Watch the premiere of Lizzie!!

As the global icon of creative expression, Vans Skateboarding is proud to present Lizzie, a short 35mm film directed by renowned filmmaker Greg Hunt. Unveiling a personal, intimate account of Lizzie Armanto beyond her skateboarding accolades and identity as one of the world’s most talented skateboarders, the film is the first to explore Lizzie’s life through the lens of those closest to her.

Tapping into stories, memories, and perspectives from fellow friends and skaters— ranging from skate legend and mentor Tony Hawk to Vans’ team rider and rising talent Mami Tezuka— Vans and Hunt capture the essence of Lizzie through poignant voiceovers paired against the backdrop of footage from Lizzie’s daily life skating, hanging with friends, and celebrating the launch of her very first signature skate shoe.

“Ultimately, I aimed to create something special with this little film,” said Hunt, whose previous work includes Vans’ Propeller, Alright OK, and Nice to See You skate films, among others. “I’ve never made anything quite like it. I think it’s a beautiful and honest portrait of Lizzie.” 

In addition to Hawk and Tezuka, the film also features the voices of Lizzie’s mom Eva Armanto, husband and pro skater Axel Cruysberghs, and best friend Alysha Le. The film features an original score by Reverend Baron, who also composed the score for Vans’ Alright, OK.  The past several years have been momentous for Lizzie, from competing in skateboarding’s 2021 Olympic debut in Tokyo to working with Vans to design The Lizzie, a skate shoe representing “something else entirely” for a wider range of skateboarders—and Vans’ first signature skateboarding shoe designed by a woman in 20 years. 

Those who know Lizzie know that she embodies the true spirit of creative expression in all its forms. Her storied career includes many firsts—like the first woman to grace TransWorld SKATEboarding’s magazine cover, one of the first women in years to appear on the cover of Thrasher, and the first to complete Tony Hawk’s Loop. Lizzie is a pioneer and a role model for many. Vans’ new film delivers an even deeper look into who Lizzie is as a person, exploring her one-of-a-kind perspective on skateboarding and the world.

 Check out Rayssa's medal winning run during the Tokyo Olympics

Things have been moving fast for women in skateboarding since the Tokyo Olympics.

At age thirteen, Rayssa Leal has signed as a pro rider with April Skateboards. She just took first place at SLS in Salt Lake City this month, and a silver at the Olympics in August - so she is definitely on a roll! 

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GIRL Skateboards (notoriously known for not having a single girl on their team) has signed Breana Geering. Coming right off of her Thrasher cover this has been an epic month for Breana and so well deserved! Big congrats!!

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And Out Come the Boobs

Mixt x GN4LW collab bags ~ Photo Siri Berting

Mamaskate Pants ~ Photo Dani Hobson

Urethane Revolution ~ John O'Malley

Nora Vasconcellos x Adidas Collection

We did an article about holiday skater gifts last week but realized that with so many adult female skaters, including skater moms, we needed to add some more rad gifts that we know they'd love to receive. So read on, get out your credit card and start ordering!



1. And Out Come The Boobs  - first of all, we love the name. And second of all, most women who skate and are breastfeeding would love to wear an edgy Thrasher, Creature or Anti Hero tee so they can keep feeling/looking like themselves after having a baby.  This rad company bills themselves as "breastfeeding clothes that don't suck" (Brilliant!) and consists of curated upcycled collections - so every piece is unique!  $35.00

And Out Come the Boobs


2. MIXT x GN4LW - came out this year with the cutest reversible tote bags as well as a wristlet. The palm tree photos were taken by Cindy during her travels and the Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word logo and motto is visible on the interior of the bags. Right now MIXT is doing a 30% off sale for our readers only on these 2 items - Valid until Midnight 12/18!!!

Reversible Tote  ~  regular price  $46.00 - take 30% OFF!
Wristlet ~  regular price  $29.00 - take 30% OFF!

Use Code -  GRLPWR30 for 30% OFF  Mixt x GN4LW products


3.  Mamaskate Pants - Tired of jeans and Dickies?  Try these awesome skate pants made for women by Mamaskate. Based in Los Angeles, CA these gals are legit and know what's up when it comes to making skate pants that not only fit your body but let you skate with no restrictions. It's seriously about time.   $100.00

Mamskate.com


4.  Urethane Revolution: The Birth of Skate - San Diego 1975 - Want to know how it all began? The inside stories of the fun and debauchery that took place in San Diego, CA - home to downhill, slalom, freestyle and banked walls? Then this is the book for you - it's a great read and author, John O'Malley, tells us stories from back in the day like no one else ever could! It's also chock full of great photos of the mid-1970s that you won't find elsewhere. A true collector's piece!  $18.51

Amazon


5. Nora Vasconcellos x Adidas - This new drop from Adidas has a full line of apparel that is actually unisex. From pants to polo's there is something for everyone on your list. The collection is chock full of pastels that miz nicely with each other or your standard-issue skate pants.    $40.00 - $75.00

Adidas

Parade spent a wet day in London with Nora Vasconcellos - grabbing an English breakfast, checking out the Grant Museum of Zoology and hitting a local DIY spot. 

She gave them her thoughts on skateboarding, the Olympics, her drawings and shares the inspiration behind her new unisex Adidas Nora Collection. 

 Nora Vasconcellos x Adidas on PARADE ~ Photos Kasia Bobula

 
This is the first true skate collection that has a female skateboarder's name on it (check out the legit patch on each item that says "Nora Vasconcellos, 1992 Pembroke, MA) - Hell Yes - to Adidas and Nora! This is a major breakthrough for women in skate.

Make sure you shop the collection on PARADE, an awesome platform that brings together the best brands and skate shops, all in one place.

Adidas Skateboarding and Nora Vasconcellos are preparing to release the team rider’s first-ever unisex collection of apparel and footwear. Designed for FW19, the six-piece capsule draws from Vasconcellos’ fluid personal style and her love of skateboarding.

“ The beauty is that [skateboarding] is accessible to anyone, if they are willing to try it, ” Nora says. “I love designing boards and graphics, but this is the pinnacle of what I’ve designed product-wise. It is a universal collection breaking the barrier of saying ‘this is for a man’ or ‘this is for a woman.’ I can see guys I skate with like Diego Najera and Miles Silvas going for the darker palette and someone like DeAndre Thebpanya going for some of the other colors – it all compliments each other.”















The unisex collection consists of color-blocked, pastel polos in short-sleeve and long-sleeve variations, a lavender chino pant, an insulated yellow fleece, and a hand-painted, watercolor T-shirt referencing Vasconcellos’ love of florals. A matching 3MC is also featured in the capsule, with customized details including the rider’s name and original artwork on the insole. Her hometown of Pembroke, Massachusetts and her birth year are then stitched into the heel tabs.

With apparel sizes ranging from XXXS to XXL, and footwear starting at a women’s 5.5 and men’s 4, Nora Vasconcellos’ unisex adidas Skateboarding collection releases October 17.

Globe x B4BC | October Art Exhibit - Month-long art show at the Globe Hermosa store

Globe has teamed up with Boarding for Breast Cancer (B4BC) to help raise funds for B4BC’s mission to promote awareness and early detection of breast cancer.

Using donated skateboard decks from Globe, the art show will feature art from Mark Appleyard, Sammy Montano, Keith Shore, Sebo Walker, Sean Vranizan, Aaron Rosenstock, Lauren Allik, Aaron Gonzalez, Pedro Atala and other local artists. All proceeds from the auction go to B4BC.

The collection will be launched with a VIP party on October 3rd at the Globe store in Hermosa Beach, including the above featured guest artists in person.

Bid online for these exclusive artists decks from October 3rd to 31st at:
bit.ly/b4bcglobeauction
Release date: 1st October 2019


VIP LAUNCH PARTY - THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3 at 7 PM

GLOBE STORE
140 PIER AVENUE
HERMOSA BEACH 





 

ABOUT BOARDING FOR BREAST CANCER:
Boarding for Breast Cancer (B4BC) is a 501(c)3 non-profit foundation that advocates early detection and a healthy, active, and sustainable lifestyle as the best means for breast cancer prevention. Founded in 1996, B4BC empowers young people to make positive choices that promote lifelong wellness through outreach, prevention, sustainability, and support programs.



ABOUT GLOBE:
United by over three decades of boardsports, street culture, design and film, GLOBE represents an international network of riders and designers. Emerging out of the Melbourne underground skate scene of the 1970s, Australian brothers Stephen, Peter and Matt Hill started a skateboard distribution business that set off a new movement in Australia and eventually led to the launch of the GLOBE brand in 1994. GLOBE is premium boardsports footwear, apparel and skateboards.

Leticia Bufoni now has her own Tech Deck - finally, a female model of this rad little toy is available for every girl who likes to skate! Perhaps this is just the beginning of the female pro models for Tech Deck - we sure hope so!

Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word founder and 70's pro skateboarder, Cindy Whitehead, is featured on the METIZA Podcast this week talking about everything girls skateboarding.

You can LISTEN to the METIZA Podast ---->  HERE

Take a listen to this exciting podcast and hear Cindy speak with Paige Bird, Co-founder of METIZA about:


~ How Cindy has always tried to live life with NO regrets

~ The "one girl" theory in skateboarding, and why it's NOT the answer

~ How the Japanese team dropped in and created a new dynamic in girls skateboarding

~ Why accolades, like her 2016 Skateboarding Hall of Fame induction, are not the end goal

~  After you get done thanking the women who support you, who else so you need to thank?

~  And much more!

On Go Skateboarding Day, the Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word crew took over the iconic LA landmark, Randy's Donuts, and put on a girls demo with our partners at 2x4 Mini Ramps. So many people came out to watch the girls rip the mini ramp, 1/4 pipes and fun box. It really was an epic day!


Check out all the action in this fun video!

Cinematographer ~ Madeline Northway

Location ~ Randy's Donuts
Ramps ~ 2x4 Mini Ramps

Skateboarders ~

Zoe Herishen
Elise Crigar
Quinne Daniels
Briel Weingartner
Amanda Caloia
Sylvia Hammouri
Jessie Frietze-Armenta
Ruby Lynn
Vianez Morales
Kala Baltasar
Emma Houle
Arianna Carmona

Via Billboard Magazine

Pro street skateboarder, Lacey Baker appears in the new Miley Cyrus Video "Mother's Daughter" - a powerful message to be authentic and true to who you are in this crazy world. The video, which launched yesterday, is already going viral. The images and scenes are powerful, intense and graphic at times, and show that women can be whoever they want to be. We absolutely love it!

"The video splices footage of the pop star performing “Mother’s Daughter” with cheeky images that celebrate the female and gender-non-conforming body in all its forms. The clip features an array of guests including models Aaron Philip and Casil McArthur, skateboarder Lacey Baker, dancer Amazon Ashley, actress Angelina Duplisea, 11-year-old activist Mari Copeny and Cyrus’ own mother, Tish Cyrus".  Rolling Stone Magazine

Photos

Ian Logan

On

Go Skateboarding Day

, the Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word crew took over the iconic LA landmark,

Randy's Donuts

, and put on a girls demo with our partners at

2x4 Mini Ramps

. So many people came out to watch the girls rip the mini ramp, 1/4 pipes and fun box. It really was an epic day!

Huge thanks to

Randy's Donuts

,

2x4 Mini Ramps

,

Madeline Northway

(video coming soon),

Elise Crigar

who did our design work for the event, and

Ian Logan

(photographer), as well as all our skaters - Zoe, Quinne, Kala, Amanda, Ruby, Briel, Emma, Elise, Arianna, Jessie, Sylvia, & Vianez.

The new Polly Pocket "Tiny is Mighty" music video featuring Sky Brown has just been released.

Polly Pocket and pro skateboarder Sky Brown team up in the official music video for Polly’s newest song “Tiny is Mighty!”   Watch as Polly and Sky skate together, rock out, and prove that tiny is mighty!


You can also watch the behind the scenes video featuring Sky below!

BLOOM -Featuring Elissa Steamer ~ interview by Jesse Frietze

When Stumptown Coffee Roasters announced earlier this year that they had formed and sponsored a pro skate team, and that one of the team riders was badass street skater, Elissa Steamer, we were intrgued. But when they launched their mini magazine, BLOOM, and our friend and Venice Skatepark local, Jessie Frietze, was tapped to do Elissa's interview for the mag, we knew it was time to delve deeper.

Jessie ruling the pool in Venice

Hey Jessie, can you tell us how were you picked to do the interview with Elissa Steamer?

Well, Stumptown recently became a certified B-Corp. One part of this new journey includes a commitment to invest in employee culture, and skateboarding has been a significant part of it's culture since the company's founding. Since the crew is pretty small, everyone has a good idea about each other passions outside of work, and my co-workers have always been in the know and supportive of my skateboarding. The idea was to let employees who skate interview one of the skate team members that they look up to.

Was this your first time ever speaking with Elissa?

Yes, I was pretty stoked that I got the opportunity to interview her. She was very down to earth, very real and had the tone reminiscent of 90s street skating, or what I remember of it, haha.

By happen chance, our LA Roasting crew also got an opportunity to host Elissa on her first coffee cupping when she was here visiting LA. That was a fun day to say the least.

What does it mean to you to have a female skater on the Stumptown team?


It’s pretty freakin rad if you ask me. I think my jaw literally dropped when I heard Elissa would be joining the team. Elissa is a skateboarding legend regardless of her gender. But personally, having a female on the team displays a true representation of what skateboarding actually is ...diverse. On top of that, it displays the creative role that companies can play in supporting skaters, ladies included, and demonstrates a commitment to actually investing in communities that the company is apart of. I think this move definitely leads the way for other companies and sponsors to follow suit.

What’s next for the Stumptown skaters?

The Stumptown Skate Crew just premiered it’s first skate video called Breaking the Crust, directed by a longtime barista and creator Tim Wenzel.

It’s a wild good time if you have a few minutes to check it out.






On another note, something I'm really pumped about is the Skate Team Coffee and the causes that it's supporting. The Skate Team Coffee was a combined effort to highlight creativity in skateboarding and showcase a beautiful coffee from producer partners in Colombia. A portion of the proceeds from the Skate Team coffee bag designed by Chet Childress will go to three skateboarding nonprofits, Exposure, Skate Like A Girl, and The Harold Hunter Foundation. Its available while supplies last.

The Skate Team Coffee is currently sold out for the season. But hopefully, we'll have this coffee or another fun skateboarding collaboration back in time for next Spring."

There's sure to be more fun, creative projects with the Stumptown Skate Crew in the future so stay tuned for those...


What do you do and how long have you worked for the company?

I'm a Coffee Roaster and skateboarder, and Im coming up on 5 years at Stumptown. Come by the LA Roastery and say hi anytime!


You can read the entire interview that Jessie did with Elissa Steamer ---> HERE

Converse dropped her new shoe on Saturday (we ordered a pair ASAP - did you?)  And now you can watch the video of Alexis cruising around NYC in the new Converse One Star Pro shoe - this video is so good!

 16mm Filming And Editing: Josh Stewart
Animations: Alexis Sablone

Get a pair HERE

Alexis Sablone - image via Converse

Gone are the days when girls have to buy the guys skate shoes. Back in the day, Cara-Beth Burnside had her own shoe with Vans (I still have a pair - it was that big of a deal), but then nothing for so many years...

Until recently that is. Nora Vasconcellos, Lacey Baker, a capsule collection from Vans with Lizzie Armanto, and now Alexis Sablone's new shoe with Converse is dropping.

Alexis Sablone - image via Converse

And this shoe is rad. Alexis really put thought into how she wanted the shoe to not only look, but perform. She modified the popular Converse  One Star Pro by asking for a piece of rubber on the toe vamp for one.

 Says Sablone;

“When I flick my board, I like the last thing that touches the board to be rubber. That rubber improves the grip, and it also helps the shoe last longer — I tend to blow through shoes pretty quickly.” 


Alexis and Converse also created a double-stitched, reinforced eye row — an area that sees the most wear during flip tricks — to enhance the shoe’s durability and further balance padding with board-grip control.

The look of the shoe is clean and nice - the white suede upper hosts a gold star, a baby blue sockliner, egret foxing tape and a gold foil insignia that stamps “Alexis” on the upper. It also comes in unisex sizing so its wearable for girls and guys - on the board and off.

Now that's gender inclusive!

The Alexis Sablone One Star Pro releases June 1 on converse.com and at select retailers.

all images via Adidas

Yes, it seems to be "Nora week" here at GN4LW - sorry, (not sorry) but the girl is on FIRE so we have to talk about it!

One of Nora's favorite colors is back in this new shoe from Adidas!  The Nora Vasconcellos x Adidas Sabalo Slip-On releases TODAY and retails for $65.00. Nora's own floral artwork is on the inside of these slip-ons which gives them an ultra special touch. We love the purple "Nora" embriodery and the Adidas three-stripes elastic is awesome.

We are betting that just like the first shoe (the Matchcourt RX) Adidas did with Nora, these will sell out FAST, so grab a pair while you can!

Last year we put up 2 big billboards that featured female skateboarders in a high traffic area (Sunset Blvd.) in Los Angeles, and now we're doing it NYC!  Yep, you heard that right. We are lighting up the sky and launching not one, but TWO huge electronic billboards in Times Square this Thursday evening, and both billboards will feature female skateboarders!

March is National Women's Month so we thought we'd kick it off the night before, by featuring women in skateboarding in a BIG way.

One of the 2 billboards we put up on Sunset Blvd in 2018

Some of our California skate crew, along with our photographer are flying out and will be in Times Square Thursday night  - Quinne Daniels is our ambassador and she will be giving out Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word pins and stickers along with team rider, Kyra Williams, during the launch. Our photographer, Ian Logan, will be shooting pics of any and all skater girls who come through. And to highlight National Women's Month - the gallery will be posted on our site for you to download, and a selection of images will be on our Instagram for you to share as well.

Hashtags for the event are:

#girlsskatetoo
#girlisnota4letterword
#NationalWomensMonth

We heard that OH-SO Magazine, QUELL Magazine and Adrienne from MS RPRSNTD, as well as Lola "The Young Vandal" will all be attending - we can't wait to connect with all the NYC skaters we haven't met yet, so we hope to see you there!


Details on time & location at end of this post.

Kyra with the Street Angel board

In anticipation of this event, Dusters California is giving 15% off any Dusters x Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word "STREET ANGEL" cruiser, with artwork by legendary comic book artist Jim Rugg!


Use code gn4lw at check out - HERE  


INFO FOR LAUNCH


TIMES SQUARE,  NEW YORK

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28
FROM 5:30 PM-7:30 PM 

** Billboards are debuting at, 42nd Street & 7th Avenue - facing South East.

Each billboard will rotate 30 times and stay up for 15 seconds each.

There is a vertical billboard and horizontal billboard just below it - there will be images on BOTH  billboards - but we're not going to share the images that are going up - that part is a surprise!



Big thanks to everyone involved in this project - Elise Crigar (design), Ian Logan (photography), Dusters California (borad collab),  Sunshine Canteen and Jim Rugg (collabs with GN4LW + artists) our GN4LW skaters, and all of you for coming out. 

We can't do what we do, without great support like this, so THANK YOU!

Photo Ian Logan

Big congrats to Arianna Carmona who just received her first pro model skateboard from Moonshine Skateboards! Arianna won a silver medal at the Vert World Championships in Nanjing, China in 2017, and she has been on fire this year, taking second place in vert this past October at Exposure Skate.

 The Arianna Carmona "Death Moth" is  8.25 x 32.5 with a 14.75" wheelbase, the deck is stained and handcrafted in the USA by Drifter MFG with silk screened graphics. It's a small batch run, so get yours quick!  Comes with stickers and pin.  It's a gorgeous board and should be fun to ride too!

Art by Chris Alliston

Get yours HERE

 all images via Grizzly

Grizzly just released a collab collection that they did with instagram skater SkateMoss, the look is very athleisure/fashion x skate, full of bright colors and high eneergy graphics from head to toe. You can grab beanies, sports bras, cropped tee's and hoodies, joggers and bodysuits in various patterns, and the sizes range from XXS - XXL.

What we were most excited to see is the collab griptape - always fun to grip a new board with something interesting and different!

You can check it all out HERE

  Photo of Kala by Ian Logan

Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word will be taking over Flower Child Restaurant's Instagram Stories today (Saturday!) between 2 PM - 5 PM PST - ask the GN4LW crew of skaters anything you want, but the best question will win this new GN4LW x Dusters California Street Angel cruiser board with artwork by Jim Rugg!

Get your questions ready because Kala, Briel, Amanda P., Elise, Kyra, Stephanie, Amanda C. and Cindy will be answering YOUR questions about what it's like to shred the patriarchy and what our fave foods are at Flower Child!

If you want more details on the board you can win check it out HERE!