In honor of International Women's Day The Berrics presents an inside look into one of the most skilled and influential female skaters of our generation, Mariah Duran. An olympian, a photographer, a traveler, and most of all, a skateboarder. Mariah has one of the most established careers in the game, so come along with us as we spend a day with her to find out WHO IS Mariah Duran? Mariah Duran, the Albuquerque, NM local, is what you'd call a professional. Multiple major contest wins, stellar video parts, and one of the best trick selections in the game,

Mariah has been blowing up since her first @XGames appearance in 2015. Mariah has podiumed at multiple @SLS contests, skated in the 2020 @Olympics has 2 X Games gold medal, and back-to-back @USASkateboarding National Championships. She's supported by some of the industries biggest sponsors including @meowskateboards , @adidasSkateboarding , @thundertrucks @BonesBearings and @MountainDew.

Monarch founders Sky Brown and Leticia Bufoni battle to be the first to flap a kickflip down the 7 for Chris Cole’s battle Royale at the Berrics. Watch to see how it all goes down!

Next up, watch this video with Leticia Bufoni, Sky Brown, Diego Najera, Blake Norris, Kieran Woolley, Chloe Covell, Dylan Clark, and Romel Torres repping Monarch in The Berrics.

Brittney Griner and GN4LW Founder, Cindy Whitehead at the espnW Summit

WNBA Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist, Brittney Griner is 6'9, with a size 17 shoe, and can dunk like nobody's business. She was the #1 overall pick in the 2013 WNBA draft, and she is a SKATEBOARDER. Yep, you heard that right.

We met Brittney in 2014 at the espnW Summit, and after talking, we gifted her one of the very first Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word x Dusters California cruisers that we came out with. She loved our message and the board. And we loved meeting another lifelong skater at the Summit.

Brittney at The Berrics in 2013

Brittney has been an avid skateboarder since she was a kid. She is such a fan that she got tongue-tied meeting Tony Hawk for the first time and had a skate session at the Berrics in 2013 with Erik Kosten. When she was signed to the WNBA they asked her to “tone down her skateboarding” for fear she’d get hurt bombing hills and parking garages. But Brittney sneaked in a skate session when she could - because that’s what skaters do.

Eric Kosten and Brittney in 2013 at The Berrics

Fast forward to today’s news…

We are pretty sure you’ve seen the news for the past six months about Brittney being detained in Russia while awaiting trial on charges after hashish oil was found in her bags at a Moscow airport. Today Griner was handed down a sentence of nine years in a Russian prison. The news was devastating. The White House and President Biden have been working on her release and have classified her as a “wrongfully detained US Citizen, held as a political pawn.”

We are praying that her release is swift and soon and that she is back to playing basketball and skateboarding those parking garages she loves.

You can read more in-depth coverage about Britteny Griner’s arrest, sentencing and to understand better what a “Russian Penal Colony” really is HERE