August 3, 2021

The Never Should Be Forgotten Female Skateboarders in History

The exact roots of skateboarding are as unclear as the women who have kicked the sport to the mainstream. Beyond the men that have dominated the sport for decades are the females skateboarders that have left their marks. These are a few of the women who have changed the course of skate history by breaking boundaries and transforming the industry into an international mainstream phenomena.

Female Skateboarder from the 1960s Patti McGee on magazine covers of Life and Skateboarders Magazine performing tricks
Kicking it off with Patti McGee, a legend in pro-skateboarding. This feminine, blonde barrier breaking babe was the iconic image of California skate culture - gracing the covers of major magazines, including Life, and guesting on The Tonight Show. She was the first internationally famous pro-skateboarder and the first woman inducted in the skateboarding hall of fame. She proves that even from the earliest days of the sport, women were involved in the highest levels
Elissa Steamer is a pioneer in 90s street boarding. Dubbed "The Godmother of Street Skating" she turned heads when she was the first female to have a full part in the video Welcome to Hell (1996). Steamer's contibution to the sport was integral in presenting skateboarding in an entirely new way to to the world. She also was the only female skater in the initial release of Tony Hawk Pro Skater.
Elissa Steamer is a pioneer in 90s street boarding. Dubbed "The Godmother of Street Skating" she turned heads when she was the first female to have a full part in the video Welcome to Hell (1996). Steamer's contibution to the sport was integral in presenting skateboarding in an entirely new way to to the world. She also was the only female skater in the initial release of Tony Hawk Pro Skater.
Cara Beth Burnside made her mark on the scene starting in 1989 when she was on the cover of Thrasher Magazine. In her career she was the first woman to have a signature skate shoe which was made by Van's and she won 16 titles including an Olympic Gold for US in snowboarding. However, her biggest contribution is convincing X-Games to host a women's event. In 2003 the first ever X-Games Women's Vert Competition, which she competed and won gold.
Cara Beth Burnside made her mark on the scene starting in 1989 when she was on the cover of Thrasher Magazine. In her career she was the first woman to have a signature skate shoe which was made by Van's and she won 16 titles including an Olympic Gold for US in snowboarding. However, her biggest contribution is convincing X-Games to host a women's event. In 2003 the first ever X-Games Women's Vert Competition, which she competed and won gold.
Samarria Brevard is a history changing vanguard in skateboarding. She is the first black female skater to get her own pro-model skateboard with Hoopla and to hit the podium at X-Games - winning silver in 2017. This was significant because Brevard was the first African-American woman to do so in the game's 22 year history. She also has a shoe named after her with the brand Enjoi and she was the first black woman to have a full part in the skate video "Don't Quit Your Day Job". Her commitment to the sport is an inspiration, her wins are historic and influence is changing the face of the sport forever.
Samarria Brevard is a history changing vanguard in skateboarding. She is the first black female skater to get her own pro-model skateboard with Hoopla and to hit the podium at X-Games - winning silver in 2017. This was significant because Brevard was the first African-American woman to do so in the game's 22 year history. She also has a shoe named after her with the brand Enjoi and she was the first black woman to have a full part in the skate video "Don't Quit Your Day Job". Her commitment to the sport is an inspiration, her wins are historic and influence is changing the face of the sport forever.
Atita Verghese is India's first pro-female skater, in addition to being the co-founder of Girl Skate India, an organization that promotes gender equality through the sport of skateboarding. However, her introduction to the sport and how she's channelled that into a self-made career as a skate philanthropist - is pretty incredible. In a nutshell, it was on borrowed boards and borrowed time. Verghese would go to the skate park and wait until the other skaters got tired so she could practice. Of course, Verghese's story is bigger than can be summed up in a caption, but her involvement with the sport has led her to organize tours of female skaters to travel across India and inspire young girls to take up the sport. Since then, Verghese has caught the attention of various organizations all over the world and has volunteered with organizations such as the international non-profit Make Life Skate Life, which has built free skate parks in Bolivia, Jordan, Ethiopia, and Myanmar, as well as India, and Janwaar Castle, which aims to unite children and break the caste system in India through skateboarding.
Atita Verghese is India's first pro-female skater, in addition to being the co-founder of Girl Skate India, an organization that promotes gender equality through the sport of skateboarding. However, her introduction to the sport and how she's channelled that into a self-made career as a skate philanthropist - is pretty incredible. In a nutshell, it was on borrowed boards and borrowed time. Verghese would go to the skate park and wait until the other skaters got tired so she could practice. Of course, Verghese's story is bigger than can be summed up in a caption, but her involvement with the sport has led her to organize tours of female skaters to travel across India and inspire young girls to take up the sport. Since then, Verghese has caught the attention of various organizations all over the world and has volunteered with organizations such as the international non-profit Make Life Skate Life, which has built free skate parks in Bolivia, Jordan, Ethiopia, and Myanmar, as well as India, and Janwaar Castle, which aims to unite children and break the caste system in India through skateboarding.
We're including our season 2, episode 7 guest, Annie Guglia! Guglia is a vocal figure in the LGBQT+ sport community, a member of Canada's first all girl skateboarding crew "The Skirtboarders", and in 2016, Annie founded “All Gurlz Sk8 D8”, free initiation and skateboarding lessons for girls of all ages and all abilities in Montreal. Furthermore, Guglia is the Athletes Representative on the Board of Canada Skateboard, the Canadian federation for skateboarding . She is also the Skateboard Athletes Representative at AthletesCan, a community of Canadian athletes from all olympic sports. Annie is also on the Board of Association Skateboard Montréal (ASM), a non-profit who’s goal is to assist and help design skateparks in Montreal. In all, her professional career and commitment to introducing more women to the sport has influenced countless lives and is helping to bridge the gender gap in street style skateboarding internationally!
We're including our season 2, episode 7 guest, Annie Guglia! Guglia is a vocal figure in the LGBQT+ sport community, a member of Canada's first all girl skateboarding crew "The Skirtboarders", and in 2016, Annie founded “All Gurlz Sk8 D8”, free initiation and skateboarding lessons for girls of all ages and all abilities in Montreal. Furthermore, Guglia is the Athletes Representative on the Board of Canada Skateboard, the Canadian federation for skateboarding . She is also the Skateboard Athletes Representative at AthletesCan, a community of Canadian athletes from all olympic sports. Annie is also on the Board of Association Skateboard Montréal (ASM), a non-profit who’s goal is to assist and help design skateparks in Montreal. In all, her professional career and commitment to introducing more women to the sport has influenced countless lives and is helping to bridge the gender gap in street style skateboarding internationally!

Want more Skateboarding?

We got lots more about Skateboarding’s rise to the mainstream –  Why not check out the full episode featuring Canadian Olympian, Annie Guglia. Then in the end we talk about all the key moments when skateboarding started to become mainstream.

Alt.Pop.Repeat is available on all streaming platforms, and you can listen to is directly below!

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S2E07 – Just Roll With It – The Skateboard Episode w/ Annie Guglia

Want to know how skateboarding was able to shake its subculture roots to go from an illegal alternative to surfing to the 2021 Tokyo Games? We have the answer plus we talk to superstar skateboarder Annie Guglia!

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