Huge congrats to Badass Skatemom Judi Oyama!

Judi Oyama tarins hard. In between being a mom, taking care of her family and running her two businesses, Maximum Impact Design, and her newest venture, a clothing line called Badass Skatemom, she finds time to do what she loves - skateboarding. And all that hard work and training paid off.

This weekend at the World Championships of Slalom in Ashton, Kentucky 54 year old Judi Oyama took 1st in all three events she entered, Giant Slalom, hybrid slalom and tight slalom, and brought home her second world championship.  She is now ranked number 2 in the world for masters women with 1,357 point.

Huge congrats Judi - you are exactly what Badass Skatemom stands for!! 

It may be an ad for Lexus but it's still pretty inspiring to watch... Have a great weekend no matter what, or where you skate!

Leticia Bufoni's last PUSH episode before the premiere. Watch it and get inspired!

The Women in Board & Action Sports Conference is coming up! This amazing conference is open to any woman working in action sports, or who has an interest.

Some of the most inspirational women in board sports and action sports, hail once a year from all over Europe and America to a very special place in Europe for days of networking, learning and sharing. This year the conference will take place in beautiful Biarritz.


You can learn more about the WIB 7th annual conference HERE

Alana Smith

Alexis Sablone

Lacey Baker

Leticia Bufoni

Marissa Dal Santo

Pamela Rosa

Samarria Brevard

Competitors Include: Leticia Bufoni, Lacey Baker, Pamela Rosa, Samarria Brevard, Alexis Sablone, Vanessa Torres, Marisa Dal Santo, and Alana Smith




Street League Skateboarding (SLS) today announced that the coming SLS Nike SB Super Crown World Championship – the official street skateboarding world championship as recognized by the International Skateboarding Federation (ISF) – will include a women’s division allowing the world’s best female street skateboarders to compete for the title of SLS Nike SB Super Crown World Champion. This historic announcement not only opens the competitive aspect of the sport up to all the world’s best street skateboarders, but further solidifies the competition framework for skateboarding.

Selected for their professional performance throughout the past year and contributions to street skateboarding as a whole, the roster will be competing for the first-ever female title of SLS Nike SB Super Crown World Champion and a $30,000 first-place cash prize purse with one-of-a-kind Nixon watch.

This year’s competitors will consist of Leticia Bufoni, Lacey Baker, Pamela Rosa, Samarria Brevard, Alexis Sablone, Vanessa Torres, Marisa Dal Santo, and Alana Smith.

For the first time in history, women will have the opportunity to compete in the true street skateboarding contest that defines the only World Champion as recognized by the ISF. Curated in conjunction with the Women’s Skateboarding Alliance (WSA), the women’s division at the SLS Nike SB Super Crown World Championship in Chicago, IL on October 4th at UIC Pavilion will bring together the world’s most accomplished female skateboarders to battle it out for the title of World Champion and for the highest first place prize purse in women’s skateboarding.

The Women’s contest will be webcast live around the world on StreetLeague.com on competition day starting at 2:45pm ET. In partnership with FS1, the Women’s contest will also have it’s own dedicated one-hour premiere special telecast on FS1 and FOX Sports GO on October 18th in the USA. The first contest including Women in SLS is shaping up to be a truly historic moment in skateboarding fans won’t want to miss.

SLS NIKE SB WORLD TOUR DATES AND VENUES:
• October 4 2015 SLS Nike SB Super Crown World Championship | UIC Pavilion | Chicago, IL

FOX SPORTS 1 TELECAST SCHEDULE:
2015 SLS Nike SB Super Crown World Championship: LIVE: Sunday, October 4 (5 PM ET – 7 PM ET)

2015 SLS Nike SB Super Crown World Championship: Women’s Division Premiere: Sunday, October 11 (4 PM ET – 5 PM ET)

Tune in and support these girls!!

 Photo: Michael Chantry

OG pro skaters Judi Oyama​ / Badass Skatemom​ and Cindy Whitehead / Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word​ are proud to announce their joint sponsorship of pro skater Katherine Folsom.​

We couldn't be happier to support a rad skater & badass mom like Kat!

Welcome to the team Kat! 

Nice to see pro skater Leticia Bufoni on the cover of the October Issue of The Skateboard Mag. Full interview inside with more awesome pics.

You can order yours HERE

* Support girls in skateboarding - buy a copy (or three) and show the world that female skaters do sell mags!

We saw two versions of this new Kohl's commercial over Labor Day weekend and wondered if anyone knows who the girl is skating in it?

Nice to see a girl included and that she is not just standing around with a board watching the guy skate.

Good job Kohls!

Check out Bella, Relz and Ryann from Pink Helmet Posse on the Ellen Show yesterday!! The girls are spreading their inclusive message of "Come Skate With Us" and showing what it means to be a confident girl in today's world. They are also three  of the new faces  Gap Kids x Ellen clothing line.

The girls hold their own with host Ellen Degeneres and the best answer comes from Bella.  Asked if they are better skaters than the boys they skate with Bella replies "We are so much better than the boys!" as Relz chimes in with a big old "Yeah!".

We love girls with self confidence!   Yeah, Pink Helmet Posse!!

Photo: Todd Fuller

We heard about 11 year old Asiya Mercado through one of our fav pro skate photographers Todd Fuller.  He sent us some photos he had shot of Asiya and we were blown away. Once we started checking out the Mercado Kids instagram page, and watching short video clips of Asiya skate, we new we needed to share her story.

This is the beauty of social media,  there are so many girls out there that have started skateboarding, but they may not compete so you don't see them at contests. These rad girls may just be skating at their home park, or backyard bowls, and only a few people know about how hard they are ripping. The numbers of girls skating may be even higher than we think - which is awesome!

We hope you enjoy getting to know little ripper, Asiya Mercado!



Who's Rad?      Asiya Mercado

Age?      11

Home is?        Fremont, CA

Home Park or Skate spot is?     Fremont Skatepark

Photo: Asiya's Mom

How Long Have You Been Skateboarding?       About 2 years

What do you enjoy most about skateboarding?

Creating lines in the bowl and landing a trick after I’ve failed on it over and over feels really good!

Photo: Todd Fuller

Tell us about your board set up – what brand of deck, wheels, trucks? Any fave stickers on your board?

I have a Silly Girl skateboard, Bones wheels, Independent Trucks, and rails, and my favorite sticker on my board is my Thrasher sticker (but I have a good collection of stickers like Santa Cruz, Spitfire and Vans).

Favorite music to skate to?

I don’t usually listen to music when I skate, but if I did it would probably be Lupe Fiasco.

Girls Who Skate that inspire YOU:

My older sister, Layla, was the first to inspire me to skate! We first used to longboard at empty parking lots! Other girl skaters that inspire me are Julz Lynn, Lizzie Armanto, Nora Vasconcellos, Mimi Knoop, Beverly Flood, Poppy Starr, Alana Smith, Amelia Brodka and Allysha Bergado.

Photo: Todd Fuller

Favorite place you've ever skated?

Lake Cunningham Skatepark

Favorite Trick or maneuver?

 50-50 Revert, Front Lipslide and Blunt to Fakie

Sponsors:   My mom and dad, and just recently a new brand called Crossbreed Athletics.

Photo:  Photography by KC Chen

Three things you don't know about me:

1. I do Martial Arts (boxing, Muay Thai, Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu)

2. I can play the Duff (an Arabian hand drum)

3. English Toffee doesn’t last overnight in my home!


What’s Next?

I haven’t really planned on doing any skate contests yet. It would be amazing to compete in a contest with skaters I have looked up to! For now, I enjoy just watching and just skating!

Make sure you follow Asiya ---->

I share an instagram with my brother and sister, mostly monitored by my dad @Mercadokids_bjjsk8, and you might also find me tagged on @CrossbreedAthletics and @Guerrillajjpleasanton

We absolutely LOVE Valeria Kechichian, co-founder of Longboard Girls Crew. Valeria is always inspiring women in skateboarding in so many ways.  So we are stoked to see that her TEDx Talk "Ride The Shift"is now out. We've been waiting since she spoke at TEDx , to hear her inspiring words.

Here is just one small message she shares in her TEDx talk and we think it's a pretty important one:

"They make us think that there are so few spots for women in action sports, in business, in politics or any field that’s male dominated that we had to fiercely fight between each other and compete for those few spots… when the truth was absolutely different all the way… we will only REALLY make it if we stick together"

Congrats Valeria, and thank you for  this important talk and idea, one that 's definitely worth spreading!

xx

Photos via Olloclip

Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word has teamed up with our rad friends at Olloclip to do a rad give-away of the 4-in-1 lens for the iPhone 6/6 Plus!

And how great is this? There will be TWO WINNERS for this giveaway!

The Olloclip 4-in-1 lens works on both front & rear facing cameras and we love that it clips on and off your iPhone in just seconds, with no extra parts needed.  It also works with all your favorite photo and video apps!

Here's what the TWO winners will receive!

* The new 4-in-1 lens: Four versatile lens options included! Fisheye, wide angle, 10x macro, and a 15x macro.  (retail value $79.99)

*  3 wearable pendants:  Your Olloclip lens is always at the ready and easy to grab with these wearable pendants. Great for when you're at the skatepark and you want to use that fisheye lens quickly to capture all the action.

* Olloclip iPhone case:  Protects your iPhone and there is no need to remove this case to put your Olloclip lenses on it. It also has rubberized bumpers for maximum control when using. (retail value $29.99)


How to enter?

So simple! Just leave a comment below telling us what you can't wait to shoot with the Olloclip 4-1 lens, along with your email address.

Other important details - please read carefully:

 * Contest open to residents in the USA and Europe only.

* This Olloclip give away is for the 4-in-1 lens and case that works with iPhone 6 or 6 Plus

* Two winners will be chosen

* Contest ends on  September 16 at midnight PST                                           

* We will email the two winners at end of contest - if a winner fails to respond in 72 hours we have the right to chose another lucky person, so be sure to check your email!

* Prizes will be distributed by Olloclip directly.

The Sowle skater girls, Gentle, Magnificent, & Valiant in a new film on DAZED.

Love that these skateboarders/sisters are strong, resilient and rad -  and they don't allow the haters to hate.

"There is always going to be someone that doesn't like you. That just means you are just like moving up, when there is someone who hates. That means you are doing something good, doing something right. There is always going to be that one person that's going to try and drag you down to their level, but you just kind of get past it."

Well said.

Keep shredding girls!!

Great article in Rolling Stone. Pro skateboarder Leticia Bufoni speaks out about everything from her decision to pose for the ESPN Body Issue, to why she doesn't have a board sponsor, and how she feels about the haters that come with being a top ranked skater.

Here's a sneak peek of just one of Leticia's quotes from the article

"But some things still have to change. I don't have a board sponsor because most of the big skateboard companies will not sponsor girls. Some of the big brands we met with actually told us that they don't want any girls on their skate teams. It's hard, because I can only get a "flow" sponsorship, which means I ride in exchange for free boards, while the company makes money using my name. I'm not doing that. I would rather ride for myself. I have my own blank boards with my own future company called Yeah Yeah Skateboards. Paul Schmitt makes my boards and they are perfect."

You can read the entire article HERE

If you are anywhere near Washington, D.C between September 4th -13th, make sure you head over to the Kennedy Center and check out FINDING A LINE. There will be live bands and male & female skaters ripping on the half pipe. * Check out that line up above!!*

Stop by on September 7th and see Natalie Krishna Das and Jean Rusen skate,  and on September 12 the girls crew skating will be -  Marissa Dal Santo, Elissa Steamer & Natalie Krishna Das.

If you make it out, take some photos of the girls ripping, post on instagram and tag us @girlisnota4letterword and we will repost your pics!

All photos via Nwest Media - if you would like to use any of their photos /

or to get prints please contact Dustin directly - Thank you!

It was a fun three days of competition at the 2015 Cathlamet Downhill Corral - the events included - Downhill Race, Boarder X, Slopestyle, Run to the River, Push Race, Sidewalk Showdown & Big Air.

Nice to see all the women out at this fun event participating and ruling!

* Huge thanks to Ali & Dustin for providing all the photos and info for us to post!

Here are the results:

Alicia Fillback
Won- Queen of Cathlamet
1st in Downhill
2nd in Slope Style
Boardercross

Carmen Sutra
2nd in Downhill
1st Slope Style
Sidewalk Showdown

Gnarly Carly
3rd in Slope Style

Amie Shepard
3rd in Downhill

Katrina Vogel
Downhill

Art by Carly Bizama


Carly Bizama, aka "Gnarly Carly" has done it again with her rad skateboard related art. We've seen the pieces (for years), where the girl is crying and wishing her boyfriend was cool & knew how skate, but this new rad piece by Carly twists that archaic idea 180 degrees. We love that! Good going Carly!!

If you'd like to have a piece commissioned by Carly you can contact her HERE

Check out Osob, she's only been skating 7 months and is shredding! We love girls who get out there and TRY new things. We also like that her video shows hits and misses - super important. Every single girl that gets out there and skates, inspires another girl.   Yeah Osob!

Justin Bieber released his new video for his single "What Do You Mean?" yesterday and we are stoked to see that female pro skater Chelsea Castro skates in it along with Ryan Sheckler. Doesn't matter if you like Justin or not, it's great to see a female skater included in a music video this big! 

Photos Stu Brown

We decided to see what team rider Sky Brown thought of us making a line of kids Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word Tee's, so we made up a few samples, sent them to her, and let her loose. Here she is rockin' the new bright pink skull tee for girls. Sky approved and tested. Available in our online store SOON.