Who's Rad? Bryce Wettstein Part 2.
Bryce Ava Wettstein has been on everyone's radar as a rad skater girl for quite a few years now (watch her skate videos and you will see why), but there was something else we wanted to interview Bryce about. She's all of 10 years old and has a signature board with Silly Girl Skateboards - and she designed all the graphics herself.
Read on to see how a 10 year old girl is charging in the pool and out, and inspiring other girls to do the same. We are in awe. You should be too.
Who's Rad? Silly Girl Skateboards team rider & artist, Bryce Ava Wettstein
So Bryce do you like to do art - draw, design or?
Yes, I love to do art - all kinds!
Can you share with us how the idea for your own board come about?
Matt Gaudio, my team manager and owner of Silly Girl Skateboards offered to let me design my own graphic, as a way to 'thank you' to my family and I, for riding for Silly Girl for so long and for always contributing back to the team and brand. Also, because there are a lot of younger girls out there who are into skating or are starting to try skating, he wanted Silly Girl to offer a graphic that would appeal to the younger girls - like my age and younger, and I am 10 years old. At the time I was 9 years old, and most of the graphics Silly Girl carried were designed to appeal to older girls and women. Matt felt that who else better to design a graphic for the younger girls, than me - the youngest member of the Silly team. That was about 2 years ago. Now Minna Stess is our youngest rider!
Matt Gaudio, my team manager and owner of Silly Girl Skateboards offered to let me design my own graphic, as a way to 'thank you' to my family and I, for riding for Silly Girl for so long and for always contributing back to the team and brand. Also, because there are a lot of younger girls out there who are into skating or are starting to try skating, he wanted Silly Girl to offer a graphic that would appeal to the younger girls - like my age and younger, and I am 10 years old. At the time I was 9 years old, and most of the graphics Silly Girl carried were designed to appeal to older girls and women. Matt felt that who else better to design a graphic for the younger girls, than me - the youngest member of the Silly team. That was about 2 years ago. Now Minna Stess is our youngest rider!
How did you come up with the ideas for your awesome art work?
I surf as much as I skate, and many times when I skate I imagine I'm surfing and sometimes when I surf and want to hit the lip of the wave, I imagine I'm skating. So I knew I wanted the graphic to have a wave on it and a sun. I began doodling and added a heart along with a wave and the sun. Since I'm always happy I wanted bright colors too and so I also gave the sun a smiley face. My mom and dad were checking out my doodles and said the drawing I had so far looked like the saying, 'Peace, Love & Happiness", so I added the peace-sign. And that was that! Simple and bright!
What type of medium did you use for your original artwork - poster paint, sharpies, crayons, pen/ink?
Matt Gaudio told my dad it was best to draw it to scale and we had an extra deck for a template. I'm not sure of the exact process of how it goes from paper to board, so I just used sharpie markers on blank white paper. It was nothing fancy. I know my dad then scanned my finished artwork into the computer after he helped me clean it up and then he emailed it to Matt. We thought it would be silk-screened on to the boards but it is not anymore. Eric 'Vision' Muss-Barnes from Skateboarding California made a video with Silly Girl, explaining how the graphic then gets onto the skateboard deck. Knowing what I know now, I would have taken more time with the sharpies to color more uniformly, but I am still way stoked on how it came out!
Here is a short video video on how skateboard graphics are made
Matt Gaudio told my dad it was best to draw it to scale and we had an extra deck for a template. I'm not sure of the exact process of how it goes from paper to board, so I just used sharpie markers on blank white paper. It was nothing fancy. I know my dad then scanned my finished artwork into the computer after he helped me clean it up and then he emailed it to Matt. We thought it would be silk-screened on to the boards but it is not anymore. Eric 'Vision' Muss-Barnes from Skateboarding California made a video with Silly Girl, explaining how the graphic then gets onto the skateboard deck. Knowing what I know now, I would have taken more time with the sharpies to color more uniformly, but I am still way stoked on how it came out!
Here is a short video video on how skateboard graphics are made
It seems like you have been shredding forever and we have loved watching you progress - how long have you been a Silly Girl Team Rider?
I have been riding for Silly Girl since 2009 - almost 5 years - and since Julie Westfall stepped down to 'flow' so she could pursue other interests, I am now the longest riding member of the Silly Girl posse!
Where can people buy your rad board?
You can order my graphic, called 'The Silly Life!' directly from www.sillygirlskateboards.com and from Pink Widow Distribution.
You can order my graphic, called 'The Silly Life!' directly from www.sillygirlskateboards.com and from Pink Widow Distribution.
What are the dimensions?
'The Silly Life!' graphic is available in 7.5", 7.75", 8.0" widths with a 14" wheel base. For now it is just available in pop-sickle shape.
'The Silly Life!' graphic is available in 7.5", 7.75", 8.0" widths with a 14" wheel base. For now it is just available in pop-sickle shape.
What type of female skaters do you think will enjoy riding it?
Girls who skate pool, park, or street will all enjoy riding my board! My favorite type of riding are pools and bowls :)
Girls who skate pool, park, or street will all enjoy riding my board! My favorite type of riding are pools and bowls :)
What do you think girls will like best about your graphic?
What I think girls will like about this graphic is that you can tell it is hand drawn and not too fancy. The colors are bright and the message is positive. With the white background and plenty of it, there is a lot of extra room for all your favorite stickers without obscuring the art. Also, I set mine up with blue rails to protect the graphic and make board-slides more fun! Lastly, it just so happens that GN4LW heart-sticker fits perfectly on top of the heart in my graphic, so if you can find a GN4LW sticker, you're stoked!
Thanks for the GN4LW love Bryce - we think you did a GREAT job designing this board with Silly Girl Skateboards. We are stoked that you are out there everyday charging ahead and inspiring other girls to do the same! xx
Thanks for having me back on GN4LW!!