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| Salt Rags Skate Decks - Quinne Flying high |
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| Sun. Skate. Seventies - 100 Post Cards by Hugh Holland |
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| Pro Skater, Alexis Sablone's New Shoe From Converse |
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Street Angel book by Jim Rugg  |
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| Kevin The Unicorn Book |
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| Lizzie Armanto Skate Deck by Birdhouse |
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| Hugh Holland - Silver, Skate Seventies. Book |
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| Nora Vasconcellos Stance Socks |
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| Dusters x Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word "re-issue" Cruiser ~ Photo Elise Crigar |
Check out our holiday gift guide, full of rad ideas for the female skater on your gift list!
We've put together a list of 11 gifts, beginner to advanced, that any female skateboarder in your life would love to unwrap this holiday season! All products shown above can be purchased online, so no rushing around from store to store, trying to hunt them down. Some sites are offering free shipping or discount codes as well. All products listed are things we put our trust in and have first-hand experience with.
Happy Holidays!!
1. Salt Rags Skateboards has the perfect board for your little mini shredder! With kid-appropriate graphics and sizes for any young skater, these boards are sure to be a hit under the Christmas tree. Check out their site for the appropriate sizing for your little one! $42.00
SaltRags.com
2. Sun. Skate. Seventies 100 Postcards by Hugh Holland - Skateboarding culture of the 1970s is immortalized here by photographer Hugh Holland in this ideal gift format. These 100 colorful postcards celebrate the quintessential street style of young skateboarders honing their skills on asphalt streets and empty swimming pools. With their requisite tube socks and Vans, these young outsiders are masterfully depicted against a sometimes harsh but always sunny Southern California landscape. This chunky box is sure to delight fans of vintage photography, fashion, Los Angeles, Dogtown, and skateboarding. $19.95
Amazon
3. Converse x Alexis Sablone dropped this beautiful creamy colored suede skate shoe earlier this year and our founder, Cindy Whitehead, has been wearing it non-stop. Super comfy and looks chic on and off your board. This shoe comes in women's sizes 6.5-10 $74.95
Zumiez
4. Street Angel Graphic Novel - Artist Jim Rugg has done it again! Jesse "Street Angel" Sanchez is a homeless ninja girl on a skateboard! In-between kicking ass and taking sandwiches - she fights bullies, street gangs, ninjas, the man, cocky superheroes, hunger, and the ninja industrial complex. She also rescues a stray dog, makes weird new friends, and saves Christmas!?! This collection includes all of Street Angel's Image Comics adventures plus a couple of extra stories and behind-the-scenes materials.
Did you notice that STREET ANGEL is rocking our GN4LW Skull tee? yeah!! $19.99
Amazon
5. American Girl "Skate Park Set" Snow Day? Skatepark rained out? Here's the perfect place for her dolls to “catch some air”! This 22-piece set includes - A skate ramp with a built-in doghouse and a flip-up workbench for working on the board. A customizable skateboard. Four coral wheels and four green wheels that can be interchanged. Two coral trucks and two silver trucks that attach to the underside of the board. A teal helmet and matching elbow pads and knee pads. A grind rail for practicing tricks. Pretend skate wax to help the board slide on the rail. A sticker sheet for decorating the ramp and skateboard. $100.00
American Girl
6. Bronson G3 Nora Bearings -in that awesome color purple that Nora loves these bearings make a great gift for any Nora fan. Great as a stocking stuffer too! They are even on sale right now! $26.99
Skate Warehouse
7. Kevin the Unicorn Book - This fun kids book is written and illustrated by our rad friend ! Everyone knows that unicorns are perfect. They are glamorous and glittery, and their smiles make rainbows appear! But Kevin is having a less-than-perfect day. First, he wakes up on the wrong side of the bed ...on the floor. Then he discovers that his mane is so wild that even his Super-Perfect-Hair-Day-Spray can't tame it. And the day just gets worse from there. Kevin does his best to keep his outlook sunny, but it's hard to keep smiling when everything goes horribly wrong!
We also want to mention that one of the unicorns wears a GN4LW hat and rides a skateboard in this adventure - which we LOVE! $17.63 hardcover or $10.99 for Kindle version
Amazon
8. Lizzie Armanto Pro Model by Birdhouse - This professional-quality Birdhouse Skateboards Lizzie Armanto Cat Skateboard Deck measures 8" wide x 31.875" long and is ideal for every skill level, from beginner to pro. Birdhouse Skateboards Lizzie Armanto Cat Skateboard Deck is a totally versatile skateboard deck that's perfect for street, pool, park, and vert. It's rock-solid with tons of pop and ready for a staircase near you. Comes pre-drilled and ready to set up. $60.00
Birdhouse
9. Silver. Skate. Seventies. Book by Hugh Holland - From 1974-1978 Holland captured it all, from his bird's eye view - sometimes in a van traveling with skaters, othertimes perched nearby as they carved up a backyard pool, ditch or skatepark. It's interesting to point out, that these black and white images were taken in the very beginning, prior to his color work, when Holland was experimenting with photography techniques and capturing skateboarders as they too were trying out new terrain and creating a free flowing style that captivated the world. The stunning images show girls today how it was when skateboarding was in its infancy. $37.67
Amazon
10. Nora Vasconcellos Socks by Stance any female skater in your life would love these rad socks with Nora's artwork on them. Super cushy for skating and they never slip down. And who isn't a fan of Nora? $19.95
Amazon
11. Dusters x Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word "re-issue" Cruiser - just came out in time for the holidays. It rides like a dream and the graphics were done by GN4LW founder, Cindy Whitehead. This is the same cruiser board that Dusters x GN4LW did back in 2013 and it sold out fast - the new "re-issue" has updated features - check out the pink grip-tape! $119.99 + FREE Shipping
Skate Warehouse
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
- New Zealand
- South Africa
- France
- France
November 25, was International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
Longboarder and filmer, Achel Machin, decided to create this powerful video to illustrate an important point. Violence against women is much more common than you imagine.
According to the WHO, 1 woman out of 3 has experienced physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime.
And that excludes more insidious forms of violence such as gender discrimination or social expectations about how women should look and act.
"I believe that sometimes we turn a blind eye to this because it is easier to hang on to a stereotype than to accept a hard and scary reality. So today, I want to speak up to say that we have to stop pretending this problem doesn’t exist and talk about it."
~ Achel Machin
Rider : Giulia Alfeo
Music : Zbigniew Preisner - Lacrimosa
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| "Hala" via Aplle TV+ |
If there was one good reason to sign up and get Apple TV+ it's this movie.
"Hala" is coming to Apple TV on December 6th and you don't want to miss it. The film made waves at this year's Sundance Film Festival and Apple TV snatched up the rights. It will have a small theatrical run starting November 22, so you may be able to catch it in a theater near you if you prefer to see it on the big screen.
"Hala" is a coming of age story of a Pakistani American teenager. Hala is a 17-year-old who likes poetry and skateboarding. She also likes a boy who enjoys the same things, but her father wants to arrange a marriage for her in the traditional Muslim manner.
As she comes into her own, she grapples with a secret that threatens to unravel her family.
Hala is played by actress Geraldine Viswanathan. Anna Chlumsky, Jack Kilmer, Gabriel Luna, Azad Khan, and Purbi Joshi also star in the movie.
"Hala" was written and directed by Minhal Baig and produced by actress Jada Pinkett Smith (wife of Will Smith).
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| Mateya |
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| Olive |
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| Briel |
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| Kala |
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| Cona |
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| Teagan |
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| Quinne |
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| Cai |
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| London |
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| Demi |
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| Mini Shredders |
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| Penny |
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| Coral |
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| Isabella |
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| Jessie |
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| Cheryl |
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| Tracie |
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| Meredith & Jessie |
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| Tracie |
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| Meredith |
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| Jessie |
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| Cheryl |
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| Mateya |
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| Elaine |
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| Charlotte |
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| Quinne |
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| Cona |
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| Mykah |
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| Grom Squad |
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| Natalie |
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| Dailynn |
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| Koji |
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| Hanna |
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| Isabella & Penny |
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| Quinne, Coco, Briel |
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| Dailynn, Meredith, |
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| Jessie & Hanna |
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| Over 18 Division |
Photos by Ian Logan for Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word
These images are for social media use only
PLEASE CREDIT when posting
@ianloganphoto x @girlisnota4letterword
It was an epic day at the Redondo Beach, King of the Harbor skate contest this past Sunday. With the girls and women having their own divisions this year, they came out in full force to skate with other girls and have fun.
We had 19 girls in the "12 and Under" division! Amazing!! There were some mini shredders so tiny that dad had to help them navigate the ramps. In the women's division we saw Vans Pro Park Series Champion, Hanna Zanzi show up and throw down, along with OG Jam regulars Jessie Frietze-Armenta, Cheryl Milstien, and Tracie Garacochea.
Our rad friends at 2x4 Mini Ramps provided a 5' halfpipe that everyone loved skating and there were quarter pipes, spine sections, and rails for those who wanted to street skate.
Photographer Jenny Sampson was there shooting tintype portraits for her upcoming book Skater Girls and she was able to take great photos of so many of the girls who came to skate - so cool to see.
Huge thanks to the Redondo Beach Police Department, Beach Life and all the volunteers for putting this contest on!
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| Misugu |
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| Sakura |
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| Sky |
All photos via World Skate
In case you missed it - and it was easy to do - between the rain delays and the lack of online live feed, this is how the women's podium ended up for women's street and park in Rio this weekend.
This comp was the 1st Olympic qualifier for this season and was worth a lot of points - it was a ProTour comp as compared to the "5-star" events - how you placed mattered! And the women came out in full force to throw it down!
No USA women made the podium this time for park or street - but there are more events ahead, and we are pretty sure we will see some changes as the season moves on.
Misugu is holding steadily onto first place in every contest she is in - it's pretty hard to beat those huge 540's.
And little Rayssa Leal in street is making the podium again by taking second this time around - she is a definite contender!
Women's Park Podium
1. Misugu Okomoto
2. Sakura Yosozumi
3. Sky Brown
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| photo via Pamela Rose - instagram |
Women's Street Podium
1. Pamela Rosa
2. Rayssa Leal
3. Aori Nishimura
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| Kala at The King of the Harbor Contest a couple years ago |
And...
Did you know that you can come out and free skate? You don't even need to enter the contest if you don't feel like it?
This is a GREAT time to skate with all your friends and get some free swag!
BeachLife and the Redondo Beach Police Department are hosting the annual "Redondo Beach King (and Queen) of the Harbor Skateboard Championships."
We are extremely excited to say that there will be a girl's division this year, so grab your girl gang and let's all get out there and SKATE together!!
The contest will take place on the Redondo Beach Pier at the Octagon, near the old Fun Factory.
Pro skaters Tony Alva & Mason Silva & Cindy Whitehead will be there to share the stoke. Cindy will be commentating for the girl's event. DJ Marko DeSantis from the band Sugarcult will be spinning throughout the day. Our fave people from 2x4 Mini ramps will be setting up their 5 ft half-pipe. We hear there will also be some street skating features set up as well. Something for everyone!
Oh yeah, and you can also bring your brothers or guy friends because this contest as for all ages, and genders!
Everyone that signs up gets a FREE: t-shirt, snacks, water, lunch and raffle ticket!
There will be amazing trophies & prizes as well as coveted tickets to The Beach Life Festival to the adult winners!!
And don't forget there will be an after-party at Barneys Beanery on the pier from 5-8 PM!!
PLEASE TELL ALL YOUR GIRLFRIENDS TO COME OUT AND SKATE - WE PUSHED HARD TO GET A GIRLS DIVISION THIS YEAR - LET'S SHOW EVERYONE THAT...
#GIRLSSKATETOO
Location - Date - Time:
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Redondo Beach Pier - by the Fun Factory in the Octagon area.
Age Groups (will be same age groups for the guys)
Girls 12 and Under
Girls 13 to 17
Women 18 and Over
Please Note - there will be a women's overall winner AND a women's "Best Trick" winner - each one will receive a 3-day pass to the upcoming Beach Life Festival as well as a trophy and Beach Life bundle of prizes!!
Kids will receive trophies, Beach Life merch, and merch from local sponsors!!
Schedule: Please Note!! ---------> Helmets are required
9am- Signups
10am-2pm- Kids competition
2-4:30pm - Adults competition
5pm-8pm - After party at Barney's Beanery on the RB Pier
Register info - Kids and Adults - do it now so you can just show up and skate!
Form to register for Kids Skateboarding, plus to see info and flyer on the event: www.redondo.org/skateboard
Form to register for Adult Skateboarding: https://forms.gle/zWkBDwav3RtbP2pK9
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| Photo Elise Crigar |
SAVE THE DATE!
We are super excited to announce that California Pizza Kitchen is supporting Girls Skateboarding!!
Join us at one of your local California Pizza Kitchen locations (listed below) on November 21, 2019, to help support girls in skateboarding via our micro-grant program.
Make sure you bring this flyer - either via a printout / or on your mobile device and show it to your server. California Pizza Kitchen will be donating 20% of your bill to help girls in skateboarding - how rad is that?
It includes dining in, take out, catering and all beverages on November 21!!
WHEN? Thursday, November 21, 2019
Participating CPK Locations:
~ SANTA MONICA
~ MANHATTAN BEACH
~ HUNTINGTON BEACH
~ GLENDALE
~ HOLLYWOOD
See you there!!
"With its pink wheels and gold-colored trucks, this 2013 GN4LW skateboard conveys a definite feminine vibe, but the skulls and Cindy Whitehead's distinctive logo bring that skater-girl edge"
Jane Rogers ~ Curator at The Smithsonian Museum of American History's Sports Collections
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| Photos Ian Logan |
We are super excited to share this news! The original Dusters California x Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word cruiser is featured on the cover of the just-released book, SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN WOMEN".
GN4LW founder and 70's OG skater, Cindy Whitehead, is written up in the chapter titled Breakthroughs and Backlash. The GN4LW x XS helmet collab is also featured in the section about skater girl gear.
This gorgeous coffee table book makes a great holiday gift for the girl that you love, as every page features women in American History that paved the way: Sally Ride, Billie Jean King, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mia Hamm, Ibtihaj Muhammed, and so many more inspiring stories!
You can get the book now via Amazon.
Right now it shows the book at a discounted price of $30.05 - but only 15 are left in stock - so grab it fast - looks like it's selling out quickly!
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| Allysha Le |
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| Lizzie Armanto |
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| Bryce Wettstein |
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| Jordyn Barratt |
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| Brighton Zeuner |
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| Arianna Carmona |
We are thrilled to share photos from this weekend's Exposure Skate Contest with you! Photographer and badass babe, Lauren Muller, took these amazing photos and was kind enough to let us share the day with all of you!
We hope everyone had a blast!
RESULTS FROM EXPOSURE SKATE
Street Open 15 and Up Division
1st Margielyn Arda Didal
2nd Georgia Martin
3rd Itzel Granados Flores
Street Open 6 to 14 Division
1st Hiyori Otagiri
2nd Aoi Ishimaru
3rd Christine Cottam
Vert Open Results
1st Sakura Yosozumi
2nd Arianna Carmona
3rd Allysha Le
Park Open 30 and Up Division Results
1st Tuli Lam
2nd Deise Reis
3rd Michelle Barnett
Park Open 15 to 29 Finals Results
1st Bryce Wettstein
2nd Jordan Santana
4th Arianna Carmona
Park Open 6 to 14 Finals Results
1st Bella Kenworthy
2nd Yurin Fujii
3rd Ruby Lilley
2019_RB_SKATE_CONTEST_PROMO_1 from BROWNING MEDIA on Vimeo.
We’re excited about the upcoming KING OF THE HARBOR skate contest on November 17 at Redondo Pier! It’s a FREE skate event for all ages that’s gong to be so rad!
Check out this just released video of GN4LW team rider Briel and her rad brothers skating with the Redondo Beach Police!
BeachLife and the Redondo Beach Police Department are hosting the annual "Redondo Beach King (and Queen) of the Harbor Skateboard Championships."
We are extremely excited to say that there will be a girl's division this year, so grab your girl gang and let's all get out there and SKATE together!!
The contest will take place on the Redondo Beach Pier at the Octagon, near the old Fun Factory.
Pro skaters Tony Alva & Mason Silva & Cindy Whitehead will be there to share the stoke. DJ Marko DeSantis from the band Sugarcult will be spinning throughout the day. Our fave people from 2x4 Mini ramps will be setting up their 5 ft half-pipe. We hear there will also be some street skating features set up as well. Something for everyone!
Oh yeah, and you can also bring your brothers or guy friends because this contest as for all ages, and genders!
Everyone that signs up gets a FREE: t-shirt, snacks, water, lunch and raffle ticket!
There will be amazing trophies & prizes as well as coveted tickets to The Beach Life Festival to the adult winners!!
And don't forget there will be an after-party at Barneys Beanery on the pier from 5-8 PM!!
PLEASE TELL ALL YOUR GIRLFRIENDS TO COME OUT AND SKATE - WE PUSHED HARD TO GET A GIRLS DIVISION THIS YEAR - LET'S SHOW EVERYONE THAT...
#GIRLSSKATETOO
Location - Date - Time:
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Redondo Beach Pier - by the Fun Factory in the Octagon area.
Age Groups (will be same age groups for the guys)
Girls 12 and Under
Girls 13 to 17
Women 18 and Over
Please Note - there will be a women's overall winner AND a women's "Best Trick" winner - each one will receive a 3-day pass to the upcoming Beach Life Festival as well as a trophy and Beach Life bundle of prizes!!
Kids will receive trophies, Beach Life merch, and merch from local sponsors!!
Schedule: Please Note!! ---------> Helmets are required
9am- Signups
10am-2pm- Kids competition
2-4:30pm - Adults competition
5pm-8pm - After party at Barney's Beanery on the RB Pier
Register info - kids and Adults - do it now so you can just show up and skate!
Form to register for Kids Skateboarding, plus to see info and flyer on the event: www.redondo.org/skateboard
Form to register for Adult Skateboarding: https://forms.gle/zWkBDwav3RtbP2pK9
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| Photo Ian Logan |
STREET ANGEL: DEADLIEST GIRL ALIVE is in comic book stores now, but we got a sneak peek a few weeks ago and we LOVE that it contains all of the Street Angel Image Comics adventures, plus a couple new stories and some behind the scenes material! If you're a fan of Street Angel you don't want to miss this new book!
All the Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word team riders are huge fans of the comic Street Angel and with good reason. Badass, skateboarding, ninja fighting, homeless, pre-teen Jesse Sanchez, AKA "Street Angel", is awesome!
The creators of Street Angel, Jim Rugg (artist & author) & Brian Maruca (author), take us on a ride where a young girl is a top skateboarder, living on the streets, fighting ninjas and drugs and she possesses powers that help her escape traps, scale walls, pick locks and every other cool thing we wished we could do at that age. She has really good friends and she has some crazy enemies.
The ongoing story of Jesse and her fight for justice are now encompassed in one book so you can easily read the comics back to back, so settle in for a great read!
The newest book, Street Angel: Deadliest Girl Alive is available in comic book stores now and on Amazon on November 5th - so pre-order NOW ----> HERE
Psst!! Did you notice that Jesse is wearing our GN4LW skull tee on the cover of the new Street Angel book?! We're sooo excited!!
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| Our Dusters California board collab featuring Street Angel ~ Photo Ian Logan |
-Cindy Whitehead, founder of Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word
The next Girls Skate Session at The Cove is this Saturday, November 2nd from 10am - 12pm.
Please help spread the word and remind anyone new to The Cove that they must register in advance as the Parks & Rec office won't be open at this time.
Location:
The Cove Skatepark
1401 Olympic Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Upcoming Girls Sessions at The Cove:
November 2nd
November 16th
December 7th
CHECK THIS OUT!! If you are a beginner and interested in booking a lesson, they have instructors on hold to teach group lessons to new skaters only.
The instructors will charge $40 per person for groups and prefer cash or check.
Each class will have no more than five slots.
Lessons are on a first come first serve basis, so please respond immediately girlsktsession@gmail.com to if you want a spot.
Note: There is a 24-hour cancelation policy. You must cancel before 10am the Friday before or you will be charged for the class.
The 10am class will be for beginners only.
The 11am class will be for advanced beginners.
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| Sam BS Grind ~ Photo Heidi Lemmon |
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| Andrea over the stairs ~ photo Heidi Lemmon |
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| Katy, Sam, Andrea - Podium ~ Photo Heidi Lemmon |
Even though the fires were raging nearby and the electricity was off in most places, the NorCal skaters came out in force for the final stop of the NorCal portion of OG Jam Series, held at the amazing Beeble Bowl.
Sam, Andrea, and Katy all killed it and now move onto the finals against So Cal in November!
WOMEN'S RESULTS
1. Katy Belton
2. Sammy "Good Times"
3. Andrea Beebs
4. Shanell Doyle
5. Fruta Demo
The 2019 OGJAM Series Final: Norcal Versus SoCal is in San Luis Obispo on November 16
Some things to know:
~ The Series Points for NorCal and Socal end at the 4th stop for each series (The Yard for SoCal and Beeble Bowl for NorCal).
~ Awards for Overall in each division and a Grand Champion trophy will be awarded.
~ The Final will be a one-off event where NorCal skaters and Socal Skaters will compete in the same divisions together and points will be awarded for placing 1-10th place.
~ All divisions will be tallied up with points going to your declared Series, NorCal or SoCal, and the side with the most points wins the OGJam Series Cup (and bragging rights of course).
~ So get your rippers to skate in this one!!!
~ Each Division will also be awarded 1st through 3rd place as usual.
BeachLife and the Redondo Beach Police Department are hosting the annual "Redondo Beach King (and Queen) of the Harbor Skateboard Championships."
We are extremely excited to say that there will be a girl's division this year, so grab your girl gang and let's all get out there and SKATE together!!
The contest will take place on the Redondo Beach Pier at the Octagon, near the old Fun Factory.
Pro skaters Tony Alva & Mason Silva & Cindy Whitehead will be there to share the stoke. Cindy will be commentating for the girl's event. DJ Marko DeSantis from the band Sugarcult will be spinning throughout the day. Our fave people from 2x4 Mini ramps will be setting up their 5 ft half-pipe. We hear there will also be some street skating features set up as well. Something for everyone!
Oh yeah, and you can also bring your brothers or guy friends because this contest as for all ages, and genders!
Everyone that signs up gets a FREE: t-shirt, snacks, water, lunch and raffle ticket!
There will be amazing trophies & prizes as well as coveted tickets to The Beach Life Festival to the adult winners!!
And don't forget there will be an after-party at Barneys Beanery on the pier from 5-8 PM!!
PLEASE TELL ALL YOUR GIRLFRIENDS TO COME OUT AND SKATE - WE PUSHED HARD TO GET A GIRLS DIVISION THIS YEAR - LET'S SHOW EVERYONE THAT...
#GIRLSSKATETOO
Location - Date - Time:
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Redondo Beach Pier - by the Fun Factory in the Octagon area.
Age Groups (will be same age groups for the guys)
Girls 12 and Under
Girls 13 to 17
Women 18 and Over
Please Note - there will be a women's overall winner AND a women's "Best Trick" winner - each one will receive a 3-day pass to the upcoming Beach Life Festival as well as a trophy and Beach Life bundle of prizes!!
Kids will receive trophies, Beach Life merch, and merch from local sponsors!!
Schedule: Please Note!! ---------> Helmets are required
9am- Signups
10am-2pm- Kids competition
2-4:30pm - Adults competition
5pm-8pm - After party at Barney's Beanery on the RB Pier
Register info - kids and Adults - do it now so you can just show up and skate!
Form to register for Kids Skateboarding, plus to see info and flyer on the event: www.redondo.org/skateboard
Form to register for Adult Skateboarding: https://forms.gle/zWkBDwav3RtbP2pK9
Exposure Open is coming up SOON! This year it will be at Vans Skatepark in Huntington Beach. It's fun to have a new venue and a new style of the contest! Exposure is always so much fun. So make sure you get down there and compete or come to watch the girls skate and cheer them on!
You can try and register HERE and if your divsion is full please email kiva@exposure.org to be put on the waiting list.
We hope to see you there!
Saturday, November 2, 2019
9:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Vans Off the Wall Skatepark
7471 Center Avenue
Huntington Beach
Get ready for November!! It's going to be an awesome weekend to start the month off - Friday, November 1st, will be Ladies Day at the Berrics with the amazing Poseiden Foundation. This is the ELEVENTH year this event has been happening!
There will be:
*Master Division
*7-Stair Pro/Expert
*Hip Best Trick
*Adaptive Skate
*Flatground Game of S.K.A.T.E
*Pinata
*Music
*Live Performance
and MORE!
The Winner of Best Trick Pro will receive a VIP all access pass for the 1st annaual Women's Battle at the Berrics finals night.
Everyone who attends must RSVP, so head over to Poseiden Foundation to RSVP and find out more!
Friday, November 1, 2019
2:00 PM - 9:00 PM
The Berrics
2535 E.12th Street,
Los Angeles
And on Sunday - Exposure Open is happening - more on that later!
Photo Klaudie Moravcova
We have heard about Emily for years now. We missed meeting her when we went to the Maryhill SheRide a few years back and since then she has been competing with the men in downhill... and winning. This young woman doesn't let anything get in the way of her goals, and when she hears "you can't" or "It's never going to happen" that fuels her even more. She skates downhill faster than most people drive their car on the freeway, is an IDF champion, skates for Team USA and still manages to attend college to get her degree. Whew!
We are extremely pleased to share this " Who's Rad" interview featuring Emily Pross with you!
Photo Gael Abudarham
Who's Rad?
Emily Pross
Age?
23 years old
Home is?
I was born and raised in Vernon, New Jersey. But I have lived in Mineral, Virginia for the last two years.
How long have you been downhill racing?
I have been downhill racing for the last 7 years. I originally started downhill skating in 2012, but I was mostly into the freestyle aspect of it at first. By freestyle, I mean technical slides and flowing down the hill with style and grace. It was not until 2013 when I realized my love for downhill racing on a skateboard. Now I just want to go as fast as I can downhills.
Photo CGSA Downhill
What made you get interested in doing downhill?
Well, growing up, I could never really figure how to ollie or do any of the fancy flatland street skating tricks on a regular skateboard. So instead I took my skateboard to the top of this hill I lived on and rode down that, and honestly, I could do that all day. I loved that gravity powered speed feeling.
You are going to school and racing – how do you juggle both?
I do and it is pretty rough. Fortunately, I took online classes through Berkeley College. Generally my plan of attack with school, and traveling to races, was trying to get all the work done ahead of time that I was assigned in the weeks I would be gone. Generally, the season would start in Australia, and I would be gone for about 3 weeks and go to two races. So I would talk to the professors and they would give the work for those 3 weeks I would be gone, because I knew once I got to my destination I would not feel like doing any kind of schoolwork. So I would knock out 3 weeks' worth of school work in 4 classes ahead of time. I would start this grind about a month before I would leave. It was very draining, mentally, having to all that extra work on top of the work that was due that week in all those classes.
What are you getting your degree in?
I am currently pursuing my Bachelor’s of Science in Marketing and Communications. I’m actually in my last semester finishing that up.
Can you tell us what an average day is like for you?
Since I am currently working on an internship with Twente Additive Manufacturing. My day starts out, getting up early around 5am or 6am. Try to complete some school work, before heading out the door to work at the internship at 8:30am. Then at the end of the day, I train at the gym generally around 5pm, for about 1 hr 1/2 - 3hrs, how long I train depends on how I feel. And then I return home, eat dinner, study some more, then go to bed, and repeat. Depending on my schedule, sometimes I’ll try and do some training in the morning before heading to work or doing anything else I have planned that day.
Speaking of training – can you tell us what type of training you do to prepare and keep your body in shape for your sport?
Generally, during the racing season, I participate in HIIT (high-intensity interval training) and keep a good mix of endurance, strength, and balance training in with my HIIT routine. To give you an idea, my favorite routine, is warming with low weight on weight lifting exercise, like say squats. Then without rest in between weight sets, I will sprint on the treadmill, or outside (depending on the weather) for 1:20 at a 10mph pace. I will repeat this 4 times, without resting in-between weight sets, while also adding weight to my strength training exercise. I’ll also do this with other weight training exercises in one training session. Aside from this, I also like to go for long-distance runs on occasion. As well as go to the bouldering gym.
We know you like to go FAST – what is the fastest speed you have clocked on your skateboard?
Photo Tyler Topping
"The fastest speed I clocked on a skateboard is 135.00kph. Which is 83.88 mph. This was at the top speed challenge up in Quebec Canada, I achieved the fastest for the ladies in that contest up there"
How did you get the nickname “The PROSSecutor”?
The nickname was actually given to me by one of friends in the downhill industry, Max Dubler. He gave me the nickname back in 2015 at an international Downhill Federation (IDF) race in Lillehammer, Norway. 2015 was when I started to realize my potential to do well in the open category. Because I had a decent qualifying time and made the final 64 man bracket in Open/Pro Men’s category, people were saying those that qualified worse than I got “Prossed.” That was when Dubler took it upon himself to say, “No, you all got PROSSecuted.” The name and term stuck ever since then.
Can you tell us about the different divisions in downhill, women, open, etc?
Of course. So much like other sports where they have a governing organization like NFL, NHL, and MLB. The IDF is the league and sanctioning body we race in as downhill skateboarders. In this league, we race under they're set of rules, and racing divisions/classes. These multiple different classes under their umbrella, have a points chase across multiple different races around the world, in order to crown a World Champion. The classes the IDF offers races in are, a Master’s Division, which is for people 35 years and up. A Women’s division, which all women of any age can compete in. A junior division that anyone under the age of 18 can compete in. A street luge division which, people who participate in, street luging, race against each other in. Lastly, they offer an Open category, which is the main racing division the IDF offers. In the Open category, anybody is allowed to participate, including those participating in the other divisions, excluding luge. The open category is very much similar to a “Pro Men’s” division, however, women are allowed to compete, which is called “Open.”
Photo Tyler Topping
You are winning all the women’s comps and are also beating the men – can you tell us a little about what racing with the men is like, where it took place, and how it felt?
Of course. I know it sounds weird, but I now have 2 “first” wins under my belt against the men. One was at a non-IDF sanctioned event in North Carolina, called Mt. Jefferson. This win happened in 2017. And my other was my first win in an IDF event, at the Seaside track in the Philippines. This happened in 2018.
The Mt. Jefferson race track is one of my favorite race tracks in the world, the track pretty much has all the features I like in a race track. Back in 2017 when I won, I won in the rain. Skateboarding in the rain is a whole different ball game. There is no traction, so you have to calculate and think about your technique and lines while navigating the road. I also remember it being particularly cold here, I remember being lined up on the starting for the final heat, and not being able to stop shivering. I honestly credit the cold to me winning, because, literally every heat I wanted to get to the bottom as fast I could so I could get out of the rain and try to warm myself up.
At the Mt. Jefferson race because it was not IDF, they only offered one class, open. However in the Philippines, I raced both Women’s and Open. This race was also extremely brutal because of the extreme heat and humidity. From the Quarterfinals till the end I was racing 2 race heats per round, and in the heat and humidity, it was extremely difficult. But this win was particularly special to me, because not only did I win against the men while racing an additional race heat per round. But I won against two former Open world Champions, who had the reputation of being hard to beat, so that special.
I like to think, unrealistic goals, lead to unrealistic outcomes. I relate this to my goal of winning an open race because I was always told, “you can’t” “It’s never going to happen.” When something you worked so hard to achieve finally happens, you are left with this feeling of, what now? What do I do?
Photo Ras Sarunas
You are setting records like this and paving the way for women in the sport – are there more goals like this coming up for you?
"For sure! My main goal in downhill is to inspire others, whether I have accomplished that or not, I do not know. But, my main goal for next is to be better than I was last year, as a competitor. Both mentally and physically"
Do the guys treat you differently now that you are competing with them and beating them?
Yes and no. Some guys, I can tell I have earned their respect as a competitor. However, I can still sense some resentment in the attitudes of some others.
You are also an IDF champion – how many times and which years?
Yes, I am a 5x IDF World Champion, 4x being undefeated. And with the win at the World Roller Games in Barcelona, I now have 6 World Titles.
You were named recently to the USA National Team – what does that mean to you?
As a whole, it felt really cool because this was the first time Downhill Skateboarding has ever been apart of something at this magnitude. All in all, it was a huge step forward for the sport, and I felt proud to be apart of the downhill community.
Can you explain what it was like to go to Barcelona and compete?
The event in Barcelona was beautifully run. It was really spectacular to see all the best skaters in the world come together at a single event. Normally at most events, everyone can’t make it, so it was cool to really see the whole downhill scene come together.
You brought home the gold for the USA there – what does your medal look like?
The medal is pretty cool. The medal actually looks like a wheel. It has a gold rim with a concrete center. In the concrete, the WRG games logo is stamped along with downhill’s event symbol. On the inside of the medal is a gold skateboard bearing with “World Roller Games” engraved into. The bearing spins too, which is pretty neat.
Photo Via Kebbek Skateboards
You have your own pro model board with Kebbek – sweet! Tell us about the graphics, the design, how that came about?
The graphic is pretty cool, it was made by an artist out in Nelson, BC. The focal point of the graphic is a Bald Eagle, which I thought was pretty sweet considering I’m one of their few riders from the United States. This design came about from testing and riding multiple different boards in the market. I gleaned a little bit from each of the boards I liked, and have ridden in the past, and mashed all these components together to make my pro-model.
Any advice for girls who want to follow in your footsteps?
Rusty Williams
"If you believe in yourself, you can accomplish anything. At times you are going to feel alone, but remember to keep your eyes on the prize and stay focused on the end goal."
"Do not let others tell you that you can’t, because they are only saying that to scare you from what you CAN do."
Girls in action sports that inspire you?
I love following Crossfit and the athletes who compete in the games. Women, such as Tia-Clair Toomey, Katrin Daviosdottir, and Jessica Griffith. These women, are major inspirations for me in keeping me motivated in my passion for training and working out.
I’m also a huge fan of American Ninja Warrior, and I have massive respect for Jessie Graff. She helps keep me inspired to compete against all humans, rather than just the women.
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Three Things You Don't Know About Me...
1. I’m a huge fan of kombucha, and do my own home brewing. In the future, I would like to possibly start a kombucha beverage company.
2. I have a fear of falling from high places, and I credit this fear to my sister. On family vacation whenever I would look out of the edge of a cliff, or something similar, my sister would also come from behind and give me a little nudge/jerk forward. This would cause me to lose my balance and think I was about to free-fall off the edge. Because of this, to this day, I hate being close to the edges of cliffs even if there is a safety railing across it.
3. I’m currently learning another language, Portuguese.
What’s Next?
Honestly, I am not sure. I would like to keep pursuing the IDF world tour. But, since the sport is so small it is very hard, for me financially, to fund all that traveling year after year. One thing Would like to do is pursue coaching. I think I could bring a lot of stuff to the table to help someone succeed in this sport and others. For now though, I kind of just going to go with the flow, see what doors open, and close, and go from there.
Make sure you follow Emily at:
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| Cindy Whitehead ~ Photo Ian Logan |
It's the 10th anniversary of the legendary espnW Summit and this year TWO skateboarders will be up on stage speaking about what it's like to be female in skateboarding.
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| Jordyn Barratt ~ Photo Ian Logan |
On Tuesday, October 22 at 11:30 AM (Pacific Time) - Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word Founder, Cindy Whitehead, will be giving a 10-minute talk on "Rule Breaking, Disruption and Starting a Revolution" which discusses how women working together, can create awareness for female athletes and help change the conversation and dynamic in male-dominated sports.
On Wednesday, October 23 at 10:30 AM (Pacific Time)- Pro Skateboarder and Olympic hopeful, Jordyn Barratt, will be on the "Voices of the Future" panel where she will join two other young athletes to discuss their respective sports as we head towards the Olympics in 2020.
The Summit is invite-only and is sold out, but you can catch the entire three-day summit on the ESPN app starting October 21 and follow along on espnW Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.