2015 has been a heck of a ride!  If you think girls skateboarding hasn't been growing at a rapid pace, just take a quick look at some of the highlights we posted about in 2015 - so many positive things that are changing the tide in our sport and raising awareness, more prize money, and awesome opportunities for female skaters.

The photos and notes below are only a fraction of what went on this past year - we were able to post about girls in skateboarding approximately five times per week throughout the entire year - that's a lot of content.

Happy New Year!


 JANUARY

The Vans Girls Combi contest was an insane way to start the year off and it was Bella Kenworth's first big contest.  Pro results were - 1st Alana Smith, 2nd Lizzie Armanto, 3rd Allysha Bergado

Skidmark Magazine highlights Ladies Day at the Berrics in its issue.

Julz Lynn gets a 2 page spread in Concrete Wave Magazine

Christiana Smith puts out a video about "Skating in a Dress" to discuss equality in skateboarding

Little ripper Sierra Kerr was featured in San Diego Magazine

Alana Smith was featured in Nashville singer Annie Bosko's video "Angel With a Crooked Halo"

Longboard Girls Crew gives us a surprise peek at their new movie that was shot in Israel

Through out the year we saw the true matriarch of skateboarding, Gale Webb at almost every women's skate event throughout the year, shooting photos and giving positive reinforcement to the girls of skateboarding. Gale is an icon and has been part of our skate history since day one.


 FEBRUARY

Arbor Skateboards team rider Alicia Fillback comes out with a sweet downhill video 

Julz Lynn does an insane photo shoot with Photographer/skater Arto Saari in a pool surrounded by  flames

Abec Wheels puts out a rad video with downhill skater Pam Diaz

Jean Rusen has her pro model launch party with her team Original Betty 


MARCH 

Sierra Prescott does a video for fashion label Madewell

Dusters California x Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word launches it's first skate video with pro skaters Beverly Flood and Cassie Oseguera and it smashes all records of the male dominated videos they have released in the past.

Vert Attack 9 happened and we were able to watch a live feed of the girls killing it in Malmo, Sweden. 1st Place Alana Smith, 2nd Place Lizzie Armanto, 3rd Place Allysha Bergado 

The GN4LW team appears in an article in Sports International Magazine

Bones launches the Leticia Bufoni pro wheel

Aussie skater Nikki-Rose Quinlan appears in a global ad and commercial for Playtex

Longboard Girls Crew releases a short from their much anticipated upcoming video that they filmed in Israel
 

 APRIL

Emily Earring appears in an ad for Wounded Knee Skateboards

Coping Block Magazine does a full editorial on girls in skateboarding & puts Julz Lynn on the cover

Photographer Jessica Fulford-Dobson has an amazing photo exhibit in London that features the girls from Skateistan

Concrete Wave Magazine features downhill skater Elena Corrigall on their cover

Julz Lynn launches her new website 

We interviewed Brighton Zeuner and Minna Stess about what it's really like to skate the Mega Ramp.




MAY


Lacey Baker has a great video skating Hollenbeck by filmer Colin Clark

Hoopla announces pro model boards for their team riders, Alana Smith, Samarria Brevard and Allysha Bergado

Three female skateboarders are inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame - Carabeth Burnside, Robin Logan and Elissa Steamer.

It's been 50 years since The Original Betty, Patti McGee graced the cover of Life Magazine and her OG Betty boards launches a new board in her honor.

Nine year old AM skater Minna Stess is featured in a beautiful pictorial & video skating the mega ramp via  New York Times Magazine

Pro skater Alana Smith stars in a commercial for Clean & Clear.

The Vans Pool party goes off and we see demos during the guys comp from Poppy Starr Olsen and Brighton Zeuner. All eyes were on these young rippers.

The new app Periscope allows skater girls to share their sessions live with the world.

Orly Beauty features new ads and a video with Los Angeles skater Sierra Prescott


JUNE 2015

The X-Games women's street contest is webcast live & has Alexis Sablone taking the gold.

 Lizzie Armanto is featured in the new California Sunday Magazine.

Go Skate Day is mentioned in Marie Claire Fashion Magazine 

Poppy Starr Olsen becomes an ambassador for Lace Up, a non profit that helps homeless youth.

UK's Top Shop features real skater girls in its editorial spread and UK skater Stefani Nurding leads the way. 

The annual Wheels of Fortune event put on by Skate Like a Girl is a huge hit and female skaters from So Cal happily make the trek up north each year for this rad event.

Go Skateboarding Day was going off at Venice Skatepark with a ladies bowl jam - so many girls showed up to skate - it was amazing! 

Pro skater and founder of Exposure, Amelia Brodka rips it up in a spot for Crystal Geyser water.

A video called The Boys Club surfaces and gives us a great look at "boys vs girls". 

Refinery29 a fashion site, does fashion x skate the right way featuring real female skaters.


JULY 2015

Julz Lynn appears in a new full page ad for her sponsor Black Fly. 

ESPN's The Body Issue is released and pro skater Leticia Bufoni is featured - the conversations and controversy is like nothing we have ever seen about any guy who has posed for this well known issue.

Nike Women Russia featured pro skater Kate Shengeliya on the side of a huge building in Moscow. Larger than life for all to see. 

Badass pro skater Julz Lynn was featured in Orange County Culture Magazine.

We were stoked to see top ranked Am skater Spencer Breaux in Self Magazine on line.

The Screaming Hand Art Show - a tribute to Jim Phillips, featured just one female skater/artist, Judi Oyama and her version of the screaming hand was pure perfection.  The show traveled around the country to rave reviews.

Skater/Filmer Courtney Akita brought us some great footage from Woodward's Girls Week

The Pink Helmet Posse (Bella , Relz & Ryan) turns up in some beautiful ads and a rad commercial for GAP Kids x Ellen Degeneres

The Tim Brauch comp had some great surprises - like Kayla Caballero returning to competition, Autumn Tust decided to turn pro, and all the girls ripped!

The Paul Mitchell Super Girl Pro was a super fun contest for the girls with a big crowd watching - Allysha Bergado in 1st, Poppy Starr Olsen in 2nd and Brighton Zeuner in 3rd.

The Van Doren Women's Bowl Contest in Huntington Beach drew a huge amount of spectators and it featured a new live webcast for those who couldn't make it in person.  Allysha Bergado took first, Julz Lynn in second and Lizzie Armanto took third in the pro division. It was an exciting contest to watch!

GN4LW took over BeautyCon's Snapchat at the Van Doren Bowl contest and it was a huge hit - with 24,000 views in total. Girls from all over the world were tuning in to see the girls fashion style and to watch them shred.

"Girls Who Ride" Magazine featured Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word team riders & mini shredders, Sky Brown, Zoe Benedetto and Minna Stess.


AUGUST 2015

Vogue Espana featured Florida skater Ava McGowan in its Vogue Ninos edition.

Skateboarder Stef Nurding is featured in Sweaty Betty's workout wear catalog

Lizzie Armanto is featured in Tony Hawks Pro Skater 5 video game.

Seven year old Japanese skater Sky Brown is featured on BeautyCon's site and it is the most popular post they have had.
 
Pro skater Allysha Bergado joins the male dominated Creature Skate Team - who send out a very cool announcement for her

Flood Kontrol releases  OG Pro Skater Robin Logan's signature deck

Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word is invited to attend the famous Maryhill Sheride and we learn that we love these badass downhill girls!

Justin Beiber release his new video "What Do You Mean" and female pro skater Chelsea Castro is featured.


SEPTEMBER 2015

Skater and artist Carly Bizama debuts a fun piece of art that twists the age old cartoon of "I wish my boyfriend could skate"

"Finding a Line" opens in Washington DC at The Kennedy Center, and numerous skater girls skate in this public demo set to music.

Leticia Bufoni speaks out in Rolling Stone Magazine about posing for ESPN's Body Issue. 

The Sowle sisters are on Dazed and their artistic video takes off into mainstream America

 Valeria Kechichian of Longboard Girls Crew has her Tedx Talk "Ride The Shift" released
 and its a great moment for women's skateboarding.

The Pink Helmet Posse sits down on the Ellen Degeneres show to talk skateboarding and their new Gap Commercial  

Leticia Bufoni scores the cover of The Skateboard Mag.

Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word and Badass Skatemom team up to sponsor 34 year old mom and pro skater Kat Folsom.

Leticia Bufoni's PUSH episode premieres to rave reviews.

 OG Pro & founder of the brand Badass Skatemom, Judi Oyama age 54 took her home her second World Championship title in Slalom


OCTOBER 2015

The possible inclusion of skateboarding in the Olympics has everyone talking and we start seeing some positive changes happening for women's skateboarding almost immediately.

Little Rayssa Neal from Brazil won everyone's heart (including Tony Hawks) when she did a heel flip off the stairs while wearing fairy wings.

Nike SB Street League Super Crown adds a women's division and Leticia Bufoni takes home the $30,000 check

Skaters Alana Smith, Nicole Hause, Brighton Zeuner and Annika Vrklan have "The Best Day Ever" in Walt Disney World's new video.

 Pro street skater Alexis Sablone wins the Kimberly Diamond Cup in South Africa.

Girls Gone Fast release another video clip from their SheTour2K15 - and it's RAD.

The rad girls of Duchess Ride decide to skate the coast from Santa Barbara to Tijuana, Mexico and create media along the way.  Their motto is "Worry less about fitting into the glass slipper and more about shattering the glass ceiling".

Pro skater Nora Vasconcellos and seven year old Am skater Sky Brown are featured on Thrasher Magazines site after skating at Greyson Fetchers pro model launch party at RVCA.

UK Pro skater Lucy Adams is profiled in Glamour Magazine in the UK as part of their "Say No to Sexism" campaign.

Visit California launches a new national commercial and the Pink Helmet Posse girls are front and center shredding it up along with pro skater Nora Vasconcellos

Pro skater Lizzie Armanto gets a new main stream sponsor - Casio Baby- G watches and a commercial launches with her skating

Nanner Junkies - a vegan site run by Pro skateboarder Hunter Long, launches a line of jewelry that gives back to girls in skateboarding by donating $10 from each necklace to a female skater of your choice.




NOVEMBER 2015

7 year old Sky Brown from Japan announces that she is now riding for Dwindle Distribution - the only girl on any brand in the Dwindle umbrella. She chooses to ride an ALMOST Daewon Song board and her first video skating on it goes viral.

Australian skater & talented artist, Poppy Starr Olsen, designs a limited edition sock with Pride Socks to help benefit Exposure Skate.

Skater/Surfer Jordyn Barratt scores the cover of San Diego North County Kids Magazine.

Lizzie Armanto gets her own Protech Pro-file video, and it's awesome.

Pro skateboarder. mom, and ballet teacher, Kat Folsom age 34, is profiled on espnW and receives over 6,900 shares directly from the espnW home page, setting an unprecedented  record for their "Weekend Warrior" series.

Exposure Skate's Contest in Encinitas was bigger than ever (over 101 girls competed) and it included street, bowl & vert.

Arbor Girls puts on a Girls Ride Day in Venice and gets girls from all over attending.

Valeria Kechichian & Longboard Girls Crew star in a commercial for Bouygues Telecom and show the world that girls downhill is seriously badass.

Poseiden Foundation has it's 7th annual Ladies Day at the Berrics and adds prize money to the contest and pro street skater Lacey Baker takes the win in each event.

Jenny Selby releases the girls skate film "Days Like These" at the House of Vans in London and the first showing sells out in hours.

OG Pro vert skater Cindy Whitehead is named the first female International Brand Ambassador for Kryptonics wheels. 


DECEMBER 2015

OG Pro skater Judi Oyama  received the N-Men "Icon Award" - which marks the very first time a woman has received this prestigious award.

Exposure Skate released it's 2016 calendar featuring a different female skater shredding every month.

Lizzie Armanto appeared in the fashion magazine Vein.

Poppy Olsen announced she will turn Pro in 2016,  after spending most of 2015 dominating the 15 and older girls category and being crowned World Champion. She also did the same in 2014 where she was the World Champion for under 14 girls.

Lacey Baker spoke out about how she feels women are treated by the predominately male dominated skateboard industry on the online site BROADLEY.

Transworld Skateboarding added a female skater category to it's Readers Choice Awards 

And the year ended with a huge bang when Julz Lynn announced that she was leaving Silly Girl to start her own skateboard Company, Julz Skateboards.
 

Yep, 2015 had a lot of firsts for female skaters, and we can't wait to see what 2016 brings!

Happy New Year!

Photo Ian Logan for GN4LW

Photo Arto Saari

Photo by Rad Balls

Julz Skateboards new logo

Pro skateboarder Julz Lynn announced today via her instagram page that she is launching her own brand of boards - Julz Skateboards, due to be released on January 16, just days before the Vans Girls Combi contest. Her new company, Julz Inc will have it's website up and running in the next nine days so make sure you jump on over HERE and put your email address in so you get the announcement the minute it launches.

Julz recently placed 1st in bowl at Exposure Skate Contest in Encinitas, and was part of the Silly Girl team for the past three years with her own pro model board.  Julz current sponsors are: Ace Trucks, Paradox Grip, Black Fly Eyewear, Sullen Clothing, Alkame Water, S1 Helmets, 187 Killer pads, Vox, Outlaw Belt Company, & Skater Socks USA.  Julz will be competing next at the Vans Girls Combi Classic on January 23. 

Knowing Julz, this new launch is going to be rad in every way. We wish Julz all the best on her new venture and we can't wait to see the new board!  xx

To read more about Julz Lynn check out her "Who's Rad" interview HERE

image via espn / photo Shamanski

Surfing Santa

Snowboarding Santa via StarTribune

We hope you are having a very Merry Christmas and the day brings everything you want - empty skateparks, some nice waves, and some fresh powder with bluebird sky's.

Happy Holidays!   xoxo   Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word

Check out the new teaser video for "Quit Your Day Job" from Erik Sandoval & Monique O'Toole.  Cool to see clips of Vanessa Torres, Lacey Baker, Minna & Finnely Stess, Christiana Smith, Savannah Headden, Nam Ch Van, Marie Bee, and Annie Guglia.

We can't wait for the full length "Quit Your Day Job" video to be released!

We met the rad girls of GIRLS GONE FAST at Marhyhill and we are so behind the media they are creating and the all girls road trips they are doing, where they skate everywhere! We like the fact that they are not sitting around waiting for someone to create video opportunities for them - they are collectively just doing it. Check out this new edit and see what we mean - these girls are badass!

Hell Yes!

 images via Red Bull Media

A 1912 historic church left abandoned in Spain, has been turned into a beautiful indoor skatepark by a group calling themselves the Church Brigade, and the colorful art was added by talented artist Okuda San Miguel.

A half pipe sits right in the middle of the church where pews may have been in its previous life. Colorful murals grace the walls and ceilings and feel as if you are looking at beautiful stained glass.

Definitely a great place to reflect, skate, and be thankful.

all images via Transworld Skateboarding

The women have their own category in the Transworld Readers Choice awards this year - so make sure you jump over to the Transworld site and vote for your favorite female skater of 2015. They will annouce the winner on January 22 at the 18th annual Transworld Skateboarding awards in Los Angeles.

Choosing just one female skater is tough - so many epic moments in contests and filming this past year in street, bowl and vert.

Skaters nominated are:

Alana Smith
Alexis Sablone
Allysha Bergado
Amelia Brodka
Julz Lynn
Lacey Baker
Leticia Bufoni
Lizzie Armanto
Marisa Dal Santo
Nora Vasconcellos
Pamela Rosa
Samarria Brevard
Vanessa Torres

Make your vote count by clicking HERE to go to Transworld's site to Vote

In depth and interesting interview with Lacey Baker on BROADLY . Lacey speaks candidly about women vs men in skateboarding and how she really feels about sponsors, contest, and skateboarding.

"Yeah, but a lot of people think we are complaining. "You should be grateful to get less than half of what the first place prize is for men for our whole entire purse."  Lacey Baker on the prize purse for women vs men.

We like women who speak their mind - we aren't saying you have to agree with everything, but just take a minute to read what Lacey has to say - this is her experience and how she feels that the skate industry has treated women and why it needs to change. Speaking out is key in creating change and it's sometimes a very hard thing to do.

Tahnks to Lacey for making herself heard.

You can read the whole article HERE

We all remember the skaters who grew up in California skating back in the day,  as that seemed to be where most of the magazine coverage was during that time, as social media was non-existent. But other places had some female rippers doing their thing as well. With the emergence of Facebook and Instagram we are now seeing and hearing more and more about girls who were riding solely for the stoke of it (rather than contests or sponsorship) in all parts of the world. We are please to introduce you to one of those girls here. We hope you will enjoy hearing about Sheenagh's experience skating in the UK in the late 70's.   xx


Who's Rad?    Sheenagh Burdell

Age?      50 years old

Home is?     I live in a medieval market town, in South West France

How Long Have You Been Skateboarding?

I started skateboarding at 11 years old in 1976, I regrettably stopped at the age of 16, but took it up again at 49.

Girls who inspired you back in the day?

There weren't really many girl skaters in the UK at that time and I had only really seen Teri Lawrence riding pools in America, who I thought was fantastic! But the girl who I found most inspiring was my best friend Inch (she wasn't very tall). She had a severe back problem and her balance wasn't too good, she(I hope she doesn't mind me saying this) couldn't skate very well, but she never gave up trying and was always with me at the skatepark laughing and having fun, she didn't care what anyone thought of her skateboarding skills along as she was enjoying herself ! Which she certainly did!

Girls Who Skate that inspire you today?

Girls who inspire me now,thats a difficult one! There are so many great female skateboarders out there now! Julz Lynn, Lizzie Armanto, Poppy Starr Olson, Alana Smith, the list goes on and on! They all make it look so easy.  Julz seems to effortlessly fly through the air with such a serene look on her face! But I think that OG women like Judi Oyama inspire me more and prove that skateboarding can still be done at our age! Then there are relatively unknown women like Kirsten Swansen who loves to skate & help youngsters to skate and Tameka Gallien who often graces the F.B. Page of Skaters Over 50.

Favorite place you've ever skated?

I always remember Arrow skatepark in Birmingham England as being my favourite place to have skated.It was in an old warehouse crammed full of weird and wonderful wooden ramps & pipes,you could easily have got lost in there!

My home town skatepark Solid Surf at Southport, although I didn't appreciate it at the time must have been a favourite too, as I practically lived there for years!

How was it skating in the UK – tell us about the skate scene then.

The skate scene in the UK in the 70's was pretty big, skateparks had shot up all over the country, some were diabolical, some were great! The country produced a lot of great skaters! But there was a lot more opportunities if you lived down South as far as sponsorship and coverage of the sport went!

Favorite Trick? 

I don't know if you would call it a trick, but I used to love to elevator drop into Colnes massive pool! I don't think many people actually had the bottle to do that! I think I was the only girl who ever skated that pool!

Tell us about the style of skating you did back in the day?

My style back then was very compressed, I used to try and copy a friend called Stef Harkon he had a great surfer style! I was an aggressive skater, London skater Marc Sinclair recently told me that they used to call me "the go for it girl" I mainly skated parks, pools and pipes! Although I did do some freestyle, it definitely wasn't my favorite thing! But I did enjoy slalom!

Who did you skate with back then?

I used to skate with loads of people back then, Andy Lomas, Steve Gratton, Stef Harkon, Dan-z, Jackie & Julie "Inch" Lee, Noel & Glen, to name a few. There was always a good crowd of friends where ever we went, but I rarely skated anywhere without my big brother Darren. Although it was me who got Darren into skateboarding,he was my main influence and coach, always pushing me to try new things and making me really go for it!

Sponsors back in the day? 

Sponsors back then were few and far between, especially for a Northern England girl! Lan skateboards had a northern team who I skated for, but they didn't really have much to offer! We traveled around the country to a few competitions with them, they gave me a deck!
My Mum and Dad had a skateboard shop in Southport called Freewheelers, they were my best sponsors!

What was your board set up back then?

I had a lot of different set ups, Sims & Dogtown being 2 of my favorite makes, I rode Tracker trucks, Independent & Megatrons. When new wheels came into the shop I found it hard to resist trying them all, I loved Wings Wheels! My least favorite were Powerflex 5's, I tried a set & hated them, so I washed them & put them back on the shelf to be sold! (Don't tell my Mum!)

Are you still skateboarding now?

I returned to skating again after a small break of 35 years! I bought a Fiberflex slalom board from a videgrenier (empty your attic) for 2 euro & started having sneaky goes on it when no one was watching, in case I fell off!

If so what is your favorite thing to skate?

 I have my own halfpipe in a barn. I got it for my 50 birthday,but I had to help build it! There is a concrete bowl that I enjoy skating in Langon about 20 mins drive away from where I live.

Three Things You Don't Know About Me:

1.)  You may not know that I used to race in the Supertwins Championships on a Top Gas drag bike for many years.

2.) I have a  collection of motorbikes ranging from 1970's classic mopeds to a 1450 Harley, I do a lot of the renovation work myself including the paint jobs!

3.)  I enjoy riding trials bikes.

Any advice for girls out there skating now?

Don't take it too seriously, have fun & try not to worry about what people think. Don't ever stop skating either because it's not so easy to start again after 35 years off!  Don't let anybody put you off either, if you think you can do it , do it, I did . I still find it hard to believe that I ever got back on a skateboard, but I am so glad I did! Stay young skate!

Make sure you follow  «Sheenagh Burdell Skateboarder» on Facebook

  Poppy Starr Olsen  & Arianna Carmona are just two of the featured skaters

Have you purchased your Exposure 2016 Skate Calendar yet?  Get them before they run out - every month features a different female Pro or AM skater. Plus you are helping support Exposure Skate a nonprofit 501C3 that helps empower girls in skateboarding.

You can get your 2016 skate calendar  HERE

  Photos Ian Logan

Our entire online Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word store is stocked and on SALE! That's right 25% off EVERYTHING  until Monday at midnight.

Doesn't matter if you've been naughty or nice - we have something for every skater or fashionista on your list!

Better hurry as our first ever 25% off EVERYTHING sale ends Monday at midnight!

Everything ships via PRIORITY Mail so you will be assured to get your order before the Holiday!

Use code HOLIDAYSALE at checkout to get your discount.

Check out our newest trucker hats, beanies, super soft tees, tote bags, and our new kids line! Our fabrics are so soft that you'll never want to take these yummy tees off. Tons of colors to choose from - check it all out ----> HERE


* USA shipping only on our site - please email us directly if you'd like us to ship outside of USA - we can make arrangements! 

Exciting news!  Moonshine MFG has added current 2015 Women’s IDF world champion Emily Pross to its growing list of elite team riders. Pross will be riding Moonshine MFG’s Tucker and Pro Tucker in her quest for the 2016 World Championship.

Congrats Emily!!

 Get it HERE

You heard it right, we gave the prototype of the newest Dusters x Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word cruiser to Exposure Skate to auction off  - and all proceeds go to Exposure Skate a non-profit 501c3 that helps girl in skateboarding.

This is your only chance to get this new Dusters x GN4LW  "It's NOT About Pretty" cruiser before it comes out in 2016. That means the winner will have the signed, prototype version (only one in existence at present time) before I do!

Bidding ends on Saturday at 1:00 PM  so get over to the Ebay auction now and place yours!  Makes a great holiday gift for that special skater girl in your life or for a skateboard collector!

Ebay Auction is ---->  HERE

Details: 

* Dusters California x Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word “It’s Not About Pretty” board signed personally by it’s designer & 70's pro vert skater Cindy Whitehead.
* It’s a GN4LW board with a message that being just “pretty” isn’t what we should strive for.
* This board is the first of the run and the only one in existence.
* 8.75 x 29 / 15″ wheelbase
* Custom leopard print griptape
* Metallic Gold print & rails
* Slant 5.0 trucks in gold.
-1/8 riser pads
-metallic gold swirled 62mm x 51mm 83A wheels

And here is another gift if you win!  If you email me after winning the auction at cindy@girlisnota4letterword.com we will send you a surprise package from our HQ as well!

Good luck and happy bidding!


 

Eddie Elguera getting ready to kick off the "Legends Give Back" evening

Eddie Elguera & Christian Hosoi

Steve Alba with some of his new pieces at the art show

Jeff Ho with his distinctive art

Christian Hosoi with his amazing art

Eddie Elguera

Jami Godfrey

Chuck Hults

Dave Duncan

Eric Dressen

Jim Gray

Steve Olson

Eddie Elguera

Mario Raposo

Doug Saladino, Jami Godfrey,  Howard Hood  & Christian Hosoi

Jami Godfrey

Christian Hosoi

Sergio Negal

Brad Bowman

Jim Gray

Scott Hostert

Spidey De Montrond

Marty "Jinx" Jimenez

Bill D'Angelo

Tony Hawk

Lester Kasai Flying high

Jami Godfrey

Dinner table with the Balma family, Lisa Kudra and Cindy Whitehead

Dave Duncan & Steve Olson

The Elguera family who threw an amazing event!

John Woller & Kevin Staab

Jami Godfrey, Spidey De Montrond & Jim Gray - these boys clean up real nice!

Randy Aparicio,  Roland Coballis & Shreddi Repas

Steve Alba, Paul Schmitt, and Abraham Luna

The man with the golden locks Jim Gray, and the always stylish Christian Hosoi

Our hosts, Eddie Elguera and his gorgeous wife Dawna Elguera

Photographer, and all around great guy Orlando Welsh and Diana Cole

Larry Balma and John Lucero

Tony Hawk, Brad Bowman, Dawna Elguera, Kevin Staab, & Eddie Elguera

All Photos By Lorrie Palmos

Once again Eddie Elguera, Dawna Elguera, their family, and an army of amazing volunteers, pulled off another absolutely great event. The El Gato Classic "Legends Weekend"  in Palm Springs, California was jam packed from Friday through Sunday with skate related events throughout the day and evening. It was an event you didn't want to miss!

Friday night started off with "The Legends Give Back" in downtown Palm Springs. Ninety skateboards and S1 Helmets were given out by the legend skaters to kids in need. Nothing better than seeing kids get skateboards for Christmas, and it was nice to see a lot of the legends there giving back.

From there it was on to the beautiful Hard Rock Hotel for the evening art show, signing of boards, and party. The event was free, open to the public and it gave people a chance to see & purchase art by some of their favorite skaters, Jeff Ho, Craig Stecyk,  David Hackett, Steve Alba, Steve Olson, Neil Blender, Steve Caballero, Eric Dressen, Lance Mountain, Christian Hosoi, Pops Hosoi, & Jason Jessee, and do a bit of a "meet and greet" to get the weekend started off.

Saturday morning brought clear blue skies and temps in the mid 70's, a perfect day to be outside at The Palm Springs Skatepark for the Legends Skate Jam.  The guys skated hard throughout the day and it was great to see the younger generation of skaters (including Brighton Zeuner) do a demo while the legends looked on.

Saturday evening's VIP dinner was held at the gorgeous Riviera Hotel were everyone had a chance to mingle, catch up with one another,  and best of all, meet a lot of great people who came from all over the world to talk, have dinner with, and also get autographs and photos with the legends. The food, the venue, and the company was all top notch. Dennis Ogden showed old movie clips from Marina Skatepark on the big screen & the Tony Hawk Foundation was presented with a check for $7,000 from the El Gato crew to help continue their wonderful non-profit work building skateparks. 

Sunday was the half-pipe demo that was also open to the public - Tony Hawk, Christian Hosoi, Kevin Stabb, Neal Hendrix, and more, skated all afternoon and put on a great show for the crowd. Eddie Elguera unfortunately had to sit this one out due to a slam at Saturdays event. There were concerts by Agent Orange, Powerflex 5 and One Less Zero to wrap up the day.

Everyone left feeling tired, happy, and raving about the weekend. Now that's a GREAT event!

If you didn't make it to this years event, now is the time to start planning for the next one!  It really is the best skate event of the year.

So great to see all my old OG skater friends and nice to meet all the people who traveled from all over to be there as well!

Huge thanks to the Elguera family and complete El Gato team for an amazing weekend & for inviting me,  photographer Lorrie Palmos for providing all these great photos and Jim Gray for helping me caption them!

Photo via The Daily Telegraph

It's been all over the news in Australia this week - from TV to newspapers, and we're really excited about it here in the USA too!  Poppy Starr Olsen has made the commitment to turn pro in January at the Vans Girls Combi Contest.

Poppy was the 2014 World Champion for under 14 girls, and she also holds the 2015 World Champion title for 15 and over girls, and now its time to move on up to the pro division.

When Poppy isn't training and competing, this awesome girl is a  motivational speaker (did you see her TEDx talk?), does amazing art, creates jewelry, finds ways to give back to her community, and attends school.

We are really excited to hear this news and can't wait for the Vans comp to see Poppy rip!

Congrats Poppy!

Read the complete Daily Telegraph Article on Poppy HERE

Check out little ripper Zoe Safanda's new Fall 2015 edit. Love the diversity shown - everything from bowls, pools, rails, ramps and stairs. So many great locations. Take a look and get inspired by this young skater.

It's almost that time - sign up now if you want to compete in the awesome Makaha Bowl Jam in Venice!  It's all happening on December 19 at Venice Skatepark.

There IS a Ladies Division!

Here's the direct link as you MUST pre-register   ---- > HERE.

Judi with her Icon Award

Judi back in the day with Stevie Caballero looking on / Photo Mike Goldman

Judi racing downhill back in the day / Photo Richard Oyama

Judi hitting vert at her 50th birthday party / Photo Michael Chantry

Huge congrats to OG pro skater and Badass Skatemom Judi Oyama for being awarded the N-Men Icon award this weekend.  Huge piece of female skate history right here - Judi is the FIRST woman to ever receive the Icon Award.

The N-Men were the answer to the 70's Z-Boys. The crew from NorCal flipped the Z on its side and let the skate world know that skateboarding was alive and well in NorCal with tons of rippers & major skate brands coming from there. They are a hardcore group of skaters and we love that they gave Judi this award and recognition. She's been part of the N-Men crew for a long time and is still shredding!

Judi grew up in the 1970's skating vert, downhill, and slalom, she still skates to this day and is the owner of the brand Badass Skatemom , as well as a powerful behind the scenes force for women in skateboarding. Judi is also a 2x women's World Champion in Slalom.

To read more about Judi - please check out her "Who's Rad" article HERE

 

Fashion x skate pictorial of pro skater Lizzie Armanto in the new issue of Vein Magazine out of Spain. Nice to see a real skater rather than a model pulling off these looks. Congrats Lizzie!

Showing us again that girls can do ANYTHING, here's another great video from Goldie Blox - and we are super stoked to see our friend Sam Gordon in it! GO GIRLS!!