Tag: France
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French Skate Mag

My love for France continues! In 1978, the popular French magazine “Skate” produced eight issues, two of which feature female skaters on their cover, which is a fantastic ratio in gender equity compared to other skateboard publications. Kim Cespedes is killing it on Issue No. 2 in March/April demonstrating her gritty, laidback style (thanks to…
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Paris 1978

In honour of the launch of the 2024 Paris Olympics, I bring you clips from a delightful video called Buble Skate from 1978 by Alain Igorra and Lionel Durand. The scene is La Trocadéro or “Troca” which was a popular meet-up spot across from the Eiffel tower. The film also includes a contest called the…
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Naomi Harris

Naomi Harris (often misspelled “Noémie” in French media) was born in England, but based out of France and was active in the skateboarding scene in the late 1970s, competing in freestyle and slalom. She was acknowledged in several magazines, starting with Skatin’. In Issue No. 3 from 1978, Harris was pitched “face to face” next…
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France 1960s

Skateboarding in the 1960s is primarily associated with the scene in California, as surfers found a new outlet for fun when the surf was flat and the activity took off with children dismantling their roller-skates and securing them to boards. Over in France, within surfing communities on the Atlantic coast like Biarritz and Hossegor, “sidewalk…
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Nicole Boronat

Nicole Boronat was born in 1962 at Vitry-sur-Seine near Paris and took up skateboarding in the late 1970s when her high school friend Laurence Lannes introduced her to it. Lannes had a family home in Biarritz where she enjoyed surfing and skateboarding, and then shared the love with her friends. Boronat expressed gratitude to Lannes…
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Skaters Comic France

I’ve somehow stumbled upon the most curious / rad French comic book publication called Skaters from 1978-1979 where the superheroes are skateboarders! The authors were Enzo Chiomenti, Jose de Huescar, Fuschino & Angelo Maria Ricci. Curious to know if the artists/writers were skaters? It looks absolutely sweet and I’ll bet there were kids who couldn’t…
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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…
