Posts tagged epic
Our Founder, Movement + Team Are Featured In Glorious Sport Magazine!

Cover shot from Glorious Sport Magazine - Photo Brad Bowman

We are thrilled to be featured in the “PIONEER” issue of GLORIOUS SPORT Magazine. The article talks to Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word founder, Cindy Whitehead,about her 70’s pro skateboarding career and goes deep on what the mission of Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word is all about. The piece also shines a light on numerous of our team riders, showing just how powerful and dedicated these young girls are when it comes to skateboarding.

You can read the article in full HERE

Briel Weingartner ~ Photo Ian Logan

Mazel Alegado ~ Photo Ian Logan

THE FULL GLORIOUS SPORT ARTICLE —> HERE

GN4LW Featured in New Smithsonian Book!

We’re excited to kick off Women’s History Month with this exciting news!

The very first demo of the Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word x Dusters cruiser board is featured as a two-page spread in the Smithsonian Museum’s new book, Entertainment Nation. We are thrilled to be in a book that is about all things entertainment, not just skateboarding. Why? It helps us reach a new and larger audience so we can continue doing what we do to help push and promote non-traditional skateboarding.

This black version of this board is also on display in the current exhibit “GIRLHOOD: It’s Complicated”, which has left the museum in Washington D.C. and is traveling across the USA for the next few years. You can find out more about seeing the exhibit HERE

Entertainment Nation is available HERE

Our New GN4LW x S1 Collab Helmet Has Dropped - Just in Time For Holiday Shopping!

Klara in the new S1 x GN4LW Collab Helmet ~ Photo Ian Logan

Klara with a Smith Grind in the S1 x GN4LW Collab Helmet ~ Photo Ian Logan

Briel and Evette in the new GN4LW x S1 Collab Helmet ~ Photo Ian Logan

We can’t even begin to tell you just how excited we are about our newest collab helmet with S1 Helmets! From the beautiful watercolor purple and pink graphic to the baby blue straps and GN4LW logo - it’s all perfection!

Not too mention the safety rating - The S1 x GN4LW Lifer Helmet is fully certified to help protect against multiple low impacts and single high impacts. The helmet has specially formulated EPS Fusion Foam, it’s Certified for Multi-Impact (ASTM) as well as Certified High Impact (CPSC) and it’s 5x More Protective than Regular Skate Helmets on the market!

We are proud to be partners with S1 on our helmets for all these reasons and more.

Get one in time for the holiday’s HERE!

Klara showing off the baby blue GN4LW logo and straps on the new helmet ~ Photo Ian Logan

** This GN4LW x S1 Collab Helmet helmet gives proceeds back to the Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word Movement - a fiscally sponsored non-profit.



2022 Venice Ladies & LGBTQ+ Jam - Photos

All Photos Chris Hooten

We are so honored to be a co-sponsor of this fantastic event!

The 6th annual Venice Ladies and LGBTQ+ Jam went off under beautiful sunny skies - we couldn’t have asked for a better day! The skaters were encouraging each other, and the crowd was cheering for each and every one of them! Skaters spanned from as young as four years old all the way up to our master’s division, where 50+ was the norm!

Scroll on for so much goodness from the day!

Mazel air over the channel

Mother and daughter duo - Julie and Quinne

The woman who makes all of this happen Heidi Lemmon, and SHOF Inductee Gale Webb

Anna with a nice BS air over the hip

Evette awarding Kateyln her 1st place medal

Katelyn with an invert - showing the style that earned her 1st place

Legendary Venice skater, Pauline Branom watching the action

Girls Play LA was in the house!!

A podium full of smiling faces and lots of swag!

DJ VRSA

Cheryl with a rock and roll on the hip in the snake run

Penny attacking the snake run

Julie winning a bag of swag and looking pretty stoked about it!

Quinne BS grind in the bowl

Our amazing announcer/MC Bart Saric

Maya handing out prizes to the competitors

Brooke, Penny and Nona competed in Pup Cup and took home tons of prizes!

Pauline flowing through the snake run

Nona has a little asist from dad during the pup cup

Tracie G - WCMX off the stairs!

The 25+ division ruled!! Such a great turn out!!

Nia thinking about her next run for pup-cup.

Mac Attac - total Venice style!

Mayziewith a stylish FS grind

Alex taking home the spoils

So many happy faces!

Sydney having a blast in the snake run

This about sums it up - what a GREAT day!!

We have to thank all the support this event was given this year, not only by our amazing sponsors but also Girls Play LA,  LA Parks and Rec, and the City of Los Angeles.

We say this every year, but it is so true... The best part of this event is seeing so many girls come out and skate, meet one another, and form friendships, and they now have a group of girls to continue skating with throughout the year. That's what keeps these girls progressing.

Huge thanks to the City of Los Angeles, LA Recreation and Parks, Venice Recreation Center, Venice Art Walls, DJ VRSA, Skate Park Association International, Heidi Lemmon, Lance Lemond, Kimi Kallman, Bart Saric our fabulous announcer, Lonnie Hiramoto, all the judges and volunteers, the photographers - Lauren Muller, Gale Webb, and Chris Hooten, who covered the event, as well as the numerous sponsors who sent so much product that the girls went home with a big bags of swag.

Hope to see everyone again next year!

Thanks to Chris Hooten for the use of all his images!

** Please check out our instagram for additional coverage of the event!

Our Very First Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word Collab Deck Has Launched!

It took nine years of people asking us to do this, but it's finally here! 👏 Today we are proud to announce the launch of our FIRST Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word skate deck. 🛹

We found the perfect collab partner in Pom Pom Skateboards to create a deck that is not only high quality, a great size, and shape but also has sick colors and a mix of our original, well-loved graphics. 💗+☠️

Deck Specs:

Hot pink stain, teal graphic bottom

8.5" wide, 7 Ply Canadian Maple, 14 1/4 Wheelbase, 7" nose, 6 3/4" tail

** Each of these collab decks comes with stickers from GN4LW & POM POM **

This is a LIMITED-EDITION deck - so get yours while you can! 🏁

All proceeds go back to the Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word Movement - a fiscally sponsored non-profit. 🙏

Get out and SKATE! ✔️

Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word x Bridge to Skate Night at Volcom HQ

Minna Stess ollies the Stone ~ Photo Migzy

Bridge to Skate and Girl Is NOT a 4 Letter Word hosted a skate night at the Volcom HQ park last night, where the kids were invited to come down and skate, eat snacks and get a whole bunch of cool free stuff. That’s it. Just come skate this killer private park, and in return, we will shower you with gifts. Oh, also, we’re going to invite Olympic high flyer Minna Stess to come hang, and GOAT Ricci Tres will be there too, ripping the park and killing it on the mic. Say whaaatt??

And with over 237K watching the live feed on TWITCH - the event was a huge success!

WNBA Star (and avid skateboarder) Brittney Griner Sentenced Today in Russia.

Brittney Griner and GN4LW Founder, Cindy Whitehead at the espnW Summit

WNBA Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist, Brittney Griner is 6'9, with a size 17 shoe, and can dunk like nobody's business. She was the #1 overall pick in the 2013 WNBA draft, and she is a SKATEBOARDER. Yep, you heard that right.

We met Brittney in 2014 at the espnW Summit, and after talking, we gifted her one of the very first Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word x Dusters California cruisers that we came out with. She loved our message and the board. And we loved meeting another lifelong skater at the Summit.

Brittney at The Berrics in 2013

Brittney has been an avid skateboarder since she was a kid. She is such a fan that she got tongue-tied meeting Tony Hawk for the first time and had a skate session at the Berrics in 2013 with Erik Kosten. When she was signed to the WNBA they asked her to “tone down her skateboarding” for fear she’d get hurt bombing hills and parking garages. But Brittney sneaked in a skate session when she could - because that’s what skaters do.

Eric Kosten and Brittney in 2013 at The Berrics

Fast forward to today’s news…

We are pretty sure you’ve seen the news for the past six months about Brittney being detained in Russia while awaiting trial on charges after hashish oil was found in her bags at a Moscow airport. Today Griner was handed down a sentence of nine years in a Russian prison. The news was devastating. The White House and President Biden have been working on her release and have classified her as a “wrongfully detained US Citizen, held as a political pawn.”

We are praying that her release is swift and soon and that she is back to playing basketball and skateboarding those parking garages she loves.

You can read more in-depth coverage about Britteny Griner’s arrest, sentencing and to understand better what a “Russian Penal Colony” really is HERE

Why Don't More Women Own Skate Shops? An Interview with Sasha Senior.

Sasha Senior - owner of Bliss Skateboard shop

We love meeting amazing women who help further skateboarding. So we were excited that we had the opportunity to sit down via zoom and do an interview with Sasha Senior. Sasha is 33 years old, a skater, a powerhouse, and is making history, opening the first Black female-owned skate shop in North America. Bliss Skateboard shop, with Sasha at the helm, opened its doors on March 20, 2020 - during the beginning of the pandemic.

Read on for how she did it, what it takes and how it’s all going.

Bliss Skateboard Shop

GN4LW: We absolutely love what you are doing by opening a female-founded skate shop - it’s important that women in this industry participate in areas where they can further skateboarding for other non-traditional skaters - can you tell us what made you decide to open a skate shop?

SASHA: I was having a convo with another skate shop owner, and he asked me if there was a skate shop by me, and no, there wasn’t. So that made me decide to start looking into it. I figured I had weekends free, so maybe I should? I found a great location five minutes from the local skatepark. So I got the space, and I was like, “I guess I’m a skate shop owner now.” I literally put the cart before the horse. That was the point when I realized I was really committing.

GN4LW: So, now you have a location, and since you went into this on a bit of a whim, what were your next steps to get products and build the shop?

SASHA: I didn’t really fully understand the commitment and work it would take to start a shop. So I saved some money and just made it all happen… I didn’t take out any loans, so I used the money I had to buy products, and as they sold, I rolled that back into the shop to buy more products.

GN4LW: You opened when the pandemic started - how was that?

SASHA: We opened on March 20, 2020, and a few days later, the government said we were going into lockdown… Non-essential stores were closed, so I shifted to online immediately. It was a learning curve. Sales were local - I’d advertise the website on my Facebook page and have people call my cell phone and tell me what they wanted to order, then I’d meet them at the shop in 20 minutes to give them their order. I’d leave it outside the door, wait for them to pick it up, and it went on like that for quite a while.

Saha Senior on camera for a promo for Bliss Skateboard shop

GN4LW: When did you start doing shipping orders?

SASHA: The next year is when I started shipping things which opened up even more areas for me.

GN4LW: How did things change for you as a shop owner as the pandemic went along?

SASHA: There was a lack of product available for me to stock - there were either really small boards or really large boards available, so that was tough. I was scraping the bottom of the barrel to get products that my customers needed and wanted. It was tough. I was placing smaller orders than larger, more established shops, so I was not always able to get what I wanted. It was a struggle.

GN4LW: How did you find and connect with skateboard distributors when you started?

SASHA: In Canada, we have to buy from Canadian distributors. Which I didn’t know when I started. Once I got with the first distributor here, I was still a bit limited as they only carry certain products. I really had to research and establish those connections to get to other distributors to get other brands I wanted to carry. I’m used to paperwork in my main job, so that wasn’t a struggle for me - but for someone else, a vendor application might be harder. Once I had that first distributor to help show trust with other distributors and made it easier to get an account with them. Even Google searches, Instagram, etc., helped me find the suppliers of the products II needed.

GN4LW: How do you feel about sharing resources?

SASHA: I’m like an open book, and I share info - I fully believe in that. A guy opened a new skate shop in Ontario and reached out asking how to get the product he needed, and I gladly helped him, so he didn’t have to go through what I did. Because in the future I’d like to think we all help each other. If I don’t have a board a customer wants, maybe I can call him and refer them that way. Hopefully, he will do the same for me. I want to maintain those connections - that’s what makes the skate community stay together.

Sasha - Kickflip

GN4LW: So it sounds like working with other skate shops is important to you?

SASHA: Keeping those connections is important. Maybe he decides to have a demo day and then asks you to do a popup with your skaters? And it works both ways - we all should support each other. And I think when you help your customers and have a good vibe in your shop, it’s better for everyone - so why wouldn’t I help - even if my shop doesn’t have what you need?

GN4LW: Sometimes non-traditional skaters are conditioned to guard all the info they have because they fear that someone else being on that team or having that resource takes away from them - it sounds like you are like me; we don’t believe that. At all.

SASHA: Let’s get the resources together, and I feel that there is always opportunity out there. Do you think that the guy who opened Burger King said to himself, I’m not going to open because there is already a Mc Donalds out there? Or if Wend’s said I’m not going to open because there are those other two. No, they said to themselves, “I’m doing it this way” - we can all be in this space, and I’m going to do it my way, and if they like me, they will come to my space. And that’s the same with anything you do - if you say, “I’m not going to be able to get that opportunity because someone else already has it - then you won’t.”

GN4LW: You need to do a TEDx talk - seriously!!

SASHA: Thank you - that would be rad!

Sasha Senior in front of her skateboard shop, BLISS.

GN4LW: Have you had any issues with people having issues that you are a Black, female-owned skate shop?

SASHA: No, the guys who leased me the space asked what I was going to do with it, and I said, “a skate shop.” They were saying, “wow, we don’t have one of those. That’s great!”. I finally told one of my friends halfway through building out the shop that I was doing this, and he was saying, “do you know how much work that is?” I really don’t look at obstacles that way - the fact that I am a Black woman or anything else did not cross my mind - I wanted to own a skate shop, and so I did it.

GN4LW: That is a great attitude to have - for anything in life!

SASHA: Right? If I had that attitude of I can’t because I’m a woman, I am a Black woman, I would have never gotten into skateboarding. And I have been skating since I was thirteen, only stopping when I was injured at one point in time.

GN4LW: The work you are doing is important for everyone else in the community and beyond.

SASHA: Yeah, my friend said, “you know, as a Black woman, you are going to make history doing this, right?’ But I hadn’t even thought about that - I just wanted to open a skate shop. And the fact that that is now the case is cool - but that was never my intention starting out. I came into like, “I’m a skateboarder,” that’s it.

GN4LW: Have you seen an influx of girls and women gravitating toward the shop?

SASHA: It is awesome now to see more women and girls coming into the shop buying boards and saying that I’ve inspired them - that’s really dope. I have never had the opposite response of “oh, don’t you feel weird?” I don’t feel weird because I’m a skateboarder at the end of the day.

GN4LW: It’s about knowing you belong here. No matter what. But I do think it’s great having a shop where girls and women feel OK asking basic questions and feel comfortable about it.

Sasha - ollie at the skatepark

SASHA: I like the fact that I represent women in skateboarding - every woman in skateboarding does. Growing up, if there had been a woman who owned a skate shop in my town, I’d want to skate even more.

GN4LW: A skate shop becomes your local community.

SASHA: Yes. And there is something really rad about skating with an all-women crew sometimes. It’s just a different vibe than when I skate with the guys. Skating with all women is empowering. We’re all out here doing something a lot of people think women don’t do.

GN4LW: Agreed - the feeling is different and so powerful.

SASHA: It really is.

GN4LW: Do you carry a lot of female-owned brands in the shop?

SASHA: In the beginning, during the pandemic, there was a supply shortage, but at one point, I was able to get Meow skateboard decks in, and then I wasn’t. I couldn’t get other things as well. And I also feel that there are not enough female-owned skate brands out there. There needs to be more.

GN4LW: Do you have any female employees at the shop?

SASHA: Right now, I have all guys working at the shop, I’d love to have more women in the shop working, but I need to find those women who skate and know the products and have the knowledge and experience.

Bliss Skateboard Shop

GN4LW: What is your favorite thing about the shop?

SASHA: I like the community aspect of it. Bliss Skateboard Shop has encouraged so many to skateboard in and near Windsor. I like connecting the community through skateboarding.

GN4LW: What would you like people to know about you and your skate shop?

SASHA: It’s doable, but it’s not going to be easy all of the time. I’m still learning how to make my business better. You have to take the time to understand that success is not going to happen overnight, there are going to be failures, and you are going to have issues. It’s all a lesson, and you need to learn from it. I can’t expect to open and my brand to be like Nike or Empire Skate shop in Montreal. I can’t have these huge expectations right away, or else you will burn yourself out.

GN4LW: It takes a lot of hard work - you also hold a full-time job as well!

SASHA: I had to find some good time management skills. I evaluate how important each issue is and prioritize them. So not everything is problem #1 - because that doesn’t work. If you do that, you won’t get anything done, and you’ll burn yourself out.

GN4LW: What advice would you give other women who want to start a business in skateboarding?

SASHA: I would say, do your research, don’t get discouraged, don’t let other people’s ideas of what they think your brand should be and change your idea of what you want it to be. And that well-known quote, “whatever you do at the end of the day, just start!”. Plan, but don’t be afraid just to start.

GN4LW: Any advice to a girl or womxn who wanted to start skateboarding?

SASHA: DO IT!! Don’t let guys at the park intimidate you. People always say, “I’m not ready for the park yet. I can’t even ollie,” but that’s what the park is for. Every single person you see at the park couldn’t ollie in the beginning either. Put headphones in, be in your own world if you need to, and just skate!

BLISS SKATEBOARD SHOP
3216 Sandwich St
WINDSOR, Ontario N9C1A8
(226) 759-6316
admin@blisssk8shop.com

They ship internationally too!!

Venice Ladies Day Jam 2021!

Photos

Ian Logan

for Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word

Please feel fee to share your photo on social media - we just ask that you please credit @ianloganphoto and @girlisnota4letterword - thanks! 

The 5th Annual Venice Ladies Jam kicked off Saturday AM under unseasonable warm weather, but that didn't stop the girls from skating hard and having fun. The sky was clear, the sun was out and everyone was having a blast meeting up with friends they hadn't seen in a long time.

Girls came from as far away as Las Vegas and the Ladies Day Jam played host to not one but THREE Skateboard Hall of Fame Inductees!  Gale Webb, Vicki Vickers and GN4LW founder Cindy Whitehead were all in attendance to cheer on the girls, help judge and take photos.

Every girl that skated was cheered on by her peers all throughout the day. One young girl was trying to drop in and received huge encouragement from the skaters her age "that she could do this!" ultimately one of the judges jumped into the bowl and helped her put her nerves aside and drop in, to the cheers of the crowd!

We have to thank all the support this event was given this year, not only by sponsors in the skate industry but also groups like Girls Play LA,  Angel City FC, and the City of Los Angeles.

We say this every year, but it is so true... The best part of this event is seeing so many girls come out and skate, meet one another, form friendships and they now have a group of girls to continue skating with throughout the year. That's what keeps these girls progressing.

Huge thanks to the City of Los Angeles, Mike Bonin LA City Council, LA Recreation and parks, Venice Recreation Center, Venice Art Walls, DJ VRSA, Skate Park Association International, Heidi Lemmon, Lance Lemond, Kimi Kallman, Bart Saric our fabulous announcer, Lonnie Hiramoto, all the judges and volunteers, the photographers who covered the event, as well as the numerous sponsors who sent so much product that the  girls went home with a big bags of swag.

Hope to see everyone again next year!

** Please check out our instagram for additional coverage of the event!

'80s Skateboarder, Stephanie Person - What You Didn't Read in Thrasher!

Stephanie Person skating a demo at the 49ers football game

You may not know her skate history (yet), but one thing for sure is Stephanie Person paved the way for so many girls today, and it’s time her story was heard.

This started out as an interview but developed into more of a long and interesting conversation because Stephanie’s story is compelling, intense, and honest. Her path in skateboarding during the ’80s was not always easy. Still, she was always out there making things happen for herself and ultimately changing the game for the girls and women who came after her.

Read on to hear what it was like to be the very first, Black female pro skateboarder.

*This article has been edited and condensed for clarity

Cindy: I know you started skateboarding at age 16, and your rise was pretty fast; how did you start making a name for yourself in skateboarding?

Stephanie: I put on a skateboard competition when I was in high school; actually, this skater kid came up to me; he said, let’s do a competition at our high school, but then they said that was a liability. So then we asked to do it at the community center.

We needed sponsors and prizes. The skater kid said to me, you make the calls – so I was like, OK, I will. I had TransWorld and Thrasher Magazines, and I looked in the back. All the phone numbers were there, and every company that I called donated something for the competition as prizes. So I had UPS coming to my house every day for a couple of weeks. In fact, Gullwing was my first truck sponsor because of this.

Then the Community Center said they changed their mind because they were worried about the liability. I was like, oh my God, everyone is coming from everywhere, now what?

So I ended up changing the date to the 4th of July and holding it in a Park and Ride parking lot, as I knew it would be empty that day. My mom kept saying, don’t do it. If someone gets hurt, I’m going to be liable - because I wasn’t eighteen at the time.

We had banners going around this entire parking lot, and five hundred kids came. We had sponsored amateurs from everywhere. And that’s when my name got on the map.

Stephanie with her skate team

Cindy: That is huge, putting on a skate contest and getting all the sponsors lined up – especially since you were only in high school. What did you do next?

Stephanie: Then the O’Brien brothers, who were sponsored skaters, knocked on my door. They wanted me to throw another contest during the time the Capitola Classic was coming -all the pros come in for that. I said no as the first contest almost gave me a nervous breakdown. Eventually, I said yes, and I did everything again. All the guys came from the Capitola Classic, and Kevin Thatcher asked, are you the Black girl that threw this contest? I said yes, and the next thing I knew, it was everywhere that Stephanie Person put on the Montague Contest.

Cindy: Did you also travel for contests within California?

Stephanie: Then I started entering other competitions; there was one in Oceanside, and they did have a female freestyle division. I was about seventeen. I started skating street. Then I did CASL contests and did a lot of those in Southern California in the '80s. Then I met Cara-Beth Burnside, and vert skating took off again. That's when Judi Oyama (’70s pro-female vert skater on Santa Cruz) called up Richard Novak and got me hooked up with Santa Cruz.

Photo of Stephanie by Judi Oyama

Cindy: I hope you don’t mind Stephanie, but we decided to ask Judi what made her push for you to be on the Santa Cruz team. Here are Judi’s memories from that time…

“The first time I saw Stephanie skate, she caught my eye, not because she was a young woman vert skater, but because she was aggressive and had a style that was strong and fluid. She didn’t hold back and went for moves that most guys couldn’t even make. I knew that Stephanie had talent and would be a good representative for Santa Cruz Skateboards. She coached me to knee slide on the Raging Waters half pipe before I tried to ride it. She said if you can fall, you won’t get hurt. Sitting on the edge and taking the leap of faith that I wouldn’t get hurt was a great tip. I use it to this day when I see young girls learning to ride the deep stuff.” ~ Judi Oyama  

Cindy: When you finished High School, did things change for you?

Stephanie: I ended up moving to Southern California and living with eight street skaters, I was skating vert at that time, but I stayed with them in that house for about six months

I was like, everyone is so sponsored, and I don’t see any other girls ever except a couple, so I thought, why can’t I be sponsored? So I started calling around, just like I did, to get sponsors for those skateboard competitions. I ended up getting sponsored by a ton of companies.

I was first sponsored by Madrid back then, and a skateboard shop in San Jose was my first shop sponsor. Then Rector Pads, Speed Wheels, Venture, Billabong, and Swatch. That was very interesting because I called Swatch up and said, “you guys have a new team out, but you don’t have any girls.” They said they had their team, but I kept explaining that having a female team rider would bring so much more attention to their demos.

I had opened up a 49er’s football game on the vert ramp – Christian Hosoi was there. We were asked to do stuff like that from time to time, so I explained that when you have a big crowd watching, not everyone skates, and most people don’t even know what a 50/50 grind is, but when they watch a girl drop-in, that gets attention. The company agreed, and then I was on Swatch.

Editors Note: Swatch was a popular company that made inexpensive (compared to quartz) watches with colorful plastic faces and bands. Swatch was very well-known and successful in the mid-’80s – ultra-cool. They tapped into musicians and skateboarders to popularize their brand. 

I got all these sponsors myself, which people found to be very different; if there was a sponsor I wanted, I went after it.

1986 Thunder Trucks Ad in Thrasher featuring Stephanie Person

Cindy: I noticed something interesting when I was researching you, Stephanie. You used to skate for Thunder Trucks, is that right?

 Stephanie: Yes.

Cindy: And they did an ad with you in Thrasher magazine, way back in 1986.

Stephanie: Yes, they did.

Cindy: It’s interesting because Samarria Brevard, the only Black female skater we have on the women’s USA National skateboard team, is currently sponsored by Thunder Trucks. I don’t think people realize that you paved the way for this situation, and for other situations that we will get to later in this interview.

Editors Note: It was almost unheard of for a company to put an ad in a mag like Thrasher of a female skater in 1986. Forget Black or White. Just talking about gender here. It was rare. And if you add race on top of gender, Stephanie was really setting herself apart and breaking skateboarding stereotypes for generations to come.

Stephanie: I’ve been in Thrasher a few times.

Cindy: You’ve been in quite a few magazines that people may not be aware of, right?

Stephanie: Yeah, there was a skateboard magazine called Power Edge, and I wrote an article for that called “Equal Time” or something. I was in Thrasher in a feature about girls skateboarding called "Sugar and Spice...?" And the Thunder Trucks ad in Thrasher. I was in TransWorld and had a few other photos in magazines here and there. I was also in the 1984 skate video, Future Primitive – doing a boneless. In 2010 I was featured in "How We Roll" a six-month exhibition of Black Surf and Skate Culture at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles. They used that photo of me about the exhibit on a billboard during the X Games that year - that was cool! 

 Stephanie (BW shot on right) "Sugar and Spice..?" April 1986 issue of Thrasher

Cindy: People may not realize how rare it was for a girl to get coverage skating vert back in those days. In the 70s, Skateboarder magazine covered the girls doing freestyle, slalom, and a few banked walls. Then when we transitioned into vert, it became more about the guys in every issue. It was almost as if they were saying, "girls don’t skate pools and half-pipes." But you pushed past that and kept pushing for coverage when it was mainly TransWorld and Thrasher. 

How many girls did you skate with back then?

Stephanie: There was; Cara-Beth, Lori Rigsby, and I, and everybody else was not very strong. They weren’t very legit.

Cindy: And you girls didn’t have female divisions in contests like we did, right? We had the Gold Cup Series and the Hester Series, and we had to go out there and skate and practice for those contests every day. But what did you girls have as far as contests?

Stephanie: There were no female competitions, so we skated against the guys.

Cindy: We had that same situation in the beginning, and then we got women’s competitions.

Stephanie at a backyard ramp with her male skater friends

Stephanie: My entire adult skate career, I don’t know how many dozens and dozens of competitions I entered, but I was always skating against the guys.

Cindy: So, we actually went backward during that time with women in skate. For our group, when the skateparks closed, a lot of the girls dropped out to go to college, or they were focused on relationships, etc. You were the generation that kept that underground scene going. So punk compared to any other part of skateboarding.

Stephanie: Super underground, especially living in Northern California, because they were really into punk rock and all the punk bands. In Southern California, it was more like George Michael and dayglow. When I was in high school, I was listening to Ska, and I was listening to rockabilly and punk, that very NorCal vibe.

Cindy: Judi Oyama and I talked about that over the years. You have to really want it when you live in NorCal, because it was not like SoCal, where there were skate parks everywhere, and it was easy to skate. And almost all the manufacturers were down here. Luckily, you have NHS up there, and you skated for Santa Cruz, which we’ll get to in a second. But even now, there is this whole thing about being from NorCal – to me, NorCal is very punk and core in skate – like Steve Olsen core.

Stephanie in Fallbrook late'80s ~ Photo Mark Waters

Stephanie: I think during your era, it was like, a lot of parks closed of insurance problems.

 And after that, I believe that women really, just in general, had a hard time.

Back then, I think when I was around, guys would try to pit me against Cara-Beth and Lori all the time, just because we were the only females. I don’t like that feeling. It gives me a rash.

Cindy: Yes, Judi and I have always been on the same page with that – bringing girls up with you is what we should all be doing. Unfortunately, some don’t feel that there is enough of the pie to go around, and that creates an insular situation – which no one benefits from in the long run.

Cindy: I read that in 1988 you turned pro. Is that correct?

Stephanie: Yes, but it wasn’t like that was the year I turned pro. You really didn’t have a choice – there were no amateur competitions in Europe where I was skating, so you had to compete in the pro divisions.

Cindy: It’s interesting to hear this and discuss it because nowadays, people feel that being pro means you have a pro model board. Girls didn’t have that back in the day – in freestyle days, yes – but only a couple girls had those pro models, but not during the vert days in the late ’70s and ’80s. During my era, you turned pro by going to a contest, entering the women’s pro division, and then you couldn’t go back to AM.

Stephanie: There were no amateur contests, no girls divisions in Europe. You just skated. A lot of the Americans were coming over to Europe to skate. So first I went over there to visit, then I moved there. I was skating with Tony Hawk and skating in the Pro Series. I lived there for 16 years.

The story behind that is so crazy because there was a picture of me doing a Frontside Air on an L-shaped ramp at a waterslide park which ran in the San Jose Mercury newspaper. I had Santa Cruz wheels in it – Richard Novak put it on the office wall there. Soon after, he asked for the team’s ideas and insights for a new video, and I was the only one who sent a page of ideas in. Later I approached Richard with a plan for me and Jeff Hedges, another AM, to go to Europe, promote the brand, hand out stickers, meet with shops, etc. Jeff said, “he will never pay for us to go to Europe,” but after hearing my pitch, Richard pulled out his Rolodex and started going through it and asked when we wanted to go and when do you want to come back – I’m green lighting this for you guys to go.

When we got back, I found out that the guys were complaining about me – they were saying I slept with everyone in Europe, which was not true because I was a virgin until I was 24 years old. I was getting too much attention, and there was jealousy, and I was asked to leave the team. I was about 20 years old at this point. I felt like had I been a guy, none of this would have been a problem.  

This got me to Death Box, which back then was a small company in Europe, which ended up turning into Flip with Jeremy Fox. They asked me to ride for them, so it ended up being in my favor that I got off Santa Cruz and rode for them.

Cindy: What age were you when you first started with Santa Cruz?

Stephanie: I think I was like 19 years old then. I went to Europe at age twenty and stayed there for sixteen years. I came back when I was about thirty-five. My family kind of fell apart here in California, so I didn’t know where to go. So I thought I’ll just stay in Europe and live the life. And I did. I toured for five years, all over while I was there.

Cindy: As I remember, that was a point in time for skateboarding that while parks were closing here and people were turning to street. Things in Europe were still happening with vert because they were still embracing what we thought we had lost.

Stephanie in Germany doing an interview at a contest

Stephanie: When I did go to Europe to skate, I found that it was very different. People were very sweet and kind and awesome. It was a very different cultural experience.

J. Grant Brittain was over there covering contests, so people there were now hearing about me, but here in the states, they weren’t because I chose to be in Europe. I was still skating full hardcore, but I ended up losing contact with people like Judi because I was over there for so long.

Cindy: Back when you skated, forget female skaters, there probably weren’t any black skaters, male or female, is that right?

Stephanie: There were maybe a handful of Black male skaters.

There were no Black female skaters, except me during that time.

Cindy: Not to mention, you were like one of three girls skating hard – that’s not a lot. This is why it’s crucial to hear stories like yours, Stephanie – we are all getting older. The women’s stories in skateboarding are not being told in depth. When we are gone, those stories will go with us unless they are preserved for future generations.

Stephanie: Oh, I have a lot of stories from back in those days…

Cindy: I know you were recently featured in Thrasher sharing some of your skate history, which is pretty great!

Stephanie: Yes, but when Thrasher interviewed me, there’s all this stuff I really wanted to talk about but didn’t get to.

Cindy: OK, let's talk about that stuff here. 

For instance, my experience was very different from Lori Rigsby’s. It was: girls shouldn’t skate; get the fuck out of here. Those were, like, tough situations. I went to a skateboard ramp in the south, and the Klan came and tried to beat me up.

Photo of Stephanie ~ Martin Willners

I had a very famous skateboarder try and rape me in a hotel room because I was just by myself. I wasn’t Laurie the blonde golden girl, or Cara-Beth, who grew up in the whole royalty of the Vans era and had all those people backing her. I never had a spot either, like Cara-Beth had Del Mar, and all we had was ramps that kept getting torn down. So I never had a consistent skate spot, you’d get used to one ramp, and then that was gone, and you’d have to skate shitty, even worse ramps. 

It always felt like I never had backup from a group

of guys, I was always fighting my way to stay relevant and be me, and it was never easy. Everything, every single story, every single second of it was absolutely grueling and very hard.

Cindy: That was obviously extremely hard, and I am sorry you had to go through all that, but just know you opened so many doors – like Judi getting you on Santa Cruz, she has quietly done the same thing in the past few years, getting Minna Stess on the team. And, of course, Samarria is now on Thunder Trucks – you paved the way for that door to open up back in 1986. These are only two examples. There are so many more Black girls skating nowadays, and you led the charge.

Cindy: When did you stop skating vert – or have you?

Stephanie: What eventually took me out of skateboarding was I busted my knee – it took ten surgery's  and four years of recovery to get over that. If that never happened, I’d still been skating hard and probably would have done even more.

Cindy: I really appreciate the time and depth you are giving us for this conversation. These are things that we, as female skaters, don’t usually share or get asked about – so thank you for being so honest, raw, and real.

Judi and I think that next up for you should be a Skateboarding Hall of Fame nomination!

Stephanie: Aw, thank you, you girls are so sweet!

Cindy: Thank YOU! I appreciate that you fought so hard for yourself and others in skateboarding. As a Black female skater, you paved the way for so many girls today, so thank you so much for all you’ve done, and just know what there’s a lot of us that definitely appreciate it!

You can follow Stephanie on her Instagram

Girlhood (it's complicated) at the Smithsonian.

In case you missed the Smithsonian Museum of American History's virtual live opening of the new exhibit, GIRLHOOD (it's complicated) you can catch it all right here!

'70s skateboarders Cindy Whitehead and Judi Oyama both have pieces of their skate history on display in this exhibit and the prototype of the Dusters x Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word board is featured as well.

Watch out for this display and special messages from Judi & Cindy at the 43:30 mark.

Premier Of The Badass Dusters x GN4LW Baldy Pipe Skate Video!

Janthavy Norton ~  Photo Elise Crigar

 

Watch the Video - Shot at Baldy Pipe!

After seven years together, Dusters California and Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word are celebrating the success of their long term collaboration with a re-issue of their first cruiser skateboard with the bold message and graphics that let girls know that there is definitely a place in skateboarding for them.

Keeping with their long-standing tradition of making sure girls know that it’s a revolution of equality, empowerment, and exposure, Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word worked with an all-female creative team to come up with the concept, images, video, and music for the launch of this new cruiser board.

 

“Having a female creative team on

project just felt right,” said

Cindy Whitehead, OG pro skateboarder, and founder of Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word.

“We are always encouraging girls to create their own skate media, and we felt this would be the perfect time to work with creative director and photographer Elise Crigar , cinematographer, Madeline Northway and the all-female band, the Anti-Queens to put together something really special.”

Traveling to the iconic ‘70’s skate spot Mt. Baldy outside of Los Angeles, with Arizona skater Janthavy Norton, wasn’t without its challenges, from rain that seemingly came out of nowhere to dense fog that made filming stop at some points, it was definitely a true skate trip in every sense. But in the end the sun broke through, the ground dried up and the day couldn’t have been anymore epic.

The Dusters x GN4LW Re-Issue Cruiser has Cindy’s original artwork and lettering done in neon and metallic ink, and for this new version, the grip tape was changed to bright pink with a black skull. Gold Tensor 6.0’ trucks, and iridescent pink 62mm x 51 mm 83A wheels with a skull embedded in them finish off the look.

This is one in a long line of Dusters and GN4LW collaborations that give back to girls in skateboarding. Currently, proceeds go into a micro-grant program that helps girls with travel, creating media and more. The board is also part of Dwindle’s “regrowth” program with the National Forest Foundation, for every tree they harvest they plant two.

The Dusters California “GN4LW Re-Issue” is now available at surf and skate stores across the country and abroad.

Buy the Dusters x GN4LW Cruiser

Thank You Supply

Skate Warehouse

So Cal Skate Shop

Surf Dome  

Board Paradise

Santa Cruz Board Room

Pro Skateboard Shop

Pavement Store

- New Zealand

Board Hub

- South Africa

Numero 4 Skate Shop

  - France

Cruisin City

- France

Randy's Donuts x GN4LW on Go Skateboarding Day!

Photos

Ian Logan

On

Go Skateboarding Day

, the Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word crew took over the iconic LA landmark,

Randy's Donuts

, and put on a girls demo with our partners at

2x4 Mini Ramps

. So many people came out to watch the girls rip the mini ramp, 1/4 pipes and fun box. It really was an epic day!

Huge thanks to

Randy's Donuts

,

2x4 Mini Ramps

,

Madeline Northway

(video coming soon),

Elise Crigar

who did our design work for the event, and

Ian Logan

(photographer), as well as all our skaters - Zoe, Quinne, Kala, Amanda, Ruby, Briel, Emma, Elise, Arianna, Jessie, Sylvia, & Vianez.

The Helmet Debate Rages On As We Head Into The Olympics.

VPS Huntington Beach  Photo Ian Logan

Helmets. They've been a hot topic since the '70s when skateparks were being developed and skaters were challenging their limits beyond banked alleys and sidewalks.

To wear a helmet or not to wear one?

Skateparks back then charged fees to enter and full safety gear was required and enforced - so you had to comply. If you look back at most of the photos from that era of skateboarders in skateparks you'll see both pads and helmets.

Cindy Whitehead at Skateboard World Skatepark circa 1976

When you look at backyard pool photos from the '70s on you'll see a very different story - no rules being enforced and we were free to do as we pleased. And to be honest, scaling a fence to skate an empty backyard pool is not for kids who "follow the rules".

Some people wonder why you'd choose not to wear a helmet when it seems so obvious that your head is super important and needs protection in case of a fall. I personally know the feeling of flying up an empty pool wall and having my hair flying in the wind, it feels freeing and it takes me back to when we all started skating and there were no rules, pads or helmets foisted upon us.

There were times at the skatepark when I'd fall (with a helmet on) and have to go to the hospital, and after examining me and running some tests, the doctor would say to my mom "it's just a mild concussion".

These words used to comfort my mom and she'd breathe a sigh of relief. The problem is that now we know better. Any head injury or blow to the brain is never mild, or "nothing to worry about". Repetitive head slams add up to injuries that affect the brain in so many ways. We have seen these dire consequences with legends like Dave Mirra and Biker Sherlock.

So why do so many of us continue skating without a helmet?

When the skateparks started closing and dying out in the 80's street skating was born and no one wore pads or helmets, because there were again no rules or anyone to enforce that safety gear. And it was easier to skate without all that protection - pads included.

Lizzie Armanto on the covers of TransWorld Photo Jones  and Thrasher  Photo Micahel Burnett

Hardcore skateboard magazine also decided that they wouldn't feature skaters wearing pads or helmets as it wasn't as gnarly.  Part of that theory was if you even had knee pads on and didn't make a sick trick you could "slide out of it" so that wasn't core. You need to take a slam or be able to run out of it to be legit. This thought process has been ingrained into most of us at an early age in skateboarding.

Pro skateboarder Lizzie Armanto graced the cover of both Thrasher and TransWorld and while neither pic shows her wearing a helmet (she is a ProTec sponsored athlete), she does have knee pads on - so that's

some

progress!

In the past few years, we have seen people realize that skateboard helmets can be cool, lightweight with full protection and still look rad. In fact many OG skaters have now decided that their life is more imprtant than being a renegade when it comes to helmets.

In fact, our second Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word collaboration was for an

XS Helmet

that was matte black with our logo in gold on the side - it looks both badass as well as being fully certified for skateboarding. We felt that having a helmet as part of our partnerships was important in encouraging girls to skateboard.

Minna Stess  Photo Todd Fuller

Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word team rider, Minna Stess, wears hers daily and competes at the highest level as a pro skateboarder - she is 13 years old and hopefully helping to change the thought process surrounding helmets.

The Olympics are coming in 2020 and skateboarding will be part of that. The official ruling is that helmets will be required if you are under a certain age. We recently saw that the ruling was enforeced  at the UK National Championships (an Olympic qualifying event) and 10-year-old Sky Brown was seen wearing a brand new Pro-Tec during her events. We also see more and more girls here in the USA that skate park wearing helmets in competition.

Maybe it's this next generation of girls that will create the change, and make wearing a helmet as normal as putting on your sneakers to go out and skate.

Women's History Month - Female Skate Billboards Launched In NYC!

Girl Gang in Times Square

Violet

 CA and NY Crews Hanging in the Cold

Mathilda

Kava, Nesa & Jasmine

Jasmine

Lola

Kava

Violet

Quinne, Kyra and Lola

Photos

Ian Logan

x Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word

* If you'd like to repost on your own social media, please credit @ianloganphoto and @girlisnota4letterword - thanks!

The Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word billboards went up in Times Square, NY on Thursday to kick off WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH, and the two digital platforms lit up the New York City sky during rush hour, while skater girls gathered on the sidewalk across the street to skate, talk, celebrate and take photos with the billboards.

We flew with some of the GN4LW crew out to NYC for the launch and had the best time meeting the NYC girls we know from Instagram. We gave out raffle tickets and prizes like a

Dusters x Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word "Street Angel" board

,

Sunshine Canteen tees

,

beanies,

stickers, pins

and our friends at

OH-SO Magazine

gave out copies of their premiere issue and

Quell Skate

showed up to pass out stickers as well.

"Women and girls in skateboarding should be seen and celebrated, says Cindy Whitehead, founder of Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word, it was awesome to see female skateboarders from California as well as New York, come out on Thursday night to view and celebrate these billboards as a collective group - it wasn't about who was on the billboards, it was about the fact that they were finally seeing other skater girls like themselves, larger than life."  

The billboards photos were shot by

Ian Logan

and designed by

Elise Crigar

. The skater girls featured are Quinne Daniels, Kyra Williams and Kala Baltasar.

We'd like to thank artist Jim Rugg (artwork on the

Street Angel board

featured), Sunshine Canteen for graphics on the tee's and Dusters California for our collab skateboard line.

**In honor of the NYC billboard launch, Dusters California is giving 15% off the

GN4LW "STREET ANGEL" cruiser,

with artwork by Jim Rugg!  Get yours

HERE

& use code gn4lw at checkout

This New Collab Has Dropped And Is Selling out Fast!

The

Doyenne Skateboards x Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word collab

just launched as part of Doyenne's new Winter Collection and we are so stoked!

The limited edition tee features a picture, circa 1977, of Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word founder, Cindy Whitehead,  screen-printed in lilac on a heavyweight white tee, with the tagline "Women That Made History". When companies like Adobe are using iconic 70's skate images of women like Cindy in their ads without proper credit, this new

Doyenne x GN4LW collab tee

answers back, firmly placing history where it belongs.

You can order the tee online

HERE

  and they ship worldwide - so get yours before they sell out!

Support female skateboarding and wear with pride the name of the women that shaped the history of skateboarding.

Giving Back

: 10% of the cost of the T-Shirt will be donated to Free Movement SB to support their work for refugees youth through skateboarding and education in Athens.

About Doyenne:

Doyenne is a female run company that promotes diversity in skateboarding. Their garments and accessories are ungendered and their mission is to create a bigger space for women, LBGT, POC, and people with disabilities within skateboarding.

We are proud to be doing this collab with a brand whose mission aligns with ours!

P.S.   Doyenne's rad new shop is now open at the Colabs Scotland so if you are near there you must pop in and check it out. It's pretty bitchin and they have apparel, boards, books, magazines and more!

Cindy Whiteheadskate, epicComment
We Published Another Book On Women's Skateboarding & It Launches Today!

Stefani Nurding from the book Concrete Girls

Concrete Girls launches TODAY!

Stefani Nurding featured in the new book Concrete Girls

A couple pages from the new book Concrete Girls - featuring Lucy Adams

Helena Long & Lois Pendlebury from the new book Concrete Girls

Charlotte Thomas photographer and author of the book Concrete Girls

 All images above via Charlotte Thomas & the book,

Concrete Girls

We have always thought that there should be more books on women's skateboarding in the world, so when we started thinking about publishing our first book

It's Not About Pretty: A Book About Radical Skater Girls

we decided to form a small publishing company under our

Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word

brand, with the goal of publishing at least one book per year about women and girls skateboarding and possibly other sports featuring women that are not mainstream (yet).

We are proud to say that the new women's skate book

CONCRETE GIRLS

by Charlotte Thomas launches today and focuses on the female skateboarding scene in the UK. Charlotte has been documenting female skaters like Lucy Adams, Stefani Nurding, Rianne Evans and more for the past five years. The compilation of her work is shown in this beautiful 10x10 book that looks great on your coffee table or nightstand and provides major skate inspiration on every page.

You can order your copy of

Concrete Girls

HERE

Concrete Girls is published by Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word  @2018

#GirlPower Ruled At The Odells x Girl Is Not A 4 Letter Word Launch Party!

 Photos Ian Logan and Cindy Whitehead

The Odells

x Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word Yurt Takeover was such a FUN event! People came straight from the Women's March in Downtown LA to continue the #GirlPower fueled day at

The Odells Shop

in Silverlake. There was a DJ spinning tunes all afternoon, drinks from our friend Deb Glassman at  Lybations Cocktails and Nica Craft Beer provided by Andrew. There was yummy food by Black Cat LA, and pro skateboarder Arianna Carmona, soul skater Elise Crigar and mini shredder, Quinne Daniels were on hand to sign copies of the

"It's Not About Pretty"

book. The new Dusters x Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word

"Girl Power"

cruiser board was launched (so many girls had huge grins on their faces as they took their boards out the door to ride) and a showing of photographer Ian Logan's work, featuring female skaters, was on display in the Odell's yurt.

It was a really special treat to have soul skater Sierra Prescott drop by to see her photo on the wall, legendary 70's skate photographer Hugh Holland came in to congratulate the girls, and artist Priscilla Witte - who did the illustrations for the new cruiser - was there as well. LA84's Jeremy Rosenberg, and Justine Siegal who runs "Baseball for All" dropped in to show support, along with a lot of our Venice skater friends - Heidi Lemmon & her daughter, Kala & Vivian Fernandez, Julie Daniels, as well as Jesse Swalley and his family. Desiree Moore from Dwindle and Chantelle Heroux from Bridge to Skate came by and it was really special to get a pic of them together - they are both a huge part of making this collab board come together! 

We loved meeting all the young skater girls who came out with their moms and dads - you are the future and we need more girls skateboarding - so thank you! We hope to see all of you at the skatepark for a girls session soon.

Huge thanks to Laura, Jason and Jaime from

The Odells

Shop, their amazing team, as well as the sponsors of the event - it couldn't have happened with out all of these awesome people!

If you couldn't make it to the party, and wish to purchase one of the new GIRL POWER cruisers or the

"It's Not About Pretty"

book, please call The Odells Shop at 323-741-0039 

The photo show will be up until the end of January - so please stop in and check it out!

The Odells Shop

3906 W. Sunset Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90039

323-741-0039 

Gin Wigmore's New Music Video "Cabrona" x Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word.

Cabrona

by

Gin Wigmore

on

VEVO

.

We're super excited to share the new video for

"Cabrona"

from badass musician

Gin Wigmore

- this rad lady is all about Girl Power and we couldn't be more stoked to be part of her

#GirlGang

!

Read an excerpt from

Lady Gunn Magazine

below that explains just exactly what we are doing with Gin and which skater girls we brought together to star in this video.

"Today we share the video for “Cabrona” from Gin’s most recent collaborative project #GIRLGANG, in which Gin collabs with some of her favorite female artists and people to produce multimedia Pro-Woman experiences. The “Cabrona” video in collaboration with Cindy Whitehead, founder of skate collective Girl Is Not A 4 Letter Word, features four female skaters, Zara Percy, Emma Houle, Kyra Williams and Amanda Caloia. In addition to appearing in the music video, GN4LW and Gin are collaborating on a special edition skate deck to (TBD) to be designed by the artist Kristin Liu." (

via Lady Gunn Magazine

)

Read more on the

Lady Gunn

site to read Gin's full interview.

 xx GN4LW

Check out some behind the scenes pics from the "Cabrona" shoot.  Photos by

Rayana

Gin Wigmore with the GN4LW #GirlGang

Amanda, Emma, Kyra and Zara

Gin and crew

#FreedomToFind - 10 Skate Spots You Need To Find.

Amanda Caloia, Kala Fernandez & Zara Percy / Photo Elise Crigar

Summer is for adventure.  It's for finding the ultimate skate spots and stops along the way.

It gives us time to have the

#FreedomToFind

.  Maybe it's the  ultimate spot you have been dreaming of, or maybe it's skating with friends and a fist full of donuts.

It's summer, and the time for a little sun on your skin and dirt on your knees is now.

Are you ready to do this?!

We are kicking off Summer 2017 by sharing 10 of the raddest summer skate spots! Check out these spots for an epic road trip or a day trip for the books.

Use hashtag

#FreedomToFind

to share your favorite summer skate spots with us for a chance to be featured on our website.

Meanwhile, we will be counting down the days to our summer 

#FreedomToFind

lookbook release!

Photo Ian Logan

1. The Vermont Drop - Los Angeles, California

.  Also known at

The Funnel

. This skate spot has been around since the 70's and has been featured in countless magazines. The transition is not smooth and the ride is rough.  You'll need to hop a fence to get in, and you should bring a broom because there is always debris, but it's a hell of a lot of fun and takes you back to the 70's for sure. As with any good, renegade, skate spot, we're not going to blast the location out here, because you gotta respect old school skate spots and find them yourself - so do a little research and have an adventure.

#FreedomToFind

Photo  @alias_wndrlnd

2. Wndrloop

-  Christinia, Copenhagen, Denmark.

  This spot is totally DIY and has a huge cult following among European skaters.  Picture a Hot Wheels track loop, but for skateboarding - yep - a

death

loop.  Make sure you have some speed and don't try it if you're stoned, drunk, or unsure of your abilities.  If you're lucky, you may be the first female skater to complete the loop and have total bragging rights. 

#FreedomToFind

3. Garvanza Skatepark

- 6240 Meridian Street, Los Angeles

- this park is just badass and makes for some great photos. The pool is gnarly and the graffiti changes often, best to get there early in the day before the summer heat and the crowds. Have some respect for the locals and they will respect you back. It's gnarlier than it looks. 

#FreedomToFind

4. Otro Skatepark - Brussels, Belgium.

The worlds first glow in the dark skatepark created  artist Koo Jeong. It solves all those pesky issues like shadows at night and not having lights at your local park. How does it work? It's built with green phosphorescent concrete and glows once it's dark outside. How many people can say they've skated a glow in the dark skatepark? Not many. 

#FreedomToFind

5. Burnside Skatepark -

SE 2nd Ave,

Portland, Oregon.

  Skaters talk about Burnside for a few reasons  - it was built 26 years ago, bit by bit, by local skaters in a extremely rough neighborhood, under a bridge. The locals used to be pretty territorial so skating there was iffy at times if you didn't know someone.  But now it's 2017 and gentrification has taken over - there are lofts directly behind the park, Eco friendly vehicles park in lots nearby and they serve a burger called The Burnside at the restaurant near the park. Not so sketchy of a neighborhood anymore.

Our advice is;  take a road trip and skate it while you can, because when gentrification takes over it sometimes means that we as skaters, lose our DIY spots to developers. Hoping this doesn't happen here...

#FreedomToFind

Photo via SkatePunk.com

6. Mt. Baldy Pipe - San Bernardino, California

- still one of the gnarliest and hardest spots to reach,  Baldy a throwback from the 70's where skaters like Kevin "The Worm" Anderson helped made it famous. Baldy is the stuff dreams are made of. But not for the feint of heart - you'll have to trek in and it's not easy - the paths have washed away over the last few years so be prepared to scale almost impossible terrain. Once you get there, there used to be a rickety, narrow board you had to carefully walk across to get to the actual pipe. We've heard it's gone missing, so you may need to bring your own. If you get in and skate it, take pics, post and hashtag

#FreedomToFind

because we've got a special surprise we will send your way.

*Bring a current newspaper with date showing in photo with pipe in background for proof that it's a recent pic.

#FreedomToFind

Photo via Red Bull Media

7.  Kaos Temple - llanera, Spain.

  What could be more inspiring than skateboarding in a 100 year old church? Not much. Street artist Okuda San Miguel is credited for turning the walls and domed ceilings of the abandoned and crumbling church into a bright, isometric, paintings. Besides being beautiful to look at, this skate spot has some rad half-pipes to skate, and if you take a slam, just lay back and look at the art work above. While you are there, make sure to thank the crew from La Iglesia Skate for transforming this space into an amazing skate spot.

#FreedomToFind

8. Venice Skatepark, Venice, California.

If you're a skateboarder this is the spot everyone you meet in the world will ask you if you've skated. Summer is great here, a soft ocean breeze, sunny warm California days and the ocean just steps away. This park has something for everyone - snake run, bowls, pool, street. The locals are cool and if you give respect, you get respect. Skate from sunrise to sunset for free. Pads are supposed to be worn but rarely enforced. The trick here is if you are given the $50 ticket for not wearing your gear  - you can only get ticketed once per day, so just suck up the cost and keep on skating. (You didn't hear that from us). 

#FreedomToFind

Skater Natlaie Krishna Das - Las Chicaz Crew  / Photo Tim Vasquez

9. The Nude Bowl - located in the desert outside of Los Angeles, California.

Another iconic skate spot where we're not going to give away the exact location - you gotta work for this one. You'll thank us later. Promise.  It's a insane pool in the middle of nowhere.  The Las Chicaz all female skate crew just did a rad trip out there and posted some insane photos - total respect to these badass chicaz! Word of warning, the desert gets extremely hot in the summer so bring lots of water and sunscreen. Best time is an early morning or early evening sesh before the sun goes down. 

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Photo via Kona Skatepark

10. Kona Skatepark -

8739 Kona Ave,

Jacksonville, Florida.

Saving one of the best spots for last. Kona just turned 40 years old this past weekend, making it the oldest skatepark in the world. Other famous parks (Marina, Cherry Hill, Apple) are buried under mounds of dirt since they were demolished or covered over in the early 80's.  Only Kona lives on. Thanks to the Ramos family who has been running Kona since 1979, as well as die hard local skaters who are loyal and whose kids and grandkids now skate at Kona, this awesome skatepark has kept the dream alive! Make sure you hit their massive, and well known snake run - it's a rush!  

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Stay tuned our new

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Summer Lookbook is dropping SOON!