Tag: Florida

  • Gerry Bowden

    Gerry Bowden

    A photo from 1965 of a crew of young skateboarders hanging out from the Polk County History Center based in Bartow, Florida led me to their database to see if I could find out more about the girls who were included. Two of the skaters were named – Gerry Bowden and Paul Daniel III. I…

  • Lulu Hart

    Lulu Hart

    Lulu Hart (Bentley) from Coconut Grove, Florida was age 17 when the iconic photos of her skating freestyle on the South Beach Pier, Miami in 1977 were taken by Jonathan Utz. The photos then appeared in the book, A Secret History of the Ollie by Craig B. Snyder, and Lulu was interviewed for BackSide Skateboard…

  • Jodi McDonald

    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…

  • Stefanie Thomas

    Stefanie Thomas

    Stefanie Thomas was a competitive street skater in the early 2000s. She was originally from Satellite Beach, Florida but moved to Long Beach, CA with her roommate, another ripper named Jayme Erickson. Her sponsors included woman-owned company Rookie, Stereo, Etnies, Destructo, Accel, Bones, and Westside skateshop. She had a smooth, confident style with plenty of…

  • Lisa Muir

    Lisa Muir

    Lisa Muir Wakley is a legendary surfer based out of Pensacola, Florida who also competed in skateboarding. In an interview by Professor Steve Estes on southern surfing in June 2017, it was shared that Lisa “was born in 1955 on Rantoul Air Force Base in Illinois. Her dad was a hurricane hunter in the Air…

  • Jeannie Narducci

    Jeannie Narducci

    Jeannie Narducci (Figurski) was inducted into the Florida Skateboard Hall of Fame in 2003. She was an active skateboarder in the 1970s, along with her brother Dave. Jeannie appeared in the East Coast magazine called Skate Rider within issue No 3 (Winter/Spring 1978) ripping up a plywood ramp, with the photo taken by Mike Green.…

  • Mystery Jacksonville Skaters

    Mystery Jacksonville Skaters

    In an article within the Florida Times-Union (May 17, 2022) about the evolution of skateboarding in Jacksonville, Florida, a 1977 photo appears featuring Michelle Thibodeau and Ellen Moomaw by Joe Caldwell. The girls are skating barefoot across a sketchy wall of slabbed concrete on the side of an Interstate 10 overpass (near McDuff and Post…

  • Kelly Marsh

    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…

  • Crystal Loges

    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…

  • Vicki Vickers

    Vicki Vickers

    While attending the National Surfing Championships in Port Isabel, Texas, Vicki Vickers at age 14 overheard Dogtown skater, Nathan Pratt declare that “Girls Can’t Skate.” At age 18, in her Who’s Hot!” article within the December 1978 issue of Skateboarder she told Jim Goodrich that she took Pratt’s comment seriously and immediately started skateboarding! Vickers…