New GN4LW x Dusters California "Street Angel" Cruiser Launch!




 Photos of Kyra & Quinne by Ian Logan 


It's HERE!  Our newest collab board with Dusters California!  This time we teamed up with artist Jim Rugg and his comic book heroine, Street Angel, for some badass graphics. If you haven't checked out the Street Angel series of graphic books/comics they are a must! Street Angel (Aka Jesse Sanchez) is a homeless pre-teen girl, that has ninja skills, loves skateboarding and fights the bad guys.

This GN4LW board gives back to our micro-grant program that financially helps girls create female based skate media, travel, set up all girls skate events and more!  You can apply online (see right-hand side of our website for photo & hyperlink) if you have a cause or project you'd like us to take a look at!

Grab your Street Angel cruiser HERE or at a skate shop near you!



Details & Product Features

Dusters GN4LW Street Angel 25" Cruiser Skateboard
White / Pink
Width: 7" / Length: 25" / Wheelbase: 12.25"

Features:
· Collab with Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word
· Original artwork by Jim Rugg
· Rippable shape with routered wheel wells
· Laser etched logo
· Full top griptape with print
· Tensor 4.25” trucks
· Dusters Abec 7 bearings
· 60mm x 40mm 83A wheels

Available at THANK YOU SUPPLY

and skate shops near you!
Cindy Whiteheadcollabs, skateComment
Catch Skateboarder Sky Brown on Dancing With The Stars Jr.










Photos via DWTS


Make sure you tune in on Sunday, October 7 at 8 PM ET/PT because pint-sized skateboarder Sky Brown will make her debut on Dancing With the Stars Jr. and you don't want to miss it! You've seen countless videos of her skateboarding, but now she's dancing and we are sure she is amazing at that too!

The DWTS spinoff’s judging panel will be comprised of Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon, Emmy-winning choreographer Mandy Moore and longtime DWTS pro Val Chmerkovskiy.
Cindy Whiteheadmedia, skateComment
VPS Women's Pro Finals Rider List Announced!
Select Pro Jordyn Barratt at the 2017 VPS World Championships in Shanghai, China / Photo Acosta


The 2018 Vans Park Series Pro Finals to Culminate in Shanghai, China on October 27 - the  Newly-titled Vans Park Series Pro Finals Event to Determine 2018 VPS Park Terrain Skateboarding Champions




Costa Mesa, CALIF. (October 4, 2018) – Vans Park Series, the premier league for professional park terrain skateboarding since 2016, will bring a dramatic live action season finale to Shanghai, China on October 27, to crown two new VPS park terrain champions. Saluting an incredible international tour across five continents to showcase the world’s best park terrain skateboarders, the 2018 Vans Park Series Pro Finals culminates in yet another historic year in skateboarding’s progression onto the world stage. The confirmed field of competitors has been revealed today on vansparkseries.com including defending champions Oskar Rozenberg Hallberg and Nora Vasconcellos, leading Tour Challengers Tristan Rennie and Sakura Yosozumi, and select VPS Continental Champions from Brazil, Japan, South Africa, Europe and Australia.


The VPS Pro Finals will pit the top-ranking 2018 Pro Tour athletes against select VPS Continental Champions to present an extraordinary exhibition of men’s and women’s park terrain skateboarding in a custom-designed and purpose-built, VPS-certified park terrain competition course, built by California Skateparks.


Vans Park Series Pro Finals – Competitor Field


VPS Continental Champions


Americas
Dora Varella (BRA)

Africa
Mellisa Williams (ZAF)

Asia
Kokona Hiraki (JPN)

Europa
Amelia Brodka (POL)

Oceania
Poppy Starr Olsen (AUS)


Select Pros - Women

Nora Vasconcellos (USA)
Brighton Zeuner (USA)
Kisa Nakamura (JPN)
Lizzie Armanto (USA)
Grace Marhoefer (USA)
Jordyn Barratt (USA)
Kihana Ogawa (JPN)
Yndiara Asp (BRA)



VPS Top-Ranked Tour Challengers - Women

*Earned their way through Pro Tour circuit to secure coveted invites to VPS Pro Finals


Sakura Yosozumi (JPN)
Bryce Wettstein (USA)
Nicole Hause (USA)
Arianna Carmona (USA)
Hunter Long (USA)



The 2018 Vans Park Series Pro Finals will take place on October 27 in Shanghai, China.  You can watch it LIVE - stay tuned for more details in the next few weeks!



ABOUT VANS PARK SERIES

The 2018 Vans Park Series Pro Tour is the premier series for professional park terrain skateboarders consisting of four men’s global qualifiers and three women’s global qualifiers spanning five countries over six months and culminating with the official Vans Park Series Pro Finals. Showcasing an international roster of skateboarding’s elite pros and a total series purse in excess of $700,000(USD), the Vans Park Series uniquely defines the park terrain format with its exclusive points system, judging guidelines and qualifying park terrain course criteria. Additional information and live webcast details will be available on the official Vans Park Series iOS app and online.


Cindy Whiteheadcontests, skateComment
AU Skater Amar Hadid Featured on The Move.


Check out this fun interview with Australian skateboarder Amar Hadid in the second episode of The Move. If you don't know about Amar yet, you should - this young Aussie is one to watch! She's an awesome skater with great style. Amar shows so much poise during this interview - it's hard to believe she is only 20 years old.

Continue to tune into The Move for part two of Amar's interview as well as interviews with other rad female athletes that will definitely inspire you!
Cindy Whiteheadmedia, skateComment
Surfing, Passion & Making A Difference With Three Top Female Surfers.


Sit back and watch this beautiful & inspiring film from The Inertia!

In Summer of 2018, The Inertia traveled to El Salvador with Kassia Meador, Leah Dawson, and Lola Mignot, three outstanding women who are inspiring the next generation of ocean lovers through their alternative approach to both surfing and life. Each has developed a strong voice as a leader in surfing, and managed to do so on her own terms. They ride the boards they want, spearhead projects that speak to their passions, and keep their eyes peeled for interesting ways to engage that fascinating nexus where surfing and the rest of the world collide. We wanted to better understand each woman’s approach to living a fulfilling life and to meaningfully engage with El Salvador’s beautiful culture.
Cindy WhiteheadInspiration, media, surfComment
New Almost Skateboard x Sky That Supports Skateistan.


Great to see this awesome Almost Skateboards deck (and complete) that supports Skateistan. Mini shredder Sky Brown (Awsm Kids) lends her support to this important orgainzatiuon and stands behind this rad looking collab board.

You can pre-order yours HERE


Almost is proud to announce a collaboration with Skateistan, the award-winning non-profit organization empowering children and youth through skateboarding and education. They recently launched a new Skate School in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Friday (February 23rd, 2018). Over 100 children celebrated alongside special guests from around the world, including Almost flow skater Sky Brown. To help support the cause a portion of all proceeds from the sales of these boards will go directly to Skateistan.org.
Cindy WhiteheadInspiration, skateComment
Get Ready To Skate The Coast For A Great Cause!




It's that time of year, the weather is cool, the sun is still out, the ocean has a nice breeze and you are skating with all your friends down the coast, from Santa Monica to Redondo Beach while raising money for the awesome organization, Boarding For Breast Cancer!

It's the 11tannualal B4BC "Skate the Coast" and it's 19 miles of good times! You can skateboard, bike, or even rollerskate the 19 miles down the strand so bring the entire family to participate and raise some money for B4BC

Register now and start lining up your sponsors so you can be eligible for some really great prizes.

More info and to sign up ---->  HERE

SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, September 28th - KICK OFF PARTY!!!

B4BC is  kicking off the weekend with a pre-party hosted by Arbor!

Arbor Venice
108 Washington Blvd
Venice, CA 90292


Come by for live music, art auctions, get your tee shirts + goodie bags, raffle tickets and beer! You'll be able to meet your fellow skaters and the B4BC crew.


 SATURDAY, September 29th:  SKATE THE COAST!

8 am (SHARP!) - Park and meet at Veterans Park (309 Esplanade, Redondo Beach, CA 90277) in Redondo Beach, and get shuttled to the start at the north side of the Santa Monica Pier. Skate, Bike or Rollerskate 18-miles along the boardwalk from Santa Monica to Redondo Beach.

(3) Hydration Stations along the way


Finish line, celebration and awards ceremony at:

Dive N Surf
504 N Broadway
Redondo Beach, CA 90277

Post skate celebration and fundraiser hosted by Dive N Surf!


Cindy WhiteheadInspiration, skateComment
Vans Park Series Malmo, Sweden Women's Final Results!









Kisa Nakamura


Brighton Zeuner








Photos via Vans Park Series


The women battled it out in this last VPS event before the World Championships in October, that will take place in China. With equal prize money, to the men's event, on the line for the women, we have seen the level of women's skateboarding progress faster and faster this year. Huge thanks to Vans for that - you can really see the difference it is making!

Poppy Starr Olsen was leading during the first run landing everything she tried but Jordyn Barratt had an incredible second run packed full of tricks that catapulted her right into first place. Kisa Nakamura landed a nice backside 360 on the banked wall which moved her up to third. Sakura pulled off a nose blunt on the 10 ft vert section and moved into second place. Kisa pulled off an awesome 3rd run and she moved into second place - right on Jordyn's heels.  Last runs had Brighton moving up to third and that's your podium!

Please check with VansParkSeries.com later in the day for replays of the top three skaters.



 FINALS  RESULTS

1st    Jordyn Barratt
2nd   Kisa Nakamura
3rd   Brighton Zeuner

4th   Sakura Yosozumi
5th   Poppy Starr Olsen
6th   Arianna Carmona
7th   Lizzie Armanto
8th   Hunter Long



Cindy Whiteheadcontests, skateComment
These 8 Ladies Are Heading Into The Vans Park Series Malmo, Sweden Finals - Watch It Live!
Jordyn Barratt - Photo Joanne Barratt 





It was a jam-packed day in Malmo, Sweden at the Vans Park Series women's qualifiers which had five heats consisting of twenty-two female skaters who came from all over the world to compete. After all was said and done, it was Kisa Nakamura from Japan leading in first place going into tomorrow's final. But Kisa will have to try and stay on top and beat the rest of the field again to get gold - and that is going to be tough as all the women are seriously ripping!

 Info from VPS:   In the women’s competition, preliminary rounds ran directly as semi-finals with 22 competitors, producing noteworthy results for the Women’s finals lineup. Still buzzing off her win in Huntington Beach, Kisa Nakamura (JPN) took the semis lead, demonstrating technical consistency and speed in a promising performance ahead of finals. Edged out of competition by only a few points, current world champion Nora Vasconcellos (USA) did not make the finals cut, leaving room for two tour challengers, Hunter Long (USA), 6th, and Arianna Carmona (USA), 8th, to compete in the finals round for their first time this season. Carmona and Long are the only two Challengers who can sneak into the World Championships lineup by potentially bumping out Mami Tezuka (JPN) from the fifth spot in the current global challenger rankings, but only if they place higher than Poppy Starr Olsen (AUS) and Sakura Yosozumi (JPN) in tomorrow’s competition.




QUALIFIER RESULTS

1st   Kisa Nakamura
2nd  Brighton Zeuner
3rd   Jordyn Barratt
4th   Poppy Starr Olsen
5th   Arianna Carmona
6th   Sakura Yosozumi
7th   Lizzie Armanto
8th   Hunter Long

All eight of these ladies advance to tomorrow's finals!



Tune in LIVE to watch them compete! 

** If you are on the west coast,  it's, unfortunately, going to be a very early one if you want to watch it go down LIVE! 


SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8th

 WATCH THE LIVE BROADCAST ON THE ETN APP and VANSPARKSERIES.COM

Sweden – Saturday, September 8, 12PM GMT+2

Hong Kong – Saturday, September 8, 6PM HKT

Sydney – Saturday, September 8, 8PM AEST

New York – Saturday, September 8, 6AM EDT

Los Angeles – Saturday, September 8,  3AM PDT

Sao Paulo — Saturday, September 8, 7AM GMT-3









Cindy Whiteheadcontests, skateComment
Women's Results - VPS Europa Continental Championships.

Photo via Vans Park Series
Photo via Vans Park Series





Here are the results from today's Vans Park Series Europa Continental Championships in Malmo, Sweden!

1st   Amelia Brodka     (Poland)
2nd  Lilly Stoephasius  (Germany)
3rd   Shani Bru    (France)


Amelia Brodka will now advance to the Vans Park Series Women's finals in China in October. Congrats to Amelia and all the girls who competed today!
Cindy Whiteheadcontests, skateComment
This Young Skater Girl Is About To Be On A New TV Show!
Sky at Venice Skatepark - Photo Ian Logan

Sky helping the kids at Salvation Army Program - Photo Heidi Lemmon




If you have been wondering where young skate phenom, Sky Brown has been these days (her Instagram has been unusually quiet we have been told) and people expecting to see her, along with Tony Hawk at the recent Jackalope Festival or competing at the Asian Games were disappointed & confused as to where she might be. Well, here's your answer.

It looks like the pint-sized mini shredder is talented at more than just skateboarding, and will soon be one of the twelve celebrity dancers on the new TV show, Dancing With the Stars: Junior - Season 1. Rehearsals and filming have been going on for a awhile now so Sky was tied up in that which explains missing Jackalope and the Asian Games. Usually, when you sign up to be on one of these shows you can not do other sports that may put you at risk for getting injured while filming is taking place. That would be no skateboarding.

The twelve young celebrities chosen to be on the show have been a closely guarded secret, but photos of some them, including Sky, coming out of rehearsals at the DWTS studios started speculation which led to a full list being published on underground DWTS blogs.

Sky will be competing with young professional ballroom dancer,  JT Church from Arizona, who has been on previous dance & lip sync shows.

Other celebrity contestants Sky will be competing against include; Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson from Toddler & Tiara's fame, Tripp Palin who just happens to be the grandson of Sarah Palin,   Sophia Pippen, who is former NBA player, Scottie Pippens, daughter and a bunch of kids who star on TV shows or are known dancers. It's a pretty tough group of seasoned pros.

Tune into ABC on October 7 to watch the first episode of Dancing With the Stars: Junior - Season 1 and cheer Sky on!
Cindy WhiteheadmediaComment
What To Do About The Haters?
Art by @akunapie in support of Fatin Syahirah













A post shared by Rachelle (@rachellevinberg) on





New personal goal ✔️✅ . So stoked on fs slashers finally! Been my favourite trick forever that I couldn't do and it was frustrating cus its a beautiful one. . . I'm always awestruck at the parks/streets/plazas around the world you see and how just in one city in many western countries are so many options to skate. As bad as you feel sometimes when foreigners walking by this spot are astonished to see how small it is, I'm just glad there's atleast this one thing for the kids and passer bys like me to just keep sk8in alive!! . . Progression been slow because life has been throwing at me many experiences (&injuries) these past 2 years. The worst and the best. But I'm so fired up now and I'm ready to see where it leads me. From the hard times comes immense strength. Thanks to all the haters for the lessons 🙏🙌💪 and to all the lovers for the support - yawl are divine and know who u are ❤️ 📷 @niku.verghese @bcxdvs . . @vans_india @extremeofficial @officialstanleytools
A post shared by Atita Verghese (@rattyatty) on


In the 70's we used to skateboard or surf and it provided a way to get away from the nastiness we saw going on in our local high schools. Skating was a safe and rad place to be and not have the drama that we saw going on elsewhere. We were all "different",  maybe even misfits, and definitely renegades - so we stuck together and became a skate family that had one anothers backs. 

Fast forward to 2018 and it seems as if some girls in skateboarding are now receiving the wrath of the haters and the unhappy people. It isn't the safe place it used to be.

Last week we watched as sixteen-year-old Fatin Syahirah from Malaysia became so discouraged after receiving so many nasty comments on her Instagram page that she removed all her photos and went silent.

Later in the week, we saw Rachelle Vinberg from The Skate Kitchen post about people on social media "feeling the need to judge others for doing what they love" and stating that she was going to take a break from posting video clips and just skate for herself.

India's Atita Verghese has expressed similar things recently, posting about "thanks to all the haters for the lessons".

 What could these awesome young women have possibly done to get this much hate?

Rachelle stars in the new film THE SKATE KITCHEN which is having a major moment in the media - one that some older skaters have expressed that they are tired of being asked about. Fatin made her countries national team and was chosen to skate at the prestigious Asian Games, but didn't skate as well as she had hoped, due to an injury. Instead of compassion, people lashed out at her saying she failed her country - that's a heavy burden for a 16-year-old and hey, it's just skateboarding - it's supposed to be FUN! Atita got major recognition when Vans put out a video about all she is doing to help girls in India get on a board and skate - and some people (haters) seemed to feel that she did not deserve all the positive attention and opportunities she received.

For all three of these skaters, this should be a super happy and exciting time in their life.  Yet, it's now being overshadowed by relentless & mean comments.

It seems as if you gain traction, are in the public eye and are making a difference you are a target. If you fly "under the radar" and stay low, things are fine. But don't we want and need people like Fatin, Rachelle and Atita out there paving the way for other girls? These types of girls and women carve a path so others can have it easier than they did. There are all types of skating and all types of people, and there should be room for all of us.

 So what is the solution?

I don't think "going away or closing your account" is it - that is exactly what the haters want - they love to silence the voices that create positive change. I do understand the need to "take a break" when it all gets to be too much, but maybe the rest of us can come to these girls defense and call out the nasty commentators and make them realize that this shit is not going to get them what they want.

If you feel that it's hard to stick your own neck out when you see this crap happening online - just think about how the person feels who is receiving the wrath herself. We are stronger together and we need to have one another's backs.

So stand up for your fellow female skaters, because next time you could be the one who needs their help.

Cindy Whiteheaddiscussion, skateComment