Who's Rad? Sally Roepke.

Photo: Olga Aguilar

Photo: Olga Aguilar

Photo: Hector Martinez

Photo: Jessica Basset

Photo: Mashall Reid

Photo: Olga Aguilar

We saw this rad black & white pic on Juice Magazine's site of a girl totally shredding like she was on fire. Turns out it was Sally. She skates hardcore, going full "balls to the wall" on each run. Gotta love that commitment. Check out the pics above to see what we mean. Looking forward to her next trip to Butlers pool and seeing her shred it in person. Now that will be EPIC.


Who's Rad?      Sally Roepke

Age:      29

Home is?      Seattle, WA.

How Long Have You Been Skateboarding?     14 years

What do you enjoy the most about skateboarding?

Because skateboarding takes so much focus it requires one to act one-mindfully. That kind of pure, in-the-moment participation is emotionally, mentally and spiritually beneficial like nothing else in my life. Skating teaches one how to deal with and accept pain and frustration, push through fear, and live in the present moment.

I can’t leave out the community around skateboarding. I have it to thank for the majority of my friendships right now and it’s truly amazing. I can travel anywhere and connect with skateboarders easily. It’s a rare place where multigenerational friendships are common, which is incredible.

Girls Who Skate that inspire YOU:

The women I skate with locally are my biggest inspiration because we push each other during our sessions. There’s a solid women’s skateboarding community in the Northwest, really too many to name, but some of my best skate pals are Jessica, Anna May, Gretchen, Rachelle, Colette and Chrissie.

Julz Lynn is really inspiring because she’s such a savage pool skater. She embodies the style that I’ve always strove for.

Some other professional skateboarders I admire are Amelia Brodka and Kristin Ebeling, both of whom in addition to being sick skaters do a lot for women’s skateboarding with their projects. Brodka with her Underexposed documentary and associated contest and Ebeling with her work with the non-profit Skate Like A Girl organization and Wheels of Fortune women’s contest.

I also admire Peggy Oki for being an OG skater on the Zephyr team, pioneering surf style in skateboarding and her current anti-whaling activism.

Favorite place you’ve ever skated?

There are a lot of great spots I’ve had the privilege to skate; Orcas Island, Chanel Street, Butler’s Pool and Marginal Way are my favorites.

Favorite Trick of maneuver?      Frontside carvegrind on pool coping.

Sponsors:    Tasty Skateboards,  Blackmarket Skateshop  

Three Things You Don’t Know About Me

1. A Harry Potter soap-flavored jellybean was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.

2. I work as an infectious disease researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.

3. I’ve played guitar since I was 12 and played in Jazz ensemble in middle and high school. Now I just play rock music with my band Sycorax.

What’s Next?

I’m an evening and weekend skateboarder in a city where it rains a lot so my first priority is to just skate whenever I can. Whenever I have a vacation I plan it around where I can skate. I’m hoping to make it to the East coast and Skatetopia next summer to celebrate turning 30. I like contests because they give me a goal to work towards in my own progression, but I’ll probably always be a casual contest entrant at most. I’m not a professional skateboarder--I’m a recreational skateboarder!

My other life goals include finishing my research on memory T cells for my first author paper and to record an album with my band.

Follow Sally at:    Instagram  @sallydressing