fier
NEVER QUITTING
I'm almost fifteen,
and I love to skate. I
have a pretty simple
life. I go to school,
and after school, I
basically skate all I
can. I skate for hours
after school. I just
wish skaters wouldn't
ditch me just because
I'm a girl. I try just as
hard as anyone else
and probably harder. I
keep up with skating
too! Like, where a con-
test is, who's in it, you
know, that kind of stuff.
I practice stuff like nose
slides and kickflips, usual-
ly. I also do a little bit of
vert. I basically do my
own thing. I don't copy
anyone. I'm just myself.
My life is going just fine
right now, but I wish that
the "guy" skaters would
talk to me and invite me
to go places with them. I
love skating, and no
matter what anybody
says, I'm not quitting. I
just want everyone to
respect me for what I
like to do, skate.
BAD REPUTATION
Chicks have got a
bad rap for skating
because most of the
time they just sit
there. I don't blame
them. I have been
skating before and
was laughed at by
these guys, then I
felt like shit and
sat down. But after they left, I kept
skating, then some other guys said,
"Hey that's cool." Girls are intimidat-
ed of being laughed at by the guys. I
know because I have low self-esteem,
but at least I'm trying. Chicks also got
a bad rap for being dumb whores.
Sure there are chicks that dress up as
a skater and carry a board just so the
guys will talk to them. I know because
I have kicked some of their asses.
Chances are, they are the ones sitting
down, also giving us girls that bust
our asses learning to skate hard a bad
rap. I'm no pro, but I'm giving it my
all. And to all the skater chicks out
there, it's time to unite and show
those assholes that we can skate.
Chicks aren't always posers.
Sasha Liege
Westminster, CA
SKATER DATER
My name is Lauren, and I am what
Patricia Wodecki you might call a betty. I've been
skateboarding for about two years. I
Lithonia, GA
don't know exactly why I started skat-
ing. But Laurie Rigsby will
always be my hero. I wonder
what she
is doing now. Does she still
skate? Where did she go? Will
ever get to meet her or even
skate with her? I also like Jason
Lee, and Shawn Mandoli ist
quite impressive. I don't think
girls should be scared to skate
with guys. I don't think girls
should skate just to get a mate.
I think girls who don't skate
shouldn't wear skate shoes or buy
skateboards. And whoever that
wanna-be girl in Tell Magazine is,
sucks. Oh yeah, it is about time that
Thrasher did a segment on girls.
Before long, female skaters will have
their own teams, magazines, parks,
videos and clothes, and you will be
left out. Right now we're just using
you and your products. Yep, we've
got it all planned out, and in the end,
we will have absolute gynarchy. Call
me "betty" now, but soon it will be
"Queen Betty.
Sofia Lauren Moberly
Tulsa, OK
PS Don't get me wrong. Guys aren't
bad; it's just girls will rule.
GIRL BROTHER
To all of you skaters who think that
skateboarding is only for guys: You
are wrong. I started skating just last
summer, so I'm not the best skater,
but I can still do the easy things. The
first time I got on my board, I found it
easy, just cruising down the street.
But then when I started to learn how
to ollie, I found it wasn't as easy as it
looked. Now I'm trying to master
kickflipping. I'm hoping that soon I
can land all the ollies and kickflips I
do. The whole reason that I started
skating was because my brother, Rick
Howard, got me into it. Another thing
is there aren't a lot of younger girl
skaters like twelve or thirteen, and I
think more younger and older.
girls should
get into it. What I really want to say is
wake up, guys, it's the nineties-girls
do skate.
Athena Pascal
Vancouver, BC, Canada
WHEEL CHAIRS
Skateboarding may be stereotyped
as for guys only, but there is a reason
for that. I've always been taken seri-
ously by my fellow riders in Phoenix
and Sioux City, because I skate. Many
chicks, however, carry unscratched
skateboards, and when you ask them
to skate with you, a 180° kickflip is a
foreign language. It sucks because
they are there just to get the guy's
attention and to show off their bod
ies. No problem with that,
but lose
those skateboards, babes;
they're made to ride, not to
sit on. But to all the gals who
ride faithfully, like my friend
Shawnee, keep on riding and
show up those other chicks.
Moth
South Sioux City, NE
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