We decided to start doing local road trips and shooting female skaters at iconic Southern California skate spots. Why? For one, because sometimes you need to get your ass out of the skatepark and go back to where it all started - drainage ditches, banked walls, backyard pools, shifty wooden ramps.
This is how skateboarding started moving from freestyle to vert and it was an exciting period of time. Second, because how many pictures do you see with girls skating these places?

Not that many.



Our first stop was "Hitlers Tunnel" (don't ask me why it has that name - I have no idea), which unfortunately turned to be a bust, as the gate in front of the tunnel was blocked by about 3 feet of debris, and no amount of shoveling was going to change that in a couple hours. We were all bummed, but that is how these road trips go sometimes - so always have a "Plan B".

Elise showing why soft wheels work best in these places

The next place we hit was the famous 70's skate  location "The Vermont Drop" aka "The Funnel" - Elise Crigar, who we had shot at Sunken City earlier in the week, (photos HERE) was up for the challenge, and we decided to add nine-year-old mini shredder Quinne Daniels to the mix so she could get a taste of how it all goes down.

First we taught Quinne about waiting for the police car that was hanging out in the junk yard next door to leave, before jumping the fence. Next was that you always have an industrial broom with you to sweep rocks and debris out of the spot. She quickly found out the difference of skating rough terrain, and figuring out how to skate from flat surface to banked wall when there is very little transition. The girls also learned a bit about skating an old school style board and softer wheels in this situation - sometimes you need to mix up your board set up for optimum results.



One of the best parts of this shoot was when a homeless guy on his bike stopped at the fence and started sharing stories from the 70's of people he had seen skate there - and he knew all their names and which mags they had been in. He said he was stoked to see the Vermont Drop being used again and that he was seeing girls skating it. That conversation made my day. And that's the thing about skateboarding - it doesn't matter how much or how little money you have, where you live, or what you look like - you have a common bond and you meet the coolest people.




We want to encourage girls to go out there and find spots in their city and skate them, take a road trip with your friends and skate. Document it, create female based skate media, post it, share it, inspire other girls.

That is what skateboarding is all about - the stoke of the spot and never knowing what you might find when you trek into someplace or hop that fence - a little dangerous, a bit exciting, but always rad and worth the effort.





So take a chance and get out there and skate something you haven't skated before, create a new line, fall hard, get back up, do it again.

Tag us on your pics - we want to see them! #girlisnota4letterword  #itsnotaboutpretty


Huge thanks to James at South Bay Skates for all his advice, covert directions, taking my numerous calls and sharing his memories with us - we couldn't have done it without you!