On September 11, 2021 almost 100 non-traditional skaters came through to participate in an event hosted by Jae Leanne @e_ninethree, and The Harold Hunter Foundation at Fatkid Skatepark. As part of the Harold Hunter Weekend event, from noon to 5pm all skill levels came together to participate in the clinic, try some tricks for a chance to win cash, and product giveaways. We've always loved the community initiatives by HHF as well as Jae Leanne and what a way to celebrate Harold's legacy and NYC. See photos below
Here at Quell, we often talk about Liv Collins and her work with Sk8babes, but when putting together an issue about community there was no one who better defined building a safe and uplifting space in skateboarding. We sat down with Liv to really dive deeper into some of the areas in skateboarding she's most passionate about.
PHOTO BY JAILENE
How did you start skating, and where did you grow up?
I grew up in Milford Connecticut. When I was 18 or 19, my best friend Ang and I decided we really wanted to start skateboarding. In our town, there weren’t any other girls that were skating so it was a scary journey we were facing together. During it we started an Instagram account called Sk8babes and we were able to meet other girls all over the world. We used our page to connect to other skater girls.
Eventually our followers asked us if we make merch and Ang is a graphic design major and then we made shirts. We used the money to have our first skate clinic to invite all the girls we met on Instagram to skate together. We then started to use the platform to continue that and give other people a platform to give other people recognition.
It’s interesting to hear that so many people start from an Instagram. Social media really changed the game. Quell is like the same way but it’s so crazy to see where you start shipping or who contacts you. How do they even know about this?
You talked about how everything was really organic. Was it your intention to start a business?
That wasn’t my intention at all. I was just posting videos on Instagram and I did not think people would like me like that. Ang and I are both art students and having our own aesthetic and creativity is so much fun.
How would you describe Sk8babes? What is your mission?
I guess Sk8Babes could be considered a “brand” now, but I see it as a platform that I use to encourage, empower, and continue to show the progress being made in not only my own skateboarding journey, but with everyone’s. From people who have just started to the ones skating their whole life.
When you started meetups, when did that take shape into a place that you’d be teaching beginners?
It was a mix. We wanted to make sure we made it clear that it was all skill levels so I think we were trying to teach people. A lot of people were intimidated by skating at skate parks so we wanted to give them that chance. On the other hand we wanted to link with the other skater girls we met.
Ang and I made so many friends just through our Instagram and we all had something in common which was that we wanted to skate without feeling judged or like the outsider. By the time we threw our first clinic we had only met about a handful of other girl skaters in person, yet we had met thousands on Instagram. We decided it was time we brought everyone together and have a day where we can all be at the park feeling free and comfortable, finally getting to skate with people we relate to and not just the cis boys at the park.
I have no idea honestly why we went because I literally never leave my house as you know.
The first was mostly people from New York and Pennsylvania.
Oh yeah we went to literally the first one. I’m so happy we went because it’s been like three years.
Right after that you had a sesh at 2nd Nature!
Right. That’s crazy that that was your first one. There were so many girls there in comparison to who was actually in your Connecticut skate scene.
The first skate clinic was the first time I had been around that many skater girls...but the Quell one. So many ages just killing it and girls everywhere.
It’s interesting how many times like these themes of community and Instagram. I don’t know what compels me to go to Connecticut at 5am but I just did and I feel like so many girls will come up to you at your events and be like I’ve never skated in my life and now I’m at your event.
We’ve hosted many events together and you’re always so positive and uplifting.
What do you look to do when hosting skate events?
I just want everyone to have fun and leave feeling like they were at least a little bit better than when they came in. These events are the perfect opportunity to be yourself and try something new without the anxiety that comes from being at a crowded skatepark on an average day
I wanted to talk to you as a NY resident how that’s shifted your mentality as a business and in skateboarding.
In 2018 I started coming to New York on the weekends. It’s so different but in NY every park I go to there are girls there. I have so many friends here now. It’s so much more of a progressive state. I don’t deal with as much bullshit or people don’t let things slide. I think Connecticut will always mean a lot but it was holding me back.
To your point, people are so accepting and nont racist or homophobic.
I haven’t seen any trump stickers around here but in Connecticut even my neighbors have them.
I imagine the difference in being able to express yourself is so much better.
I don’t think I get harassed as much here. There are so many girls who have my back here.
You do use your Instagram to call people out and speak out. I think it’s so important to hold people accountable.
I know I have a good sized platform. I know people see it. I’m so over just letting ignorance go at this point. I don’t want other people to experience the things I’ve experienced in my early days in skateboarding. Misogyny, harassment. If I can protect some girls, I would do it.
How do you translate that to like events or safe spaces?
No sus people are allowed. I have gone out of my way to make sure people do not show up. I want people to know that they’re safe there without judgement.
I think that comes through. You can tell with Sk8babes stuff that we’re all here for each other. If I’m taking up space I get support and if someone else is taking up space, they get support.
Everyone’s struggle is different but we all have similarities in our struggles.
It’s crazy that we’ve talked about so many things but the catalyst of every relationship is through skateboarding. You have a whole business that you don’t have to skate to support. Skateboarding builds friendships.
It’s the coolest thing in the world.
I wanted to talk to you about your list of Black skaters.
Since I started skating, I remember being a young skater girl on Instagram and there were a few girls skate accounts and some are really popular and a lot post these girls to capitalize off them to get their views and likes. One thing I have noticed is that there’s a lack of representation of Black girls on these skate accounts. It’s just crazy to me especially in NY that I know more women of color skating than white girls. So many Black girls are out here killing it and we’re not getting that representation. These accounts have such a huge platform and can make such a huge impact and they chose not too. So I made a list because people weren’t showing them and I wanted to use my platform to make sure they can also have a platform.
That really inspired me to check what we do here and make sure who we’re following. Are we just posting the same three people too? That’s not diversity either. That list really helped me to make sure as someone who runs these platforms that we don’t post the same things again and again.
I’ve always felt this way about girls skater accounts. The lack of representation was not even there until recently like two months ago. I know there are some accounts that have always been diverse. We see you.
I’m white, I have a lot to learn and we have to be accountable to not fall into patterns and these last two months or whatever it is so important as anyone who runs literally anything. Look around you. I am trying really hard not to move forward in life as someone who isn’t aware.
I don’t feel like these accounts were even aware of this situation. Just based off how society is, they may not have even realized they only pick people who look like them. It’s not that great when you have a big platform.
If you don’t see something that looks like you, why would you pick it up. It takes a lot of internal power-which is why I admire you. You didn’t have people around you that did that.
I was definitely sad sometimes about the lack of feminine energy. I love skateboarding so much. There are no more excuses to have a lack of diversity. I know this community is insanely diverse.
To your point, so many people we’ve featured in this magazine aren’t in like New York or LA. They’re making it happen in these not “big skateboarding cities” so there’s no excuse.
I really wanted to empower others because I didn’t have such a welcome experience in skateboarding. There were some points in skateboarding that I was so sad and down on myself.
As we keep talking about community it's just like friend groups. Not every time you skate is a skate meetup. It could discourage you from skateboarding unless you have friends or someone to skate with.
I love hyping people up. I think a lot of these skater boys forget that it took them a long time to get to the point they’re at now. A lot of them forget we weren’t encouraged to skate at a young age like they were. Skateboarding should be about having fun and every time you skate you’re better than the last time.
There’s so much that can stop you from skating ever again.
Can people stop acting like skateboarding is not hard? It obviously gets easier as time goes on and you progress but it’s not an easy thing to do.
You didn’t just wake up like you got this ollie today and this kickflip tomorrow.
People who are really good at skateboarding put in so much effort to be where they are now.
What do you feel like the future of Sk8babes is?
I want to continue to have meetups and put out merch. Ang and I have a lot of ideas with our next line. I want to keep using my platform for good. Keep skating and encouraging others to do their best.
What advice would you give to someone that wants to start skating?
Know that you probably will be intimidated. You might be scared because everyone has to start somewhere.
We’ve mentioned this adage time and time again: When you see someone who looks like you, doing something you want to do it gives you that wave of acceptance to go for your goals. Black Girls Skate is more than an Instagram. They’re re-defining representation and access in the skate space. Whether it’s traditional skateboarding or ice skating, their feed is full of inspiration. We sat down with DJ Gooden and Nicole Humphrey to learn more.
What inspired you both to first start skating?
DJ Gooden: Rocketpower, I loved it when I was younger and I bugged my mom when I was eight to get me a skateboard. A landlord came over one day and came outside and taught me how to ride it like it was nothing. I wanted to be that cool since I saw that.
Nicole: I started cruising about five years ago and was introduced to an ex partner who was excited about it and bought me a skateboard. For the tour we did, I got an actual skateboard and picked up a couple months ago.
Aside from seeing the guy skate, how else did you start progressing? Were you watching videos or going to skateparks?
DJ: Okay so for childhood it was skating around riding for transportation. Recently, I moved to LA and when I lived out there I would get advice from others at the park. I was watching videos and noticing people had different equipment than I had. So then I started to get the right equipment for the skating I wanted to get into for riding bowls.
I wanted to create a place where we could celebrate ourselves
How did Black Girls Skate form?
DJ: Right before I left LA there was a really nice community out in LA who skated– not a lot of people who looked like me but still very friendly and inspirational. When I was looking up what I needed for bowls, I came across Samarria Brevard and was like wow why did it take me so long to stumble upon these professionals. So I started to question, ‘where is the equity in this?’ and I wanted to create a place where we could celebrate ourselves.
I started a social media where I could highlight all these Black and Brown skaters and then earlier I asked Nicole if she wanted to hop on the team. Nicole joined in and it’s snowballed from there.
That’s so awesome. So what are some of the things you guys do with the platform and in person?
DJ: We have Skaters Speak which is a 30 minute conversation where we have skaters to talk about some of the nuances they face in the skate world as well as some of the stuff that they bring to skate to have a positive experience. We also have our care box initiative which is an activation for certain skaters of different levels. It may be a token of appreciation or something they need.
How did the Skaters Speak panel get started?
Nicole: It started three or four months ago. The idea was to build the audience around the platform we have. We were beginning to organize with our seventeen ambassadors and thought it would be cool to create a dialogue between them and some of the other folks that follow our account. What put the fire to it was getting a Reebok representative to activate a campaign around us all about legacy and we were able to use that platform to provide a budget to get guests on and have a conversation. Once our ambassadors got excited about it, we started to plan how often to do it.
With the tour, we’re back to once a month but it lives on IG live as a 30 minute conversation series. We want to grow it into its own series in physical form in a panel with skaters all around the world.
Being able to hear from your ambassadors and speak in your own words is such a powerful step that is missing when you’re just reading an Instagram caption or something like that. How do you pick ambassadors? What does that look like?
Nicole: We launched our ambassadors through an open call on our social media platform. We didn’t know initially what we would do but we wanted to add to our service. Our goal was to pick fifteen and we got over fourty applications. We settled on seventeen out of all the applicants. The ideas were content based but when we started to connect monthly, things started to get really heavy around the world. So we just started to have check-ins and see how everyone was doing and feeling. Some folks were skating, some weren’t. Specifically because we didn’t know how safe everything was. We have an ambassador in the UK, France, all around the world. The goal is to have them to continue our programming.
That’s so cool, I can totally empathize with not understanding where to go next in this environment. I think there are a lot of eyes right now on the Black and Brown community of skating so it’s really cool to have so many perspectives through your platform. What kind of things are in your ambassador boxes? How did you create that idea?
Nicole: DJ wanted to do a meetup for our one year anniversary. Of course with the pandemic we thought more about what we could do now since we couldn’t come together. We thought a lot about the virtual events and we started to think about the educational component: How could we send you gear and have an online event where we teach you how to assemble it? Long story short, that was too much to manage and make it fair to distribute.
The world started to open back up this Summer a little and with that, we felt comfortable to define our own safe social distance practice to distribute these boxes. We didn’t feel like a meetup was safe but we wanted to figure out where to pass these out. Additionally, every supplier was so backed up and it was really difficult to figure out what to offer up. So we thought about PPE and other types of accessories that go with skateboarding.
We really wanted to focus on a wearable, something to inspire you to skate, a Thrasher magazine “Black Skaters Issue”, a face mask. It was a combination of things but it was an idea to create a continuous care box program. We could ship out these accessories and hardware or equipment.
I think that’s such a great idea. The whole root is accessibility and to your point, it’s more difficult to send it out. I’d love to see how that progresses. Specifically this time it was in a tour setting. What was the inception of that?
Nicole: So basically once we decided that we could have a safe way to give stuff away, we started to arrange pop-up events to create a moment in these cities. We were able to drive and use our ambassador crew in various cities to partner with a shop or community group and then name a skate park to take over for some hours. So quickly in New York for example, we did our event at KCDC and they also donated things and let us use their space. We made it collaborative but we had a goal of 100 boxes to give out.
So aside from NY where did you go?
DJ: Atlanta, New York, Philly, Dayton, Chicago
Obviously you picked them surrounding your ambassadors, was that mainly because you were driving or how did those cities stand out?
DJ: I live in Atlanta and Nicole lives in Chicago so those were easy. Then the other cities we had a big ambassador presence. We also did an event with Proper Gnar in Ohio.
What are some of the things you guys are working on for the future?
Nicole: We’re digging in internally. We were able to reflect from the tour on our strengths and areas of opportunities. For the next 4-6 months we’re going to update our roles and our budgets. We can set ourselves up for annual success. We are in the process of the software and hardware side of development. We want to launch products and merch.
We’re also re-defining our ambassador program to bring new ones on. We want to be able to duplicate our programming all around the world.
That’s so important and the fact you can define that is really powerful. When you build that foundation you can action it and it’ll build from there. The boxes are so unique, especially in the women's space as well.
How can people not necessarily in the skate community get involved or support BGS?
DJ: Comments, likes, shares, reviews are so helpful. Financial contributions and networking help. Reaching into our DM’s are ways to reach out and support us whether you're a skater or not. Our needs, wants and goals are evolving so we’re in the process of defining what that looks like too.
We wanted to share all skate styles, not just skateboarding as well. A skateboarder could pick up rollerblades, you never know what is inspirational to them.
There are so many different accounts that are coming to terms with the fact they’re not diverse. You’re obviously doing this from a place that is not performative but impactful or uplifting. What do you look to post on Instagram?
DJ: I look for anything that amplifies someone or is inspirational.
Nicole: We wanted to share all skate styles, not just skateboarding as well. A skateboarder could pick up rollerblades, you never know what is inspirational to them.
I really liked that it’s the definition of skate. Obviously our content surrounds skateboarding but the breadth of everything you post is so cool. How does that translate to the boxes you produce?
DJ: That was some of the obstacles we initially ran into with the sizes of wheels because some wheels go towards certain skaters. As we define our program we can better organize which box goes to which skater.
Why do you feel like it’s important that groups or pages like BGS exist?
DJ: For me, I felt a need for a place to amplify and celebrate ourselves and our accomplishments. A lot of times minority groups go unnoticed. I think it’s very important to let our peers and people outside our communities know these things are happening. I want the younger generation to see that and see people who look like them are doing this and they could do it too and even greater.
The party is packed today with all four chapter leaders of GRLSWIRL NYC joining us to talk about community building in skateboarding. Follow the chapter leaders on Instagram: Kristen, Cai, Windle and Schaab
If you like listening to our podcast please rate us five stars, leave a review, and subscribe wherever you’re listening. If you want us to talk to your favorite skaters, shoot us a message on instagram or via email. Find everything and anything about Quell on quellskate.com or on Instagram @quellskate. As always, thanks for joining the party.
Looking back, we had so much fun at this year’s Exposure competition in Huntington Beach, CA.
Check out this recap video by Joel
The Berrics FINALLY held a ‘Womens’ Battle at the Berrics. After following the contest online, Ruby stopped by for us to check out the final round.
Check out the photos below
Exposure this year was one of the biggest and best yet. The contest drew women of all ages and from all around the world to hang out, skate, and maybe even win some money and prizes. We had such an amazing time chatting with everyone we met, so many inspiring women!
We caught up with some folks and asked them a few questions about the contest.
Alex White
What does exposure mean to you?
Exposure is a long running contest. Exposure in its beginning was because there were no other events– as to give girls literally exposure, get them out there, get them publicity and have a contest for them. It’s evolving now and Exposure means probably quality and bringing in more people. We’re exposing that this actually exists out there and there’s a lot of girl skaters or non-binary skaters that also rip and want a community.
What brings you here?
I come here every year to judge but also i like to come. This is a great contest. There used to be only two women’s contests so this was 1 of 2 not serious contest that you can come and have fun.
What’s your favorite part of all of this?
My favorite part of Exposure is just seeing how much it grows every year and just seeing new talent and new skaters. I also like seeing the events like 30 & over.
Spencer B.
What does exposure mean to you?
Exposure is just a nice way to see all the upcoming girls in skating. I been doing exposure since I was about eight, since when it first came on to just the progression of all the girls now and all the new little girls who are just killing it.
What brings you out here?
I’m just here because I like this contest. It feels like a community and not competitive and I really like that energy. I get to see all my friends that skate
Who was your favorite skater of today
Probably Ruby because she did a 540 on the vert ramp.
Nora Vasconcellos
What does exposure mean to you?
Exposure is probably the premiere girls event that we have going, and the most important part about it I think is just having the younger generation here. There are a lot of options for girls who are just learning and getting into their first contest.
What brings you here today?
I am just getting to watch my friends, that brings me back every time.
Who was your favorite skater today?
Nicole Hause, because of her big air on the vert got to watch her shred. She’s coming back from a knee injury so it’s cool to see my friends healthy and skating
Arianna Carmona
What does Exposure mean to you?
Exposure is my favorite contest of the year. I like that it’s all girls and we’re just supporting each other the whole time and it’s just a really fun event.
Why do you come what brings you here?
I been doing the contest for the past few years, since the beginning. I’m really happy that it’s here at Huntington this year because i really like this park and it’s so much fun.
Do you think that it’s important that there are events like exposure that cater primarily to women?
I think it really empowers a lot of younger girls who have never done a contest before to enter. This a greater starter contest because it’s not as serious park series or anything else it’s just a really fun time.
This year, was a special year in women’s skateboarding in general. It’s the year that skateboarding contests really started to “mean” something due to Olympic qualifying events. We’ve seen an insane amount of talented women coming from all over the world to compete in these events. However, long before the Olympics were on the horizon for skateboarding, Amelia Brodka saw a lack in exposure for women skateboarders and sought to fix that with the Exposure Contest and Non-Profit.
Exposure brought a lot to the table this year. The contest changed locations to the Vans Skatepark in Huntington Beach, CA, had a record setting prize purse ($60k with each top 3 finalist getting money, and each category earning the same amount), and had a large amount of international competitors.
The thing that stood out the most to me was the general positivity and communal vibes that literally oozed out of every moment I experienced. From an outside perspective, you would almost think it was a skate jam, without any pressure, just a whole lot (150+) of friends, getting together to skate. The only way you could really tell a contest was going on was by hearing the commentary on the microphone (I happened to have preferred most when Amelia was on the mic).
I’m mentioning this because I think this year marked a notable turning point at Exposure as it was no longer one of the only contests for a woman to attend. During a time of intense Olympic qualifying events, I think Exposure was more impactful to skateboarding as a passion and a community. There was not a competitive vibe in the air for the entire weekend. It was truly a celebration of a love for skateboarding. After watching other contests, I can’t tell you how refreshing this was for me, and I think… for the women competing.
Take a peek into the weekend with the photos below…
We had the opportunity to chat with Sasha Rainbow about her short documentary Kamali ahead of the NYC screening at The General by Vans on Wednesday October 30th.
Seven-year-old Kamali is the only girl skateboarder in a small fishing village in India where, by chance, a skate ramp happened to be built right outside her house. Kamali is youngest of three generations of women living together in her home.
Suganthi, Kamali’s timorous mother, was locked away as a child until the day she was married. Having recently found the courage to leave her abusive husband, Suganthi decides to take a pilgrimage in a quest for self-discovery. As mother and daughter are separated for the first time, both must find their freedom as they dare to step outside into a man’s world.
When did you first start skateboarding? What drew you to it?
It was the longest day of the shoot for the music video I was shooting in India with the new girl skate movement happening there. All the girls hadn't arrived till lunch time so we'd lost half a day (so shot some top shots with the guys on their boards disguised in Saree's) We missioned through the afternoon until the sun went down, exhausted, then prepped for our night shoot.
I had planned for us to have this epic flaming sign that burned "ALPHA FEMALE" (the name of the song) above the skatepark, so when the guy organising it arrived with chicken wire, rope and a can of petrol, I made a split second decision, to either freak out, or to skate. I hadn't been on a board since I was 13, but on borrowing a board, found myself doing a pendulum up and down the ramp. People asked me if I had done it before. I hadn't. When we were ready to shoot, the flame sign was pretty pathetic and fizzled out quickly but we shot it slow mo so it was passible.
After that night I felt so good that as soon as I got back to London I bought myself a second hand board.
How do you think skateboarding, specifically as a woman, has influenced your approach to filmmaking?
I think skateboarding has made me more gutsy all around. I was at an age (30) where I was the least in touch with my body than I'd ever been.
Skateboarding linked my body and mind again and made me feel less fear of falling/failing - because it was inevitable. It also made me feel bolder, because of the way the outside world responds to a woman on a skateboard. From pity to pride, the messages I've got have all helped me really not give a fuck what anyone else thinks; I'm doing me.
What was your first reaction when you met Kamali on that trip to India for Wild Beast’s ‘Alpha Female’ video?
Boredom shifted to elation. It's rare to meet someone who has this 'X factor'. Who knows what the hell that even means, but when you witness it, you know it exists. She existed in that moment in total purity.
When did you decide that Kamali needed a film of her own?
Kamali and her mum stayed with us in our accommodation after leaving their village for the big city for the first time. They took my room and I shared with my producer and we all got to know each other well over a few days. Kamali was so much fun to hang with, but It wasn't until we interviewed her mother Suganthi, that we knew there was a story that we had to tell.
What is it like to work with Kamali and her family?
I wouldn't have called it work on our part, but on theirs! They told me later they had thought we were coming to do a cute little content piece on Kamali skating, and had no idea we'd be with them 24/7, some days from the moment they woke up, till when they went to bed. It was hard on their routine, but they were open and generous with us and we became part of the daily fabric of their existence, eating with them, picking Kamali and her brother up from school, weekend trips to the village and so forth. I pushed Suganthi and her family to talk about things they hadn't confronted together, so kudos goes their bravery for sharing their world with us.
What do you hope that people will take away from the film?
I hope any woman in an abusive relationship is inspired by Suganthi to walk away from it. I hope little girls see Kamali and become interested in skating. I hope adults bringing their boys and girls up with gender ideology see Kamali as a role model for what can happen when girls are allowed to follow their passions.
We know that Kamali’s story has already touched many people, inspiring people in India and beyond to break gender barriers - how do you think that skateboarding specifically can help more people like Kamali break barriers in their culture?
In places like India, Afghanistan and Cambodia where organisations such as Skateistan are introducing skateboarding, it hasn't been claimed as a male only sport yet. Where girls might not be allowed to engage in other activities, this one is unclassified. Every time someone in India (or anywhere) sees a girl fall over and pick herself up again, unscathed, something in their consciousness shifts. It comes down to breaking these stereotypes; that girls will have less 'value' if they hurt themselves (like a broken piece of chine, an object), and that anyone could do something just for 'fun.' In Kamali's case, girls in her village are now being allowed to try skateboarding because their parent's have seen the positive effects on Kamali, who is now starting to teach them.
Beyond just gender, how have you seen skateboarding used as a tool for social impact through your work with Kamali and Skateistan?
The actual skate space brings people together; misfits from all ages, genders and social classes; skateboarding is an individual activity with a huge emphasis on community. But I don't know if I can add anything to what you've probably heard before. I'd just say grab a board and try it for yourself sometime. As Channy from Holystoked Collective in India said..."when you feel the wind in your hair, and you're flying, there's nothing like it. And when you fall and injure yourself, you know you're alive."
Watch the trailer below and join us on Wednesday in Williamsburg, Brooklyn to watch the film!