Evette, Maya, Klara, Mazel, Briel, Brooke and Cindy - All photos by Ian Logan

We were asked by “Boards Across Hermosa” to be part of the 27th Annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade here in Hermosa Beach and we couldn’t say no! We rounded up some of our team riders and made a plan. A special green Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word hat was made, clover balloons were brought in along with various shades of green beads to add some green to our skate wear.

The weather started off with a heavy mist, but as we got closer to parade time the weather shaped up and the street dried up enough to skate the parade route, give out stickers and wave to the crowds.

Team riders, Maya, Klara, Mazel, Evette, Briel and Brooke joined Cindy in skating the entire parade route!

GN4LW Team with Hermosa Beach Beach Mayor, Ray Jackson

Thanks to the Hermosa Chamber of Commerce, City of Hermosa Beach and Boards Across America for this fun opportunity!

We are happy that on International Women’s Day this video of our BFF, Judi Oyama, has dropped!

Meet Judi Oyama, a 63-year-old skateboarder who has been ripping the streets and skateparks for decades. As a pioneer of the sport, Judi was there for the inception of Independent Trucks and helped recruit many notable names to the Santa Cruz Skateboards team.

But Judi's love for skateboarding doesn't stop there. To this day, she still competes in slalom competitions, and is even a member of the US Slalom Skateboarding team.

In addition, Judi holds onto a treasure trove of skateboarding memorabilia, including rare boards, vintage magazines, and more.

Join us as we dive into the inspiring story of this skateboarding legend and learn how she continues to push the limits and break barriers in the world of skateboarding, while preserving its rich history for future generations to enjoy.

Pro Tip: keep your eyes out for a guest appearance by our Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word team rider, Minna Stess

Here is some great news! After this last event in Sharjah, park skaters were left not knowing if/when there would be more qualifiers for them prior to the Paris 2024 Olympics. It seems that street skaters have always had an idea of when and where they woudl skate next but park was a bit up in the air…

The Scheduled Stops that include park, are:

ARGENTINA

ROME

SHARJAH

Starting in May things are going to get really busy if you are on tour!! Exciting news!!!

All info via World Skate

Join SkatePal for a month or two between April and September 2023 and help with the running of skateboarding classes!

Based either in Asira Ash-Shamaliya or Ramallah, you’ll be helping local skaters with the running of skateboarding classes for the local community. Some skateboarding experience is required, but you don’t have to be an expert - as long as you’re comfortable teaching others!

We especially encourage applications from female skaters to support the growing scene in Palestine - our participants' gender split is around 41% female : 59% male and we’re hoping to keep bringing it closer to 50:50 or beyond.

Volunteers who speak Arabic will be prioritized, but we’re open to anyone willing to learn as they go!

To find out more go to SKATEPAL

Who doesn’t love watching Fabiana Delfino skate?

Settle in and get ready to watch some intense slams, some great skating and a video featuring skating that is pure Fabiana!

Presented by Thrasher Magazine x Santa Cruz Skateboards

We’re excited to kick off Women’s History Month with this exciting news!

The very first demo of the Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word x Dusters cruiser board is featured as a two-page spread in the Smithsonian Museum’s new book, Entertainment Nation. We are thrilled to be in a book that is about all things entertainment, not just skateboarding. Why? It helps us reach a new and larger audience so we can continue doing what we do to help push and promote non-traditional skateboarding.

This black version of this board is also on display in the current exhibit “GIRLHOOD: It’s Complicated”, which has left the museum in Washington D.C. and is traveling across the USA for the next few years. You can find out more about seeing the exhibit HERE

Entertainment Nation is available HERE

A really nice video piece from SLS on street skaters, Rayssa Leal, Keet Oldenbeuving, Aori Nishimura, Poe Pinson, and Chloe Covell. They speak about who has inspired them, the growth of women's skateboarding and where it will go from here! Prepare to be inspired by these incredible skaters!!

It was a fantastic day watching the 8 female finalists battle it out at the World Championships for Women’s Park Skateboarding. Everyone was holding their own and pushing the limits of what they had done in the previous days. The tricks were higher, new tricks were thrown in and the skating was flawless. Women’s skateboarding has grown by leaps in bounds these past few years and it was great to see!

It was also great to see THREE skaters from the USA in the finals - Bryce Wettstein, Minna Stess and Grace Marhoefer .They all did exceptionally well!

**One correction on the announcers commentary today - Kokona Hiraki from Japan is the youngest Olympic Medalist in 85 years , winning the SILVER Medal in Women’s Park at age 12. Gold was won by Sakura Yosozumi, age 17 and Bronze was won by Sky Brown, age 13.

PODIUM RESULTS

1st Sky Brown - GBR

2nd Kokona Hiraki - Japan

3rd Sakura Yosozumi - Japan

If you weren’t up at 3 AM PT, let us fill you in. It was an exciting early morning here watching the 16 female semi-finalists battle it out to see who the 8 would be that move on to tomorrow’s finals! Watch the video above to get a full sense of how hard it was to make finals.

At the end we have 3 skaters from USA, 2 from Great Britain and 3 from Japan. What is unusual is AU and Brazil are out of the final mix. Some of the names you will recognize and a few are a bit newer on the Olympic Qualifier scene - Hinano Kusake from Japan is one to watch, Grace Marhoefer from the USA is coming on strong and Lola Tambling from team GB made a great showing today!

We’d like to extend a huge congratulate to our team rider Minna Stess for making the finals - well done!

The 8 Women Who Move to Finals Sunday AM - Congrats to all!

HERE IS HOW TO WATCH THE FINALS ON SUNDAY

4:45 AM PT / 7:45 AM ET via WorldSkate.tv

Image via World Skate

The big news this morning is that FIVE women from the USA have made the semi-finals in women’s park - Grace Marhoefer, Minna Stess (our GN4LW team Rider!), Jordyn Barratt, Bryce Wettstein and Carlin Makibbin. The USA has more skaters in the Women’s Park semi-finals than any other country.

Japan is holding strong as usual with Sakura and Kokona and Kisa in the mix, as well as Hinano leading the way. Team GB has to be stoked, not only has Sky Brown advanced, (which is to be expected) but Lola Tambling as well.

As we know with these comps, some skaters don’t show their full run until finals. Don’t worry that quarter finals were not broadcast live - you can tune in tomorrow AM to watch these 16 women shred to see which 8 make the finals!

WATCH THE SEMI-FINALS AND FINALS LIVE

Women’s Park Semi-Finals - Saturday, February 11th

• Women semi-finals - 3:00 PM - 5:45 PM Local Time / 3:00 AM - 5:45 AM PST
  

Women’s Park Finals - Sunday, February 12th

• Women finals – 5:10 PM - 5:55PM Local Time / 5:10 AM - 5:55 AM PST

• Awards ceremony - 7:40 PM - 8:10 PM / 7:40 AM - 8:10 AM PST

Livestream coverage of world skateboarding championships will be available on the Olympic Channel via Olympics.com without any geo-restrictions.

You can also catch the action LIVE on Worldskate.tv and Redbull.com

** We find that World Skate is the easiest location to watch on! **

Image via Olympics.com

Most likely, while you were sleeping, the Women’s Skateboarding Park Open Qualifiers took place in Sharaj, UAE. The women will now have a day off in between this Open Qualifier and the Quarter Finals that take place on Friday.

In addition to the 28 female skaters that made it to the quarter-finals - 5 more “pre-seeded” skaters will join them. This makes the field a total of 32 competitors that then gets cut to 16 for the semi-finals. This will be some harsh competition. After semi-finals the field is cut to just 8 skaters for the finals.

Right now Arisa Trew from AU sits in first and GN4LW team rider Minna Stess is sitting in second and the list goes on as you can see below.

WATCH THE SEMI-FINALS AND FINALS LIVE

Women’s Park Semi-Finals - Saturday, February 11th

• Women semi-finals - 3:00 PM - 5:45 PM Local Time / 3:00 AM - 5:45 AM PST
  
  

Women’s Park Finals - Sunday, February 12th

• Women finals – 5:10 PM - 5:55PM Local Time / 5:10 AM - 5:55 AM PST

• Awards ceremony - 7:40 PM - 8:10 PM / 7:40 AM - 8:10 AM PST

Livestream coverage of world skateboarding championships will be available on the Olympic Channel via Olympics.com without any geo-restrictions.

You can also catch the action LIVE on Worldskate.tv and Redbull.com

** We find that World Skate is the easiest location to watch on! **

Watch the full relay of the women’s Street Skateboarding World Championship Finals from Aljada skate park in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. On top of the coveted medals, these world championships will also offer Olympic ranking points - with Paris 2024 only 18 months away.

And stay tuned, because Women’s Park happens this weekend! More details here later in the week on when/where to watch LIVE!

RESULTS WOMEN’S STREET FINALS

1. Rayssa Leal - Brazil

2. Chloe Covell - Australia

3. Momiji Nishiya - Japan

4. Rizu Akama - Japan

5. Funa Nakayama - Japan

6. Gabriela Mazetto - Brazil

7. Paige Heyn - USA

8. Pamela Rosa - Brazil

Image via World Skate

We know how confusing it is to be able to get all the info on when and where to watch the women skate - especially since the World Skateboarding Championships for both Street and Park take place this year at the Aljada skate park. This amazing park is located in the heart of the Madar entertainment complex designed by internationally-acclaimed Zaha Hadid Architects in Sharjah, UAE.

This exciting event, will crown two new female world champions (one for park, one for street). Skateboarders will also get much needed ranking points as we head towards the Paris 2024 Olympics. So there is a LOT at stake!

Live stream hosts for both Park and Street will be Marc Churchill, Samantha Bruce and Danny Wainwright.

The championships have two parts, the World Street Skateboarding Championships (Feb 1-5) and the World Park Skateboarding Championships (Feb 8-12).

Women’s Street Semi Finals - Saturday, February 4th

• Women semi-finals - 3:00 PM - 5:45 PM Local Time / 3:00 AM - 5:45 AM PST

Women’s Street Finals Sunday, February 5th

• Women finals - 4:40 PM - 5:50 PM Local time / 4:40 AM -5:50 AM PST

• Awards ceremony - 7:50 PM - 8:20 PM Local Time / 7:50 AM - 8:20 AM PST

Women’s Park Semi-Finals - Saturday, February 11th

• Women semi-finals - 3:00 PM - 5:45 PM Local Time / 3:00 AM - 5:45 AM PST
  

Women’s Park Finals - Sunday, February 12th

• Women finals – 5:10 PM - 5:55PM Local Time / 5:10 AM - 5:55 AM PST

• Awards ceremony - 7:40 PM - 8:10 PM / 7:40 AM - 8:10 AM PST

Livestream coverage of world skateboarding championships will be available on the Olympic Channel via Olympics.com without any geo-restrictions.

You can also catch the action LIVE on Worldskate.tv and Redbull.com

Elle, Anna, Mayzie and Brooke

When we heard that four of our GN4LW team riders, Elle Warne from Utah, Brooke Benson and Mayzie Feher from Southern California and Anna Shea Reynolds-Madsen from Northern California, were headed out to Florida for the 2nd Annual CASL National Championships we were excited! The chance to travel, meet skaters from all over and skate new parks, is exactly what skateboarding is all about.

Mayzie - is the new 2022 (Double) National Champ in Vert/Bowl and Park/Mini (Girls of all ages)

Mayzie did something that isn’t easy to do, she came home with two huge trophies after winning Nationals for girls (all ages) in Vert/Bowl and Park/Mini! We hope the airlines upgraded her to first class on the way home and gave her ice cream for that double win!

Park Results - Elle took third, Mayzie 1st and Vilja took second - great job girls!!

Elle also made podium in girls Park - nice to see the two teammates up there along with another rad skater, Vilja from Utah.

Big congrats to Brooke for taking 5th in street and to Anna who took 5th in Vert/Bowl and 6th in Park/Mini. They both skated their hearts out and did a great job!

Kevin Sousa just released his new song “Ooh Baby” and it features longboard dancer, Soraya Zain! Filmed on location at icon spots throughout Hermosa Beach, California the video and music are hauntingly beautiful. Give it a watch and a listen!

Big congrats to Soraya for being featured!

Follow Kevin and his new music video releases HERE

Next up, catch Kevin playing at BEACH LIFE Festival May 5-9th, 2023

Overview of park + street venue - All info and images via World Skate

Get ready, because the first Olympic Qualifier for Park is almost here (Street will be happening too!) Aljada Skatepark in Sharjah UAE will host the two Olympic Qualifier events for the rescheduled World Skateboarding Tour Street & Park World Championships 2022.

Park competition venue

WHEN:

Jan 29th - Feb 5th - Street World Championships
Feb 5th - Feb 12th - Park World Championships

WHERE:

Aljada Skatepark in Sharjah, UAE

The skatepark complex currently consists of six separate parks, ranging from a California Skateparks-designed world-class, Olympic-level street course and park construction complete with two deep ends (3.3M), all the way down to smaller bowls, street sections, snake runs and beginner- level spaces. The parks are currently open to ride up until the 15th of January when preparations for our stellar showdown must begin!

Aljada Skatepark is at the heart of the Madar entertainment complex designed by internationally-acclaimed Zaha Hadid Architects. Around 300 skateboarders from all over the world will compete across both events at the recently-completed Aljada Skate Park, the biggest facility of its type in the region created by industry-leaders California Skateparks. Skaters taking part in the WST Sharjah World Championships will secure points toward qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

HOW TO WATCH WOMEN’S PARK & STREET - LIVE!

Watch the LIVE events via Olympic Channel Youtube and Worldskate.tv

Bella Kenworthy skating in the new Vans x Alva Collection

We have love anything Tony Alva puts out, starting with his skate decks back in the day. Now Vans has dropped a new collection of Vans x Alva Skate and we are stoked to see that it features shredder, and Vans team rider, Bella Kenworthy! Celebrating four decades of skateboarding, the new collection drops January 12th - so get ready, because we are sure these pieces will sell out quickly.

Tony Alva back in the day

Vans is proud to announce the latest collection with historically influential skate brand Alva Skates and longtime Vans team rider Tony Alva. The collection draws inspiration from Tony’s imaginative world of creative exploration that spans art, music and beyond, and invites fans and newcomers alike into his creative journey, on and off the board, over the past 40 years.

Vans x Alva - our favorite pair!

The new Alva x Vans colection

Breaking the mold for what a skateboarding company could be, Tony Alva walked away from his board sponsor in 1977 to create one of the most influential skate brands of his time, Alva Skates, just after helping Vans develop the first-ever skateboarding shoe, the Era. Synonymous ever since, Vans and Tony teamed up to create a new collection that nods to both brands’ roots and looks ahead to future generations with help from artist DJ Javier, Vans team rider Bella Kenworthy, and musician KennyHoopla.

Available January 12 at Vans Stores and via the Vans Website

Minna Stess ~ Photo Ian Logan

It’s been a minute after Nationals and we have all been waiting eagerly for the USA Skateboarding team announcement and here it is!

**We are proud to say the list includes GN4LW team rider Minna Stess!!!

All info via USA Skateboarding

The U.S. governing body for skateboarding - announced that 16 members would join the 2023 National Skateboarding team. Skaters named to the national team were based off selection criteria listed on the athlete resources page at usaskateboarding.com. 
-
The skaters named to the 2023 USA Skateboarding National Team in no particular order:

Men’s Park:
@tatecarew
@jaggereaton
@gavinbottger
@liampace_
-
Women’s Park
@brycewettstein
@ruby_lilley
@minnastess
@gracemarhoefer
-
Men’s Street
@jaggereaton
@nyjah
@chrisjoslin_
@bradenhoban
-
Women’s Street
@paigeheyn
@_meaganguy
@mariahduran_
@poepinson
-
@toyotausa @teamtoyota #usaskateboarding #olympicskateboarding #teamtoyota #toyota

We love Adrianne Sloboh’s style, commitment when throwing down tricks and watching her always have the best time. This new Krux Trucks video part with the “Queen of Balance” is everything we love her for.

You can now hit the streets with Adrianne Sloboh and her new Krux K5 DLK Pro trucks with multi color grafitti art by Alex Solano and SLO BOH tag pad print on baseplate.

You can get Adrianne’s new Krux Truck HERE and at skate shops worldwide

The Pom Pom x Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word collab Skate Deck

Check out our holiday gift guide, full of rad ideas for the skateboarder on your gift list!

We've put together a list of 5 amazing gifts, that any skateboarder in your life would love to unwrap this holiday season!

All products shown 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!

Elise Crigar with the new Pom Pom x GN4LW Deck

1. Pom Pom x Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word Skate Deck - We did our very first collaboration deck with Pom Pom Skateboards and we love the rad graphics that are infused with elements from our logos and artwork throughout the years. The beautiful teal color on bottom and pink wood stain on top makes it so beautiful you may want to hang it on the wall! But at 8.5 wide this is the perfect board to ride if you want some stability when you skate and to have a smooth ride. It also gives all proceeds back to our fiscally sponsored non-profit GN4LW Movement! $70 and there is a 15% off coupon on the site!

2. Four Wheels and a Board: The Smithsonian History of Skateboarding - this new book by co-authors Jane Rogers and Betsy Gordon, designed by skaters Elise Crigar and Alex Barnes, is a fresh take on the history of skateboarding. It also includes chapters from GN4LW founder, Cindy Whitehead, about what it was really like for women skateboarding in the 70s and 80s. Visually stunning and chock full of great information and beautiful photographs - any skater in your life will love it! On sale now at Amazon for $28.63

3. Independent Stage 11 Primitive Mid Skate Trucks - We just used these awesome trucks on our new Pom Pom x GN4LW Collab board and they are sweeeet! Gold trucks are a rarity, so get ready to be stopped every where you skate and get asked about them. We love the look and the ride so much! We used 159’s on our board. But they do come in 144, 149 and 139 as well. $64.95 Get them at CCS

4. Bigfoot Magazine - Our favorite non-traditional spicy skateboard mag has a special right now, the latest issue of Bigfoot and a Bigfoot tee for only $25. This is a deal that can’t be beat! Perfect as a core git or as socking stuffers. Get yours before they sell out! Did we mention that team rider Minna Stess is on the cover? Even more reason to get a copy! $25 includes Bigfoot Mag anda Bigfoot tee!

GN4LW team riders Briel, Evette, Quinne, and Klara with the new S1 Helmet collab

5. S1 Helmet x GN4LW - Our new Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word x S1 Helmet collab just dropped and we are in LOVE! S1 provides the best protection around and this new pink and purple color way with light blue straps is yummy! All proceeds from this helmet go back into our fiscally sponsored non-profit Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word Movement. $84.99 and available at S1 Helmets (they ship fast!)