Hollywood Teen Fair during her Easter vacation, it seemed like a great option for days when there was no surf. Pat’s…
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Debbie McAdoo
The “Ramp Ranch” began as a quarter-pipe in 1978 in Debbie McAdoo’s driveway, near Atlanta, Georgia. McAdoo wrote an article about its evolution and demise in the October 1981 issue of Thrasher. The photos accompanying the article were taken by Mike Folmer. Photo c/o Chuck Holts (Georgia Spillway, 1979). The local crew called themselves the Rancheros…
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Crystal Solomon
Crystal Solomon was a skateboarder in the early 2000s from San Jose, and I feel like the skateboarding community needs to know her story. All I’ve got is that Crystal was sponsored by Osiris shoes, Circle A Boardshop, Ball Hitch Ramps, got flow from Enjoi, and was pro for Cherry skateboards (a female-run board company…
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Desiree Von Essen
Desiree Von Essen-Harrington of Ventura, CA began skateboarding in 1968 at age 10 and became a regular at skateboard contests – she was also a whistleblower when it came to gender inequity. Brian Gillogly featured Desiree in a “Who’s Hot” profile for the June 1976 issue of Skateboarder where it was noted that in the…
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Émilie Rougier
Émilie Rougier of Montpellier was a pioneering female skateboarder from France. She started skateboarding in 1995/96, and pursued a Masters degree in Sports Management, producing a thesis in July 2002 on the topic of women in skateboarding. She taught skateboarding at her local club (Les Moustachus), promoted skateboarding for women, and had a crew of…
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Jennifer Dimon (Coppa)
On September 26, 1975, Jennifer Dimon (Coppa) at age 7 was in the limelight for a feature article by Jim Hart within the San Pedro News Pilot. Hart wrote that, she “already has a closetful of trophies for her exploits on a board with rollerskates. Just last week Jennifer won a first place and two…
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Cindy Gorset
Cindy Gorset was a punk skater mom from Seattle, known for her smooth style, big pop, nailing inward heelflips, and maintaining a mohawk. Cindy skated the streets and parks of Seattle and Portland. She especially enjoyed skating Burnside and was considered a local. In the June 2002 issue of Heckler, Cindy was featured in a…
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Linda Benson
Linda Benson, a world champion surfer from the late 1950s and ’60s was the first woman to have a signature skateboard when Hansen Surfboards designed the “Linda Benson Model” in 1964. Benson explained to Patty Segovia and Rebecca Heller in their book Skater Girl what the early skateboards were like. “We were riding 2x4s cut…
Womxn Skateboard History 