4
So you're a girl and you ride. It's bad enough to be
over 10 and riding a skateboard, but to be a girl, over 10
and riding, one must assume you are regressing.
My boss thinks I'm going through a fad.
My mom is stoked, but I see here wringing her hands
In front of the window.
My dad can't grasp the lingo.
My boyfriend is relieved he doesn't have a Betty whin-
Ing to go home 'cause she's cold and bored.
When I first started riding ramps, this guy in South
Carolina told me, "Girls will never make it in skating cause
they're too afraid of falling on their boobs." Well, I've yet
to fall on my boobs. The only damage done is when some
flailer sketches out and pops me one.
April Hoffman at one of the many contests held at
Del Mar
Babs, of San Jose, well known for her hospitality,
shows some low rotational controlled style as she
skims the ground.
I'm supposed to be writing an article about girl skaters.
Only problem is, in 3 years I've only met three...Gigl
Gits, Dee Dee Devine and Trish Wright. Gigi and I were
roomies, skate buds and True Devotion partners. Six
months ago she began following the Grateful
Dead...(Hey, Geeg, if you're out there, your dad misses
you, keep skatin' and c'mon home, huh?) Dee Dee lives
in Cal. and does freestyle. Trish lives in PA, rides vert
and streets. The latter two I only met once, so I can't
really speak for them.
I remember when I met Trish at the Trashmore pro con-
test, I was hangin' with some friends from South Carolina.
I looked over and saw this girl with a 'knee pad suntan.'
Instinctively, I looked at her shoes and, alas, I saw worn
duct tape. I was way stoked.
Ya know, I hear of girls who skate, I search for them, I
go to their ramps and never see them. It's a drag. I travel
a lot to skate new terrain and at first I expected to see
girls here and there, but I never do. I don't expect it any-
more. About the closest I get is some punk rock chick
with army boots "oo-ing" and "ahh-ing" as she stands
on some dude's board. That's kind of an insult to me.
Stephanie Person
That's a Betty! I mean, some of us girls are out here giving
it our best shot. Bedford over there thinks it's all a big
joke... Well, it is kinda funny and I guess I have to laugh.
Then there was this other chick. She started skating
'cause her boyfriend did. She could do fakies. She got
drunk during a session and decided to drop in. I'll give
her credit for having guts. She sprained her ankle. A few
weeks later I was told she said she was gonna shred me
at the next contest. Her boyfriend shined her and she
doesn't ride anymore.
I really don't know why there aren't more girls into
skating. I think it's because at 15, most girls are worried
about their hair, clothes and guys. By the time they are
my age, they're wired into the Bedford scene.
One of the E.C.T.T.ers once said he was glad his
girlfriend didn't skate because it wasn't feminine. Skating
is a sport. It may not be cultured and standardized with
formalities, but devoted skaters are athletes. I don't con-
sider myself unfeminine because I pursue an aggressive
sport. I admit that wearing knee pads and a helmet is not
feminine...but this is not a health spa and I'm not out
there to impress anyone.
59