We love Skate Wild and how they support skateboarders via their skate camp scholarship program with New Balance.

We had the opportunity of working with Skate Wild this summer and helped send four girls to YMCA Skate Camp during "girls week" on Skate Wild scholarships. The girls had a blast, and an amazing opportunity they may not have had available to them otherwise.






Skate Wild is a non profit organization set up to connect shands-onders to the outdoors. Our two favorite things are Skateboarding and Wilderness and our program are aimed at fostering an appreciation of the outdoors. All our participants get real hands on experience with outdoor living ski,lls and see that spending time in the outdoors can be just as gnarly as skateboarding. Special thanks to the New Balance Foundation for making this program possible. Without their support we wouldn’t have been able to get so many kids up to the woods for this life changing experience.


Thanks to Skate Wild for all they do!

Want to know more and be part of the Skate Wild program?  Check them out HERE

Looks like the 80's fashion brand, ESPRIT, is making a come back with their new "Throwback" collection. With styles and colors reminiscent of the 80's, this video also features skateboarders and BMX riders.

Stephanise Wise (one of our interns) a Venice local, is featured in the spot skateboarding and having fun.

Good going ESPRIT for making sure there was a female skateboarder!

Thrasher Magazine 1988 - Skaters Edge Column by Bonnie Blouin

Last night our friend Craig, turned us onto to this 1988 article in THRASHER Magazine that was written by South Carolina skateboarder, Bonnie Blouin. Bonnie's brother was Blaize Blouin who turned pro and rode for G&S back in the day.

Bonnie wrote a column for THRASHER during the late '80s called SKATER'S EDGE. She would write about best board set up and stuff like that. But in this particular issue, Bonnie wrote exactly how she felt about being the lone female skater in her hometown, but also about traveling to California to compete and being blown away that there are no women's divisions at contests - which surprised her.  She also wrote about the reality of dropping in and holding your own when a 185 lb guy looks at you from across the bowl and is determined to drop in on you.

Bonnie also makes the point that if you put female skaters in the mag other girls can see that they can do it too. Which we all know is so important in the progression of skateboarding.

One paragraph is especially telling:

"I no longer wonder why more girls don't skate. Unless a girl has the total strength and desire within herself to ride and keep riding, there is truly nothing to keep her motivated. In fact, society and a lot of guy skaters try to prevent girls from skating."

She goes on to mention the girls who came before her as her role models  (Pattie, Laura, Vicki) but that are no longer on the scene, the guys still have these older role models skating and being a presence  - the women do not.

This was one of the only pictures we could find online of Bonnie skating  - we wish there were more - her history, along with so many other '70s, '80's and '90's female skaters needs to be preserved.


The bottom line is, girls need to see other girls skateboarding, they need role models and to know that if she can do it, so can I.

We unfortunately lost Bonnie to suicide in the early '90s but her words ring true even today.

Photo via World Skate SB ~ photo Piero Capannini

Watch a replay of the entire women's comp!

The Women's SLS comps just keep getting better and better! This SLS World Championship showdown in Brazil was the best ever in the history of SLS! It came down to a battle between Pamela Rosa and Rayssa Leal during the "best trickk" portion of the contest and with ladies just going for it!

We won't spoil it for you, but watch Pamela answer back with a trick that will make your heart stop.

Yeah, it was that good!


PODIUM RESULTS

1. Pamela Rosa (Brasil)
2. Rayssa Leal (Brasil)
3. Aori Nishimura  (Japan)

LA SLS Women's Winner ~ Rayssa Leal ~ photo via SLS

After the showdown we saw at SLS  Los Angeles in July,  tuning in is a must for the World Championships this weekend!  Rayssa Leal, Leticia Bufoni, Lacey Baker, Pamela Rosa, Alana Smith and the rest of the girls are going to seriously be fighting for podium position.


This time around you can watch both the women's semi-finals as well as the finals LIVE!!

Watch LIVE as Street League heads to São Paulo for the 2019 World Championships! Catch both the Semifinals and Final rounds, LIVE!

September 21 & 22 on streetleague.com. You can also watch the livestream direct from the SLS Youtube page.

Check out the global schedule below for start times…

Photos via Robert Beck for Sports Illustrated Magazine.

It was nice to open Sports Illustrated Magazine today and see that one of our favorite photographers, Robert Beck, had been on assignment in Salt Lake City, UT covering the VPS Championships! And even better, the women received a 2 page spread in the 6-page piece!

Sakura Yosozumi (JPN), Kokana Hiraki (JPN) and Poppy Starr Olsen (AU) were all featured.

Thanks for highlighting women's skateboarding Robert and SI!!

The issue is on newsstands now - it's dated Sept 23-30 and is called the MONEY ISSUE and has a football player on the cover. Grab it while you can!!

Minna Stess at The World Championships  /  Photo Bryce Kanights

 This news just in!


Press Release Via World Skate:

World Skate Park Skateboarding World Championships Conclude First-Ever Olympic Qualifying Season in São Paulo, Brazil



The 2019 Olympic Skateboard Park qualifying season concluded this weekend at the World Skate Park Skateboarding World Championships in São Paulo, Brazil

For the U.S. women, 15-year-old Bryce Wettstein missed the finals by just one spot, but solidified her place as the highest ranked American Woman Park Skater with a 9th place at the World Championships along with her fifth place finish at the International Skateboarding Open in
Nanjing in July.

With Brighton Zeuner and Jordyn Barratt - two of the top American women Park skaters - unable to compete in the World Championships due to injuries, skateboarding is seeing the rise of young talent including 15-year-old Jordan Santana who placed 12th at the São Paulo World Championships and 13-year-old Minna Stess who placed 16th.


Editors Note  ** We'd also like to give a big shout out to Arianna Carmona who placed 13th at the World Championships and after this event is now ranked 3rd for USA women and 15th in the world as we head towards the Olympics.



USA WOMENS PARK RANKINGS AS OF 9/16/19    (this info via World Skate Website)


1. Bryce Wettstein
2. Jordan Santana
3. Arianna Carmona
4. Minna Stess


* Huge thanks to Bryce Kanights for allowing us to use this photo of Minna Stess! 
 

About USA Skateboarding

As the recognized governing body for skateboarding in the United States, USA Skateboarding (USAS) is responsible for the selection, training, and fielding of national teams that compete in the Olympic Games, Pan American Games, and other sanctioned team events. USAS is also responsible for the development of youth skateboarding initiatives that support grassroots programs, education, licensing, and safety while respecting and enhancing the existing culture of skateboarding in the United States. USAS is dedicated to promoting and supporting the sport of Skateboarding while striving to guarantee that Skateboarding continues to provide the unique characteristics relevant to the sport's participants, and maintaining the integrity and authenticity of Skateboarding as a sport, a passion, and a lifestyle. For more information, visit USASkateboarding.net

Wtach Brighton Zeuner shred in this new video for Bronson Speed Co.  Brighton is riding the "Nora G3's" at Prince Park.

We suggest you grab a set immediately!

Sakura, Misugu, Sky ~ Photo via World Skate

If you missed this morning's 2019 Women's Park Skateboarding World Championship live from Brazil, you really need to see a replay. The skating was insane. Although it was quite disappointing to not see one American in the women's final... Argh!! It was also odd not seeing Kokona in this final as she has been such a force at the past few comps.

Misugu Okamoto ~ Photo  Piero Capannini via World Skate

But, the eight women who did qualify put on quite a show. Sakura, Misugu and Sky battled it out for podium positions, leading the pack early on. Poppy Starr Olsen was a close fourth and we would have liked to see her on the podium as she was so very close. Lizzie was also in the mix and placed fifth - even though she is skating for Finland as we head towards the Olympics, we still think of her as a USA skater! Brazillian skaters Dora and Isadora had the crowd going wild and placed sixth & seventh, Kisa from Japan placed eighth.



WOMEN FINAL RESULTS - via WORLD SKATE

Misugu OKAMOTO - JPN - GOLD
Sakura YOSOZUMI - JPN - SILVER
Sky BROWN - GBR - BRONZE

4th  Poppy STARR OLSEN - AUS
5th  Lizzie ARMANTO - FIN
6th  Dora VARELLA - BRA
7th  Isadora PACHECO - BRA
8th  Kisa NAKAMURA - JPN

Kokona  ~ Photo Piero Capanninivia World Skate

This wekend is yet another Olympic Park Qualifier and it has the largest amount of points awarded so all the ladies are there battling for podium positions!

Women from countries all over the world have been in Brazil for the past few weeks practicing for this event - it is seriously going to be madness from start to finish.  Unfortuntelywe won't be able to watch open qualifiers, Quarterfinals,  or even Semi-Finals - Argh!!

But you will be able to watch the EIGHT women who compete in the finals on Saturday.

We want to say good luck and kick-ass, to our team riders Minna Stess and Gracie Cochrane who are there competing. Minna represents the USA and Gracie represents Australia. 

Lizzie ~ Photo Piero Capanninivia World Skate

SATURDAY - 09/14 - times listed below unless noted in red are San Paulo, Brazil times.


9:00am - 9:50am: Women’s Semifinals practice -  Not shown Live

9:50am - 12:10pm: Women’s Semifinals -  Not shown Live

12:10pm - 12:25pm: Pause for skatepark cleaning

3:35pm - 4:50pm: Women’s Finals -  Can be viewed LIVE!!

11:35 PT - Women's Finals Shown LIVE!!
2:30 ET  - Women's Finals Shown  LIVE!

5:30pm - 6:00pm: Women’s Award Ceremony  -   Can be viewed LIVE!!



WATCH THE WOMEN FINALS  LIVE ---->  HERE

Our "It's Not Abou Pretty" book designer and GN4LW Ambassador, Elise Crigar, is featured on the current METIZA Podcast!

Elise ia a badass designer, skater, surfer, social media strategist and fierce advocate for women in action sports. The METIZA podcast talks about her journey from college to an incredible recent career move, the power of social media and staying true to your goals.

With Paige Bird from METIZA hosting, this is one interview/podcast you don't want to miss!

Listen to the METIZA PODCAST featuring Elise Crigar -----> HERE

We're so excited to see team rider Zoe Herishen in this new 2019 Philadelphia Eageles Kickoff video - watch for her skateboarding throughout the spot!  Congrats Zoe!!

Photo via World Skate

The International Skateboarding Open in Qingfeng, China took place this weekend and the women's street comp saw Leticia Bufoni back on top of the podium! We love seeing this - Leticia is always battling it out and this weekend she pulled it off once again - a 1st place finish, with Aaori coming in second and a 15 year old Isabelly taking third!

Congrats to all the women who competed!!


Women's Street Results - China

1st  Leticia Bufoni
2nd  Aori Nishimura
3rd  Isabelly Avila

Sakura Yosozumi ~ via Vans Park Series

Sakura Yosozumi ~ via Vans Park Series

Editors Note:  Well, our predictions were right on from yesterday - it was a full Japanese sweep on the podium today at the VPS World Championships.  And every spot was well earned. The ladies were stepping up their game and simply shredding, but it was Sakura who threw down an absolutely flawless run filled with back to back tricks to take the win. Watching Kokona battle it out with her was inspiring and Poppy Starr Olsen was pushing them hard as well, with a run that had her siting in third place until right near the end!  Mami is always fun to watch and did not dissapoint today either.


VPS Press Release below....

Salt Lake City, UTAH (September 7, 2019) – Done and dusted! The Vans Park Series World Championships ends the 2019 season with yet another incredible action-packed finale, crowning Sakura Yosozumi as your new 2019 Women's Vans Park Series World Champion! Energy was peaking from massive Salt Lake City crowds at the new, permanent Vans-Utah Sports Commission Skatepark earlier today, as she swept everyone away with their heavy-hitting runs.


Barging


The women’s podium was fast and furious, Japanese skaters Sakura Yosozumi, Kokona Hiraki and Mami Tezuka surely made their country proud at today’s competition. VPS Women’s World Champion Sakura Yosozumi has been an obvious title contender, having won multiple events, and consistently advancing into finals at every tour stop she attends. Yosozumi’s trick selection continues to progress, and her clean execution of every run earned her the championship title today.

Mami Tezuka - Photo via Vans Park Series

Kokona Hiraki - Photo via Vans Park Series

 Not far behind in second place, 11-year-old Kokona Hiraki was constantly at Yosozumi’s coattails, showing hunger for the win, while style wunderkind Mami Tezuka was a crowd favorite, placing third.

2019 Women’s Pro Tour, Salt Lake City - Final Results

1st  Sakura Yosozumi
2nd Kokona Hiraki
3rd  Mami Tezuka

4th  Poppy Starr Olsen
5th  Kody Tamanha
6th  Grace Marhoefer
7th  Lizzie Armanto
8th  Kihana Ogawa

Full video recap below - worth the watch!!




The 2019 VPS Pro Tour has been a wild ride, spanning 5 countries in 5 months, and ending an unbelievable season in Salt Lake City to showcase the world’s best in park terrain skateboarding. The talent witnessed on this tour has been unmatched, with rising stars and seasoned park terrain experts coming together showcase the unique culture of skateboarding at its best. Looking ahead to next year, the 2020 class of Vans Park Series Select Pros has been determined by the Top 8 ranking skaters in each division. VPS looks forward to showcasing a new generation of park terrain talent next year!

Kokona Hiraki ~ Photo via VPS

The last stop on the Vans Park Series Tour is finally here and the VPS World Championships in Salt Lake City, Utah started today with the women's semi-finals.

Twenty skaters from all over the world competed under the blazing hot sun, but only eight could make the cut for Saturday's finals.

There were some serious upsets today - so let's discuss those first - It was nice to see everyone's favorite skater, Nora Vasconcellos, in the mix but unfortunately, even after an extremely solid run, she did not make the cut. Yndiara Asp also did not make the cut which was unfortunate as she had dominated at the last two VPS stops - so this was unexpected to say the least. Brighton Zeuner and Jordyn Barratt were not skating, so the field was a bit different this time around for the VPS World Championships.


On the positive side, Kokona Hiraki literally owned the park today - her first run was textbook PERFECT, solid on all counts and executed with some serious style. Lizzie Armanto was as always, stylish and awesome to watch.  But with four Japanese skaters in a final of eight, the USA girls and AU's Poppy Olsen have their work cut out for them if they want to make podium and not have it be a full Japanese sweep for first through third - like it was today.

Make sure you tune in tomorrow to watch it all go down!!


LIVE BROADCAST AIRS ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7  ON VANSPARKSERIES.COM

GLOBAL BROADCAST TIMES

Saturday, September 7

Salt Lake City – 12 p.m.
São Paulo – 3 p.m.
Los Angeles – 11 a.m.
New York – 2 p.m.
London – 7 p.m.

Shanghai – 2 a.m. (Sunday, September 8)
Sydney – 4 a.m. (Sunday, September 8)

Lizzie Armanto ~ Photo via VPS

RESULTS - THE TOP 8 WOMEN IN TOMORROW'S VPS FINALS

1. Kokona Hiraki
2. Sakura Yosozumi
3. Mami Tezuka
4. Grace Marhoefer
5. Lizzie armanto
6. Kody Tamanaha
7. Poppy Starr Olsen
8. Kihana Ogawa


If you missed the watching the women's semi-finals LIVE from VPS Salt Lake City, we have the full recap video for you below.

Lizzie Armanto ~ Photo Anthony Acosta for VPS

This is the contest you've been waiting for and this time it's on USA soil! The 2019 VPS World Championships will be happening in Salt Lake City, Utah and you can catch all the action LIVE!

The women have been traveling on tour for this contest series to Canada, Brazil, France and China and now they are making their way to this final showdown.

The new Vans-Utah Sports Commission Skatepark design by California Skateparks

LIVE BROADCAST AIRS ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7  ON VANSPARKSERIES.COM

GLOBAL BROADCAST TIMES

Saturday, September 7

Salt Lake City – 12 p.m.
São Paulo – 3 p.m.
Los Angeles – 11 a.m.
New York – 2 p.m.
London – 7 p.m.

Shanghai – 2 a.m. (Sunday, September 8)
Sydney – 4 a.m. (Sunday, September 8)


Costa Mesa, CALIF. (August 30, 2019) – The 2019 Vans Park Series World Championships presented by Utah Sports Commission are finally here, as renowned skaters from across the globe prepare themselves for the pinnacle event of park terrain skating next weekend. Hosted in the United States for the first time, this year’s VPS World Championships finale will be held at the brand-new Vans - Utah Sports Commission Skatepark, a legacy park terrain skateboarding facility designed and built for the Utah community by Vans and California Skateparks. The Salt Lake City park is the last of three new parks that Vans Park Series has built for skate communities around the world this 2019 tour season.

Attendees and global viewers will get a chance to see the ultimate roster of park terrain skaters from around the globe duke it out for the championship title. There will be no shortage of talent as fan-favorite skaters such as two-time VPS World Champions (2016 and 2018), Brighton Zeuner and Alex Sorgente, powerhouse Brazilians Pedro Barros and Yndiara Asp, and top-ranking skaters Roman Pabich, Cory Juneau, Tristan Rennie, Lizzie Armanto, Nora Vasconcellos, Mami Tezuka, Kokona Hiraki and more, showcase their talent at the highly-anticipated season finale.

Coming off an exciting event in Paris-Chelles, France, skaters Luiz Francisco, Tristan Rennie, Vincent Matheron, Karl Berglind, and Keegan Palmer have ended the 2019 season as the top five Tour Challengers in the rankings, having earned valuable points in the competitive race to secure a spot in the field with the invited Select Pros in the World Championships. On the women’s side, Mami Tezuka, Kihana Ogawa, Autumn Tust, Grace Marhoefer, and Shani Bru will also advance to Salt Lake, after proving themselves as the fiercest five Tour Challengers in the women’s division.


The 2019 Vans Park Series World Championships is presented by Utah Sports Commission and is proud of their partnerships with Swatch, Flexfit and Adobe. The final event will be streamed live around the world from Salt Lake City Sept. 7 on vansparkseries.com and will feature commentary from Tony Hawk.

We were so stoked to see GN4LW team rider Lola Glass in the new Zappos Kids catalog - they did an entire interview with her and had Lola design a pair of shoes for the shoot. We loved that she chose to rock our Dusters x GN4LW "Girl Power" collab board in her photo shoot.

 If you're not familiar with Lola's art make sure you check her out HERE

The world's best men's and women's park terrain skaters will be hitting Salt Lake City on September 6 & 7th, 2019 to battle it out for the prestigious title of '2019 VPS World Champion.

Who you got for the win?

Tony Hawk will be deckside commentating all the action with Chris Cote, Grosso, Alex White (our favorite!!)  and more.

Tune in for the FREE LIVE BROADCAST at VansParkSeries.com & Thrasher.com

More info on times coming later this week!


2019 VPS WOMEN'S SELECT PROS:

Brighton Zeuner
Yndiara Asp
Jordyn Barratt
Sakura Yosozumi
Poppy Starr Olsen
Kisa Nakamura
Kokona Hiraki
Nicole Hause

2019 VPS WOMEN'S WILDCARDS:
Nora Vasconcellos
Lizzie Armanto


About Vans Park Series: Showcasing an international roster of top pros and a total prize purse in excess of $800,000(USD), the Vans Pro Skate Park Series seeks to define and elevate park terrain skateboarding by establishing the premier global points ranking system and official world championships of park terrain skateboarding for men and women in order to grow participation and promote the culture of skateboarding worldwide.

Pro skateboarder and founder of Exposure Skate, Amelia Brodka, shows you 30 tricks in a one-minute fast edit. Amelia just turned 30 and she's grinding and flipping her way into birthday mode!

Happy Birthday, Amelia!!

X-Games Norway, Women's Street was going off this morning. If you missed it, that's OK, because we have the replay of the women's comp right here. A lot of back and forth on the leader board today and it was anyone's guess who would wind up on podium.

We're not going to spoil it for you with exactly how it went down at the end - you'll need to watch the replay to check it out.

It's GOOD!


WOMEN"S STREET RESULTS - X-GAMES NORWAY

1st   Aori Nishimura
2nd  Pamela Rosa
3rd   Mariah Duran


4th  Rayssa Leal
5th  Candy Jacobs
6th  Momiji Nishiya
7th  Tonje Pedersen