Tag: Skateboard History
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Jodie Cooper
In the May 1979 issue of Skateboarder there’s an article about a skate contest in Albany, Australia, located on the southwest coast which had a surprise competitor being the now-legendary surfer Jodie Cooper! If you don’t know Jodie, she was the surfing stunt double in the 1991 cult-classic film Point Break and was a fearless…
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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…
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Gina Esperanza
Gina [Esparza?] Esperanza appeared to be a prodigy skateboarder in the late 1970s, based out of San Diego with her home skatepark being “Skateboard Heaven” in Spring Valley. She was a competitor in both Freestyle and Pool and would pick up a sponsorship from Hobie. Skateboard Heaven had a variety of bowls, snake run, clover…
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Bonnie Blouin
Bonnie Blouin (RIP) and her younger brother Blaize (RIP) were powerhouse siblings in the east coast skateboarding community during the 1980s. While this entry does end tragically [*Warning*], the goal is to celebrate the life and contributions of Bonnie, whose presence in Thrasher was often the only positive portrayal of women, in contrast to ads…
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Pam Judge
PJ McKenzie (AKA Pam Judge) was Canada’s first female National Champion winning the 1977 and 1978 championships, which would result in sponsorship by Gordon & Smith (G&S) – a leading skateboarding company in the U.S. If there was a Canadian Skateboarding Hall of Fame, PJ would have my vote! While I can get riled up…
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Cindy Whitehead
Cindy Whitehead was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame in 2016 for both her accomplishments as a professional skater and her relentless advocacy for women in skateboarding that continues today. She spearheads the skateboarding movement “Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word,” which includes a website, archive, interviews, social media, and publications It’s Not…
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Kathy Zatko
Kathy Zatko appears in the January 1989 issue of Thrasher, celebrating her accomplishment of being the first girl to enter an Eastern Skateboard Association (ESA) contest, which was held at the Brooklyn Banks in New York City. She placed fourth overall in the freestyle contest, and the photo of her holding her trophy is taken…
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Georgina Matthews
Georgina Matthews of Tauranga, Aotearoa (New Zealand) is regarded as a Wahine toa—a heroine! While there were female skateboarders in New Zealand since the 1970s, Georgina is the first in her country to be sponsored and compete internationally, and she’s still skating hard over 20 years later. Born in 1987, Georgina had always pursued action…
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Di Dootson Rose
I recently learned about the term “archival silence” and it absolutely resonated in regard to women in skateboarding. It also reminded me that I wanted to extend gratitude to Di Dootson Rose, the legendary editor of the National Skateboard Review (1976-1979) and the efforts that went into archiving and digitizing this motherload of incredible content…
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Mystery Skaters – Japan
I’m fascinated by the incredible progression of women skateboarders in Japan and only have a few leads from back in the day, in the form of mystery photos. First off is this kickass 1980s photo by legendary photographer Yoshiro Higai showcasing a gang of female skaters from his book Judo Air (2015). Who were they?…
Womxn Skateboard History 