2020 USA Skateboarding National Team - Women's Park
Front Row: Brighton Zeuner, Bryce Wettstein, Jordyn Barratt, Arianna Carmona
Back Row: Jordan Santana & Minna Stess
Photo Bryce Kanights
2020 USA Skateboarding National Team - Women's Street
Front Row: Mariah Duran & Samarria Brevard
Back Row: Alexis Sablone & Alana Smith
USA Skateboarding Kicks off 2020 Road to Tokyo and Prepares for the Second Season of
Olympic Qualifying
Skateboarders Face Twelve Upcoming Olympic Qualifying Events March Through May
* Olympic Skateboarding Team to be Announced in June *
Orange County, Calif. (January 24, 2020) — The first events of the second season of Olympic Skateboarding qualifying for Americans began in October at the USA Skateboarding Toyota 2019 National Championships in Vista, California followed by the World Skate Oi STU Open Park and Street competitions in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in November 2019.
For 2020, the second season continues with a packed schedule of 12 qualifying events in five countries, on four continents in three short months, on the way to Skateboarding’s Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Josh Friedberg, CEO, USA Skateboarding said, “The 2020 USA Skateboarding National Team Summit was a great chance to get all 21 team skaters together to calibrate our efforts ahead of what is going to be an extremely hectic qualifying season beginning in March. The USA Skateboarding staff shared information on qualifying, logistics around Tokyo, and answered questions from the team and their support in order to help get everyone prepared for the journey. We spent the second day working with our media partner, The Berrics, to gather content for the Toyota USA Skateboarding Road to Tokyo content series and TV shows we’re producing. Huge thanks to our sponsors Nike SB and Toyota, and the USOPC; without their support, none of this would be possible. We’ve got an amazing group of skaters on the team and have built a great staff to support them. I’m excited for our chances in Tokyo, and I wish all of our skaters the best of luck this season!”
Current Top 3 American Rankings (*World Ranked #1): Women’s Park
2020 Qualifying Schedule (park events in red / street events in blue)
March 15 - 22, 2020 World Skate Lima Open Lima, Peru 5-Star Street event, Pro Tour Park event
March 27 - 28, 2020 World Skate Street League World Tour Las Vegas Pro Tour Street event
April 5 - 12, 2020 ISO Yancheng 2020, Yancheng, China 5-Star Street event, Pro Tour Park event
April 14 - 19, 2020 ISO Nanjing Street 2020, Nanjing, China 5-Star Street event
April 22 - 26, 2020 ARK League, Samukawa, Japan 5-Star Street event
May 2 - 3, 2020 World Skate Street League WorldTour Beijing, China Pro Tour Street event
May 4 - 10, 2020 Dew Tour Long Beach, CA 5-Star Street event,Pro Tour Park event
May 22 - 24, 2020 World Skate Street League World Championship, London, UK
May 25 - 31 World Skate Park World Championship, Nanjing, China
There are five levels of events in the Olympic Skateboarding Qualification System.
~ National Championships are worth a maximum of 3,330 points for first place ~ Continental Championships are worth a maximum of 13,330 points for first place ~ 5-Star events are worth a maximum of 40,000 points for first place ~ Pro Tour events are worth a maximum of 60,000 points for first place ~ World Championships are worth a maximum of 80,000 points for first place.
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
DAZED Magazine China has Leo Baker gracing the cover of the current issue. And from what we are told, a nice story with additional photos inside as well (sneak peek below!)
We haven't found a copy on newsstands here in the USA yet, but if you do, please let us know so we can add that info or link!
CREDITS:
Leo Baker for Dazed China
Photography Davit Giorgadaze
Stylist Alvin Yu
Hair Ben Jones
Make-up Asami Taguchi
There is also a really great interview that OFFICE Magazine did with Leo and you can read it HERE
LOS ANGELES--(VIA BUSINESS WIRE)--Celebrating its first decade, the world’s premier professional skateboarding series, Street League Skateboarding (SLS), returns in its eleventh season with exciting competitions on three continents, and this year the stakes are even higher with the season leading directly to skateboarding’s inaugural Olympic debut.
As the exclusive series sanctioned by World Skate, the IOC recognized skateboarding governing body, the 2020 World Skate Street League Skateboarding (WS SLS) World Tour will offer the best skaters in the world a global stage and highest points earning opportunities as they put it all on the line for a chance to compete at the season finale World Championship in London in May, and Olympic Games commencing in Tokyo this July.
This season will be filled with unprecedented excitement and history-making moments, with podium placement at the 2020 World Championships providing skaters a straight shot into the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics.
The WS SLS World Tour competitions and compelling storylines are celebrated on SLS’ social channels, positioned inside the Top 20 for digital engagement amongst global sports properties. Each event also features a thriving Women’s Division, including the first-ever female World Champion and World Skate Athlete Representative, Leticia Bufoni, and rising twelve-year-old phenom, Rayssa Leal.
SLS authentically showcases and serves the skateboarding community while inspiring the next generation, supporting its social presence with live broadcast and highlights coverage on major digital and linear platforms enjoyed by millions of fans worldwide. “It’s incredible to see what SLS has created for skateboarding,” said Bufoni. “The other athletes and I are excited to continue to compete and push the boundaries of the sport while inspiring our fans around the world, in pursuit of a World Championship and possibly representing our country in the Olympics.”
2020 WS SLS World Tour Dates:
WORLD TOUR STOP 1 ~ LAS VEGAS, NV, USA ~ MARCH 27th - 28th, 2020 WORLD TOUR STOP 2 ~ BEIJING, CHINA ~ MAY 2nd - 3rd, 2020 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ~ LONDON, UK ~ MAY 22nd - 24th, 2020
Founded in 2010, SLS has been the innovative force behind the first-of-its-kind professional competitive street skateboarding League, with major events showcasing an international roster of skateboarding elite as they compete in an easy to follow and thrilling instant scoring format. In partnership with blue-chip brands including Monster Energy who has been a partner since the League’s inception, Beats by Dre, G-Shock, Santa Cruz Skateboards, True Skate and Tech Deck, SLS transforms top-tier arenas across the globe into custom-designed skate plazas, challenging pros to innovate and take the progression of skateboarding to new heights. These best-in-class live event experiences offer an exciting and accessible entertainment experience for millions of fans tuning in from more than 133 countries worldwide as well as the thousands of excited fans experiencing the high-energy excitement live from the area.
The World Tour attracts the biggest names in skateboarding and has done so for years thanks to its innovative formatting and massive international audience. SLS Men’s regular competitors include the likes of Nyjah Huston (USA), Yuto Horigome (JPN), Gustavo Ribeiro (POR), Luan Olivera (BRA), Kelvin Hoefler (BRA), Shane O’Neill (AUS), and Dashawn Jordan (USA) while the Women’s field is equally as stacked and includes the likes of Leticia Bufoni (BRA), Pamela Rosa (BRA), Rayssa Leal (BRA), Aori Nishimura (JPN), Candy Jacobs (NED), and Mariah Duran (USA).
For more Street League Skateboarding news, including the world tour, broadcast information, and more, go to www.streetleague.com and follow Street League Skateboarding on Instagram and Facebook
Looks like pro skateboarder Brighton Zeuner will have a signature shoe coming out soon with Vans!
Be on the lookout for the Brighton Pro Classic Colorway coming in late Spring. Something to look forward to and we are sure it will sell out quickly - so stay tuned!
So exciting to see more coverage coming out on Team USA as we head toward the Olympics this year!!
Team USA Skateboarding just finished their media day last week so you'll start to see more coverage on these amazing women as we get closer to the Olympics - We are excited for all the women but especially our team rider Minna Stess who is at thirteen years old, the youngest member of Team USA Skateboarding!
Women's USA Park Team:
Minna Stess
Jordan Santana
Brighton Zeuner
Bryce Wettstein
Arianna Carmona
Jordyn Barratt.
Women's USA Street Team:
Samarria Brevard
Mariah Duran
Alana Smith
Alexis Sablone
More info today on The LA Times Website - catch it HERE
If you haven't seen the film "Skateboarding in a War Zone" it is not to be missed. The documentary is up for an Oscar and is shortlisted in the Documentary Short Category.
Shot in Afghanistan, the film highlights the work of the non-profit Skateistan, which was founded in 2007 in Kabul to teach Afghan girls and boys how to skate. Young skater girls take center stage as Director Carol Dysinger explores their journey from skateboarding novices to nollie-ing pros, and perhaps, more importantly, the life skills and confidence that they develop along the way.
Check out 13-year-old GN4LW team rider Minna Stess & Japan's Misugu Okamoto in the 4th episode "Rolling With the Big Dogs" of Santa Cruz Skateboards show, Minions!
Sit back and get ready to watch Nora Vasconcellos's rough cut from her part in the Seance Video. Some seriously INSANE slams and some equally radical INSANE Makes!!
Nora is killing it and proving that a female skater does NOT have to skate contests to get paid well and make a name for herself - she is paving the way.
The Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympics are happening right now and The Olympic Channel has an interview with Olympic hopeful, Sky Brown, and her brother Ocean,
You can catch the two young surf/skate phenoms at the 26:47 mark.
Leo Baker (previously known as Lacey Baker) is featured in this new video from their sponsor, Nike, discussing why they created NYC Skate Project for women, queer, transgender, and gender-nonconforming people.
"A majority of the time, women and queer people don't feel safe in skate spaces," Leo explains. "So we created our own."
Leo has spoken out in the past about what it feels like to have to try and conform to what the skate industry and sponsors want you to be,
as opposed to who you really are. They have taken a stand to show the skate community and beyond that, you do not have to have long hair, or look and act a certain way to be marketable. Leo also states that;
"There are a lot of people who are still pretty homophobic, sometimes it's just because they're ignorant. They don't know any
better."
Leo's sponsor, Nike is helping them change this perspective. And that's pretty cool.
Editor's Note: ** We have to say we are pretty disheartened by reading all the negative comments on Nike's Youtube Channel about this video, but there are some really positive ones as well - which is good to see. I guess that just proves the point that there is a definite need for educating people and creating safe spaces to skate where everyone is welcome.
We love this new video from creator, Amanda Mcdonnell, that tells it like it is when it comes to being a female, not just in skateboarding, but in a lot of areas where the sport, career, or path is typically thought of as being male-dominated.
This video is a short documentary and part of a web series for the “In The Know” (AOL/Verizon Media).
The series “Uncommon Ground” is about showing fringe communities and debunking misconceptions or just getting a glimpse into a world people may know nothing about.
Amanda explains why she felt it was important to do this project:
I finally committed to skateboarding at 29 years old and was so surprised at the lack of young girls doing it. I couldn't believe I was the only female at the park being that I was older and just starting out. It’s not always about being intimidated by “You can’t skate! You're a girl!” But the tougher battle for me came from my interior dialogue as a result of growing up in a world where women aren’t appreciated the same way men are.
"I was curious why there were so many more men doing it than women so I starting asking guys questions. I asked how they got started skating and saw the common thread was they had someone to skate with in the beginning. They had some sort of community or person go out and learn with. When I ask women how they got started, I kept hearing a story similar to my own. They wanted to skate in middle school but didn't have anyone to do it with. They tried again at another point but felt out of place."
I wanted to make a documentary that explores how gender plays a role in creating our different paths because of hidden battles. I think it's important to hear their skateboard journey to understand why there are less women skating (the gender gap). To take misconceptions like “Guys are more fearless and girls don’t want to get hurt,“ “Girls just aren't interested,” “She’s just doing it for attention,” “Men’s bodies are better equipped for skateboarding,” and show that they aren’t true. These innocent statements said by both men and women are actually undermining a whole generation of females from partaking in activities they want to do. I think the story in this documentary is not unique to skating but is common across the board where women lack in numbers like science, math, film director of photography, IT, CEO… the list is endless.
Through this webisode, I was hoping to reach a broad audience to touch on the ideas above. I felt it was important to hear Celina talking about skating at a young age despite the obstacles and then to hear Nancy, Brianna, Courtney, and Melanie’s stories sharing their thoughts and feelings that led them to start doing it later in life. For us, it took time to push through the noise and have the confidence to skateboard. Whatever notoriety may come our way for being a part of this video, we would trade it all in an instant to have been able to start this journey much younger, when all the boys started skating.
What are you doing this year? How about applying to teach skateboarding with SkatePal?
Join SkatePal and help empower young people in Palestine through skateboarding.
They’re looking for volunteers to help run classes between March and October 2020, with 1 or 2-month placements available.
For more information or to receive your application form please email:
volunteer@skatepal.co.uk
About SkatePal:
SkatePal is a non-profit organization that works with communities throughout Palestine to enhance the lives of young people and promote the benefits of skateboarding.
Since 2013, our ongoing presence and award-winning projects have reached hundreds of young people across the West Bank and won acclaim and recognition from supporters around the world.
We are run by a committed team of local and international volunteers who, through teaching skate classes, building skateparks and providing equipment, are enabling an ever-growing number of Palestinian skaters to empower themselves and inspire the next generation of Palestinian youth.
As we head into 2020 we thought we'd look back at 2019 and see just how far we've come!
Women's skateboarding was moving so fast this year and the pro women were traveling all around the world to compete at a much more rapid pace than ever before. It was hard keeping up with all the contests and exciting news that came out. But we made sure we covered everything from The Dew Tour, SLS, X-Games, Vans Park Series, Girls Combi, The OG Jam Series, Simple Sessions, and more!
We saw the final issue of Trans World Skateboarding hit the newsstands (RIP), and the rise of women's products - like Alexis Sablone x Converse and Nora Vasconcellos continued her rein with numerous collabs - enough that a girl can now skate everything Nora - from head to toe and wheels to deck! Amazing to see this! Lizzie Armato declared Finland as her country for the Olympics and Amelia Brodka joined Poland's team. And in the biggest shocker of all in Olympic news, Sky Brown declared she was skating for Great Britain as opposed to Japan.
Things settled down midway through the year as the women got used to Olympic Qualifiers, traveling from country to country and going head to head with the dominate Japanese who tried at every stop to keep the American women off of the podium.
Towards the end of 2019, we saw a new USA National team be announced that included Jordyn Barratt, Brighton Zeuner, Bryce Wettstein, Minna Stess, Jordan Santana and Arianna Carmona for park and Alana Smith, Alexis Sablone Lacey Baker, Mariah Duran, Samarria Brevard for street.
As we head towards the 2020 Olympics this coming year, the emphasis for the pro women has been spending their time and effort on qualifying comps so some of the smaller, yet established contests, are taking a back seat (for now) and we hope we do not lose them as they have been a big support all along. We think we will see female skaters who are not trying to qualify for the Olympics this year, head back to the grassroots comps we love so much - it should be an exciting year all the way around!
Happy New Year!! xo GN4LW
Read on, to see just a few of the awesome projects GN4LW was involved with this past year!
The limited-edition tee featured a picture, circa 1977, of Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word founder, Cindy Whitehead, screen-printed in lilac on a heavyweight white tee, with the tagline "Women That Made History". When companies like Adobe are using iconic 70's skate images of women like Cindy in their ads without proper credit, this new Doyenne x GN4LW collab tee answers back, firmly placing history where it belongs.
Giving Back: 10% of the cost of the T-Shirt will be donated to Free Movement SB to support their work for refugee youth through skateboarding and education in Athens.
MARCH 2019
Photo Ian Logan
BILLBOARDS IN TIMES SQUARE, NYC! Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word billboards went up in Times Square, NY to kick off WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH, and the two digital platforms lit up the New York City sky during rush hour, while skater girls gathered on the sidewalk across the street to skate, talk, celebrate and take photos with the billboards.
"Women and girls in skateboarding should be seen and celebrated, says Cindy Whitehead, founder of Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word, it was awesome to see female skateboarders from California as well as New York, come out on Thursday night to view and celebrate these billboards as a collective group - it wasn't about who was on the billboards, it was about the fact that they were finally seeing other skater girls like themselves, larger than life."
The billboards photos were shot by Ian Logan and designed by Elise Crigar. The skater girls featured are Quinne Daniels, Kyra Williams and Kala Baltasar.
GN4LW FEATURED IN NEW NANCY DREW MOVIE - Team rider Amanda Caloia was Nancy Drew's stunt double in the new Warner Brothers movie, "Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase" and our "Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word" and "It's Not About Pretty" stickers were featured in the skateboard shots - the director liked the message they sent so they replicated them for all the boards used in Nancy's skate scenes!
APRIL 2019
Photo Ian Logan
WE WROTE ABOUT THE HELMET DEBATE - Helmets. They've been a hot topic since the '70s when skateparks were being developed and skaters were challenging their limits beyond banked alleys and sidewalks. To wear a helmet or not to wear one?
SPONSOR OF THE VENICE LADIES JAM- We were proud to help sponsor the 4th Annual Venice Ladies Jam again this year. At the crack of dawn, the park was filling up with girls practicing their runs and high-fiving one another. The youngest competitor this year was 2 years old and the oldest in her mid 50's!
The best part of this event is seeing so many girls come out and skate, meet one another, form friendships and they now have a group of girls to continue skating with throughout the year. That's what keeps these girls progressing.
MAY 2019
INTERVIEW WITH STOKE MUCH MAGAZINE - Cindy was featured in STOKE MUCH magazine in their "Decades of Ladies" section. It was an awesome interview conducted by Zach Maloof, the magazine's founder and he really asked the ladies in this section some in-depth questions that other publications tend to gloss over.
JUNE 2019
FEATURE IN OH-SO MAGAZINE - GN4LW Founder, Cindy Whitehead, had an awesome six-page feature, shot by photographer Elise Crigar, in OH SO Magazine. She spoke about the male-dominated world of skateboarding, her hopes for future generations of female skateboarders and more.
Kala ~ Photo Ian Logan
GRAND OPENING OF SOUTH BAY SK8 KIDS! Some of the Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word crew were invited to skate the new SOUTH BAY SK8 KIDS facility before their grand opening on Saturday and it was so rad! The space is bright and fun and there is everything from small street areas to a mini ramp and quarter pipes. South Bay locals Kala, Briel, Quinne, Vianez and Meredith were hitting up every section of the new facility and deemed it "epic"!
GO SKATEBOARDING DAY AT RANDY'S DONUTS!We teamed up withRandy's Donuts, and put on a girls demo with our partners at 2x4 Mini Ramps. So many people came out to watch the girls rip the mini ramp, 1/4 pipes and fun box. It really was an epic day!
METIZA PODCAST! Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word founder and 70's pro skateboarder, Cindy Whitehead, was featured on the METIZA Podcast talking about everything girls skateboarding.
Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell at the Grand Re-Opening of Lake Street Skatepark ~ Photo Ian Logan
THE GRAND OPENING OF LAKE STREET SKATEPARK- We were stoked to be invited by Councilmember, Mitch O'Farrell and his team to come out and skate at the grand re-opening of Lake Street Skatepark in Los Angeles. Our female skaters and 70's pro skater, Lonny Hiramoto, got a bit of a private session early in the morning before the grand opening and tried out all the features the new park had to offer. Eleven-year-old Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word team rider, Quinne Daniels deemed the park "epic!"
Photo Ian Logan
GN4LW FEATURED IN PRIMITIVE RACE'S MUSIC VIDEO"Turn It Up"- We were stoked to be involved in this video release for the band Primitive Race and their song "Turn it Up" - the video featured skaters Cassie Oseguera and Beverly Flood.
Primitive Race debuted the video for “Turn It Up" (Dave Lombardo Mix)” with the skateboard themed clip arriving as the band prepares to release the remix album Cranial Matter via Metropolis Records.
The video for the track features two female skateboarders and was inspired by Mosley’s sister-in-law, Cindy Whitehead, a member of the Skateboarding Hall of Fame.
SEPTEMBER 2019
WE HELPED SEND 4 GIRLS TO SKATE CAMP! 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.
OCTOBER 2019
WE WERE AT ESPNW!! GN4LW founder, Cindy Whitehead, gave a 10 minute "Power Talk" at espnW in October. In case you missed watching it live you can catch it here. Cindy spoke about why she feels that disruption, rule-breaking and starting a revolution are key in changing the female landscape in skateboarding. She acknowledged the women who have supported her along the way and why it's so important to give back to the next generation of women and girls in skateboarding.
Photo Ian Logan
JESSE WEARS GN4LW ON THE COVER OF THE NEW STREET ANGEL BOOK - We were thrilled to see that our favorite comic book artist, Jim Rugg, chose to put his heroine, Jesse, in a GN4LW tee on the cover of his latest book, Street Angel: Deadliest Girl Alive!
NOVEMBER 2019
Photo of Janthavy Norton by Elise Crigar
NEW BOARD LAUNCH! After seven years together, Dusters California and Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word celebrated 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 this 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.
Photo of Coral by Ian Logan
KING OF THE HARBOR SKATE CONTEST- We gathered girls from all around Southern California and came out in full force for the King of the Harbor skateboard contest, presented by The Beach Life Festival, in Redondo Beah, CA. It was so much fun and even set a record for female skaters at the event! Our founder, Cindy Whitehead took over the microphone and MC'd the girls' comps all day long.
WE WERE FEATURED IN THE "SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN WOMEN" BOOK!Our very first collab cruiser board with Dusters California was 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.
WE TEAMED UP WITH CPK! We are super excited that we had the support of California Pizza Kitchen this year! Every person who mentioned Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word or showed a flier, had 20% of their order donated to us to help further girls skateboarding! And who doesn't love pizza?
DECEMBER 2019
WE ANNOUNCED OUR PLEDGE OF $12,000 IN 2020 TO FEMALE PRO SKATERS - We ended the year with a high note by announcing on #GivingTuesday that we plan on supporting some very deserving pro-female skaters financially in 2020!
More info on that and who we plan on supporting, as we head into the new year! Happy New Year to all of YOU!
USA team rider, fifteen-year-old Jordan Santana, was featured recently on ABC TV's Localish speaking about girls in the sport, what it's like to be on team USA, the possibility of competing in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and her plans for the upcoming Olympic Qualifying season.
Santa Cruz is dropping an entire mini-series featuring their youngest team riders. Check out episode 2 where you get to see GN4LW team rider Minna Stess, and Japanese skater Misugu in the mix!
GN4LW founder, Cindy Whitehead, gave a 10 minute "Power Talk" at espnW in October. In case you missed watching it live you can now catch it here on our site. Cindy speaks about why she feels that disruption, rule-breaking and starting a revolution are key in changing the female landscape in skateboarding. She speaks about the women who have supported her along the way and why it's so important to give back to the next generation of women and girls in skateboarding.
Great to see AU pro skater, Poppy Starr Olsen featured, and seriously looking glam, on "Girlfriend" - Poppy is one of this years 25 under 25 winners. Poppy skates for Australia and is looking forward to competing at the 2020 Olympics in Tokoyo next year! We have to say we are digging that Sass & Bide dress Poppy is wearing, it's a serious departure from her day to day skate looks and we love how she rocks both!
We did an article about holiday skater gifts last week but realized that with so many adult female skaters, including skater moms, we needed to add some more rad gifts that we know they'd love to receive. So read on, get out your credit card and start ordering!
1. And Out Come The Boobs - first of all, we love the name. And second of all, most women who skate and are breastfeeding would love to wear an edgy Thrasher, Creature or Anti Hero tee so they can keep feeling/looking like themselves after having a baby. This rad company bills themselves as "breastfeeding clothes that don't suck" (Brilliant!) and consists of curated upcycled collections - so every piece is unique! $35.00
2. MIXT x GN4LW
- came out this year with the cutest reversible tote bags as well as a wristlet. The palm tree photos were taken by Cindy during her travels and the Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word logo and motto is visible on the interior of the bags. Right now MIXT is doing a 30% off sale for our readers only on these 2 items - Valid until Midnight 12/18!!!
Reversible Tote ~ regular price $46.00 - take 30% OFF! Wristlet ~ regular price $29.00 - take 30% OFF!
Use Code - GRLPWR30 for 30% OFF Mixt x GN4LW products
3. Mamaskate Pants - Tired of jeans and Dickies? Try these awesome skate pants made for women by Mamaskate. Based in Los Angeles, CA these gals are legit and know what's up when it comes to making skate pants that not only fit your body but let you skate with no restrictions.It's seriously about time. $100.00 Mamskate.com
4. Urethane Revolution: The Birth of Skate - San Diego 1975 - Want to know how it all began? The inside stories of the fun and debauchery that took place in San Diego, CA - home to downhill, slalom, freestyle and banked walls? Then this is the book for you - it's a great read and author, John O'Malley, tells us stories from back in the day like no one else ever could! It's also chock full of great photos of the mid-1970s that you won't find elsewhere. A true collector's piece! $18.51
5. Nora Vasconcellos x Adidas - This new drop from Adidas has a full line of apparel that is actually unisex. From pants to polo's there is something for everyone on your list. The collection is chock full of pastels that miz nicely with each other or your standard-issue skate pants. $40.00 - $75.00 Adidas
In case you missed watching the first-ever Women's Battle at the Berrics this weekend, besides the skate action, we were stoked to see this new video (ad) "True to This" from Volcom featuring women's skateboarding. In the past, Volcom has been male-centric in their skate advertising so this was a nice departure for promoting their women's line. Love seeing that happening.
