1 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:06,160 Speaker 1: Welcome to stuff Mom Never told you from House top 2 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:14,520 Speaker 1: boards dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm 3 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:18,599 Speaker 1: Kristen and I'm Caroline, and welcome to part two of 4 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:24,599 Speaker 1: our Women in Skateboarding to part yes, part what has happened? 5 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:26,880 Speaker 1: And and now we're into part two. Now we're into 6 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:30,080 Speaker 1: part two and we're having a great time. Yeah, we're skaten. 7 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:35,279 Speaker 1: We're falling, as as we established very well to our 8 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:39,280 Speaker 1: audience in part one. Caroline and I not skateboarders, No, 9 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:43,680 Speaker 1: it's it's funny. How automatically my brain as soon as 10 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:46,240 Speaker 1: I hadn't even put my weight full weight on the board, 11 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:50,239 Speaker 1: I just put a foot and and considered lifting my 12 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:55,560 Speaker 1: second foot off the ground. My whole body was like, nope, nope, nope, unnatural. 13 00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:58,480 Speaker 1: You're about to fall. You have no natural balance. What 14 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:01,440 Speaker 1: are you thinking getting on this small piece of cardboard 15 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:04,759 Speaker 1: with wheels? And so I sat on it and rolled, 16 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 1: which was adorable. It was the only thing I could 17 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:09,119 Speaker 1: do to be safe. And I think it was also 18 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:13,040 Speaker 1: quite entertaining for the other tenants in our office building 19 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 1: because we were just in the parking lot um halfway 20 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:19,640 Speaker 1: making fools of ourselves. But that was the fun of it. 21 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:22,640 Speaker 1: I hope it was entertaining. Yeah, well, we still have 22 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:25,560 Speaker 1: a lot of ground to cover about women in skateboarding 23 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 1: today and into the future. But first we kind of 24 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:33,680 Speaker 1: want to do something a little bit different and do 25 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:37,520 Speaker 1: a little bit of stuff mom never told you. Listener 26 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:40,920 Speaker 1: mail At the beginning of the show, that's right, we 27 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:44,679 Speaker 1: heard from two amazing ladies about their experiences getting into 28 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:48,880 Speaker 1: skating growing up. First up, we've got listener Jessica, who 29 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:52,360 Speaker 1: discovered the hard way that maybe you shouldn't put two 30 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:54,960 Speaker 1: people on a skateboard. And then following that up we 31 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:59,200 Speaker 1: have Tara, who was obsessed with skateboarding as a kid 32 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 1: also made her own ramps, all of which was employed 33 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:05,840 Speaker 1: to get girls to come over and play at her house. 34 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:11,200 Speaker 1: Back when I was in college, I bought a longboard 35 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:15,800 Speaker 1: to skateboard that's longer, obviously longboard, so I could skate 36 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 1: around campus and get to classes. And one weekend, it 37 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:24,040 Speaker 1: was a long weekend and my roommate decided she wanted 38 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:28,160 Speaker 1: to skateboard too, but she didn't want to go by herself. 39 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: She wanted to go together. So then both of us 40 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:34,320 Speaker 1: are standing on this longboard at the top of a 41 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:38,800 Speaker 1: little hill, I decided to just go down it, and 42 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 1: we didn't get very far before we just totally crashed 43 00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 1: and burned and foiled out all over the sidewalk and 44 00:02:47,639 --> 00:02:52,040 Speaker 1: skin our knees, scraped our elbows. Um, I didn't give 45 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:54,480 Speaker 1: up skateboarding, and it was a really good bonding experience 46 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:56,360 Speaker 1: and she's still one of my really good friends to 47 00:02:56,400 --> 00:03:02,800 Speaker 1: this day. Alright, skateboarding, skateboarding, not really planning this that, 48 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 1: I'm just kind of going for it, all right. I 49 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 1: was obsessed with skateboarding when I was a kid. Um, 50 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:13,640 Speaker 1: And I grew up in a suburban a white suburban 51 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:19,160 Speaker 1: community that did not focus on diversity at all, and 52 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 1: so I was a little queer kid, a little queer 53 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:28,600 Speaker 1: girl kid, growing up obsessed with skateboarding, always being pretty 54 00:03:28,639 --> 00:03:31,800 Speaker 1: bad at it because there was no access. There was 55 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 1: no outlet, there was no skate park, and there was 56 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:35,960 Speaker 1: certainly no skatepark that my parents would drive me too. 57 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:39,160 Speaker 1: So I made ramps in my backyard out of old 58 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:42,720 Speaker 1: pieces of plywood, and whenever I could get friends to 59 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:45,440 Speaker 1: come over, which was not that frequently because I was 60 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 1: not that popular, UM, I would force them to skateboard 61 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:53,440 Speaker 1: and learn how to ride skateboards because I, at a 62 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:57,240 Speaker 1: young age, was so upset that skateboarding was such a 63 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:01,080 Speaker 1: boy sport. You know, all I heard about was Tony Hawk, 64 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 1: which was great, but you know, girls are awesome, and 65 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:09,160 Speaker 1: I wanted the girls that I thought were awesome in 66 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:12,840 Speaker 1: my life to know how to skateboard. Unfortunately for me, 67 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 1: that turned into a rather socially awkward experiment that I 68 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:20,200 Speaker 1: didn't really recognize until I was much older. Um, but 69 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:24,480 Speaker 1: that's my history of skateboarding. And I love that you 70 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:28,760 Speaker 1: guys are talking about this for whatever reason. Good luck, 71 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:32,560 Speaker 1: love following your blog, Have a good day. And I 72 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:36,919 Speaker 1: gotta tell you, Caroline, I've been loving hearing our listeners 73 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:40,599 Speaker 1: stories but also like actually hearing their stories. It was 74 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:44,920 Speaker 1: so cool that people sent us audio files of their 75 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:48,400 Speaker 1: experiences with skateboarding, because we get so many letters, but 76 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:52,640 Speaker 1: hearing them spoken is so different. Yeah, we love, we 77 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:54,760 Speaker 1: love letting you guys tell your own story and being 78 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:57,280 Speaker 1: able to share them. It's great. Yeah, so thanks to 79 00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:00,240 Speaker 1: everybody who did that. And if you want to send 80 00:05:00,279 --> 00:05:03,320 Speaker 1: us an audio story, just record want an audio file 81 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:06,040 Speaker 1: and email it to us mom staff at how stuff 82 00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:10,360 Speaker 1: works dot com. But now we want to talk about 83 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:15,240 Speaker 1: how many Jessica's and Terra's are out there today skating? 84 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:20,000 Speaker 1: Because in part one we established the history of women's skateboarding, 85 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:24,320 Speaker 1: we've been doing it since this, since sidewalk surfing was 86 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:28,880 Speaker 1: first invented. But what does the skateboarding landscape look like 87 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:33,720 Speaker 1: four girls today? And before we get any further, let's 88 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:36,040 Speaker 1: offer a few stats, as we love to do. It's 89 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:39,160 Speaker 1: time for some stuff. Mom never told you stats Mark, 90 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:44,360 Speaker 1: Stats Corner, Stats Corner, Stat's come, welcome to stats Corner. 91 00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 1: We will serve you a percentage of what you want 92 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:52,680 Speaker 1: to hear. Yes, I love it. That's our new motto. 93 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:56,320 Speaker 1: So the Skate Park Association of America estimates that there 94 00:05:56,360 --> 00:06:01,800 Speaker 1: are between eleven and fourteen million skateboarders in the country, 95 00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:04,880 Speaker 1: but it is growing. It has grown from two point 96 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:10,200 Speaker 1: one million in nineteen to more than thirteen million in twelve. 97 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:13,400 Speaker 1: So it definitely is not even though it certainly does 98 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:17,480 Speaker 1: still have its underground and subculture connotations, it is certainly 99 00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:21,479 Speaker 1: not an underground subculture thing anymore. And of course we 100 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:23,600 Speaker 1: want to know, if there are that many millions of 101 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:28,720 Speaker 1: skateboarders in America, how many are girls. Well, according to 102 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:32,839 Speaker 1: the National Sporting Goods Association. Girls make up twenty five 103 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:36,919 Speaker 1: percent of skateboarders, which ain't too shabby. This idea that 104 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 1: girls were some invisible minority in skateboarding, like, uh no, 105 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:45,280 Speaker 1: I mean is well, it's I don't need to explain 106 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:47,400 Speaker 1: to people how much Okay, a quarter of the poe 107 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:49,320 Speaker 1: I was about to put it in pie terms and 108 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:51,800 Speaker 1: a delicious, delicious pie. Or if you're more of a 109 00:06:51,839 --> 00:06:53,839 Speaker 1: cake person, it can be a quarter of a cake 110 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:57,159 Speaker 1: to a cookie. Oh yeah, I probably should pizza. Yeah, 111 00:06:57,200 --> 00:07:00,320 Speaker 1: that's true. Um, but I just wonder, and I wish 112 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:03,599 Speaker 1: we had this information. But I wonder, since women have 113 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:08,000 Speaker 1: always been a relative minority in in skateboarding, I wonder 114 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:12,040 Speaker 1: what the stats were in the early sixties, mid sixties, 115 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:15,960 Speaker 1: when it was way more seemingly cultural, culturally acceptable for 116 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:18,440 Speaker 1: girls to be a part of it. Yeah, I mean, 117 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:22,920 Speaker 1: it definitely seems like from what we've read that they 118 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:25,960 Speaker 1: were probably never it was probably never fifty fifty exactly, 119 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:30,920 Speaker 1: but fairly close. I mean, in at least not in 120 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:36,400 Speaker 1: such an exclusionary kind of environment. Because even today, while 121 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:40,560 Speaker 1: I mean, a girl skateboarder doesn't seem like such a 122 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:44,080 Speaker 1: revolutionary idea as it might have in say the eighties 123 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:47,280 Speaker 1: or nineties or even even the earliest of the two thousand's, 124 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:54,240 Speaker 1: girls still have to shred some stereotypes because they abound. 125 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:59,240 Speaker 1: I mean, if you talk to any skateboarder who identifies 126 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:05,200 Speaker 1: as a femail like, it's always, always, always stereotypes. Yeah, 127 00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:07,560 Speaker 1: that you have to that you're not going to be 128 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:09,840 Speaker 1: nearly as good, You're not going to be as talented, 129 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:12,520 Speaker 1: you're going to be afraid of hurting yourself for getting dirty. 130 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:15,760 Speaker 1: All of these like super like gender one oh one 131 00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:18,679 Speaker 1: stereotypes that women and girls face all the time anyway, 132 00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:23,120 Speaker 1: and that whole idea of they're not real in quotes skaters, 133 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:25,560 Speaker 1: You're not going to skate as as fast or as hard, 134 00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:27,160 Speaker 1: You're not going to go for the hardest tricks, you 135 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:31,240 Speaker 1: won't be able to land the hardest tricks, and so 136 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:33,960 Speaker 1: you're just I mean, you're really just a betty on 137 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:37,360 Speaker 1: the sidelines. Yeah. Case in point, Thrasher did an interview 138 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:42,200 Speaker 1: with top pro skateboarder at Nigel Houston, who said the 139 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:44,400 Speaker 1: women do the downhill stuff because they think it's like 140 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:48,200 Speaker 1: sidewalk surfing. They don't realize how dangerous it really is. 141 00:08:48,559 --> 00:08:52,280 Speaker 1: I personally believe that skateboarding is not for girls at all, 142 00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:56,040 Speaker 1: not one bit, And to that, I have a sneer 143 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:58,960 Speaker 1: for you, Mr Houston. And I also just think that 144 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:03,000 Speaker 1: that says way more about him and what pop culture 145 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:04,800 Speaker 1: has been telling us for a couple of decades than 146 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:07,120 Speaker 1: it does about any actual women or girls who were 147 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:11,880 Speaker 1: actually skating. Oh absolutely, And there was so much hugh 148 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:16,079 Speaker 1: and cry over him saying that that he eventually had 149 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:20,320 Speaker 1: to backpedal or whatever the skateboard version of that would be. 150 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:25,600 Speaker 1: He had to roll himself backwards and offer, you know, 151 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:29,320 Speaker 1: very like pr friendly kind of apology. But I have 152 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:32,760 Speaker 1: a feeling it's when when those kinds of statements are made, 153 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:36,520 Speaker 1: there is no gray area in it. You're saying explicitly, 154 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:42,040 Speaker 1: I don't believe skateboarding is for girls, so you're, you know, 155 00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:45,640 Speaker 1: you're your friendly apology. I feel like it's a little 156 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:48,439 Speaker 1: bit too little, too late. And that quote too, was 157 00:09:48,559 --> 00:09:53,600 Speaker 1: something uh called out by Catherine Sierra in that Wired 158 00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:56,600 Speaker 1: magazine piece in which he goes on to talk about 159 00:09:56,640 --> 00:10:00,559 Speaker 1: how she skates like a man is still the top honor, 160 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:04,359 Speaker 1: like it's the best thing a skate a gruel skateboarder, 161 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:06,640 Speaker 1: And I hate even using that qualifier can be called, 162 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 1: you know, to be like, well you skate like a dude, bro, 163 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:12,559 Speaker 1: whoa Yeah. It's like it's like we're even farther back 164 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:15,400 Speaker 1: than women were at the dawn of skating. Even I 165 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:18,160 Speaker 1: mean back there was no like, oh, cool, hey, you're 166 00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:20,880 Speaker 1: awesome because you skate like a man. It was just like, no, 167 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:24,000 Speaker 1: you're you're a great skater, you're an amazing freestyler, or 168 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 1: you know whatever that the case. Maybe looking at handstand 169 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:30,520 Speaker 1: you just did. It wasn't about being a great skater 170 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:33,520 Speaker 1: for a girl. There was no such thing. But it 171 00:10:33,559 --> 00:10:35,960 Speaker 1: seems like now we're having to dig ourselves out of 172 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:40,280 Speaker 1: that trench. Well, something interesting that jumped out is the 173 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:46,040 Speaker 1: conversation around skater Alana Smith, who is a certified pardon 174 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:50,640 Speaker 1: my French badass, I mean the squirrel, became the youngest 175 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:54,240 Speaker 1: X Games medalist ever. She has a Guinness World Record 176 00:10:54,280 --> 00:10:57,360 Speaker 1: for this at the age of twelve. What was I 177 00:10:57,400 --> 00:10:59,920 Speaker 1: doing it? I was probably sitting on my skateboard being 178 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:02,400 Speaker 1: told by my dogs. I was reading Little Women and 179 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:05,120 Speaker 1: pretending to be Joe Marsh Was I a little too old? 180 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:07,839 Speaker 1: I don't care. Yeah, let's be honest. I was probably 181 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:12,080 Speaker 1: reading Black Beauty. Um. But yeah, so Smith was the 182 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:16,400 Speaker 1: first female competitor to land a MICK twist, which I 183 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:19,120 Speaker 1: didn't know the definition of this, but it's an inverted 184 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:24,360 Speaker 1: five forty degree mute grab aerial, so basically okay. First 185 00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:26,439 Speaker 1: of all, side note, when I read MC twist, I 186 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:30,320 Speaker 1: thought about mcflurry. Maybe you want to milkshake big so bad, 187 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:33,560 Speaker 1: so lactose and tallerant caroline are very hungry right now 188 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:38,360 Speaker 1: in the podcast studio. But the MC twist is. I mean, 189 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:40,439 Speaker 1: it's really cool. It is exactly what it sounds like. 190 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:43,560 Speaker 1: You shoot up into the air and you crouched down 191 00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:48,560 Speaker 1: holding onto your board, and you spin five and forty degrees. 192 00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:51,480 Speaker 1: For people who aren't great at math, uh, welcome to 193 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:56,480 Speaker 1: stats corner. That's more than more more than a full circle. Um. 194 00:11:56,520 --> 00:11:59,000 Speaker 1: I watched Tony Hawk. I actually replayed this video of 195 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:02,240 Speaker 1: Tony Hawk doing this McK twist a few times because 196 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:07,520 Speaker 1: it was mesmerizing. So yeah, Allana did it. And I 197 00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:11,360 Speaker 1: believe she was twelve when she was already landing a 198 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:16,040 Speaker 1: MC twist. And she she said once when people see 199 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:18,760 Speaker 1: girls skating, they don't see us as skaters. They don't 200 00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:21,839 Speaker 1: think we take it seriously and are willing to go 201 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:26,520 Speaker 1: all out and being too much of a case in point, 202 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:31,199 Speaker 1: in this espn W article about Alana Smith, Uh, they 203 00:12:31,240 --> 00:12:36,280 Speaker 1: talked to pro skater Lindsay Adams Hawkins Pastrana, who says 204 00:12:36,559 --> 00:12:39,480 Speaker 1: about Alana Smith, yeah, she skates like a dude and 205 00:12:39,559 --> 00:12:44,160 Speaker 1: that is a big compliment. Yeah, well, skating like a girl, 206 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:48,680 Speaker 1: according to Lindsay Adams Hawking Hawkins Pastrana, is a bad thing. 207 00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:51,920 Speaker 1: And she was talking about how what people think of 208 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:56,400 Speaker 1: as girls style indicates that you weren't taught properly or 209 00:12:56,440 --> 00:12:59,000 Speaker 1: you didn't learn properly, and she says that it's a 210 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:01,720 Speaker 1: certain way we in that just shows that you didn't 211 00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:05,960 Speaker 1: have good instruction or whatever. She also said that it's 212 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:08,839 Speaker 1: cool that Alanna doesn't limit herself to being the best 213 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:11,640 Speaker 1: female skateboarder, but she must to be the best overall. 214 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:14,200 Speaker 1: And yes, that is good, but when you pair it 215 00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:16,440 Speaker 1: with the whole thing of like, she skates like a dude, 216 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:20,079 Speaker 1: becomes sort of a backhanded yeah, well it's a whole 217 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:23,160 Speaker 1: not like other girls trope or good for a girl 218 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:27,280 Speaker 1: backhanded compliment. Um. And it jumped out to me too 219 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:31,280 Speaker 1: that the headline for that espn W article about her 220 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:36,280 Speaker 1: was Smith Blur's skateboard gender Lines, and when I saw 221 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:39,440 Speaker 1: it out of context, I thought I was going to 222 00:13:39,520 --> 00:13:43,920 Speaker 1: read about a transgender skater, because today when I hear, 223 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:46,679 Speaker 1: you know, read blurring gender lines, like okay, this is 224 00:13:46,679 --> 00:13:49,080 Speaker 1: what's gonna be where it's like, oh no, blurring gender 225 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:53,920 Speaker 1: lines means someone is skating simply at the top of 226 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:57,800 Speaker 1: the game, period, which is I mean that that to 227 00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:00,800 Speaker 1: me goes to show how entrenched it really is. And 228 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:07,360 Speaker 1: anytime you watch these videos about like highlighting really amazing 229 00:14:07,920 --> 00:14:12,640 Speaker 1: pro female skaters or you know, showcases of female skaters, 230 00:14:12,679 --> 00:14:16,040 Speaker 1: a lot of times, like the glowing interviews that are 231 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:18,719 Speaker 1: interspiced with it, are people being like, I mean it's amazing. 232 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:23,040 Speaker 1: I couldn't believe how it's so phenomenal. Like there is 233 00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:30,680 Speaker 1: always this just shock from people whenever girls are skating well, 234 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:34,080 Speaker 1: which is like, but they're not not the same as 235 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:36,080 Speaker 1: like oh yeah, I mean like he skates really well, 236 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:38,960 Speaker 1: that's cool. Well it's not like it's been I mean people, 237 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:42,360 Speaker 1: where is the institutional memory. It's like people completely forgot 238 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:46,040 Speaker 1: about Patty McGhee or that women like her even existed. Well, 239 00:14:46,040 --> 00:14:49,800 Speaker 1: Patty McGhee. She's not authentic. She's not a real skater 240 00:14:49,960 --> 00:14:52,480 Speaker 1: by today's terms. And also I think I should be 241 00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:55,600 Speaker 1: using the term she rides well, not skates well. But 242 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:58,000 Speaker 1: that also goes to show how I'm you know, I'm 243 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:00,960 Speaker 1: I'm definitely not a real skater. No, I didn't skate, 244 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:04,240 Speaker 1: I rode and I was being pulled by animals. Because 245 00:15:04,240 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 1: that's how that's Christen, that is how I roll. It's 246 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:11,920 Speaker 1: true and uh, fittingly for stuff I've never told you. 247 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:14,720 Speaker 1: We're now going to lead listeners from stats Corner to 248 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:17,360 Speaker 1: Study Corner. Let's go to Study Hall. Yeah, I love it. 249 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:20,440 Speaker 1: Shall we go to Study Hall? Because there have been 250 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:28,480 Speaker 1: some academic studies on gender within skateboarding culture, and we 251 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:32,400 Speaker 1: found a really fascinating one in the journal Gender and Education, 252 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:35,560 Speaker 1: which was published in two thousand five, so a little 253 00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:38,760 Speaker 1: bit dated, but still really relevant to our discussion today. 254 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:44,680 Speaker 1: And it's called Skater Girlhood an emphasized femininity subtitle you 255 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:49,120 Speaker 1: can't land an Ali properly in heels, Yeah, subtitle, which 256 00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:51,720 Speaker 1: was actually a quote from one of the girls interviewed 257 00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:56,680 Speaker 1: for the study. But it's a fascinating look at gender 258 00:15:56,680 --> 00:16:02,440 Speaker 1: and femininity and girls using hobbies like skating, which are 259 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:05,320 Speaker 1: not considered to be traditionally feminine, as a way to 260 00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:10,480 Speaker 1: define themselves and their own sort of brand of femininity. Um, 261 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:13,840 Speaker 1: and how skating can be positive because it's fun, it's 262 00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:17,880 Speaker 1: an adventure, it brings you confidence, it allows for nonconformity. 263 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:22,040 Speaker 1: But and you know how how growing skills and breeding 264 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:26,520 Speaker 1: your skills breeds confidence also, which is all positive, but 265 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:29,520 Speaker 1: sort of the unfortunate thing that I was thinking about 266 00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:32,680 Speaker 1: as I was reading the study is that all of 267 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:36,560 Speaker 1: the femininity discussed in the study is in terms of like, well, 268 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:39,800 Speaker 1: I'm not like other girls. I'm sort of leading this 269 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:44,280 Speaker 1: alternative girlhood. And it's like, well, while alternative girlhood and 270 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:48,600 Speaker 1: femininity is wonderful and fine and great, so are other 271 00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:51,360 Speaker 1: types of femininity. And it seemed to be that skating 272 00:16:51,440 --> 00:16:53,120 Speaker 1: was a way for a lot of these girls that 273 00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:56,560 Speaker 1: the authors talked to to sort of navigate their way 274 00:16:56,920 --> 00:16:59,200 Speaker 1: in a world that wants them to wear pearls and 275 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:02,200 Speaker 1: a high heel when they would rather wear baggy skating 276 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:04,520 Speaker 1: clothes and go out and get hurt and get dirty. Well, 277 00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:07,280 Speaker 1: and it makes sense though that they might veer toward 278 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:11,920 Speaker 1: the not like other girls line of thinking when you're 279 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:17,400 Speaker 1: dealing with a subculture that is very much like entrenched 280 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:21,399 Speaker 1: in masculinity, it's like an oppositional kind of masculinity that 281 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:26,760 Speaker 1: still elevates itself above femininity. I e. Oh, you skate 282 00:17:26,840 --> 00:17:30,240 Speaker 1: like a girl. You skate like a girl. And so anytime, 283 00:17:30,280 --> 00:17:32,320 Speaker 1: and it's very clear in the interviews like with these 284 00:17:32,359 --> 00:17:38,640 Speaker 1: girls um that any time they transgress that and kind 285 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:42,840 Speaker 1: of violate those boundaries and enter into that subculture, they 286 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:46,159 Speaker 1: do have to their continually having to defend themselves. And 287 00:17:46,240 --> 00:17:50,040 Speaker 1: so it is like, well, you know, no, I'm not 288 00:17:50,119 --> 00:17:54,200 Speaker 1: I'm not just a girl. And obviously, based on the title, 289 00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:58,200 Speaker 1: they do talk a lot about this thing called emphasized femininity, 290 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:03,360 Speaker 1: which is another way of saying women's compliance with subordination 291 00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:06,520 Speaker 1: to not only men, but to what is the culturally 292 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:09,720 Speaker 1: valued type of femininity that we're sort of led to 293 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:12,760 Speaker 1: believe we need to be a part of. Yeah, wearing 294 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:16,560 Speaker 1: high heels and all of that fun stuff. Yeah, and 295 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:19,960 Speaker 1: the others do talk about how the girls that they're 296 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:24,560 Speaker 1: interviewing usually learned the basics in private and gradually ventured 297 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:29,040 Speaker 1: into public skating spaces where they usually end up being 298 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:33,200 Speaker 1: confronted by boys. Asking why they're invading their skate space, 299 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:35,639 Speaker 1: which again is just like the whole geet girl or 300 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:39,320 Speaker 1: game or girl conversation. Yeah, I mean, and I think 301 00:18:39,359 --> 00:18:43,439 Speaker 1: pretty much any female skateboard you talk to will have 302 00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:47,760 Speaker 1: an experience where that happened. Um. But what's really interesting 303 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:50,239 Speaker 1: to see too among this group of girls, and these 304 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:52,199 Speaker 1: were younger girls too that they were talking about, I 305 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:54,560 Speaker 1: think it is important to point out that there was 306 00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:59,160 Speaker 1: a lot still of girl on girl policing for their 307 00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:02,879 Speaker 1: motives for aiding and their level of expertise. Um. This 308 00:19:03,119 --> 00:19:06,520 Speaker 1: in so many ways to me mirrors fake get girl 309 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:11,560 Speaker 1: and gaming culture, because the girls who really prided themselves 310 00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:16,840 Speaker 1: the most on resisting that so called emphasized femininity were 311 00:19:16,880 --> 00:19:22,040 Speaker 1: the ones who were most on guard of You know, 312 00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:25,080 Speaker 1: if another girl rolls up to the skate park, it's like, oh, 313 00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:27,399 Speaker 1: are you here? Are you here just to impress the guys? 314 00:19:27,440 --> 00:19:29,239 Speaker 1: Are you here because you want a boyfriend? Do you 315 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:31,560 Speaker 1: really know how to put your skateboard together and take 316 00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:33,760 Speaker 1: it apart and take care of it? What do you 317 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:36,360 Speaker 1: really know? Because there is I mean, it does seem 318 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:40,560 Speaker 1: like you kind of have to overshoot and overcompensate. Um. 319 00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:44,520 Speaker 1: Maybe because you aren't going to just be accepted off 320 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:46,920 Speaker 1: the bat as like hey, I'm a I'm a cool 321 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:48,640 Speaker 1: person and I want to learn how to do this. 322 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:51,560 Speaker 1: Let's be friends. Like, no, that's not how it works. 323 00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:54,320 Speaker 1: But fortunately there are those women and girls out there 324 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:58,160 Speaker 1: who are advocating for other women and girls to sort 325 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:01,320 Speaker 1: of to get in the game and actually learn how 326 00:20:01,359 --> 00:20:04,720 Speaker 1: to skate and skate safely and skate well. Absolutely, because 327 00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:08,600 Speaker 1: it seems like the you know, the pros who are 328 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:11,840 Speaker 1: coming up even in the seventies and the eighties, and 329 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:15,040 Speaker 1: of course like people who are skating today and or 330 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:18,480 Speaker 1: who are relative like newbies, are so fed up with 331 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:21,800 Speaker 1: all of this gender nonsense because it really is nonsensical. 332 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:26,400 Speaker 1: That there's been a lot of advocacy, really starting in 333 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:31,320 Speaker 1: the early and mid two thousands, of women helping other 334 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:34,160 Speaker 1: women and girls and even carving out their own spaces 335 00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:36,080 Speaker 1: to be like, all right, you know what, you can 336 00:20:36,119 --> 00:20:39,240 Speaker 1: have your skate parks or you're abandoned building, whatever, We're 337 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:42,040 Speaker 1: going to set up these spaces where it's safe for 338 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:44,240 Speaker 1: girls to come and learn to skate and be able 339 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:46,320 Speaker 1: to skate together and not have to worry about all 340 00:20:46,359 --> 00:20:50,960 Speaker 1: this other stuff. Well, Cindy Whitehead, who we mentioned earlier, 341 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:54,840 Speaker 1: started the group Girl Is Not a Four Letter Word. Uh. 342 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:58,560 Speaker 1: White had actually went pro in the seventies at sixteen 343 00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:02,320 Speaker 1: years old and was endoored by Puma who shooes I 344 00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:06,320 Speaker 1: do love as well. But her professional career ended when 345 00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:09,120 Speaker 1: skate parks died. When that whole fad started dying out, 346 00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:12,520 Speaker 1: insurance rates went up, skate parks started closing their doors, 347 00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:17,919 Speaker 1: so she transitioned then her pro skateboarding career into sports styling, 348 00:21:18,119 --> 00:21:22,040 Speaker 1: which long story short, led her to a collaboration with 349 00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:27,240 Speaker 1: skateboard manufacturer Dwindle, Inc. She designed this line called Girl 350 00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:30,600 Speaker 1: is Not a Four Letter Word specifically for girls, and 351 00:21:31,359 --> 00:21:33,880 Speaker 1: she I mean, you know, if you have this company 352 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:37,160 Speaker 1: going on, But it's also a form of activism as well. 353 00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:40,680 Speaker 1: She's done a ted talk about this. She's always stumping 354 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:44,920 Speaker 1: on behalf of girls getting involved in the sport and 355 00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:46,600 Speaker 1: and part of the Girl is Not a Four Letter 356 00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:52,000 Speaker 1: Word proceeds support Longboarding for Peace and Girl Writers Organization. 357 00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:55,240 Speaker 1: So City White has definitely been one of the most 358 00:21:55,400 --> 00:22:00,000 Speaker 1: visible and vocal women really kind of starting this way 359 00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:04,240 Speaker 1: of advocacy that was has also been picked up by 360 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:09,720 Speaker 1: highly influential skateboarder as well, Mimi Noop. Yeah, she went 361 00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:12,320 Speaker 1: pro back in two thousand three and ended up taking 362 00:22:12,359 --> 00:22:15,240 Speaker 1: him a handful of X Games medals, And she has 363 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:19,199 Speaker 1: acknowledged the importance of seeing other women skating. There's that 364 00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:22,240 Speaker 1: visibility issue we talk about time and time again, but 365 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:27,080 Speaker 1: that the industry does treat men and women differently. Yeah, 366 00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:28,840 Speaker 1: I mean the way that it markets to them, the 367 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:33,880 Speaker 1: products that are even available, Um, how competitions are set up, 368 00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:37,280 Speaker 1: and how much you know, the winners of competitions get 369 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:41,520 Speaker 1: depending on what division they're in. So she co founded 370 00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:45,639 Speaker 1: Hooplus Skateboards, which includes a team that Alana Smith for instance, 371 00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:49,840 Speaker 1: our Golden Girl is on and uh. It also offers 372 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:53,960 Speaker 1: products specifically for female skateboarders. And she also co founded 373 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:59,880 Speaker 1: alongside Caribeth Burnside, and nonprofit called Alliance, which provides a cool, 374 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:04,680 Speaker 1: active voice for women in action sports, which was influential 375 00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:09,600 Speaker 1: and bringing up from Brazil a skater Letitia Buffoni, who 376 00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:14,280 Speaker 1: was actually the first female skateboarder Nike signed to its team. 377 00:23:14,359 --> 00:23:16,879 Speaker 1: So she's also a big name right now in the 378 00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:20,880 Speaker 1: sport as well. But you mentioned the amount that a 379 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:23,920 Speaker 1: winner would earn based on what division there in Kristen 380 00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:27,800 Speaker 1: Andnope and Burnside together did lobby the X Games for 381 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:31,520 Speaker 1: more prize money for female winners, and in two thousand nine, 382 00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:34,160 Speaker 1: partially thanks to their efforts, the X Games did start 383 00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:37,879 Speaker 1: awarding equal purses to men and women, and that was 384 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:41,400 Speaker 1: echo two in our Women in Tennis episode. And one 385 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:43,800 Speaker 1: other woman who's playing a role in trying to get 386 00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:47,760 Speaker 1: more girls attracted to the sport and provide resources is 387 00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:52,639 Speaker 1: Lisa Whittaker, who founded the website Girls Skate Network. Yeah, 388 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:56,280 Speaker 1: and Girls Skate Network has been really influential for providing 389 00:23:56,720 --> 00:23:59,960 Speaker 1: a platform and community for girls skaters around the kind 390 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:02,000 Speaker 1: treat to just, you know, if they're in a small 391 00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:04,879 Speaker 1: town and they might be the only girls skating around, 392 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:06,920 Speaker 1: they can go online and they can see other girls 393 00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:09,800 Speaker 1: doing this, they can share their own videos, um they 394 00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:13,400 Speaker 1: can find resources for themselves. So that's been a highly 395 00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:19,200 Speaker 1: influential space for for girls too. But there's still some 396 00:24:19,280 --> 00:24:23,040 Speaker 1: challenges to retaining girls and skateboarding as they grow up, 397 00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:27,000 Speaker 1: which is something usually echoed in any conversation about girls 398 00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:30,120 Speaker 1: and sports, and this was something that Jennis Selby, who's 399 00:24:30,119 --> 00:24:32,639 Speaker 1: a co founder of the all girls skate company Rogue, 400 00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:36,840 Speaker 1: talked to huck magazine about Yeah, she wrote, one thing 401 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:39,520 Speaker 1: we noticed in the UK scene, especially when I was younger, 402 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:42,800 Speaker 1: is that there were younger girls with amazing skills who 403 00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:45,320 Speaker 1: would hit their teenage years and sort of disappear due 404 00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:47,359 Speaker 1: to outside pressures like what their friends are doing and 405 00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:50,600 Speaker 1: what magazines were telling them to do. So yet again 406 00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:55,159 Speaker 1: we see a pipeline issue, this time in sports. And 407 00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:57,440 Speaker 1: that's why a lot of these professional skaters and community 408 00:24:57,560 --> 00:25:00,919 Speaker 1: organizers who are really invested in getting girls and women, 409 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:04,840 Speaker 1: adult women skating think that visibility and role modeling and 410 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:10,359 Speaker 1: mentoring are essential to ceiling that leaky pipeline because we 411 00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:12,400 Speaker 1: see it over and over and over again. Like if 412 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:16,000 Speaker 1: if you're not seeing it, it's not it's not as inspiring. 413 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:19,680 Speaker 1: I mean, media makes a big difference. Well, I get 414 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:24,160 Speaker 1: some firsthand insight on this and really get to know 415 00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:28,600 Speaker 1: someone who is doing this work to get more girls 416 00:25:28,840 --> 00:25:33,119 Speaker 1: into skateboarding and to make skateboarding itself a friendlier place 417 00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:37,560 Speaker 1: for girls and women. We talked to Kristin Ebling, who 418 00:25:37,600 --> 00:25:39,640 Speaker 1: is a skateboarder who also worked for a really cool 419 00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:42,600 Speaker 1: organization called Skate Like a Girl. Yeah, so let's hear 420 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:49,080 Speaker 1: from Kristen my name is Chris Nebling. I've been skateboarding 421 00:25:50,119 --> 00:25:55,880 Speaker 1: UH for over sixteen years UM, and when I was seventeen, 422 00:25:56,200 --> 00:25:58,680 Speaker 1: I've been skating about four or five years. At this point, 423 00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:04,240 Speaker 1: I went out and UH did a skateboard competition UM 424 00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:05,960 Speaker 1: that was supposed to be for all girls, and I 425 00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:09,359 Speaker 1: remember thinking, I'm the only girl skateboarder right now. So 426 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:13,280 Speaker 1: I showed up and my draw before when I saw 427 00:26:13,359 --> 00:26:15,760 Speaker 1: like twenty girls like ripping around the park doing tricks 428 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:19,640 Speaker 1: I never even tried before UM, and I was just like, WHOA, 429 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:21,680 Speaker 1: what is this? And you know it was skate with 430 00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:23,840 Speaker 1: the girl that was putting on the contest. So I 431 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:26,120 Speaker 1: always tell everybody that at that point I sold my soul. 432 00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:28,000 Speaker 1: I was like, sign me up. I want to be 433 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:29,560 Speaker 1: a part of this. I want to be included. I 434 00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:32,159 Speaker 1: want to be treating with other women. And you know, 435 00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:35,520 Speaker 1: about eight years of volunteering later, I got my job 436 00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:39,760 Speaker 1: last summer and the more or less of the chapter 437 00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:44,159 Speaker 1: director of the Seattle Chapter of Scaleing sprill UM. I 438 00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:46,680 Speaker 1: primarily focus on programs, so right now my title was 439 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:50,679 Speaker 1: officially program director of Scalely Kid Girl UM. But I 440 00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:53,960 Speaker 1: do everything from Cotoon Cave to one on one lessons, 441 00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:58,800 Speaker 1: I oversee a team volunteer programs, so I we change UM. 442 00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:02,000 Speaker 1: And you know, I'm so propersional athlete on side, so 443 00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:05,439 Speaker 1: I compete and UM have some sponsorships and stuff like that, 444 00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:08,840 Speaker 1: travel the world to ride my skateboard and kind of 445 00:27:08,840 --> 00:27:12,080 Speaker 1: spread the love of skating. Can you tell us a 446 00:27:12,119 --> 00:27:16,320 Speaker 1: little bit about how Skate Like a Girl started and 447 00:27:16,359 --> 00:27:19,199 Speaker 1: sort of what its mission is? Why? Why, for instance, 448 00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:21,560 Speaker 1: when you came up when you were seventeen, were all 449 00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:28,080 Speaker 1: of these girls skating together? Well a Girl was started. 450 00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:31,639 Speaker 1: Get Like a Girl was started in Olympia in around 451 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:37,320 Speaker 1: your two thousands. UM. Definitely influenced by by so like 452 00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:40,959 Speaker 1: that astness of like Riot Girl UM, sort of like 453 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:43,480 Speaker 1: the embers of like the d I Y culture down there. 454 00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:46,360 Speaker 1: I don't if you're Heart of Slee or Kinny Kill 455 00:27:47,119 --> 00:27:50,440 Speaker 1: Captain Han, like that whole rad right girl movement. They're 456 00:27:50,440 --> 00:27:54,520 Speaker 1: definitely influenced by that. UM. And they were the founders 457 00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:58,520 Speaker 1: Halleen Flur. They were UM students at Evergreen and had 458 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:02,280 Speaker 1: been living in Olympia, influenced by that culture. And they 459 00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:05,520 Speaker 1: they are actually snowboarders UM. But it's really expensive and 460 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:09,080 Speaker 1: inaccessible to get women up to the mountains. But they 461 00:28:09,119 --> 00:28:11,800 Speaker 1: wanted more women to be involved in board sports because 462 00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:13,959 Speaker 1: it was such like a boys club. And so they 463 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:16,360 Speaker 1: came up with Skate like a Girl UM and started 464 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:19,560 Speaker 1: hosting like knics. They had no idea what they were doing, 465 00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:22,480 Speaker 1: but they didn't chare UM and they went out there 466 00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:25,840 Speaker 1: and you know, started getting women together to skate, and 467 00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:27,680 Speaker 1: over the course of a couple of years, it went 468 00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:29,560 Speaker 1: from just being sort of this loose knit thing to 469 00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:32,359 Speaker 1: be a little bit more organized, hosting camps, working with 470 00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:36,040 Speaker 1: younger girls, women of all ages and abilities, Hosting a 471 00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:39,720 Speaker 1: contest where professional athletes, you know, athletes were coming from 472 00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:43,120 Speaker 1: like California and organ and all over to compete and 473 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:46,280 Speaker 1: take part in their event. So that was kind of 474 00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:48,960 Speaker 1: the first couple of years UM and the founders moved 475 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:52,800 Speaker 1: up to Seattle. That's when they started getting way more official. 476 00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:55,240 Speaker 1: So they met up with other folks Nancy Chang, who's 477 00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:58,040 Speaker 1: our current board chair, who really pushed making Scale Like 478 00:28:58,080 --> 00:29:02,080 Speaker 1: a Girl an official Bible one three uh, and that's 479 00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:04,680 Speaker 1: kind of where I came on board. But we were 480 00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:08,760 Speaker 1: still really only serving girls and women, UM really focusing 481 00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:11,440 Speaker 1: on that end. UM. There was no paid staff at 482 00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:15,080 Speaker 1: that point. UM, and that's that's kind of where I 483 00:29:15,080 --> 00:29:17,520 Speaker 1: came on board, Like I was really excited about all 484 00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:20,200 Speaker 1: the stuff we were doing. UM. Nowadays we do a 485 00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:23,760 Speaker 1: lot more stuff with Coen's Boys and Girls UM, and 486 00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:26,400 Speaker 1: we're definitely have more i'd say, of a business model, 487 00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:30,800 Speaker 1: UM where we're able to subsidize free and low cost 488 00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:34,920 Speaker 1: programs by hosting sea based programs. And just kind of 489 00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:40,160 Speaker 1: the idea of why should girls in particular learn a skateboard? 490 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:42,040 Speaker 1: What's you know they could do so many other things. 491 00:29:42,040 --> 00:29:46,720 Speaker 1: Why skateboard? Well, I think skateboarding is you can learn 492 00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:50,240 Speaker 1: so many life lessons from skating. UM. I think also 493 00:29:50,280 --> 00:29:55,760 Speaker 1: there's something empowering and life altering it's a girl tries 494 00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:59,400 Speaker 1: skateboarding versus something that is more gender neutral or that 495 00:29:59,440 --> 00:30:02,680 Speaker 1: they're in cur used to do. I think trying a 496 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:05,520 Speaker 1: sport that everyone tells you is dangerous. Not only is 497 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:08,200 Speaker 1: it male dominated, but a lot of times girls are 498 00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:09,880 Speaker 1: told you can't do that. Like I have a lot 499 00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:11,560 Speaker 1: of girls in my programs They're like, my dad told 500 00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:12,920 Speaker 1: me I can't do this, and I'm like, well, I'm 501 00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:16,800 Speaker 1: not gonna tell you that. UM. Like it's that, like, 502 00:30:17,320 --> 00:30:19,400 Speaker 1: you know, a lot of parents are really anti. But 503 00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:21,880 Speaker 1: then I think about other sports where women are totally 504 00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:25,920 Speaker 1: included and are seen on a world like scale as 505 00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:28,760 Speaker 1: you know, professional in that field. Like I'm thinking gymnastics, 506 00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:31,800 Speaker 1: like ice skating, like they're doing like flips and spins 507 00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:34,959 Speaker 1: and all this crazy stuff. Like why is skateboarding such 508 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:37,320 Speaker 1: a voice club doesn't make sense to me in terms 509 00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:40,920 Speaker 1: of like a danger or like girls you know, shouldn't 510 00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:43,440 Speaker 1: move their bodies in those ways. Um, And so I 511 00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:45,480 Speaker 1: think I think if a girl tries skateboarding, which there's 512 00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:47,240 Speaker 1: all that baggage, like you're not supposed to do, it's 513 00:30:47,240 --> 00:30:50,200 Speaker 1: not for girls, and they try it, and you know, 514 00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:52,600 Speaker 1: maybe they don't skateboard past that one day they did 515 00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:55,040 Speaker 1: a clinic with us, to me, that doesn't matter. I 516 00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:57,240 Speaker 1: think one girls and women try things that they're told 517 00:30:57,240 --> 00:30:59,400 Speaker 1: they're not supposed to and they have a little bit 518 00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:02,080 Speaker 1: of success with it, that is a life altering. They 519 00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:04,720 Speaker 1: could leave our clinics and and when we you know, 520 00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:08,440 Speaker 1: teach them, like, well, tried skateboarding today, Tomorrow I'm gonna 521 00:31:08,480 --> 00:31:10,719 Speaker 1: apply for my NBA program, like you know what I mean. Like, 522 00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:14,360 Speaker 1: I feel like we build ourselves up by little successes 523 00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:18,160 Speaker 1: and if we can create a fun, successful experience UM 524 00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:21,040 Speaker 1: for a girl or a woman. UM. With skateboarding, I 525 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:22,760 Speaker 1: think you know they're going to go on to be 526 00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:25,480 Speaker 1: a better person and take on more risk and challenge 527 00:31:25,480 --> 00:31:28,680 Speaker 1: themselves in the future. UM. And obviously if they keep skating, 528 00:31:28,800 --> 00:31:31,719 Speaker 1: it's going to continue to build a culture within skating 529 00:31:31,720 --> 00:31:35,360 Speaker 1: that's more gender inclusive, UM and also inclusive in other 530 00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:38,160 Speaker 1: ways as well. And I mean along those same lines. 531 00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:41,000 Speaker 1: One thing that jumped out to me in a skate 532 00:31:41,040 --> 00:31:44,520 Speaker 1: Like a Girl video I was watching yesterday was this 533 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:48,080 Speaker 1: girl who was maybe ten years old talking about all 534 00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:52,560 Speaker 1: the reasons why she loves skateboarding and the organization, and 535 00:31:53,080 --> 00:31:55,360 Speaker 1: one of the things was how it taught her the 536 00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:59,600 Speaker 1: importance of failing and how how it's okay to fail 537 00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:01,719 Speaker 1: and how like if you fall down, you can get up, 538 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:04,080 Speaker 1: and if you get a little bumped and bruise, that's okay, 539 00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:07,040 Speaker 1: and that like I hear that advice sometimes from like 540 00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:09,680 Speaker 1: you know, adults are like at some point learned to fail. 541 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:13,040 Speaker 1: But hearing that from a kid, especially a girl, was 542 00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:16,800 Speaker 1: really eye opening for me. So that's kind of a 543 00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:20,640 Speaker 1: revolutionary message for girls in particular to hear, maybe because 544 00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:22,880 Speaker 1: usually it's like, oh, girls, you know you follow the rules, 545 00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:26,719 Speaker 1: stay prim and proper, all that stuff. Yeah, definitely. Like 546 00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:29,800 Speaker 1: Mary was saying in that video, UM, that you're referring 547 00:32:29,840 --> 00:32:32,320 Speaker 1: to is that you know you have to fail failure 548 00:32:32,320 --> 00:32:34,680 Speaker 1: as part of the process. You get it right the 549 00:32:34,680 --> 00:32:37,440 Speaker 1: first time, not only is that not rewarding but not 550 00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:39,680 Speaker 1: really real. That's almost like an anomally when you do 551 00:32:39,760 --> 00:32:43,719 Speaker 1: something perfect the first time. UM and skateboarding. That's one 552 00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:45,520 Speaker 1: of the huge life lessons I was talking about that. 553 00:32:45,680 --> 00:32:48,680 Speaker 1: You know, it naturally teaches you you have to be resilient, 554 00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:51,000 Speaker 1: You have to be able to fall down and get 555 00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:53,640 Speaker 1: back up. You have to let yourself be scared and 556 00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:56,880 Speaker 1: work through that fear, walk down that hall. That's you 557 00:32:56,920 --> 00:32:59,560 Speaker 1: don't want to UM, but you know you want to 558 00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:01,360 Speaker 1: be success, so you know you want to learn how 559 00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:03,720 Speaker 1: to drop in and learn how to ali and you 560 00:33:03,760 --> 00:33:05,520 Speaker 1: don't know how long that failure is going to be 561 00:33:05,600 --> 00:33:08,120 Speaker 1: till you get it right. And I think that's huge too, 562 00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:10,880 Speaker 1: is walking in the unknown and taking those steps towards 563 00:33:10,920 --> 00:33:14,560 Speaker 1: what you want without knowing for sure exactly what that 564 00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:17,280 Speaker 1: looks like, and knowing that your path is gonna be 565 00:33:17,280 --> 00:33:20,480 Speaker 1: different than the next woman Um, there's just all kinds 566 00:33:20,480 --> 00:33:22,480 Speaker 1: of things you can think of in terms of skating 567 00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:28,440 Speaker 1: and applying that to like life challenges just in general. Um. Yeah, Definitely, 568 00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:30,959 Speaker 1: failure is a part of the process, not the outcome 569 00:33:31,480 --> 00:33:33,920 Speaker 1: or not a possible outcome. And it seems like too 570 00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:35,959 Speaker 1: in terms of what you're saying about kind of walking 571 00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:39,320 Speaker 1: into the unknown. If we're talking about the context of 572 00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:44,840 Speaker 1: skateboarding with girls walking to a skate park where they 573 00:33:44,880 --> 00:33:48,280 Speaker 1: might be the only girl, might be one of those 574 00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:51,400 Speaker 1: unknown So could you talk a little bit about sort of, 575 00:33:51,440 --> 00:33:55,040 Speaker 1: at least maybe for you personally, Um, the difference of 576 00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:59,200 Speaker 1: what it's like to skate with other girls as opposed 577 00:33:59,240 --> 00:34:05,200 Speaker 1: to skating with a bunch of dudes. Definitely, being the 578 00:34:05,200 --> 00:34:07,360 Speaker 1: only girl at the skate park is probably one of 579 00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:11,920 Speaker 1: the worst things. Um. But I feel like of all 580 00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:15,480 Speaker 1: the crazy things guys have said to me and all 581 00:34:15,520 --> 00:34:17,520 Speaker 1: the things that have happened to me, being like, you know, 582 00:34:17,520 --> 00:34:20,520 Speaker 1: the only girl for so long really helped me build 583 00:34:21,280 --> 00:34:24,360 Speaker 1: build a mindset that I think has made me perfect 584 00:34:24,400 --> 00:34:25,879 Speaker 1: for the position I'm in with skate like a girl, 585 00:34:26,280 --> 00:34:29,160 Speaker 1: Like I understand what it's like to be the only girl, 586 00:34:29,160 --> 00:34:31,560 Speaker 1: and I'm very passionate about making sure that other girls 587 00:34:31,560 --> 00:34:34,319 Speaker 1: and women don't have that same experience, or if they do, 588 00:34:34,440 --> 00:34:36,279 Speaker 1: it's not as bad and they know how to deal 589 00:34:36,320 --> 00:34:40,000 Speaker 1: with it. Um. I'll give you a couple of examples. UM. 590 00:34:40,160 --> 00:34:42,160 Speaker 1: Not that I want to project any of these ideas, 591 00:34:42,440 --> 00:34:44,120 Speaker 1: but I think it's important for their girls and women 592 00:34:44,160 --> 00:34:47,120 Speaker 1: to hear like what I went through. Um at the 593 00:34:47,160 --> 00:34:49,359 Speaker 1: skate park. A lot of times the guy like if 594 00:34:49,360 --> 00:34:51,359 Speaker 1: I landed a trick before some other guy did where 595 00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:54,000 Speaker 1: we were trying it, but a lot oftentimes I would hear, well, 596 00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:56,440 Speaker 1: you're just a girl, doesn't matter. UM. I got that 597 00:34:56,600 --> 00:34:59,440 Speaker 1: a lot. UM. I also, right when I started to 598 00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:02,080 Speaker 1: go through Pure You're on like thirteen fourteen, like um, 599 00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:04,120 Speaker 1: Like they would comment on my butt and my boobs, 600 00:35:04,160 --> 00:35:06,839 Speaker 1: my body like pretty often like hey, like do you 601 00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:08,719 Speaker 1: have a load in your pants? What's up? Like just 602 00:35:09,160 --> 00:35:12,880 Speaker 1: the worst things. UM. I would get excluded like really 603 00:35:12,880 --> 00:35:14,680 Speaker 1: often to like all the guys who going skate street 604 00:35:14,719 --> 00:35:16,560 Speaker 1: spot and they would just be like, oh yeah, cool, 605 00:35:16,560 --> 00:35:17,960 Speaker 1: we'll be right back in five minutes, and they would 606 00:35:17,960 --> 00:35:21,560 Speaker 1: just like bitch me. UM. And one of my favorite 607 00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:24,680 Speaker 1: things is that I worked really hard for a sponsor 608 00:35:24,760 --> 00:35:27,200 Speaker 1: me tape. So I filmed all these tricks and I 609 00:35:27,200 --> 00:35:29,600 Speaker 1: worked really hard and I was trying to get sponsored 610 00:35:29,600 --> 00:35:32,880 Speaker 1: by this indoor skate park and I turned my video in. 611 00:35:32,960 --> 00:35:34,960 Speaker 1: I didn't hear back then hear back. So I went 612 00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:38,440 Speaker 1: right up to the team manager and I said, hey, um, 613 00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:40,319 Speaker 1: you know what's up? I turned in my video like 614 00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:42,080 Speaker 1: you know, as it a year and may like you know, 615 00:35:42,120 --> 00:35:44,080 Speaker 1: which was varying their wrecking. For me, I was like 616 00:35:44,120 --> 00:35:46,759 Speaker 1: seventeen years old at the time, maybe sixteen. This is 617 00:35:46,800 --> 00:35:50,279 Speaker 1: what force like a girls sixteen um, And I was like, 618 00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:52,120 Speaker 1: what's up? And he goes, heal Christ and your footage 619 00:35:52,120 --> 00:35:55,040 Speaker 1: is really great. But we sponsored girls that are good, 620 00:35:55,200 --> 00:35:58,759 Speaker 1: good looking, not just girls that are good. UM. So 621 00:35:58,840 --> 00:36:00,759 Speaker 1: that was like a huge wall. Was like whoa, like 622 00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:02,400 Speaker 1: I have to be currently like I had, you know 623 00:36:02,440 --> 00:36:06,360 Speaker 1: what I mean? And that was so hard to hear. UM. 624 00:36:06,400 --> 00:36:10,520 Speaker 1: So now, like I feel like it's definitely different, especially 625 00:36:10,520 --> 00:36:14,880 Speaker 1: in Seattle with so many people girls, men, boys, girls 626 00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:17,239 Speaker 1: learning how to skate ball together through skate like the 627 00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:21,160 Speaker 1: girl programs. Um. That culture I'm hoping is shifting for 628 00:36:21,239 --> 00:36:22,919 Speaker 1: women and no one has to see here those things 629 00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:25,359 Speaker 1: that I heard like ten year ten fifteen years ago 630 00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:28,640 Speaker 1: when I was starting seating UM. But I think it 631 00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:30,319 Speaker 1: definitely is still hard. I think most of the times 632 00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:32,120 Speaker 1: when I go to the skatepark, I go by myself, 633 00:36:32,760 --> 00:36:35,919 Speaker 1: you know, maybe I'll see one girl one other girl, 634 00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:39,760 Speaker 1: which I think is better than most places. But um, 635 00:36:39,800 --> 00:36:43,879 Speaker 1: I think generally guys in Seattle know about scala ares 636 00:36:43,920 --> 00:36:46,080 Speaker 1: all to know about what we do and it's participated 637 00:36:46,239 --> 00:36:48,560 Speaker 1: or know somebody that has that. We have a level 638 00:36:48,600 --> 00:36:51,160 Speaker 1: of like legitimacy that you know, people are starting to 639 00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:54,480 Speaker 1: change their minds about who can participate in skating. But 640 00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:57,759 Speaker 1: you know, I still definitely get some flacks sometimes, you know, 641 00:36:58,520 --> 00:37:01,799 Speaker 1: and weird comments and us do you think that it's 642 00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:07,680 Speaker 1: getting any better industry wise and marketing wise in terms 643 00:37:07,719 --> 00:37:11,879 Speaker 1: of like how how the female demographic, if you want 644 00:37:11,880 --> 00:37:14,759 Speaker 1: to call it, is treated like they try to put 645 00:37:14,800 --> 00:37:17,640 Speaker 1: girls out there sometimes, and they try to get girls 646 00:37:17,640 --> 00:37:19,040 Speaker 1: on the teams. And there's been like kind of some 647 00:37:19,120 --> 00:37:21,840 Speaker 1: male allies throughout the years that you know, Ed Templeton 648 00:37:21,960 --> 00:37:24,600 Speaker 1: is one that comes to mind, UM with Toy Machine 649 00:37:24,640 --> 00:37:27,319 Speaker 1: Skateboards putting a list of Steamer on the team UM 650 00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:30,000 Speaker 1: and really supporting her for years. But I think the 651 00:37:30,160 --> 00:37:33,360 Speaker 1: general mainstream skate culture is never gonna be able to 652 00:37:33,440 --> 00:37:35,719 Speaker 1: market to a way market women in a way that 653 00:37:35,800 --> 00:37:38,440 Speaker 1: I feel like is authentic and that takes me at 654 00:37:38,440 --> 00:37:40,279 Speaker 1: the end of the day of their market is like 655 00:37:40,400 --> 00:37:45,399 Speaker 1: fifteen year old guys, and that is so that's such 656 00:37:45,400 --> 00:37:49,640 Speaker 1: a different market. Um. And I'm pretty outspoken, um the 657 00:37:49,760 --> 00:37:53,120 Speaker 1: girls and women, uh in particular, just about you know, 658 00:37:53,120 --> 00:37:54,719 Speaker 1: you can see here and complaint all day about how 659 00:37:54,760 --> 00:37:57,200 Speaker 1: we're not sponsored, we don't get coverage. You open a 660 00:37:57,239 --> 00:38:00,800 Speaker 1: transld magazine, Thrasher magazine, you don't see any girls that 661 00:38:00,920 --> 00:38:03,600 Speaker 1: you do see a girl, she's like half naked with 662 00:38:03,640 --> 00:38:06,640 Speaker 1: a skateboard over her boob. Um, We're gonna continue to 663 00:38:06,680 --> 00:38:10,440 Speaker 1: see those images unless until, like we step up and 664 00:38:10,480 --> 00:38:14,040 Speaker 1: make our own media. It's like Tony Hawk. I've recently 665 00:38:14,080 --> 00:38:17,480 Speaker 1: wrote this in a small editorial I did for um 666 00:38:17,680 --> 00:38:19,279 Speaker 1: uh this Heat, which is this is a vene that 667 00:38:19,360 --> 00:38:23,719 Speaker 1: my friends and I put together. UM And I basically said, like, 668 00:38:23,800 --> 00:38:26,120 Speaker 1: you know, Tony Hawk doesn't call it port illustrated and 669 00:38:26,160 --> 00:38:28,719 Speaker 1: get pissed that he's not on the cover. You know, 670 00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:34,280 Speaker 1: 'ts illustrated is catering to a dominant like mainstream sport. Um, 671 00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:37,879 Speaker 1: like audience, right, Like skateboarding magazines are catering to male 672 00:38:37,920 --> 00:38:41,799 Speaker 1: participants because that's who's primarily participating. UM, and so as 673 00:38:41,840 --> 00:38:43,319 Speaker 1: girls and women, I feel like we need to make 674 00:38:43,360 --> 00:38:46,399 Speaker 1: our own content, our own media, our own We didn't 675 00:38:46,400 --> 00:38:49,440 Speaker 1: have our own photographers, our own videos, and one day 676 00:38:49,480 --> 00:38:51,960 Speaker 1: it'll come to a point where those cultures can mesh. 677 00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:54,200 Speaker 1: And I think there's overlap between the mainstream culture and 678 00:38:54,239 --> 00:38:57,239 Speaker 1: what we do. But I think, by and large, like 679 00:38:57,280 --> 00:39:01,040 Speaker 1: I've been so bummed on pretty much anything that um 680 00:39:01,200 --> 00:39:05,120 Speaker 1: mainstream skate media puts out, like your average photographer writer 681 00:39:05,320 --> 00:39:08,240 Speaker 1: in the magazine, like just it's just the worst stuff, 682 00:39:08,280 --> 00:39:11,279 Speaker 1: like um, like even if a girl is really good, 683 00:39:11,320 --> 00:39:13,520 Speaker 1: it's it's something that's like, Wow, the girls are really 684 00:39:13,520 --> 00:39:16,279 Speaker 1: stepping it up this year. It's like wow, we've been 685 00:39:16,360 --> 00:39:19,879 Speaker 1: stepping it up, like just because you just noticed, like 686 00:39:20,280 --> 00:39:23,520 Speaker 1: now we're stepping it up, and uh, you know there's 687 00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:26,600 Speaker 1: stuff like yeah, here's Lucy Baker, she skates, dude, she's 688 00:39:26,640 --> 00:39:30,479 Speaker 1: got some six style, you know, So again downplaying and 689 00:39:31,080 --> 00:39:33,560 Speaker 1: like it's just I think the nicest why I can 690 00:39:33,560 --> 00:39:35,600 Speaker 1: put it is that it's inauthentic and it doesn't speak 691 00:39:35,600 --> 00:39:38,360 Speaker 1: to me as a female skateboarder and it's you know, 692 00:39:38,520 --> 00:39:41,479 Speaker 1: for the most part, makes me just inspired to create 693 00:39:41,480 --> 00:39:45,560 Speaker 1: my own media. Well, back to Skate Like a Girl. UM, 694 00:39:45,680 --> 00:39:47,560 Speaker 1: can you tell us a little bit why said that 695 00:39:48,280 --> 00:39:50,480 Speaker 1: dudes can skate too? With Skate Like a Girl. Can 696 00:39:50,480 --> 00:39:53,400 Speaker 1: you talk a little bit about how the organization is 697 00:39:53,840 --> 00:39:58,600 Speaker 1: focused not only on cultivating girls skaters, but also it 698 00:39:58,640 --> 00:40:05,080 Speaker 1: seems like diversity among skaters and why it's important. Yeah. UM, 699 00:40:05,160 --> 00:40:07,239 Speaker 1: So we have a we have a T shirt that 700 00:40:07,280 --> 00:40:09,520 Speaker 1: we put out UM and it just says this is 701 00:40:09,560 --> 00:40:13,160 Speaker 1: what a skateboarder looks like. And I think that's kind 702 00:40:13,200 --> 00:40:16,040 Speaker 1: of the the easiest way to put it is that 703 00:40:16,320 --> 00:40:20,680 Speaker 1: overall organization is a girl friendship organization. We're always constantly 704 00:40:20,680 --> 00:40:22,319 Speaker 1: going to be thinking about how can we make space 705 00:40:22,360 --> 00:40:26,680 Speaker 1: for girls and women um in our sports UM, but 706 00:40:26,880 --> 00:40:31,520 Speaker 1: also understanding that anyone can participate in that, anyone can 707 00:40:31,520 --> 00:40:35,200 Speaker 1: be a skateboarder, regardless of ability, age, um, in any 708 00:40:35,239 --> 00:40:37,520 Speaker 1: other factor. UM. And we want to kind of break 709 00:40:37,520 --> 00:40:42,000 Speaker 1: down in walls that there are access so UM, I 710 00:40:42,000 --> 00:40:43,799 Speaker 1: will tell you. I'll tell you first about a little 711 00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:48,399 Speaker 1: bit how kind of organically we started serving guys because 712 00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:50,640 Speaker 1: I was never our intention like I said, back in 713 00:40:50,880 --> 00:40:52,879 Speaker 1: two thousand five when I first got involved, the only 714 00:40:52,880 --> 00:40:55,720 Speaker 1: good stuff with girls and women. And what was happening 715 00:40:55,800 --> 00:40:58,719 Speaker 1: was we were hosting like a girls twelve and under 716 00:40:58,719 --> 00:41:01,200 Speaker 1: skate clinic and Phil and Sol's little brother wanted to 717 00:41:01,280 --> 00:41:04,000 Speaker 1: join in, and at first we were like no, But 718 00:41:04,040 --> 00:41:06,720 Speaker 1: then that wasn't the first little brother. We had dads, 719 00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:09,520 Speaker 1: and we had older brothers that wanted to help volunteer, 720 00:41:10,400 --> 00:41:12,480 Speaker 1: and we sort of looked at ourselves and we said, Okay, 721 00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:15,839 Speaker 1: this is sort of a crossroad. Do we only serve 722 00:41:15,880 --> 00:41:17,680 Speaker 1: girls and women and we continue to operate in that 723 00:41:17,719 --> 00:41:19,719 Speaker 1: what I would call like a silo and we make 724 00:41:19,760 --> 00:41:21,560 Speaker 1: like a bubble around girls, they say this is for 725 00:41:21,600 --> 00:41:24,480 Speaker 1: girls only, and then knowing that that girl probably isn't 726 00:41:24,480 --> 00:41:27,880 Speaker 1: going to skate outside of our program, or do we 727 00:41:27,920 --> 00:41:33,440 Speaker 1: start to include brothers, dads UM and other siblings UM 728 00:41:33,480 --> 00:41:36,600 Speaker 1: into our community. And we sort of decided that, hey, 729 00:41:37,000 --> 00:41:38,759 Speaker 1: these people need to be served too and want to 730 00:41:38,760 --> 00:41:41,960 Speaker 1: be a part of our culture. Why not. And kind 731 00:41:41,960 --> 00:41:44,680 Speaker 1: of after we started doing this UM and serving like 732 00:41:44,680 --> 00:41:46,600 Speaker 1: Phil and Sol's little brother, and you know, we started 733 00:41:46,680 --> 00:41:50,480 Speaker 1: getting a fair amount of boys UM and interest from 734 00:41:50,480 --> 00:41:54,560 Speaker 1: then as well. UM, we sort of decided like wow, 735 00:41:54,600 --> 00:41:57,480 Speaker 1: like what is not revolutionary about a little boy learning 736 00:41:57,520 --> 00:41:59,560 Speaker 1: to escape from a girl. We're still starting to change 737 00:41:59,560 --> 00:42:03,799 Speaker 1: and ship at culture. And just because we're serving boys too, UM, 738 00:42:03,840 --> 00:42:08,160 Speaker 1: doesn't mean that girls can't be served in that same space. UM. So, 739 00:42:08,400 --> 00:42:11,359 Speaker 1: long story short, we still do some girls only girls 740 00:42:11,360 --> 00:42:13,719 Speaker 1: and women only stuff. So, for instance, our Ladies Nights, 741 00:42:14,080 --> 00:42:17,319 Speaker 1: some of our camps are girl specific just because there 742 00:42:17,360 --> 00:42:20,880 Speaker 1: are some girls that will not participate and we'll feel 743 00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:24,120 Speaker 1: excluded or intimidated in the environment where guys are included 744 00:42:24,760 --> 00:42:27,360 Speaker 1: on any levels. So we do want to continue to 745 00:42:27,360 --> 00:42:29,719 Speaker 1: stay true to that and be able to provide that opportunity. 746 00:42:29,760 --> 00:42:32,239 Speaker 1: But by and large all of our programs are co 747 00:42:32,520 --> 00:42:36,879 Speaker 1: ed these days. UM. So we have male and female staff. UM. 748 00:42:36,880 --> 00:42:40,280 Speaker 1: We operate a te volunteer program called Youth Employment Skateboarding 749 00:42:40,360 --> 00:42:45,319 Speaker 1: where teenagers learn job skills, financial literacy, uh SEPT, first 750 00:42:45,400 --> 00:42:47,880 Speaker 1: aid trainings and stuff like that, and they volunteer for 751 00:42:47,960 --> 00:42:50,880 Speaker 1: us over the summer. And that program is primarily guys, 752 00:42:51,480 --> 00:42:53,560 Speaker 1: not only the primarily guys. We have like some of 753 00:42:53,600 --> 00:42:56,600 Speaker 1: the best local amateur writers that are a part of 754 00:42:56,600 --> 00:42:59,759 Speaker 1: that program. UM. And so it's super cool that we're 755 00:42:59,800 --> 00:43:02,120 Speaker 1: take being the dominant culture. So the guys that are 756 00:43:02,160 --> 00:43:05,480 Speaker 1: really good, the youngest skaters that are just ripping and sponsored, 757 00:43:05,880 --> 00:43:08,000 Speaker 1: and they're coming a part of our organizations starting to 758 00:43:08,040 --> 00:43:10,560 Speaker 1: teach young kids how to skateboard and be included in 759 00:43:10,600 --> 00:43:12,440 Speaker 1: our culture. So I think that's probably one of the 760 00:43:12,480 --> 00:43:16,680 Speaker 1: more revolutionary things that we've done. Um just because now 761 00:43:16,920 --> 00:43:18,520 Speaker 1: the girls and women and kids that are part of 762 00:43:18,520 --> 00:43:21,480 Speaker 1: our program and being served by our programs are working 763 00:43:21,480 --> 00:43:24,160 Speaker 1: with the volunteers that have the highest skill set. So 764 00:43:24,200 --> 00:43:26,320 Speaker 1: we're gonna show up at the skate park leader to practice, 765 00:43:26,640 --> 00:43:28,800 Speaker 1: they may see, oh, hey, that's my instructor from a weekend. 766 00:43:28,880 --> 00:43:32,040 Speaker 1: Hey what's up. And we're starting to bridge that community 767 00:43:32,800 --> 00:43:37,080 Speaker 1: between ability levels and lengths of time people have hated, ages, 768 00:43:37,160 --> 00:43:41,400 Speaker 1: genders and all that good stuff. Um So just in general, 769 00:43:41,400 --> 00:43:44,480 Speaker 1: we're just trying to change who can take part in skateboarding. 770 00:43:44,520 --> 00:43:46,560 Speaker 1: Like what does the skateboard look like? We're trying to 771 00:43:46,600 --> 00:43:51,240 Speaker 1: make that, you know, as inclusive as possible. Very cool. Well, 772 00:43:51,560 --> 00:43:54,239 Speaker 1: what has your work then with skate like a girl 773 00:43:54,320 --> 00:43:59,360 Speaker 1: taught you the most? You're number one thing about skating 774 00:43:59,680 --> 00:44:02,239 Speaker 1: light whatever kind of like, what is what has been 775 00:44:02,280 --> 00:44:05,440 Speaker 1: like the biggest maybe um reward or life lesson that 776 00:44:05,440 --> 00:44:09,879 Speaker 1: you've gotten from working with the organization. Yeah, I mean, 777 00:44:10,480 --> 00:44:11,960 Speaker 1: I think the easiest way is for me to think 778 00:44:11,960 --> 00:44:14,440 Speaker 1: about this is what would I Where would I do 779 00:44:14,480 --> 00:44:17,560 Speaker 1: a scale girls didn't exist, and I think I sort 780 00:44:17,560 --> 00:44:20,160 Speaker 1: of alluded to it earlier, Like I think I would 781 00:44:20,160 --> 00:44:23,680 Speaker 1: have quit skating and I never would have continued to 782 00:44:23,719 --> 00:44:27,000 Speaker 1: pursue it. I never would have had an excuse to 783 00:44:27,239 --> 00:44:29,840 Speaker 1: because this is like I'm telling you when I turned 784 00:44:30,000 --> 00:44:32,520 Speaker 1: When I first saw skateboarding when I was like eleven, 785 00:44:32,920 --> 00:44:34,800 Speaker 1: I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I begged 786 00:44:34,800 --> 00:44:37,200 Speaker 1: my parents for like a full year to get me 787 00:44:37,239 --> 00:44:40,719 Speaker 1: a skateboard. And I don't know where that came from, 788 00:44:40,760 --> 00:44:43,520 Speaker 1: you know, I don't know what it was. I just 789 00:44:43,719 --> 00:44:45,960 Speaker 1: was gravitated. I just gravitated towards it. And I've always 790 00:44:46,040 --> 00:44:48,120 Speaker 1: had that stoke in that passion for skating. I think 791 00:44:48,120 --> 00:44:50,800 Speaker 1: it's the coolest thing on earth. And I've tried everything, 792 00:44:50,880 --> 00:44:54,719 Speaker 1: you know, I've done skydiving, I've a snowboard, I served like, 793 00:44:55,120 --> 00:44:57,799 Speaker 1: but there's nothing like skateboarding. You know. I played every 794 00:44:57,800 --> 00:45:00,360 Speaker 1: team sport you can imagine, and I'm a really athletic. 795 00:45:00,400 --> 00:45:03,120 Speaker 1: I'm really good at sports. There's so like I think 796 00:45:03,120 --> 00:45:05,279 Speaker 1: I probably could have gotten like I would have stuck 797 00:45:05,320 --> 00:45:07,040 Speaker 1: with softball, I probably could have gotten like a college 798 00:45:07,040 --> 00:45:11,920 Speaker 1: scholarships at all. But for whatever reason, skateboarding is what 799 00:45:11,960 --> 00:45:14,239 Speaker 1: I love to do. And there's not a lot of 800 00:45:14,239 --> 00:45:16,680 Speaker 1: structure in skating. There's not a lot of opportunity and 801 00:45:17,320 --> 00:45:20,319 Speaker 1: for anyone, and an especially girls, we are excluded, un 802 00:45:20,320 --> 00:45:23,040 Speaker 1: told we can't do things, and we're kind of funneled 803 00:45:23,080 --> 00:45:26,120 Speaker 1: towards activities that are hockey dorry, you know what I mean, 804 00:45:26,120 --> 00:45:28,760 Speaker 1: like probably on the school soccer team, or being into 805 00:45:28,800 --> 00:45:32,719 Speaker 1: like singing or acting or something like that. Um. And 806 00:45:32,760 --> 00:45:34,719 Speaker 1: so I'm just thankful that feel like girls provided me 807 00:45:34,719 --> 00:45:37,520 Speaker 1: and if you to continue to pursue my passion. And 808 00:45:37,560 --> 00:45:40,279 Speaker 1: now at page twenty six, when my parents say, why 809 00:45:40,280 --> 00:45:42,200 Speaker 1: don't you get in your nb A, you should go 810 00:45:42,239 --> 00:45:44,520 Speaker 1: back to school and do law, I'm like, no, I'm 811 00:45:44,560 --> 00:45:46,560 Speaker 1: leading lay in our profit and serving thousands of the 812 00:45:46,560 --> 00:45:49,520 Speaker 1: people of my local community and creating real change like 813 00:45:49,560 --> 00:45:53,400 Speaker 1: experiment people and getting people active and you know, introduce 814 00:45:53,440 --> 00:45:55,879 Speaker 1: those them something that I've been passionate about for so long. 815 00:45:57,360 --> 00:45:59,279 Speaker 1: H I definitely don't answer that with one thing, but 816 00:46:00,040 --> 00:46:08,000 Speaker 1: know that's my best. Yeah, I mean that sounds pretty huge. Um. 817 00:46:08,160 --> 00:46:11,560 Speaker 1: Those were all of the questions that I had for you. 818 00:46:11,760 --> 00:46:15,600 Speaker 1: Is there anything else, um, you want to add that 819 00:46:15,600 --> 00:46:19,960 Speaker 1: I didn't ask you about in terms of skateboarding girls, 820 00:46:20,920 --> 00:46:24,000 Speaker 1: what you love anything like that, any kind of final 821 00:46:24,360 --> 00:46:28,280 Speaker 1: final thoughts. Yeah. I would say that if you're interested 822 00:46:28,320 --> 00:46:31,520 Speaker 1: in skateboarding for you, um, and there's gonna be a 823 00:46:31,560 --> 00:46:34,960 Speaker 1: lot of people that tell you that it's not and 824 00:46:35,280 --> 00:46:39,040 Speaker 1: you have to learn to not listen to those people. Um. 825 00:46:39,080 --> 00:46:41,279 Speaker 1: If you already are a skateboarder and you want to 826 00:46:41,320 --> 00:46:44,080 Speaker 1: give back and you don't live anywhere close to like 827 00:46:44,120 --> 00:46:47,239 Speaker 1: a major city that's already hosting and doing rad things 828 00:46:47,239 --> 00:46:51,080 Speaker 1: for the skate community, that you can do it. Um. 829 00:46:51,120 --> 00:46:53,879 Speaker 1: When I first started being an instructor for like a Girl, 830 00:46:53,920 --> 00:46:56,160 Speaker 1: we had no idea what we're doing. When they originally 831 00:46:56,200 --> 00:46:59,000 Speaker 1: started to look people, they had no idea what they're doing. Um. 832 00:46:59,280 --> 00:47:01,359 Speaker 1: Most skate comes needs have no idea what they're doing. 833 00:47:01,480 --> 00:47:05,960 Speaker 1: So uh, don't be embarrassed or think that you're not 834 00:47:06,000 --> 00:47:09,120 Speaker 1: good enough. Everyone can take part in making an inclusive 835 00:47:09,160 --> 00:47:13,200 Speaker 1: culture through the vehicle of skateboarding. UM. And if anyone 836 00:47:14,040 --> 00:47:16,759 Speaker 1: anyone who's interested please email Seattle at Skate Like a 837 00:47:16,800 --> 00:47:19,800 Speaker 1: Girl dot com UM and we will get back to you. 838 00:47:19,840 --> 00:47:21,839 Speaker 1: We'll give you all the resources you need to start 839 00:47:21,920 --> 00:47:24,080 Speaker 1: Ladies Nights in your local community at twelve and under 840 00:47:24,080 --> 00:47:27,920 Speaker 1: skate any type of instruction program. We love to help 841 00:47:27,960 --> 00:47:33,960 Speaker 1: support anyone internationally to make rad skate programs happening. And 842 00:47:34,239 --> 00:47:36,000 Speaker 1: we've been doing it for about fifteen years, so we 843 00:47:36,040 --> 00:47:37,600 Speaker 1: kind of know what we're talking about, and we'd love 844 00:47:37,680 --> 00:47:40,440 Speaker 1: to help the pore other folks to make change in 845 00:47:40,480 --> 00:47:44,680 Speaker 1: their local community. Awesome. And what's the website folks can 846 00:47:44,680 --> 00:47:47,440 Speaker 1: go to to learn more about the organization and you 847 00:47:48,400 --> 00:47:50,319 Speaker 1: just Skate like a Girl dot com. And just so 848 00:47:50,440 --> 00:47:56,040 Speaker 1: everyone knows, our Seattle chapter is our like UH headquarters, 849 00:47:56,280 --> 00:47:58,120 Speaker 1: so that's where we have the most going on. It's 850 00:47:58,160 --> 00:48:01,640 Speaker 1: our longest existing chapter. UM. We have paid staff and 851 00:48:01,760 --> 00:48:03,920 Speaker 1: stuff like that. Are Portland and San Francisco chapter is 852 00:48:03,960 --> 00:48:06,560 Speaker 1: a little bit smaller. Portland's just started getting a couple 853 00:48:06,600 --> 00:48:09,480 Speaker 1: paid staff and then UM. San Francisco is still all 854 00:48:09,560 --> 00:48:12,840 Speaker 1: volunteer driven. UM. The we have some folks kind of 855 00:48:12,920 --> 00:48:16,120 Speaker 1: running s satellite programs in other areas, but we definitely 856 00:48:16,560 --> 00:48:18,160 Speaker 1: like we're the community. We want people to be a 857 00:48:18,200 --> 00:48:20,920 Speaker 1: part of itself. Check us out scal dot com. I 858 00:48:20,960 --> 00:48:22,320 Speaker 1: guess one more thing too, is like I know a 859 00:48:22,320 --> 00:48:24,480 Speaker 1: lot of people say that they're they're not good enough 860 00:48:24,520 --> 00:48:27,359 Speaker 1: for skateboard or they're not coordinating enough. Um. I get 861 00:48:27,360 --> 00:48:31,359 Speaker 1: those emails all the time. UM. I had someone say like, oh, 862 00:48:31,360 --> 00:48:33,160 Speaker 1: I'm forty five years old, like there's no way I 863 00:48:33,200 --> 00:48:35,520 Speaker 1: could do it. Within a year, Um, that person was 864 00:48:35,600 --> 00:48:37,920 Speaker 1: learning how to drop in an ali and shove it 865 00:48:37,920 --> 00:48:39,800 Speaker 1: and do all these cool tricks. But that's a forty 866 00:48:39,800 --> 00:48:41,800 Speaker 1: six year old person. But she don't hear that a 867 00:48:41,840 --> 00:48:44,120 Speaker 1: lot of forty six year old people trying skateboarding. UM. 868 00:48:44,160 --> 00:48:46,239 Speaker 1: I also got an email recently from the girl. She's like, 869 00:48:46,280 --> 00:48:49,160 Speaker 1: I haven't um been active in years, come overweight and 870 00:48:49,239 --> 00:48:51,120 Speaker 1: over twitter pounds, like there's no way I could do it, 871 00:48:51,480 --> 00:48:54,120 Speaker 1: And just recently like she was rolling down like some 872 00:48:54,160 --> 00:48:56,640 Speaker 1: of the biggest ramps in the park and is just 873 00:48:56,680 --> 00:48:59,400 Speaker 1: super inspired and stoked and like wanting to volunteer with 874 00:48:59,480 --> 00:49:01,959 Speaker 1: us and be a part of our organization. So, um, 875 00:49:02,000 --> 00:49:11,359 Speaker 1: you're never too young, never fat. Um, it's for everybody. Well, 876 00:49:11,400 --> 00:49:14,320 Speaker 1: and thanks so much to christ and Ebling and skate 877 00:49:14,360 --> 00:49:17,040 Speaker 1: like a Girl for taking the time to talk to us. 878 00:49:17,640 --> 00:49:21,359 Speaker 1: And it's not the only organization out there either that 879 00:49:21,520 --> 00:49:28,719 Speaker 1: is using skateboarding to fundamentally change girls lives. And next up, 880 00:49:28,760 --> 00:49:31,879 Speaker 1: we want to talk about what happens when skateboarding has 881 00:49:31,880 --> 00:49:36,439 Speaker 1: no preconceived gendered notions. But to do that we must 882 00:49:36,520 --> 00:49:41,360 Speaker 1: travel to Afghanistan. Travel with us. Everyone, get your passports, 883 00:49:41,360 --> 00:49:49,000 Speaker 1: teach your podcast passports. We're going straight to Cobble. Okay, 884 00:49:49,000 --> 00:49:52,040 Speaker 1: it was a quick ride. We're here. We're here. Wait, 885 00:49:52,280 --> 00:49:55,839 Speaker 1: we just got here. Yeah. The group Skateistan has been 886 00:49:55,880 --> 00:50:03,080 Speaker 1: getting some major attention for bringing skate culture, positive skate culture, 887 00:50:03,560 --> 00:50:08,400 Speaker 1: non gender stereotype skate culture to the young girls and 888 00:50:08,480 --> 00:50:12,359 Speaker 1: boys of Kabbal, Afghanistan. Yeah. So, in two thousand seven, 889 00:50:12,440 --> 00:50:16,200 Speaker 1: a skateboarder named Oliver Perkovic traveled to Kabble. He was 890 00:50:16,239 --> 00:50:20,680 Speaker 1: following his girlfriend and he ended up staying and starting 891 00:50:20,760 --> 00:50:25,200 Speaker 1: this ngo called Skateistan that you know, began in Afghanistan, 892 00:50:25,239 --> 00:50:29,399 Speaker 1: but it's now expanded to Cambodia and South Africa, and 893 00:50:29,440 --> 00:50:31,560 Speaker 1: I know he's trying to expand it in more spots 894 00:50:31,560 --> 00:50:35,760 Speaker 1: around the globe as well. And the inspiration was seeing 895 00:50:36,000 --> 00:50:39,720 Speaker 1: a lot of these Afghani kids who weren't in school. 896 00:50:40,000 --> 00:50:44,080 Speaker 1: They were extremely poor, they had no access to education, 897 00:50:44,200 --> 00:50:50,040 Speaker 1: and really no healthy recreational outlets. So he got some 898 00:50:50,120 --> 00:50:55,480 Speaker 1: skateboards and started teaching kids to skate and using it 899 00:50:55,560 --> 00:50:59,880 Speaker 1: not only to teach them skate practical skateboarding skills, but 900 00:51:00,080 --> 00:51:03,640 Speaker 1: also to educate them in certain ways. Yeah, and writing 901 00:51:03,640 --> 00:51:06,720 Speaker 1: about this, Fast Company points out that he was using 902 00:51:06,760 --> 00:51:10,399 Speaker 1: skateboarding as a tool for empowering youth, to create new 903 00:51:10,440 --> 00:51:14,719 Speaker 1: opportunities and the potential for change. So, you know, a 904 00:51:14,760 --> 00:51:16,920 Speaker 1: lot of the kids who are in this group, like 905 00:51:17,000 --> 00:51:21,360 Speaker 1: Kristen said, don't go to school, but almost half our girls. 906 00:51:21,440 --> 00:51:24,359 Speaker 1: This is something that I thought was so fascinating that 907 00:51:24,440 --> 00:51:29,359 Speaker 1: when you go into a culture where, for instance, bicycling 908 00:51:29,680 --> 00:51:32,600 Speaker 1: is not okay for girls to participate in, but you 909 00:51:32,640 --> 00:51:37,880 Speaker 1: find that there is no preconceived notion regarding skateboarding, Suddenly 910 00:51:37,920 --> 00:51:43,800 Speaker 1: boys and girls can participate in something active and fun together. Yeah, 911 00:51:44,000 --> 00:51:47,400 Speaker 1: and I mean getting these girls to skate to stand 912 00:51:47,719 --> 00:51:51,040 Speaker 1: requires some extra effort. They had to u sort of 913 00:51:51,120 --> 00:51:55,279 Speaker 1: directly meet with the parents and colmony concerns that they 914 00:51:55,280 --> 00:51:57,800 Speaker 1: had about their girls doing this. A lot of times 915 00:51:57,840 --> 00:52:00,520 Speaker 1: they will directly pick up and drop off the girls 916 00:52:01,000 --> 00:52:04,480 Speaker 1: from their homes um, whereas the boys are freer to 917 00:52:04,760 --> 00:52:07,640 Speaker 1: you know, come on their own um from school or 918 00:52:07,680 --> 00:52:10,480 Speaker 1: from home wherever it might be. So it's taken extra 919 00:52:10,480 --> 00:52:15,439 Speaker 1: effort but clearly paid off. And the photos of these 920 00:52:15,440 --> 00:52:18,520 Speaker 1: girls from Skate to Stan have been going viral on 921 00:52:18,560 --> 00:52:21,719 Speaker 1: the internet um over the past year. So thanks to 922 00:52:22,280 --> 00:52:27,000 Speaker 1: a UK photographer named Jessica full For Dobson, who you know, 923 00:52:27,040 --> 00:52:29,759 Speaker 1: went and spent some time and took all these captivating 924 00:52:29,800 --> 00:52:32,760 Speaker 1: photos and at the time that we're recording this podcast, 925 00:52:32,800 --> 00:52:37,239 Speaker 1: at least, they're currently on display in London's Stacci Gallery 926 00:52:37,360 --> 00:52:41,640 Speaker 1: and it was neat hearing full for Dobson talking about 927 00:52:42,520 --> 00:52:45,799 Speaker 1: you know why these images of these girls in particular 928 00:52:46,160 --> 00:52:50,040 Speaker 1: have been so captivating UM. And one of them that 929 00:52:50,080 --> 00:52:53,959 Speaker 1: she talks about was so she describes her as immaculate 930 00:52:54,000 --> 00:52:56,240 Speaker 1: and she is standing there in this photo. She has 931 00:52:56,280 --> 00:52:58,399 Speaker 1: a head scarf on and you know, her arms she's 932 00:52:58,400 --> 00:53:01,000 Speaker 1: like holding her skateboard right up against her in her 933 00:53:01,120 --> 00:53:03,239 Speaker 1: arms down by her side and her legs together. She's 934 00:53:03,320 --> 00:53:07,279 Speaker 1: very you know, standing up straight and yet you know 935 00:53:07,400 --> 00:53:10,279 Speaker 1: she she's holding a skateboard. There seems to be such 936 00:53:10,360 --> 00:53:13,840 Speaker 1: contrast with that and she told the BBC she's only seven, 937 00:53:14,280 --> 00:53:17,280 Speaker 1: but she seems to have such assurance for her age. 938 00:53:17,600 --> 00:53:20,560 Speaker 1: And that's one of the things that the researchers in 939 00:53:20,800 --> 00:53:24,600 Speaker 1: the Gender and Femininity and Skateboarding study found as well, 940 00:53:24,640 --> 00:53:30,240 Speaker 1: that this activity can bring such confidence, especially among girls 941 00:53:30,239 --> 00:53:33,239 Speaker 1: who take it so seriously that they do want to 942 00:53:33,320 --> 00:53:36,080 Speaker 1: learn how to build, take a part and maintain their 943 00:53:36,080 --> 00:53:41,440 Speaker 1: own boards. Learning new skills automatically just breeds a degree 944 00:53:41,440 --> 00:53:44,440 Speaker 1: of confidence no matter what your hobby or pastime is, 945 00:53:44,440 --> 00:53:47,400 Speaker 1: whether it's skating or painting. And that's true too of 946 00:53:47,520 --> 00:53:50,840 Speaker 1: whether you are a girl skateboarding it seems like or 947 00:53:50,920 --> 00:53:54,520 Speaker 1: if you are someone our age or older who's skateboarding, 948 00:53:54,520 --> 00:53:58,440 Speaker 1: and that's something that skate like a girl's. Kristen Ebling 949 00:53:58,880 --> 00:54:01,520 Speaker 1: really drove home when we talk to her about the 950 00:54:01,600 --> 00:54:08,000 Speaker 1: organization and the impact that skateboarding can have on girls. So, now, 951 00:54:08,239 --> 00:54:10,960 Speaker 1: fair listeners, we want to hear from you. Where are 952 00:54:10,960 --> 00:54:14,480 Speaker 1: the skateboarders in our audience? I know you're there. Are 953 00:54:14,520 --> 00:54:16,680 Speaker 1: you listening to us right now on a skateboard? Is 954 00:54:16,719 --> 00:54:20,239 Speaker 1: that dangerous? I have no idea, Mom staff that how 955 00:54:20,360 --> 00:54:23,560 Speaker 1: stuff works. Dot com is our email address, and be 956 00:54:23,680 --> 00:54:26,160 Speaker 1: sure to check out skate like a Girl dot com 957 00:54:26,239 --> 00:54:29,359 Speaker 1: to learn more about that huge things to Kristen with 958 00:54:29,360 --> 00:54:32,640 Speaker 1: a K for talking to us, And if you want 959 00:54:32,640 --> 00:54:34,400 Speaker 1: to tweet us, you can do that at mom Stuff 960 00:54:34,400 --> 00:54:37,480 Speaker 1: podcast or messages on Facebook. And we've got a couple 961 00:54:37,520 --> 00:54:46,000 Speaker 1: of messages to share from you right now. Well, I've 962 00:54:46,000 --> 00:54:48,440 Speaker 1: gotta let her here from just that I want to 963 00:54:48,480 --> 00:54:51,200 Speaker 1: share because she has one of the coolest jobs I've 964 00:54:51,239 --> 00:54:55,680 Speaker 1: ever heard about ever, Caroline, So she writes. I've been 965 00:54:55,760 --> 00:54:57,960 Speaker 1: listening to the podcast for several months now, but this 966 00:54:58,040 --> 00:55:00,680 Speaker 1: is my first time writing into you, guys. I've slowly 967 00:55:00,719 --> 00:55:03,280 Speaker 1: been catching up on the podcast archive, and I recently 968 00:55:03,360 --> 00:55:06,880 Speaker 1: listened to both the Women in Archaeology and Women in 969 00:55:06,960 --> 00:55:10,560 Speaker 1: Firefighting podcasts. I'm writing you because I wanted you to 970 00:55:10,600 --> 00:55:13,640 Speaker 1: know that I do both. I work for the U. S. 971 00:55:13,680 --> 00:55:17,360 Speaker 1: Forest Service as an archaeologist, and wildlife suppression is a 972 00:55:17,400 --> 00:55:20,080 Speaker 1: required part of my job. You might be wondering what 973 00:55:20,120 --> 00:55:23,160 Speaker 1: an archaeologist does on a fire. We're usually part of 974 00:55:23,160 --> 00:55:26,160 Speaker 1: a team of resource advisors who helped the incident commander 975 00:55:26,239 --> 00:55:29,279 Speaker 1: make smart decisions about the cultural resources that may be 976 00:55:29,440 --> 00:55:33,840 Speaker 1: impacted by the fire. We direct bulldozers around archaeological sites 977 00:55:34,200 --> 00:55:38,000 Speaker 1: rap historic structures and fire retardant material and make sure 978 00:55:38,040 --> 00:55:41,120 Speaker 1: the retardant is not dropped on rock art panels. I've 979 00:55:41,120 --> 00:55:44,520 Speaker 1: received all the same training as the other wild land firefighters, 980 00:55:44,800 --> 00:55:47,479 Speaker 1: and I also must pass the same physical fitness test 981 00:55:47,520 --> 00:55:50,160 Speaker 1: each year. It's not something that I ever thought I 982 00:55:50,200 --> 00:55:53,560 Speaker 1: would do as an archaeologist, but I really enjoy it. 983 00:55:53,880 --> 00:55:56,960 Speaker 1: So thanks for doing two excellent podcasts about what I 984 00:55:57,040 --> 00:56:00,360 Speaker 1: do for a living. And thank you just because, seriously, 985 00:56:00,400 --> 00:56:04,279 Speaker 1: that sounds so cool and yet another fascinating example of 986 00:56:04,400 --> 00:56:08,879 Speaker 1: STEM careers. Well, speaking of jobs that people never thought 987 00:56:08,960 --> 00:56:10,600 Speaker 1: they would end up in, I have a letter here 988 00:56:10,640 --> 00:56:14,000 Speaker 1: from Abigail about her father, and this ties in our 989 00:56:14,040 --> 00:56:19,840 Speaker 1: episodes Kristen on interior design and man Caves. So anyway, 990 00:56:19,880 --> 00:56:22,919 Speaker 1: Abigail writes, I just finished listening to your interior design 991 00:56:23,000 --> 00:56:25,440 Speaker 1: podcast and thought you'd like to hear about my father, 992 00:56:25,840 --> 00:56:28,840 Speaker 1: who spent nearly thirty years as a police officer and 993 00:56:28,840 --> 00:56:32,399 Speaker 1: who has turned to interior design and his retirement. When 994 00:56:32,440 --> 00:56:35,040 Speaker 1: my dad retired from the police force in his late fifties, 995 00:56:35,280 --> 00:56:37,640 Speaker 1: he suddenly had way more free time than he'd ever 996 00:56:37,719 --> 00:56:39,440 Speaker 1: had in his life and didn't know what to do 997 00:56:39,520 --> 00:56:42,960 Speaker 1: with himself. He worked security at a local community college 998 00:56:42,960 --> 00:56:45,279 Speaker 1: to earn earn some extra cash and flip through their 999 00:56:45,360 --> 00:56:49,360 Speaker 1: catalog one day to see if anything interested him. Interior 1000 00:56:49,400 --> 00:56:51,400 Speaker 1: design is what caught his eye and he enrolled for 1001 00:56:51,440 --> 00:56:53,839 Speaker 1: the next semester. I talked to him after his first 1002 00:56:53,880 --> 00:56:55,520 Speaker 1: day of class and he told me, yeah, it was 1003 00:56:55,560 --> 00:56:58,000 Speaker 1: a bunch of twenty something women and me the old part. 1004 00:56:58,360 --> 00:57:00,520 Speaker 1: The teacher actually approached me to make sure I was 1005 00:57:00,560 --> 00:57:04,320 Speaker 1: in the right class. My manly man dad enjoyed the classes, 1006 00:57:04,360 --> 00:57:07,880 Speaker 1: designing things like high end kitchens with indoor barbecues and 1007 00:57:07,920 --> 00:57:11,000 Speaker 1: an ultimate man cave with a pool table, giant TV, 1008 00:57:11,239 --> 00:57:15,239 Speaker 1: and several lazy boys. About midway through the program, my 1009 00:57:15,360 --> 00:57:18,200 Speaker 1: dad found a very interesting connection between his former days 1010 00:57:18,240 --> 00:57:21,320 Speaker 1: as a police officer and his new interest of interior design. 1011 00:57:21,640 --> 00:57:25,360 Speaker 1: Designing spaces with a goal of crime prevention. Designers focus 1012 00:57:25,440 --> 00:57:29,120 Speaker 1: on things like visibility, for example, facing reception desks towards 1013 00:57:29,160 --> 00:57:32,280 Speaker 1: doorways and ensuring nothing blocks the view out of windows, 1014 00:57:32,560 --> 00:57:35,440 Speaker 1: and also e grasp and ensuring there are multiple clear 1015 00:57:35,480 --> 00:57:39,000 Speaker 1: paths to exits in general safety like ensuring phones are 1016 00:57:39,040 --> 00:57:41,840 Speaker 1: nearby to call for help. He has now become a 1017 00:57:41,880 --> 00:57:48,000 Speaker 1: certified crime prevention design specialist and volunteers his time to schools, businesses, 1018 00:57:48,000 --> 00:57:51,440 Speaker 1: and even homes interested in designs focused on crime prevention. 1019 00:57:51,800 --> 00:57:54,440 Speaker 1: I thought you might enjoy this perspective. Well, thank you 1020 00:57:54,480 --> 00:57:57,240 Speaker 1: Abigail for tonning in so many of our episodes so well, 1021 00:57:57,280 --> 00:58:01,000 Speaker 1: and forgiving our listeners another career dea. Maybe we need 1022 00:58:01,040 --> 00:58:03,360 Speaker 1: to start the stuff mom Never Told You Ladies career 1023 00:58:03,400 --> 00:58:07,160 Speaker 1: directory for sure, and and retired police officer career directory. 1024 00:58:07,280 --> 00:58:10,120 Speaker 1: Yes indeed. Well, if you have any ideas for our 1025 00:58:10,160 --> 00:58:13,880 Speaker 1: career directory or thoughts on skateboarding, you know where to 1026 00:58:13,960 --> 00:58:17,160 Speaker 1: send them. Mom Stuff at how stuff works dot com 1027 00:58:17,280 --> 00:58:18,880 Speaker 1: is our email address and bri links to all of 1028 00:58:18,920 --> 00:58:21,160 Speaker 1: our social media as well as all of our blogs, 1029 00:58:21,680 --> 00:58:25,440 Speaker 1: videos including that his story interview with Patty McGee, and 1030 00:58:25,600 --> 00:58:28,320 Speaker 1: podcasts including this one with our sources. So you can 1031 00:58:28,400 --> 00:58:31,200 Speaker 1: learn more about the rad women of skateboarding, head on 1032 00:58:31,240 --> 00:58:37,520 Speaker 1: over to stuff Mom Never Told You dot com for 1033 00:58:37,680 --> 00:58:40,000 Speaker 1: more on this and thousands of other topics. Is it 1034 00:58:40,080 --> 00:58:49,080 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com