The ESPY Nominations were announced on Wednesday and while the category for male action sports athletes gave some love to not one, but two professional skateboarders, the women's category didn't mention a one. We have some thoughts on which pro female skateboarder they should have nominated...
Ryan Dungey - Motocross
Gus Kenworthy - Freestyle skiing
Nyjah Huston - Skateboarder
Pedro Barros - Skateboarder
Mark McMorris - snowboarder
BEST FEMALE ACTION SPORTS ATHLETE NOMINEES
Chloe Kim - Snowboarding
Keala Kennelly - Big wave surfer
Jamie Anderson - Snowboarding
Carissa Moore - Surfing
We also noticed that there are five male athletes in "Best Male Action Sports Athlete" category that were nominated, but only four in the women's.
Surely they had room for one top notch female skateboarder?
While we love and support all four of these amazing female action sports athletes that have been nominated, and every single one of them is badass and a winner in our book, we'd like to nominate who we think in women's skateboarding had a top notch year and should have been nominated for that fifth spot.
An ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade to recognize individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performance during the calendar year preceding a given annual ceremony.
Allysha had a banner year in 2015 - just look at some of the stats we uncovered:
*First Place at The Van Doren Invitational
*First Place at Super Girl Pro
*First Place at Exposure Skate
*Her own pro model with Hoopla was released
*Later in the year she became the first female skater to be on Creature Skateboards
*Nominated for Tranworld's Female Skateboarder of the Year
*#9 in ranking out of 99 female skateboarders on the Boardr Global Ranking System
*Only female invited on tour & featured in the video "Packed Van" by The Skateboard Mag
*Featured in a full page in The Skateboard Mag Issue #145
*Graced the cover of Coping Block Magazine
*Was a stunt skater in the movie "Alvin and the Chipmunks ROADCHIP"
*Featured in her own Protec Profile Video
*Was on The Ride Channel's "The Weekend Buzz" with her BFF Lizzie Armanto
*Innovative tricks and progression throughout the year - how about her one footed inverts for starters?
We think it's about time the ESPY'S started considering female pro skateboarders in it's category for "Best Female Action Sports Athlete".
Jamey Perry, Cindy Whitehead, & Katherine Beattie at The Berrics
Life Rolls On is a rad 501c3 Non-Profit that throws epic surf and skate events for wheelchair athletes and they are having their awesome annual event on Saturday, July 16 at Venice Skatepark. The action takes place from 9 AM - 4 PM and you don't want to miss it!
Our rad friends pictured above - Katherine Beattie, the first female to
do a backflip in a wheelchair, and Jamey Perry the current Women's World
Champion for WCMX will be there shredding, so make sure you say "Hi" and
get these two rippers autographs! What they are doing for women in this
sport is nothing short of AMAZING!
If you are a wheelchair athlete who wishes to compete (don't be shy, all abilities are welcome!) make sure you sign up ASAP at LIFE ROLLS ON as they fill up FAST!
Spectators are welcome and they always need more volunteers to help push wheelchair athletes out of the bowls . Here's all the info:
Event: Life Rolls On
Date: Saturday, July 16, 2016
Time: 9 AM - 4 PM
Where: Venice Skatepark, 123 Venice Beach, Venice, California
More Info on Life Rolls On:
Life Rolls On is dedicated to improving the quality of life for young people affected by spinal cord injury. Believing that adaptive surfing and skating could inspire infinite possibilities beyond paralysis, Life Rolls On began as a splash into the unknown on September 11, 2001; achieved 501c3 nonprofit status in 2002, and now touches the lives of hundreds of thousands.
Come by on Sunday from 10 AM - 1 PM in Torrance - South Bay Sk8 Kids will be holding their "Sunday Funday" session. It's free and beginners are welcome. This monthly event has raves of reviews from local South Bay skaters. Great for parents with kids who want to learn to skate, or meet other kids who are skating already.
Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word will be there with stickers to hand out!
This is a FREE event.
LA Girls Skate Sesh is happening again this Sunday from 10 AM - 1 PM at The Berrics! Last month this was THE place to be - so many girls attended and had a blast, the event got rave reviews from street skaters that came from all over California to skate.
The Clash at Clairemont is having their annual event this Saturday from 11 AM - 6 PM in San Diego. This is a huge event to raise funds for Grind For Life. There is a $10 donation and so worth it for a great cause.
Legendary skaters will be skating all day - some of the female skaters include; Brighton Zeuner, Mimi Knoop, Jordyn Barratt, Nora Vasconcellos, Samarria Brevard, Poppy Starr Olsen, and Amelia Brodka .
Bands like Agent Orange, Cubic 111, & Buck O Nine, will be playing throughout the day, the skating will be insane and there is the debut of Skatercross - an event that is sure to be popular to see.
Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word is stoked to have our founder Cindy Whitehead featured yesterday in an article about "Three Rad Women To Know in Skateboarding" on THIS IS RANGE along with Kim Woozy from Mahfia TV, and Kristin Ebeling from Skate Like a Girl.
Jump over to THIS IS RANGE to read the article and learn a bit more about these women, their history and what they are doing for girls in skateboarding!
He's not a girl but he gets a pic! Little Jake won a Dusters Board for dropping into the pool all by himself!
Please feel free to share pics on social media - we ask that you please credit @girlisnota4letterword
Venice Skatepark was host to two awesome events for Go Skateboarding Day. There was a "Ghost Jam" in the main park where everyone just skated hard, threw down their best tricks and "ghost judges" watched and handed out prizes throughout the event. So much fun and tons of prizes handed out. Some of the girls even scored some GN4LW swag.
Special thanks to LA Underground & Heidi Lemmon for creating & putting together this awesome event!
Please feel free to share pics on social media - we ask that you please credit @girlisnota4letterword
Arbor Skateboards held a "Push" clinic in the small park and girls who were just learning to skate, and girls who wanted to learn to longboard, were getting help from top female skaters like Amanda Powell and Tara Tate - how cool is that? We saw girls learning to longboard dance, drop in, and learning to skateboard, and they were all having the best time together! It's all about being "inclusive" and we love these events that Arbor Girls are throwing lately - make sure you keep an eye on their Instagram (@arborgirls) page for the next one, because you don't want to miss it!
Such an awesome day getting everyone out and together to skate and have fun! We hope wherever you were for Go Skateboarding Day that you had a great time too. xx
We've got CARRICK's new music video "WILD CHILD" featuring skater girls
Brighton Zeuner, Jordyn Barratt, Bryce Wettstein and Spencer Breaux. Fun
video that was shot earlier this year with Spencer, Bryce, Jordyn and
Brighton skating and having fun throughout LA.
Brighton and Jordyn were just in Austin, Texas competing in Women's Park
at the X-Games where Brighton was the youngest female athlete to ever
compete in the Summer X-Games, and Jordyn Barratt went from coming into
the comp as an alternate, to making podium and taking home the bronze!
Check out the "Behind the Scenes" video below for more on how the shoot days went!
Things are seriously changing for the better when we open up a skateboard magazine and see not one, but four shots featuring rad female skaters. Yep, grab the August issue of THE SKATEBOARD MAGAZINE and prepare to be stoked.
Brighton Zeuner in a 2 page spread doing doubles with C.J. Collins , Lizzie Armanto doing a backside diaster, Monica Torres with a nollie heelflip and Sabre Norris getting some major height in the half-pipe.
This issue is definitely one you need to keep for some major inspiration. We are stoked to see how far we have come in girls skateboarding, and excited to see what's next, as we head towards the Olympics. Things are getting better and better for sure!
Where will you be skateboarding on GO SKATEBOARDING DAY?
Come join us on June 21 at Venice Skatepark for a "Ghost Jam". Everyone skates, does their own thing, the judges could be any of the skaters skating with you - you never know who! Best trick prizes will be given at the end of the session.
There will also be a "Push to Progress" event happening hosted by Arbor Girls, so come learn to skateboard or just develop the skills you already have in a fun environment with other feamle skaters.
Where: Venice Skatepark - main park and small park
When: Tuesday, June 23 - Go Skateboarding Day
Time: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM - Ghost Jam / 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM - Push 2 Progress
Favorite Music: All About That Bass, Bom BOM, "You Never Say" by the Ette The Royal Concept, & Lorde
Favorite Food: Ice Cream and Candy Necklaces! Real food though I like Chicken Cutlets
Sponsors: Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word, Billabong Women's, Sun Bum, Go Pro, FCS and Gorilla Grip, Happy Socks, Sonic, Pom Pom, Fish Eye, FL Paddleboards, 27 North
Zoe has been featured on the TV show "The Outsiders Club", in ads for Dusters California Skateboards, & was recently the focus of an 8 page article for "Girls Who Ride" Magazine on "Young Rippers". Zoe is also part of photographer Christin Rose's photo project titled #ShePlaysWeWin
If there was ever more of a reason to have #squadgoals it would be this.
Longboarders Amanda Powell, Carmen Sutra, Noelle Mulligan, and Amanda Caloia are prominently featured in the premier of the Red Hot Chili Peppers music video for their new album "Dark Necessities", which was directed by Olivia Wilde.
We love that they picked girls who really skate (and kick ass) and shot at some iconic Los Angeles locations. These girls are super badass in real life, and they captured that same essence in the video. This has to be the best music video featuring female skaters we have seen!
Huge congrats to Amanda P., Carmen, Noelle, and Amanda C.
Check out What Rolling Stone had to say about these skaters -----------> HERE
She blazed a trail at every contest we saw her in, fast and smooth with style for miles. Slashing and grinding, throwing airs off the hip, and extremely solid rock & rolls. It was almost if she came out of nowhere, yet she was everywhere. Her style is unlike most other girls skating in her age group, it's a rare combination of aggressive, strong, and smooth with a little hint of a smile thrown in here and there when she nails that next trick. She puts together intricate runs in places like combi, that are not what you'd expect from someone her age. Jordan Santana is full of surprises, not only in skateboarding, but out of the pool as well. She plays drums and can sing every lyric to most rock & roll songs from the 70's. And she is TWELVE. She is a socially conscience trailblazer and the first female team rider for Hosoi Skateboards. To say we are in complete and utter awe of this young ripper, is putting it mildly. Read on to see what me mean, because Jordan Santana is on FIRE.
Who's Rad? Jordan Santana
Age? 12 years old
Home? Houston, Texas Home Skatepark?
North Houston Skatepark, @nhoustonsk8park, the largest Skatepark in the United States, 2nd largest Skatepark in the world.
How long have you been skateboarding?
I have been skateboarding for 6 years now. However, for the first 4 years, I only skated around the park for fun. I had never skated a bowl until 2 years ago, and that’s where I fell in love with skateboarding. I love skating bowls! I have been skating bowls now for 2 years now.
What do you enjoy most about skateboarding?
I enjoy the fun of it, the people who skate, the people that I get to meet, the challenges of learning new tricks, and helping girls skateboarding reach new levels. People always ask my father, “how old is he?”, my father says “it’s she not he!” Then they say, “but she skates like a boy!”, and my father says “yes she does!”
My father and my mentor, Christian Hosoi, believe that my skateboarding style can help take girls skateboarding to new levels. I don’t know about all that, I just know that I’m having a lot of fun doing what I do. In my last competition, I took first place in the girl’s category, and second place in the 14 and under category, basically the boys category. In another bowl bash that I did, there was only two awards given, for best rider and best run of the day, and I won both. There were about 30 skaters, all boys that were teenagers, in their 20s, 30s and 40s, I was the only girl skater. I won both the best rider and best run of the day. They were all saying “I can’t believe that I just got my a— kicked by a 12 year old girl. That was fun!
A lot of the pro girl skaters tell me, “Jordan, we like hanging out with you, because wherever you go, all the legends are always around you. Meeting all the legends, skating with them is so much fun! I love skating with Christian, his family, Eddie Elguera, Lonny Hiramoto, and Stevie Caballero, they all have always been so nice to me and are always so willing to share skateboarding tips with me.
And finally, I love being on Team Hosoi! The skaters on the Hosoi Team are all really great skaters, Christian, Eddie Elguera, Taylor Jett, Lazor Crawford, Lawsen Miller, Classic Hosoi, Me and Kody Tamana. It’s a small team, but we are like family. I was the first girl sponsored by Hosoi, I was so stoked!
Tell us about your board set up – what brand of deck, wheels and trucks?
HOSOI, HOSOI, HOSOI!!! I have never skated any other deck than a Hosoi deck. My set up has Bones wheels and bones bearings with independent trucks, Grizzly Grip tape and bones rails. Favorite music to skate to?
My favorite music to skate to is Green Day, Led Zepplin and Creed, pretty much Rock and Classic Rock. Girls who inspire you to skate?
My favorite current girl skaters are Nora Vasconcellos, Sarah Thompson, and Julz Lynn. I am also inspired by the legends that I meet and read about like Cindy Whitehead, Peggy Oki, Patti McGee and Cara-Beth Burnside. Favorite place you’ve ever skated?
My favorite place to skate is the Outdoor Vans Skatepark in Huntington Beach, I love the deep bowls and there is always a bunch of kids to play with there.
Can you tell us about some recent contests you have been in?
Just two weeks ago I was in a contest called Feed The Need, in Victoria, Texas, I got 1st place in girls, and second place in 14 and under, which is basically the boys category. I also was in in a Bowl Bash called Skate and Enjoy, out of about 30 skaters, I got both awards that were given in the Bowl Bash, for best skater, and best run of the day. I was the only girl competitor, and I was the youngest. In larger scaled competitions, I placed 2nd in the Boardr Grind for Life Series in girl’s division, and 3rd place in the boys division, with about 16 boys competing. In my favorite, at the Vans Girls Combi, I placed 8th, and at Exposure I placed 9th.
Favorite trick or maneuver?
board slide to fakie, front side Smith grinds, front side stale fish, fully decked out fakies and fully decked out rock and rolls.
Who are your favorite people to skate with?
Christian Hosoi, Classic Hosoi, Endless Hosoi, Ryder Reategui, Eddie Elguera, Lonny Hiramoto, Stevie Caballero, Eddie Reategui, Bella Reategui, Nora Vasconcellos and my all time favorite skater sister to skate with, Minna Stess! Me and Minna became really great friends, we facetime all the time. Which female skaters inspire you?
Peggy Oki, Cindy Whitehead, Patti McGee and Cara-Beth Burnside, these ladies were the pioneers of women’s skateboarding, they paved the way for us.
Sponsors?
Hosoi Skateboards, and of course my parents.
Catch Jordan skateboarding and playing drums in the new Lifetime ad "Welcome to the Fempire". Her sister Lauren is also featured - pretty cool to get to work with your sister.
Three things that you don’t know about me
1) I am also a musician, I play drums, I am still learning piano and bass guitar
2) I have done 2 commercials for the Lifetime Channel called Welcome to the Fempire, basically the female empire. I really like this because the commercials celebrate the empowerment of women, and they were really fun to do. I skate and play drums in the commercials.
3) God first, I have been raised with a Christian faith background, I give all thanks to my God for all He has done for me, and for keeping me safe in skateboarding.
What’s next?
Training! Training! Training! At least that’s what my dad calls it. I call it having fun! One thing to train on is my airs, my front side and back side late grabs. Continuing to train with my father, and with Christian Hosoi. Christian and I have a special friendship, I just love his style. He has been called the most stylish skater ever, and judges in some of my competitions have commented on my style and my tricks and have said, “Wow! I wonder where she learned that from?” It is truly an honor that he personally trains me, we are like family. While sitting in the crowd at the last Vans Pool Party, the boys that were sitting behind me kept telling each other, “yeah! That’s Jordan, Christian Hosoi’s daughter.” Me and my father, who was sitting next to me, just laughed about it.
I continue to do demos here and there with Christian, which are a lot of fun. My dad is sending a photo where Christian invited me to do a demo with him for Penny Skateboards, it was really cool! I have been all over California, Texas, New York and Brooklyn with Christian. When I did the Boardr Grind for Life competition in Florida, I was so surprised that they already knew who I was when I got there to register for the competition, that was so Rad! It is awesome when someone comes and asks me to take a picture with them, or sign an autograph for them. I train 3 to 5 hours a day, everyday. Sometimes on weekends, I’ll skate 6 to 8 hours. I’m having so much fun!
Thank you Cindy for allowing me to take part in this Who’s Rad Interview. Thank you for all you have done for us girl skaters. You are a true legend in skateboarding! I saw you on stage at the Skateboarding Hall of Fame, and I wished that I was you. I hope one day I can be looked up to like you. Love, Jordan.
Check out this new trailer for the upcoming video by GIRLIFORNIA - featuring so many rad skaters from all over the world. Skaters like Leticia Bufoni, Evelien Bouilliart, Alexis Sablone, and many more. Girifornia is a great new team making short and full length films about female skaters - check out their website for more information HERE
Please take 2 minutes out of your day and jump over and sign this petition to help keep Sheldon Skatepark open. Kids and adults rely on this skatepark to have somewhere close by to skate, and they need it open!
Even if you don't live near Sheldon Skatepark, we all know how important it is to have these skateparks stay open in our communities, so please help out.
Please take a moment and sign the petition via THIS LINK, so these skaters can hopefully keep their park.
We'd also appreciate it if you'd share the petition link on your Facebook page after you sign - they need as many signatures as they can get!
We love seeing brands that promote female skateboarders and surfers in a positive way. Brands that use actual female athletes, as opposed to models posing or holding boards, to highlight the fascination and rise of these two upcoming Olympic sports.
Lululemon's girls brand Ivivva, has done exactly that, choosing to highlight real girls who surf & skate, like 12 year old surfer/skateboarder Kekai from Hawaii, as well as Rainah, and Kamea who surfs and plays tennis.
We'd like to see more of this with major brands out there - these young girls are inspiring and REAL. Keep it coming companies, because girls are watching and want to see active role models, doing what they love, not just models.
Wow! Ran across this totally OG skate apparel line being sold at Forever 21 today. Vision Street Wear was huge in the 1980's with it's iconic and very large, red, white and black logos, on apparel and boards. Pro riders for the brand during that era were guys like Mark Gonzales, Lance Mountain, Tas Pappas, Duane Peters and Mark "Gator" Rogowski.
We've seen the brand making a visible come back in recent years in high end stores like Far Fetch, and Opening Ceremony, and via it's shoe collab with Swear, and now it looks like it's making a very mainstream comeback in a mall near you.
Between F21online, and in the F21 stores, it looks like they have licensed the Vision logo and designs for numerous pieces of women's apparel and accessories. From ball caps, socks, and tote bags, to sports bras, body hugging shorts, crop tops, and boxy tees, it's all here. So if you're looking for a retro, fun graphic, now is your chance to grab "semi-vintage" style skate pieces at those dirt cheap Forever 21 prices.
Mark this one on your calendars, because you don't want to miss it!
GRO has teamed up with House of Vans in New York to stage an all girl takeover. Be there June 11 between 12 Noon - 6:00 PM to skate and have a blast with other female skaters of all ages and abilities.
Where: HOUSE OF VANS
Date: June 11, 2016 - 12 Noon - 6:00 PM
Neighborhood: Williamsburg / Greenpoint
Address / location: 25 Franklin Street Brooklyn, NY 11222
Public transit / subway: L subway to Bedford Ave. or G subway to Nassau
Tag your pics and videos on Instagram during the event with the hashtag #Girlisnota4letterword, because we will be re-posting pics from this all female takeover and yours could be one of the featured shots or videos we choose to highlight!
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA GIRLS:
This is going to be a rad event!
Get over to Granite Skatepark on Saturday June 11 from Noon - 6:00 PM for Few and Far's event "Sisters of Shred". It's a FREE event open to all girls who skateboard.
Where: GRANITE SKATEPARK
Date: June 11, 2016 - 12 Noon - 6:00 PM
Neighborhood: Sacramento, California
Address / location: Ramona Avenue and Power Inn Road, Sacramento, 95812
Tag
your pics and videos on Instagram during the event with the hashtag
#Girlisnota4letterword, because we will be re-posting pics from this all
female takeover and yours could be one of the featured shots or videos
we choose to highlight!
She comes from the South Bay where many great skaters since the 60's have come before her. Male and female, they shredded these streets before there were even skateparks. The first skateboard contest ever held was in the same place (Pier Avenue Jr. High) where her home skatepark sits now. The history of skateboarding in the South Bay is long and rich. Two pro skateboarders from this area were inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame just this past month - Ty Page and Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word founder Cindy Whitehead. It's is also home to skate legends like "Kevin the Worm" Anderson and the inventor of The Smith Grind, Mike Smith. Current pro skateboarder Mason Silva also calls the South Bay home. We can only assume that you may see this young girl standing up there at a SHOF event making the South Bay proud once again years from now. In the meantime, Hannah is skating every place she can, competing with the boys (and winning) and not looking back. Way to represent the South Bay, we are stoked to see it Hannah!
Who's Rad? Hannah Tallman
Age? 15
Home is? Redondo Beach Home Park or Skate spot is? Hermosa Beach Skatepark How Long Have You Been Skateboarding? 1 ½ years
Photo: Chris Van Berkom
What do you enjoy most about skateboarding?
The aspect that I can be myself and it makes me feel like I’m in my own world when I am skating! I don’t know what I would do without skateboarding! Tell us about your board set up:
I ride a 8.0 Baker Skateboard, 52 mm formula four spitfires, and 139 Independent trucks. Favorite music to skate to?
Rap and Rock and Roll because it gets me hyped!
Girls who skate that inspire you?
Mariah Duran because she has a sick street style! To be honest I just watch male skateboarders most of the time. My favorite skateboarder in the world is Trevor Colden I could watch his videos for hours! Whenever I watch one of his videos it makes me want to get up and skate! Favorite place you've ever skated?
The Berrics
Photo: CJ Hoff
Tell us about some recent contests you have been in?
I just went to a contest a few weeks back in Seattle for the X Games qualifier. Also a few months back I had a contest in Palm Springs, 13-15 year old boys and got 1st place!
Favorite Trick or maneuver?
Kickflips are my favorite trick
Check out Hannah's Park Part for Spyder Skate Shop
Who are your favorite people to skate with?
My brother Luke and my best friends Danny, Kwess, and Luke
Which female skaters inspire you?
Vanessa Torres because she is super chill and has a cool style and steez when she skates!
Great tom see this article in Sports Illustrated about the Women's Park and Street events at X-Games Austin.
It talks about the younger girls being the wave of the future in skateboarding - Pamela Rosa, Mariah Duran, Kisa Nakamura, Jordyn Barratt, and Brighton Zeuner.
"Sixteen-year-old Pamela Rosa established herself as a star. The Brazil
native—who comes from an impoverished background—won gold at X Games
Oslo three months ago then won the street comp this weekend.
Nineteen-year-old Mariah Duran out of New Mexico ended with silver. In
the Park competition, Japanese native Kisa Nakamura, also 16, grabbed
her first gold. Jordyn Barratt, from Encinitas, Calif., who won bronze,
is just 17. Meanwhile Brighton Zeuner, also from Encinitas, finished
fourth and is only 11. The future of women’s skating is definitely in
capable hands for the foreseeable future."
Watch the Women's Park and Street medalists winning runs - we have the direct links all in one place to make viewing easy! The women's street and park medalists, Kisa, Lizzie, Jordyn, Pamela, Mariah and Lacey were ripping - if you didn't catch the action yesterday or just want to see it again, here it is!
Kisa Nakamura's Gold Medal run in Women's Park - watch it HERE
