Cindy Whitehead ~ Photo: Ian Logan from the book SKATE LIKE A GIRL

 

2020 has been quite a year, but despite a global pandemic, Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word and our team of skaters was able to accomplish quite a few things to help push girls in skateboarding forward. The challenges we faced from March until now, also reminded all of us why supporting one another is so important.

We are immensely proud to have worked on so many great projects this year and had some great partners to help us.

As we all look forward to 2021 and a fresh start, here are, some highlights from the last year that we'd like to share with you.

 

JANUARY

 

Team USA Skateboarding had its media day and it was great to see  Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word team rider, Minna Stess, announced as part of the USA Women's National Park Skateboarding Team and featured in this piece by the LA Times! 

Minna also took part in the launch of Santa Cruz Skateboards MINIONS video release and she held her own throughout each episode during the skate tour. 

 FEBRUARY

 

We're proud to say that we had a 6-page article in the new issue of STOKE MUCH Magazine talking about "Creating and Skating at Baldy Pipe" which discusses why GN4LW founder, Cindy Whitehead, feels that it's important for girls to skate outside the skatepark.  The images shot by Elise Crigar also capture our new Dusters x Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word board - ridden by Jantahvy Norton - in action.

AU Team rider, Grace Cochrane was celebrated and featured in an exhibit titled "The Change Room" at The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG). The Change Room highlights the achievements and contribution of Tasmanian female athletes, and also brings to light lesser known stories of sporting excellence as well as the people behind the games.

The Smithsonian Museum's National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. announced the new exhibit GIRLHOOD (It's Complicated) and used our Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word x Dusters California prototype board as the lead image in their announcement. 

MARCH

 

In honor of Women's History Month  we announced that Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word was infusing $15,000 into women's skateboarding in 2020 because we still see that there is a need for more money to help these girls and women get where they need to go - even at the pro level. We chose to pledge funds and raise additional money to help USA National Team Women's Park skaters; Minna Stess, Arianna Carmona and Jordan Santana get to Olympic qualifiers, which take place all over the world.

 ** As the Olympics shift to 2021 that pledge is still intact for these girls to have our help financially as they continue their quest to compete at the Olympics.  

   

AU team rider Grace Cochrane was crowned  Queen of the Bowl at the West Hobart Bowl Jam in Tasmania and received some major praise from The Skateboarders Journal!

Minna Stess was featured on CBS showing how she trains at home to stay in peak condition for Olympic trials. 

APRIL

 

We covered the pandemic development of our beloved Venice Skatepark filled in with sand to keep skateboarders out while the mayors #StayAtHome orders were still in effect. The image was featured in a story we did for Los Angeles Magazine. Photo Ian Logan

 

 

MAY

 

Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word founder, Cindy Whitehead was featured in Los Angeles Magazine skateboarding with a mask on across a geometric street in Los Angeles, which was shot for a photo essay about empty spaces in LA due to Covid-19.

Pro team rider, Minna Stess, went head to head, competing virtually, against pro skater Andy Anderson during Braille Skateboarding's mini ramp challenge.   

Minna was also featured both in the Washington Post and Forbes Magazine about how she is still training at home and how she stays motivated as we head towards the (now 2021) Olympics. 

Team rider Zoe Herishen was featured in the opening credits of the new HBO show BETTY - dropping into a bowl and skating like a badass.

We had the opportunity to photograph and document for LOS ANGELENO Magazine what some Los Angeles skaters were doing while the skateparks were closed during this pandemic. Skaters were forced to take things back to DIY with ramps in their yards,  skating in closed parking garages, or even inside the house on hardwood floors. Team riders Briel Weingartner and Quinne Daniels were featured in this article. 

JUNE

 

We gathered on June 21, Go Skateboarding Day, to come together with other skateboarders in  downtown Los Angeles to show support for the BLM movement as well as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin and so many other Black lives that have been lost way too soon. 💔

A secret project for a comic book anthology, INSIDER ART, was released and featured a story written by Cindy Whitehead and illustrations by team rider Lola Glass - the female skater in the story was based on our team rider, Zoe Herishen. The book raised money for female and non-binary comic book shop owners during the pandemic. 

Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word was featured on an episode of L'ÉQUIPAGE.tv - "SKATE THE WORLD" - USA West Coast - where skateboarding was born. The show featured team riders  Quinne Dainels, Kala Baltasar, Kyra Williams, and Briel Weingartner. Host Mathieu Cyr learns what the Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word movement is really about and why it's so important for GN4LW founder Cindy Whitehead to encourage the next generation of skater girls. 

 

JULY

 

 

Tin Type photographer, Jenny Sampson, dropped her beautiful new book "Skater Girls" which features two of our team riders, Minna Stess and Briel Weingartner, as well as a forward by Cindy Whitehead.

 

AUGUST

 

Team rider, Elle Warne's new YouTube channel launches and she shows you how to set up a freshie, something every new skater should learn to do.

Team rider Minna Stess who is also on the USA National Skateboarding Team is featured in the video series "NO DAYS OFF" presented by Whistle Sports. A great look inside her day to day training and why she's so damn good!

Cindy Whitehead was featured on the Quell Party Podcast sharing stories of growing up as a pro skater in the mid '70s and where Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word is headed today.

 

SEPTEMBER

 

Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word founder, Cindy Whitehead, was featured in the new coffee table book, SKATE LIKE A GIRL, sharing her story about being a '70s pro skater to why starting up Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word was so important to her now. 

Team riders, Emma Houle, Amanda Caloia, Zoe Herishen, Kat Folsom, Minna Stess, Briel Weingartner Quinne Daniels, and Lola Glass were all invited to play and review the new Tony Hawk Pro Skater Game before it launched to the public.

Team rider Quinne Daniels kills it a new commercial for Target  - she skated that purple ramp like a boss! 

 OCTOBER

 

Our founder and pro skateboarder, Cindy Whitehead, has pieces of her '70s skate history on display in the new "GIRLHOOD (It's Complicated)" exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum and the prototype of the Dusters x Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word board is featured as well.

We acted as a support system and cheering squad for fellow skateboarder Molly-Anne as she tackled and completed her 800+ mile skate down the Eastern Seaboard - quite the feat! Team rider Zoe Herishen met her at the finish to congratulate her in person.

Rocker and activist, Joan Jett, featured the Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word logo in her call to get people out to VOTE! 

NOVEMBER

 

We formally welcomed soul skater, Elle Warne to the team - she's young, but old-school at heart, wanting to skate anything and everything she sees. We love that.

Minna Stess was featured in the new show "Pushing for Gold: Meet the USA National Women's Skateboard Team".

GN4LW founder, Cindy Whitehead, was asked to write the forward for the new pocket size book by Stoke Much, titled,  "Skate Bud",  which is an awesome book for every skater you know!

 

 DECEMBER

 

Pro team rider Minna Stess was featured in Sports Illustrated Kids Magazine in an athlete section called "The Grid". 

Quite a few of our younger team riders competed in Exposure Skate's "virtual competition" and did really well! Skating and creating a video submission takes more than badass skating. Big congrats to  team riders Briel Weingartner, and Elle Warne!

Amanda Caloia, our downhill team rider, was featured on the show "People are Awesome" and the show racked up  thousands of views immediately, as the public learned all about what it's like being a female downhill skater.

Our newest team rider, Elle Warne, was asked to help open the new KTR facility in Utah along with pro skater Jagger Eaton by doing a demo. Elle's photo now graces the entry way door at KTR, inspiring every skater girl who walks through it. 

We ended the year with a photo session at the now defunct Dolores Water Park, a three hour drive from Los Angeles - where Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word founder, Cindy Whitehead, got to skate all by herself for over 4 hours - social distancing at it's finest.

 

Happy New Year!!