Skater Girls
In the fall of 2002, a catchy punk-pop ballad caught the ear of teenage girls everywhere. The song told the Shakespearian story of two love-struck teens caught in a web of problems. He was a skater boy. She said, “See you later, boy,” and Avril Lavigne turned the pop world upside down with her hit single, “Sk8er Boi.” Girls were ditching pompoms and purses for boards and bruises as the punker lifestyle of action sports began to go mainstream.
Even before the whole MTV fad swept in, there were plenty of non-poser females skating with the boys, simply because they loved the sport.
We sat down with some of the top female skateboarders at the S3 Superjam in Huntington Beach, Calif., to find out how they got into the sport [hint: it wasn’t because of a song].
Gaby Ponce, 17: I was about eight or nine years old, and I thought it would be a cool thing to try. People at my school were doing it. It’s really fun. I pretty much do it every day. It’s a way to get away from [the stress] of other things. It’s just fun.
Lea Taylor, 12: I got into skateboarding because my brothers skateboard. I used to be really bored just sitting at skateboard contests, so I started doing it. It gave me something to do. What I like about skateboarding is the vibe, all the friends, and how much you get to have fun.
Lauren Perkins, 20: They built a skate park by my house a while ago, when I was seven, and it just looked like fun. I was always into action sports [such as] snowboarding and all that stuff. It was just another thing I tried out, and I ended up loving it. I started off surfing, but I don’t really like the water that much, so that ended. I just love skateboarding.
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Skater Girls
In the fall of 2002, a catchy punk-pop ballad caught the ear of teenage girls everywhere. The song told the Shakespearian story of two love-struck teens caught in a web of problems. He was a skater boy. She said, “See you later, boy,” and Avril Lavigne turned the pop world upside down with her hit single, “Sk8er Boi.” Girls were ditching pompoms and purses for boards and bruises as the punker lifestyle of action sports began to go mainstream.
Even before the whole MTV fad swept in, there were plenty of non-poser females skating with the boys, simply because they loved the sport.
We sat down with some of the top female skateboarders at the S3 Superjam in Huntington Beach, Calif., to find out how they got into the sport [hint: it wasn’t because of a song].
Gaby Ponce, 17: I was about eight or nine years old, and I thought it would be a cool thing to try. People at my school were doing it. It’s really fun. I pretty much do it every day. It’s a way to get away from [the stress] of other things. It’s just fun.
Lea Taylor, 12: I got into skateboarding because my brothers skateboard. I used to be really bored just sitting at skateboard contests, so I started doing it. It gave me something to do. What I like about skateboarding is the vibe, all the friends, and how much you get to have fun.
Lauren Perkins, 20: They built a skate park by my house a while ago, when I was seven, and it just looked like fun. I was always into action sports [such as] snowboarding and all that stuff. It was just another thing I tried out, and I ended up loving it. I started off surfing, but I don’t really like the water that much, so that ended. I just love skateboarding.