Thabiso, Mmabatho, Neo, Zukie ~ Photo by Karabo Mookie

We are honored to share with you these stunning images of the South African skate crew, Spectrum, by the talented photographer, Karabo Mooki.

The words and interviews below, are his introduction to this rad group of South African skaters and why this photo essay was so important to him.

We couldn’t agree more.

Jeanne - Photo by Karabo Mooki

In a city notoriously known for its ruthless fast, fast-paced nature, Johannesburg, the ‘city of gold’, is not for the faint-hearted. Through South Africa’s tumultuous history of oppression and segregation rose a triumphant legacy of pride, an inherent pride that is recognized in the collective consciousness that makes up the fabric of South Africa’s youth culture.

Skateboarding has provided a foundation of lifelong friends for the girls that make up the crew known as Spectrum.

 Spectrum is a collective of African women armed with skateboards who are reclaiming the streets of in Johannesburg, South Africa. Redefining what it means to be a woman in skateboarding in South Africa.Celebrating life in a community that places an emphasis on honoring girl code and giving rise to awareness in skateboarding for Black women.

Where did it all begin for you, where did you all come together?

 We first noticed one another over a few weeks spotting each other at local skate parks in Johannesburg. When we started skating it was very easy to spot the few girls who were out skating, the community and the presence of girls skating wasn’t what it was a few months ago.

After sometime we were invited to a ‘Girls Shred’ sleepover and found that we all got along incredibly well which led us to staying in touch and getting together for skate sessions outside of the Girl Skate organization.

We wanted to create a sisterhood of skateboarders. We wanted to create something for ourselves. To be recognized by potential sponsors, I mean if we could get the attention of shoe sponsors, because we cant afford shoes, skateboarding in South Africa is extremely expensive, we definitely hope to get more love and support from local skate shops that would be great, but mostly we set out to connect to a larger community through our skating and sharing these moments through our online presence.

So far it’s been mostly about an expression for fun.

Mmabatho photos by Karabo Mookie

What do you believe could be different in the industry?

There needs to be more equality, in terms of judging everyone equally. Lets take out the favoritism.

- Mmabatho

Mmabatho ~ Photo Karabo Mookie

On left - Neo and Zukie On right - Thabiso ~ Photos Karabo Mookie

What would you like to see change in the way people perceive you as a skateboarder?

One thing that annoys me is the reaction guys have to seeing us do tricks we’ve done countless times as if it's the first time we’ve done it, just because we are girls. We might be built different, but it doesn't mean I cant do what you can do, we both have feet and as long as we put time into this we should both be able to excel.

- Neo

Zuki ~ Photo Karabo Mookie

When did you have that moment where you felt like you didn't want to hide your love for skateboarding from your family?

I realized I didn't want to hide skateboarding from my family any longer or keep it this secretive activity when I had to walk to school, knowing that my board was at home I was stuck walking places, I felt like a chump walking places when I knew I could be skating places and seeing things.

- Zukie

Thabiso ~ Photos Karabo Mookie

What has the reception been like from your elders as Black women in skateboarding?

Not only do we have to prove ourselves to the skateboarding community of but also our elders. The community outside of skating, it’s quite a lot to prove to them that this is what I love to do, because all they see is me falling and panic, with this idea that ‘you’re a girl you’re not supposed to be falling’. They don’t see skating as a career, my grandparents for example do not see the point of it, they stress about me always being injured. They don’t realize that I am here because I want to be here, I don’t do this for the fame or anything else, I’m passionate about it and it makes me happy. With passion everything that is meant for you will eventually come toward you because you are destined for it.

-  Thabiso

Zukie ~ Photo Karabo Mookie

Do you feel like girls are put in a position to prove themselves in skateboarding?

You’re put in that position at first, when I started skating it was very scary, I was intimidated by going to parks and seeing the overwhelming presence of men in parks that were excelling at skateboarding.

I had to force myself to confront my fears at the park and claim my right to skate in this male-dominated space.

- Zukie

Thabiso ~ Photo Karabo Mookie

What does skateboarding feel like to you?

Skating to me means freedom, an unexplainable feeling. Freedom is an expression of art to me, as an artist skateboarding is my wheelhouse. When I skate the I’m overwhelmed with this great feeling, when I bomb hills, I feel so free. Skating evokes a sense of happiness, the emotion of escaping from my reality, no matter how shitty I feel on a specific day, I can go out and skate and feel great again. It always reminds me of how much of a great time I have skateboarding and with the people that surround me. Every time I’m on the board my friends motivate me and make me feel more comfortable about being on my board and that’s something I appreciate greatly because it brings me pure happiness.

- Thabiso

Thabiso ~ Photos Karabo Mookie

Parting Words:

What do you believe could be different in the industry?

There needs to be more equality, in terms of judging everyone equally. Lets take out the favoritism.

 - Mmabatho

We want to be appreciated, we putting in blood sweat and tear and not to be recognized for the work we are putting in is something that needs to be changed. The industry needs to stop with the bias.

- Neo

It’s not enough to just show up, the industry needs to recognize the girls who are contributing to the culture and working hard at it. We want equality and fairness.

- Zukie

Patti McGee in 1965 on the cover of the 4th issue of Skateboarder Magazine

We are so sorry to share the news that the amazing Patti McGee has passed away.

Patti was the first woman to be inducted into the Skateboard Hall of Fame and she was also the only female skater (that I am aware of) to have 2 major magazine covers in one year - Life Magazine & Skateboarder Magazine both in 1965.

She was featured in a “Ma Bell” telephone commercial as well - and it is one of the best commercials, featuring a skater, that we have ever seen.

With 100% certainty, we know that Patti paved the way for all of us, because really, how many girls do you think took a chance & skateboarded back in the 1960's?  Not many.

She was an absolute icon in the skateboard world and in her later years, she attended almost all the women’s skate events in Southern California to cheer on the girls and women who were competing

But, most of all, she was an amazing lady and one I am proud to have known. We want to remember her fondly for her style and grace and continue to thank her for her contributions to women's skateboarding.

RIP Patti, and we hope you are up there skating free with that beautiful smile of yours.

All photos by Ian Logan x Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word

When we heard that AU team rider Mia Kretzer was flying into LAX to skate at Tony Hawk’s Vert Alert (special invite!) we knew we had to get some of the girls together to meetup with Mia right after she landed.

What a day Mazel, Brooke and Quinne had - finally meeting up with their AU skate sister after years of connecting via Instagram - it was like they were already best friends immediately.

It was a fun morning of skateboarding at the iconic Venice Skatepark, breakfast on the boardwalk and giving the girls packages from the Palace Gap collection - which they loved!

Mia went on to Utah and killed it at Vert Alert - at just 9 years old Mia earned a spot at X Games Ventura this coming weekend in Women’s Vert - so stay tuned and cheer her on!

Huge thanks to Gap for supporting Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word with a grant and for flowing or team riders apparel from the Palace Gap collection!

Sky Brown is back and this time her new Nike SB show is dropping. You don’t have to wait long as it drops in select skate shops and Nike.com this Friday, June 14.

Read more about Sky and this new shoe HERE

Filmed and Edited by Ty Evans

Get ready for some serious inspiration!

Our badass friend and Skateboarding Hall of Fame Inductee, Judi Oyama, shares with AARP how she became a pioneer for women in the sport and continues to compete in slalom for Team USA.

Judi has been invited to compete in Rome at Worlds - so stay tuned!

All photos Anthony Acosta

Costa Mesa, CALIF. (May 30, 2024) – Vans Global Skateboarder Arisa Trew is making history in skateboarding. In 2023, she shattered barriers by becoming the first woman to land a 720 on a skateboard and then the first to perform the trick in a competition run, clinching the Women's Skateboard Vert gold at X Games California 2023. The next day, she added another feather to her cap by winning the Women's Skateboard Park Gold, making her the youngest X Games double gold medalist at 13. These remarkable achievements led to her being honored with the 2024 Laureus World Sports Award for Action Sports Person of the Year. Following the award, Arisa became the first woman to land a Switch 540. Now, she's taking Skateboarding to even greater heights by becoming the first female to land a 900, a feat accomplished 25 years after Tony Hawk's groundbreaking achievement.

“I was in so much shock when I landed the 900; it’s been a dream of mine since I made my first 540. It’s just awesome pushing women’s skateboarding,” said Arisa Trew.

Congratulations to Arisa for her unwavering determination in pushing skateboarding forward, a testament to her relentless pursuit of progression that continues to inspire future generations.

All photos by Ian Logan x Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word

We joined forces with our amazing friends from Bridge to Skate and had a blast at the South Los Angeles Station Youth Activities League Center (complete with a private skatepark!). Our girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word team riders Mazel Alegado, Mayzie Feher, Brooke Benton, and Quinne Daniels brought a truckload of new and gently used skate gear to donate. They spent the afternoon showing young girls (and boys) the ropes, from the basics to dropping in.

Our team riders shared their inspiring stories with the kids. They spoke about their lives as competitive skateboarders, their dreams of competing at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and the hard work they put in both at school and in the skatepark to turn those dreams into reality.

The May issue of Scholastic Magazine features team rider Mazel on the cover and has a three-page story about her personal journey in skateboarding. We are so grateful to Scholastic Magazine for sending us enough copies of the issue to pass out to every child in the program. All four team riders signed the magazines and personally handed them out. After that, it was time to skate!

After a teaching session, the kids were ready to see a demo, and these rad girls did not disappoint! They skated hard, answered questions, did tricks that the kids asked to see and kept the momentum going.

Huge thanks to Gap for supporting Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word with a grant and for donating tee shirts and hats from the Palace Gap collection that we were able to give to these new and enthusiastic young skateboarders!

Image via Palace Gap

Have you seen the new PALACE GAP ads and video featuring our team rider Anna Shea? Shot in and around iconic spots in San Francisco, these visuals are not just stunning; they're a testament to the growing influence of skateboarding culture. The video, filled with vibrant adventures, makes you feel like you're on an epic skate trip with these young skaters, including Anna, who plays a significant role in this campaign.

Image via Palace Gap

 Anna makes her first appearance in this super cool video, which features many of your favorite legendary skaters: Elissa Steamer, Karl Watson, and Tommy Guerrero, and Palace skaters Kanin Garner, Jamal Smith, Heitor Da Silva, and Jahmir Brown.

We were honored when Gap came to us to help find the skater girl for this shoot. After quite a few remote auditions, Anna ended up getting the part, and we could not be happier for her. At just nine years old, she absolutely held her own throughout the two days of filming.

Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word team riders Maya and Anna celebrating the PALACE GAP launch

When the PALACE GAP collection was unveiled, it was a moment of celebration and unity. Anna, along with her PALACE GAP mates, rolled out to the original Gap store on Market Street in San Francisco. The surprise arrival of her Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word teammate, Maya Kenny, added to the joy and camaraderie of the event, showcasing the strong bonds within the skateboarding community.

Image via Palace Gap

Now we have some other great news!

Moving forward this year, Gap has provided a financial grant to Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word to help us do what we love: support girls and women in skateboarding!

Look out for more of our support for indie projects and special events that give back to the skate community. 

First up is the annual Chica de Mayo all-girls skate event on May 18th in New Jersey; this event is put on by team rider sixteen-year-old Zoe Herishen, who has, for the past eight years, thrown a fantastic East Coast skate event to help teach and encourage girls to get out and skate together. We have sent some special Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word give-a-ways that will only be at this event, so you don't want to miss it!

Thanks to Gap for this fantastic opportunity and your belief in what we do! Stay tuned to see what we have planned next with Gap’s support!!

Filmed in 2023 this is Francesca Shuda with her first full part dedicated to Street Skating in Philadelphia and the surrounding areas.

This part also welcomes Francesca Shuda to the Kinetic Skateboarding Team.

From Kinetic Skateboarding: "We had the opportunity to have Francesca become a part of Kinetic's shop team, even though it feels like she had always been a part of the crew! This girl has put in time, work and effort since showing up a couple of years ago at a Wilmington Skate Birds meetup. Since then she's gone on to be sponsored by Meow Skateboards and 187 Killer Pads. Aside from her just ripping it up whether in the park, streets or comps, she also is just a very kind and sweet person, and is always a friendly face at the park from Philly to Delaware and everywhere in between. As much as she wants to succeed, she wants others to succeed right alongside with her. Congratulations Francesca!! You deserve it."

Filmed & Edited by Jimmy Shuda. Animation by Calista Tussey. Thumbnail photo by Justin Mondschein.

We are BIG fans of TOGETHXR and they have just released a rad video on one of our favorite street skaters, Chloe Covell.

Chloe Covell just gets better with age. The 13 year old made X Games history as the youngest women’s street gold medalist earlier this year. Prior to that, she became the youngest skater with two podium finishes in competition history. Now she looks ahead to represent her country of Australia at the Paris Olympics and continue her impressive run. Already with sponsors from Nike SB and Oakley, TOGETHXR caught up with one of the hottest street skater in the world.

Make sure you grab the February 2024 Issue of THRASHER Magazine, because Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word team rider, nine-year-old Anna Shea, has a quarter page photo in it. Anna is blasting a backside air in Newark, CA. The rad image was taken by Busenhart.

Congrats Anna!!

We love seeing mainstream luxury brands like Golden Goose support female skateboarders. Take a trip to China in the latest episode and meet skater Zhang Xin who shares her incredible story of discovery, transformation, and resilience.

Zhang Xin is a Chinese skateboarder. She has competed in women's park events at several World Skateboarding Championships, finishing 19th in 2018 and 25th in 2019. Zhang placed fifteenth in the preliminary round of the women's park event at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

Watch to see what she is up to next!

Atita Verghese is India’s foremost female skater. She discovered skateboard culture through the country’s Holystoked crew who built India’s first DIY skatepark in Bangalore. As soon as she set foot on a board, her life changed forever- and she has never looked back.

In 2014, Atita founded Girl Skate India, an NGO which encourages young women to follow her path into the great big world of skateboarding for themselves.

Atita is an inspiration to women worldwide- but especially in India, a nation of a billion souls where skating is still in its infancy. Having learned how to mix concrete and shape transitions with the Holystoked collective, she has worked on the majority of skatepark builds throughout her home country to this day.

Along the way, skateboarding has seen her feature in many adverts, a TED talk, landed her roles in movies and even a cameo appearance in the Netflix show Skater Girl.

In a society where opportunities for girls to be free of social constraints and have fun are thin on the ground, Atita does more than just provide boards, pads or lessons- she has created a one-woman movement.

That has to be something worth checking out.

Nora Vasconcellos has paved the way for women In skate to do more than just the contest circuit. Nora has created a path where women, like the male skaters before them, can shoot video parts, have lucrative brand deals and skate for the fun of it. The days of thinking the Olympics are the only big dream for female skaters is being changed - thanks to Nora.

Skateboarder and YETI athlete Nora Vasconcellos joins The Lineup. She talks about her barrier-breaking career, from becoming the first woman signed to the Adidas Skate Team and putting out her film “Nora” to designing her signature shoe and landing the cover of Thrasher Magazine. She discusses her love of surfing and the crossovers between it and skateboarding, her favorite surfers today, and being inspired by Stephanie Gilmore and Carissa Moore as a kid. Nora also touches on gender equality in sports, advice to girl groms, skateboarding’s rawness and playfulness, the toughest trick she learned, and working with YETI.

Nike asked girls and all-star athletes like Jordan Chiles, Rayssa Leal, and Bebe Vio how they tackled obstacles that made them want to quit sport. Listen in as they share stories, inspire one another, and tell each other, “You Got This.”

We love seeing our team riders Quinne Daniels and Briel Weingartner featured in these NIKE spots along with South Bay surfer/skater Teagan Meza and pro skaters Rayssa Leal, Leticia Bufoni as well as Venice local, skater/influencer Brooklinn Khoury.

Watch this next video to hear what Quinne has to say aboutow skateboarding has helped her with fitting in - powerful stuff!

The next generation of Aussie athletes are defining victory on their own terms - playing free and celebrating fearlessly. Because they know that victory isn’t only found in the final. It’s found in the little moments that feel monumental. ️ The next generation of Aussie athletes are defining victory on their own terms - playing free and celebrating fearlessly. Because they know that victory isn’t only found in the final. It’s found in the little moments that feel monumental.

The film celebrates young women and girls redefining sport on their terms. The film showcases the Matildas’ celebration song as the soundtrack and an invitation to all young Australians to re-imagine what it means to be victorious and to celebrate their victories fearlessly.The short film features the next generation of female Aussie athletes, including skateboarding phenom, Chloe Covell.

If you did not catch Chloe at the X Games in Ventura, CA you need to watch the recap of her runs - she is amazing and should definitely be on your radar!

Make sure you watch closely to see surfing (and golf) prodigy Sierra Kerr featured!

This new book  “Skateboarding, Power and Change”  is a must-read for any skateboarder, especially “non-traditional” skaters. Written by Indigo Willing and Anthony Pappalardo (both skaters themselves), it includes interviews with change-makers and industry insiders to help shed light on how social, cultural, and political change is happening in skateboarding today.

The book starts from the beginning, documenting skateboarding’s infancy, and continues showcasing a timeline that is an in-depth look at skateboarding’s long history. No topic is off limits, and the authors interview the non-traditional skateboarders who helped create change and who were and are, at the forefront of making skateboarding more inclusive as we move forward.

Interviews with female skaters such as; Amelia Brodka, Cindy Whitehead, Peggy Oki, Lynn Kramer, Alex White, and more are insightful and honest in their assessment of skateboarding through the years.

If you are interested in skateboarding history, knowing its deep roots, and learning about the skaters and companies who pushed for change, you need to order this book.

Available now at:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Walmart

You may have caught Arisa Trew’s HERstory making 720 in our recap video of Tony Hawk’s Vert Alert, but if you didn’t, or just want to watch herstory being made again, you can catch it here. We decided that when INSIDE EDITION decides to talk about a female skateboarder , that is the one we want to run with - pretty big deal as Arisa is everywhere these days getting the praise she deserves for her remarkable feat!

Arisa has inspired and shown skater girls everywhere that this is possible. We bet we will see many more girls in the coming year push to add this trick to their Olympic Qualifying runs.

Congrats Arisa!!

Yumeka Oda and Momiji Nishiya at Sanrio headquarters (C) 2023 SANRIO CO., LTD.

Press Release: TOKYO, April 25, 2023 -- Sanrio Company, Ltd. headquartered in Tokyo, is pleased to announce that it has signed sponsorship agreements with Japanese female skateboarders Momiji Nishiya and Yumeka Oda, effective April 21, 2023. Through these agreements, Sanrio hopes to support young athletes in their challenges and strengthen its corporate brand in North America and other global markets.

As part of the agreements, both athletes will use decks with Hello Kitty and Sanrio logo stickers to compete in various tournaments and competitions, starting with one of the world's most prestigious, premier action sporting events, "X Games Chiba 2023" (May 12-14 in Chiba, Japan).

Momiji Nishiya - photo via Sanrio

Momiji Nishiya - Born on August 30, 2007, in Osaka, Japan. She is the first gold medalist in the TOKYO 2020 Skateboard Women's Street event. At the same time, she became the youngest Japanese skater ever to win a gold medal at the age of 13 years and 10 months. She started skateboarding at the age of 6, influenced by her older brother, and within 7 years of starting to compete, she joined the ranks of the world's top-class skaters. With the motto of "smile and have fun until the end," she has won the world's most prestigious contests such as X Games and Dew Tour, and is also eager to create video parts on street skating.

Yumeka Oda

Yumeka Oda - Born on October 30, 2006, in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, she started skateboarding at the age of 7. In 2022, she represented Japan at the Pro Tour organized by World Skate. She also won in Street League Skateboarding, the most prestigious competition in the world, and scored 9.4, that is the highest score for a single trick in women's history and the first time in women's skating history to score in the 9-point range. The disappointment of missing out on TOKYO 2020 has propelled her to be one of the leading candidates of the next generation who are expected to achieve great things at the next Games.