Eleven Female Skaters We Want Full Video Parts From!
Female pros don’t get the respect they deserve. It makes we want to pull my hair and teeth out then run them over in a big rig. Not one female skater gets even a tenth of the recognition they should get. Industry bigwigs, kids on the internet, and people that run contests, all overlook the great women skaters. They have to try much harder to get any attention from the industry at all, and being a woman in professional skateboarding isn’t a lucrative opportunity. Female skaters have to continually enter contests just to make a living because the winnings are the majority of their income. Sponsors don’t pay very much to people who don’t get much coverage and people who don’t get much coverage don’t get pro models. It seems like the only time you hear female skater’s names is when you’re people are talking about the contest circuit. Kids on the internet judge contest skaters for not allowing themselves to get creative in the streets where skating belongs. So why are women pigeonholed exclusively to that aspect of skating? How do you film a video part if you’re always travelling just to compete? Its impossible. All of these women are amazing skateboarders. As always, in no particular order, (because hierarchy (AND PATRIARCHY) is for chumps!) here are some ladies that kill it, that need to put together a full length part.
1. Leticia Bufoni
Leticia is a certified badass. Voted Brazil’s 2012 Female Skater of the Year, she kills it. She is insanely talented and utterly fearless. At only 19 years old, she has a great barrier breaking career ahead of her. Her last part was Osiris Footwear’s 2008 youth video Children of the Revolution. While this part is sick, (the ollie at Hollywood is awesome,) she has definitely come a long way and needs something more contemporary to display her immense skill.
2. Marisa Dal Santo
Marisa goes hard and she skates fast. She charges big stairs and rails with huge tricks at 1,000 miles an hour. Marisa is truly a force of nature. A tornado of raw power, commitment, love, and talent. Bikini Kill sounds an awful lot like the way she shreds. She won the gold medal in the 2011 X-Games Women’s Street contest. Her most recent part was Zero’s 2010 video “Strange World.” For not even being two minutes long, its one of the best parts in the video.
3. Alexis Sablone
Alexis made a name for herself in the classic (and a personal favorite) video Coliseum Skate Shop’s “PJ Ladd’s Wonderful Horrible Life.” She won the gold medal in the 2012 X-Games Women’s Street contest. With a mastery over both gnar and tech tricks, Alexis skates with a steezy and precise style that is all her own. The last time she had a video part all her own was PJLWHL in 2002. She also had a shared part in The Firm’s 2003 video “Can’t Stop.”
4. Hillary Thompson
Skateboarding’s first transgender skateboarder. Jenkem Magazine just released a really incredible article on Hillary that I will get more into in another post. Suffice it to say that if you don’t click on that link and read it, you are really and truly missing out and I am judging you for it. She skates so well and with such awesome drive, she is unstoppable. No rail or waist high ledge is safe. Hillary releases occasional videos on her YouTube channel, but a full part is a necessary when you see how she destroys every spot she goes to in increments generally under a minute. Her skating is fast and intense, and I wake up every day hoping she’ll have a full length part in a local North Carolina video.
5. Amelia Brodka
Amelia skates vert and transition like a champ! She skates bowls with three feet of vert like its a tech deck in a sink. She also releases short videos on Youtube on her own channel. Every photo or clip of her that surfaces is so rad. Her style is so smooth and steezy. Amelia has a lot of talent and deserves infinitely more attention. She has also just finished directing a film about female skaters and the industry that surrounds them, titled: “Underexposed: A Women’s Skateboarding Documentary.” The documentary also showcases skating by women, so I feel it may be safe to assume some of her footage as well as some belonging to women in this post, is destined for the documentary. Expect it in the near future and be on the lookout for more from Amelia.
6. Lacey Baker
Lacey skates with awesome technical precision. She has so much control, and is an all terrain machine. She rips both street and park, and yet a YouTube search of her name brings up a lot contest videos. Thanks to Girls Skate Network’s YouTube Channel leaving a comment on a video of Lacey, we know she is currently in the process of filming a full street part for Pawnshop Skate Co. Which is the best damn news.
7. Vanessa Torres
Vanessa has a very original approach with her tricks and the spots she shreds. Her style is so smooth and laid back, its like if peanut butter could do killer front boards. Vanessa’s skating is both subtle and in your face. Her most recent part was in Element’s 2007 video “This Is My Element.” It has been far too long since she released a proper street part.
8. Mimi Knoop
Mimi Knoop shreds. She skates fast and with a lot of aggression. She certainly ups the game in vert skating. While she kills it in contests all over the world, she deserves a full video part. Mimi skates so well, and is practically off the radar. Its a crime against humanity.
9. Alana Smith
Alana Smith recently became a household name for being the second girl in history to do a McTwist, and at only 12 years old. Alana kills it, even at such a young age. Shredding both vert and street she has unlimited potential. Her unfathomable skill and powerful style is addictive to watch. She has yet to release a full part, but with any luck, it will happen soon. Because damn.
10. Lizzie Armanto
Lizzie absolutely rips. She has been getting more attention recently, like in this years King Of The Road contest. She also won the Vans Combi Classic in 2010. She skates fast and with a lot of tricks up her sleeve. Her skating is so stylish and refined. There isn’t a lot she can’t do. Just watching her carve around a bowl you know she is destined for greatness. I would watch a full length part of her if it was recorded on a cell phone made in 2004, she kills it.
11. Elissa Steamer
Elissa is amazing. Everything about her is classic: she’s a legend. The fact that she is in sponsorship limbo is insane and unreal. At 37 years old, she still rips. If certain MTV show star/ skate entrepreneurs can put their name on boards and shoes well after they haven’t produced anything worthwhile on a skateboard in years, then Elissa Steamer should get pro model boards, shoes, and anything else she wants for life. If for no other reason than this.
There are so many other unreal female skaters we didn’t get to mention. For more shredding check out:
Underexposed: A Women’s Skateboarding Documentary
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Cutting The Stone 