Zorah Olivia comes to the party to talk photography, shifting creative focus during the pandemic and really really really missing her friends.  Zorah also gives us the dreamy power playlist we need– listen on Spotify.

Thanks for joining the party. We’ll be back every other week. If you like Quell Party please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Please rate us five stars on Apple Podcasts, leave a review, and most importantly– share us with a friend. Theme song: Jupiter by The Marias

You can find anything Quell on quellskate.com or on all socials at quellskate . You can find Zorah on Instagram and fan over her portfolio

Illustration by Rachel Hess

Injuries in skateboarding are inevitable. The recovery process is one filled with anxiety and impatience because we all want to get back to what we truly love. But as we're sidelined from skating, we all deal with it in our own way. Hannah Lee discusses a different approach to curing the mental blocks of healing.

I’ve always found skateboarding to be a form of meditation. During the summer months of COVID-19, I’d ride my skateboard for long stretches of time, focusing only on my breath and the present moment to cope with stress. The more I moved the calmer my mind seemed to be. 

That is, until I fell.

I was speeding home to beat the rain when my skateboard came to a very sudden standstill and my body did what high school physics taught me as the only natural result – it went flying. After a trip to urgent care (where the doctor rather unprofessionally gasped with mortification at my wounds), I hobbled back home with bandaged legs and a recommendation that I see a plastic surgeon.

Over the next few days, I kept replaying the accident in my head, thinking of how I might have avoided it. I bounced between strategizing how I might heal faster and despairing at how permanent the damage could be. Illness, injuries, and other physical setbacks can force us to zoom in on the limitations of our health and the vulnerability of our wellbeing. When I realized that the state of my mind was contributing to the pain of my injury, I turned to my Buddhist practice to heal myself both physically and mentally. Here are some Buddhist principles that helped me cope.

BREATHE

Every time I had to clean and re-dress the raw skin on my knee and leg, I would swallow a scream and wince at the piercing pain. Control of my breath, a practice that is at the heart of meditation, helped me resist the urge to give that pain complete power over me. We may not have control over many different sufferings in our lives but we will always have control over our breath. 

Meditation and breath work also helped me process negative thoughts and feelings of disappointment, frustration, and sadness that came with my injury. By focusing on every conscious and intentional inhale and exhale, I was able to simply observe what I was going through and recognize there was room to be kind and patient with these emotions.

REDISCOVER YOUR COMMUNITY

In the days following my accident, I found myself obsessed with doing everything in my control to heal faster and get back to skateboarding as soon as possible. I’d stay up late searching Youtube for videos on –

“How to heal scars quickly”

“How to dress deep abrasions” 

“How to avoid infection from open wounds”

The videos were helpful but it was the comment section of each video that lifted my spirits. 

“Completely scraped my back from a motorbike accident! Thank you for the helpful tips.”

“I got road rash from falling off my skateboard. The pain is a real bitch!” 

“So scared that I’ll have scarring from my bike accident :( Thank you for sharing this video.”

I had turned to Youtube for hacks on how to undo the damage of my accident. Instead the comments helped me grow more comfortable with the prospect that my body could sustain permanent damage, and knowing that others are going through similar experiences. Buddhism reminds us that we are never alone in our sufferings. Our pains are never unique and we can take comfort in knowing that we can turn to a community of people who have experienced the same thing. 

REMEMBER THAT CHANGE IS CONSTANT

In Buddhism, we are continually reminded that change is constant. While we may be suffering in the present, that state of suffering will change. As it relates to injuries, our relationship with our physical pain will not be the same months or years into the future. Our attitudes will change. Our lifestyles may change. Even our injuries may change as a result of time. In short, nothing is forever. 

Three months later, when I got back into the rhythm of skateboarding again I found that I was much braver than I had been before. I was a lot more conscious of my surroundings, my body, and my mind. My injury taught me to trust myself again and I found a new desire to skateboard more consistently and confidently. 

Like Buddhism, skateboarding is a practice. The more you do, the more you learn and grow. In the act of practicing, you can face challenges and setbacks but it is important to remember that these contribute to a renewed appreciation of the process and a better understanding of your own self. Don’t get me wrong, injuries suck. However, in skateboarding – they’re inevitable. And yet, we can shift our perceptions so that they don’t define our experience or impede our joy. 

This entry was submitted to Quell by Hannah Lee

Want to write for Quell? Email us at submit@quellskate.com

When we met Joana Fongern a couple years back, we were instantly captivated by her warm and friendly energy. It wasn't until we started seeing her beautiful color blocked designs at the park that we had to dig a little deeper. Those designs were part of Joana's line, Nayf and Wavey, a clothing line as individualistic as the founder.

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Where did you grow up?

I grew up all over the place, mainly in Germany and Austria. I was born in Frankfurt, but my parents and I moved to the south of Germany when I was 9 years old. That didn’t last long and our journey led us to a small town in Austria. That’s where I actually grew up because we lived there for the next 10 years.

How did you start skateboarding?

When I turned 25 and I moved to New York City I finally decided to pick something up I always wanted to do –skateboarding. I had never skated, because of a) I was afraid of doing it by myself or b) I didn’t know anyone that did it. I started watching the X Games on my lunch break, listened to Nina Moran's Ted Talk, and followed The Skate Kitchen on Instagram and finally got the courage to a skateboard.

Everything got me so hyped that before Christmas, I went to Labor Skateshop and bought my very first set-up. One thing led to another, I met my best friends at The Skate Kitchen event, became part of Late Skate.

What made you want to pick up the skateboard?

Skateboarding had always something very intriguing, creative, charming, and provoking to me. I remember when I did my exchange year in an American high school all my male friends were skaters. I was so intrigued by it because I wanted to learn it too, but I did not know-how. Someone even gave me his skateboard as a present and I pushed on the front porch of our house, but I stuck to playing soccer because that’s what I was good at.

Moving to my dream city, New York, was a new chapter in my life. This meant: trying out long desired dreams. As I said before, skateboarding has always been something I wanted to pick up. Everything spoke for itself (laughing). The boss I interned for, was a skater from back in the day. As I mentioned I watched a lot of X Games footage, saw a bunch of people skating down the street, one of my friends I met told me about The Skate Kitchen AND they happened to have a girl’s skate meet up exactly on that day when I looked them up. I mean, what are the odds (laughing).

The feeling of freedom and curiosity were definitely the reason why I picked up the board.

I always wondered how it must feel to skate down New York City’s streets with a bunch of people - and man I can say, this is one of the best feelings I’ve had. The feeling of freedom and the feeling that the world belongs to you - INCREDIBLE.

If it wasn’t for skateboarding I wouldn’t have all the amazing and creative people around me, I wouldn’t know what empowerment and community feel like. Skateboarding gave me friends, confidence, and a feeling of belonging.

What inspired you to keep skating?

I can definitely say that the feeling of freedom and community are two of the main reasons why I still skate. If it wasn’t for skateboarding I wouldn’t have all the amazing and creative people around me, I wouldn’t know what empowerment and community feel like. Skateboarding gave me friends, confidence, and a feeling of belonging. It gives me a purpose in life to pass on this feeling and it definitely created a lot of possibilities for me. 

We met because you skated with Late Skate. How did you meet them? 

I met Natalie, Aryam, Liv, Skylar, and Luna at my very first girl’s meet-up and they were all so welcoming and loving. We exchanged numbers and soon Natalie invited me to go skateboarding with them at Fat Kid. I was SO NERVOUS because this was my first time being in a skatepark.

At Fat Kid, I met other members of Late Skate and from this day on we hung out all the time. I am still so happy that I went to the girl’s skate night because man those ladies are some crazy and creative people with the best personalities I wouldn’t wanna miss out on.

How has being part of a community influenced your skating?

First, I have to say that I have never really skated outside of a skateboarding community because I was lucky and met incredible people. Second though, due to the pandemic, I skated by myself a few times and I can definitely say that my skateboarding didn’t improve. So, I think that the element of community has influenced my skateboarding in so many ways. Through the community feeling, I dared to try new tricks and conquer my fears which I would have never done if I skated by myself.

Also, it has influenced my creativity of skateboarding - I have some friends that push me to think a bit more creative when trying to skate new things or a line. That makes me really happy.

How did you get to New York?

After I graduated with my Masters, I applied for a lot of fashion design internships in New York City. Half a year later, I got an internship, received my visa approval and was able to move. I only planned to stay for 6 months, but I got another internship approved so I stayed a little over a year. 

You’re an incredible fashion designer. How did you start designing?

AWWW! Thank you so much! During High School my friend and I started to draw clothing designs but I didn’t imagine that this would be my livelihood someday. I would say I have always enjoyed fashion, loved to sketch and illustrate, but did I know how to use a sewing machine (not to mention a hand needle)? NO (laughing). This led me to my decision to study fashion design and through school I learned everything from scratch. I developed my skills throughout my BA and MA.

How did you start your line, Nayf and Wavey?

The journey started with my master’s collection but under another name. It was more a project than a serious business at that time. One, because I wasn’t at this point where I could a 100% identify myself with my project. And two, I moved to New York City after my program was done to gather experience. Hence, I paused my brainchild.

After I have returned from the Big Apple, I finally found myself, my ‘style’, and the missing identification for Nayf and Wavey. The whole New York City journey, the people, and skateboarding inspired me to start my project. 

I want to create beautiful pieces for everybody to feel comfortable and empowered in it - express feelings, tell stories with it but also give room for people to speak up.

What is your goal with Nayf and Wavey?

Nayf and Wavey is a multicultural womxnswear brand that celebrates intersectional feminism through diversity, inclusivity, and gender self-determination. My goal is to empower my friends, womxn, non-binary, and their peers. It’s for everybody. I want to create beautiful pieces for everybody to feel comfortable and empowered in it - express feelings, tell stories with it but also give room for people to speak up. In the future, I would love to have another side project with Nayf and Wavey that focuses on teaching skateboarding young kids, create creative workshops, and build a platform that creates room for socioeconomic, political, and social-critical topics that educate and break boundaries.

 How has COVID19 impacted your business?

COVID-19 has luckily not impacted my business in a bad way, as my brand is still a side project and I can’t fully live off it – yet. The pandemic to a greater extend led me to the production of community masks with the donations of 1€ per mask to great humanitarian organizations. The past three weeks have been crazy with taking orders, sewing, packing, and sending out as I am a one-woman business.

You’ve been making masks for your community. First of all, that’s so awesome. Second, do you feel like you have a responsibility to do that? How did that idea start?

I did not feel like I had the responsibility to sew community masks, but with my sewing skills, it would have been dumb not to take action! As a matter of fact, my friend and my parents actually led me to the idea as I lost both of my jobs due to COVID-19. The community masks are not only a good income source to invest in my brainchild, as this allows me to work on new ideas and projects, however, it also allowed me to collect donations for humanitarian organizations that help people in need. 

Do you feel like there’s a connection to artists and skateboarding?

Definitely! Most of the people that I know are artists and work in the creative field. I have friends that work in the fashion industry, are painters, graphic designers, or work in the film and music industry. Personally, I get inspired through skateboarding, and while I skate. I get a deeper connection and understanding of my creativity. Skateboarding not only is an outlet for creativity but it is also a tool to break boundaries and I think that most of the people take the influence from it, transfer it to their art, and bend boundaries through their projects. So yes, there is a connection between artists and skateboarding.

How do you express your creativity in skateboarding?

I express my creativity in the way how I dress while I skate and my style of skateboarding. Ever since I have started skating I can 100% say that I truly found my way of expressing myself.

Follow Joana to see more skating and fashion content
Shop the newest Nayf and Wavey here

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.

Beatrice Domond joins us to talk pandemic worries, twitter, horoscopes and zinemaking. We also chat Supreme, FA and her skate setups.

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.

2020 is showing us that it is important to have the tough conversations. Consent is Rad is a skater-led initiative promoting the discussions around asking for consent. Rapper, K-May is the latest one to lead the charge.

By Indigo Willing

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Rapper and filmmaker Kayla Cosgrove aka K-May is no stranger to challenges and real talk. She takes her music and performs lives regularly busking in the streets of Fortitude Valley in Brisbane, Australia, where locals like to party hard. She also skates in a city scene that has long been dominated by boys and men. Despite most of the dudes being super chill, women can still stand out and it is not always easy to speak out when things become sketchy, especially on the issue of sexual harassment, assault and consent. But for a rapper, words are Kayla’s magical superpower. Her killer-smooth rapping, and a background in filmmaking have both been activated for her recently released new single “Don’t Touch” and a campaign series of short films under the same title, done in collaboration with Consent is Rad.

Consent is Rad was introduced to skateboarders and researchers at the Pushing Boarders skate conference last year in Malmo, Sweden and launched the website to celebrate its first anniversary. The campaign features men, women, non-binary and gender non-conforming skaters of all backgrounds promoting the message #ConsentisRad. Always on the look-out for collaborations that can positively share healthy messages about consent cultures (and countering negative and harmful forms of rape culture) individuals are welcome to DM Insta @consent_is_rad.

With an educational focus and DIY philosophy, the campaign aims to normalise the topic of consent and how to communicate and practice it, rather than naming, shaming or blaming. Fostering a global approach, it was co-founded by myself, Evie Ryder, Tora Waldren, Millie Miljevic and other crew in Brisbane, Australia joining up various overseas collectives and individuals. This includes  Pushing Boarders, Girls Shred, Girl Skate India, The Skate Witches, Skate Like a Girl, Las ChicAZ, Girls are Awesome, Skateism, Lucy Adams, Ryan Lay, Rick McCrank, Bing Lui and Kiere Johnson, Peach Sorenson, Leyla G Leon, Annie Guglia and more.  

Kayla is the first time music has been included and the result includes the online single Don’t Touch (search for K-May on Facebook for links to it on Spotify, Apple and Soundcloud) and four short videos featuring interviews she filmed with musicians and skaters (incl. Jaiden Lal, Tom aka Prof Paul, Georgia Inch, Jashka, Danny Vincent, Adele Pavlidis, myself and more). The theme of consent, skating and healthy communication is something close to Kayla’s heart. Asked what she loves about skateboarding, she states, “The clarity it gives me honestly…I finally got on the board and after I just couldn't believe how clear my head was. It was like skating and being present in that time. Completely cleared my head full of all the anxieties and thoughts that were in it. I also just like being around like the girls and pushing barriers of fear too”.

“…You’re in this trusted space and you've started sending me like weird stuff. That, and the general patterns to leading to intimacy. At some stage they have to ask what’s OK”

-Kayla Cosgrove

 Explaining some of the overlooked issues of consent she explains, “a lot of women that go skating with somebody and then that guy or person hits on them. They can sometimes feel really disappointed, like I thought they were a homie. Or like yeah, you’re in this trusted space and you've started sending me like weird stuff. That, and the general patterns to leading to intimacy. At some stage they have to ask what’s OK”. She points to how projection can also be a problem explaining, “it can be all made up in your mind as well, like these fantasies and then like, bringing them into reality needs mature conversations around attraction and knowing your own and other’s feelings, and also boundaries”.

Kayla also shared her thoughts on digital recordings and intimacy, and abuse of that. When permission is not sort on photos and videos or if they are done coercively, then that it is non-consensual and a form of abuse. Offering advice to others, she points to how “If someone is really like trying to guilt trip me, like if they are playing with my emotions, then that's a huge red flag”. In terms of intimacy in general, she continues, “follow your intuition. Be absolutely OK with saying no, and even if you do feel awkard emotions, that's normal. You might feel bad saying no but you are doing the right thing”. She also proposes we could all do with more practice just communicating the issue, “Like what does consent sound like? Things like would you like to go further? Would you like this? What would you like? I like that very much. Or, I would like just a hug. Or I'm totally fine with this, and making sure the person is all for it”.

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 Catch her 4 part video series at her Insta @pronouncedkaymay

Photographer for Kayla Cosgrove pic:  Elliott Busch

Photographer for Kim Woozy, Rick McCrank and Attita Veghese : Indigo Willing

Photograph Indigo / supplied by author

We jump into our skate time machine this week with skateboarding's historian- Kevin Marks, founder of Lookback Library. 

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.

We kick it with total badass Shanae Collins (or more known as Sheezy @yeahsheezy) for this week's episode of Quell Party. We talk about some deep stuff like homophobia, therapy and just finding your true self– as corny as that might sound. Listen to her rockin' playlist created for Quell Party on Spotify now.

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.

Meeting of the media minds, Adrian sits down with Sarah from Yeah Girl Media to talk about creativity in skateboarding and running a skate platform. Listen to her playlist created for Quell Party on Spotify now.

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.

Photo by: Marilena Vlachopoulou

We’ve always been huge fans of the brand Doyenne. Founded in 2017 in Glasgow, Scotland, the anonymous duo produces a genderless clothing brand while maintaining ethical and local production. Doyenne has trickled into the states a bit, and we’ve always been proud to support their pursuit of equality and unity. We sat down to talk to them more about what’s been going on on the other side of the pond.

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How was Doyenne started?

Doyenne started when we realized there weren't many skateboarding brands that supported skaters like us and there was a general lack of representation of womxn, LGBTQI+ and disabled skaters. We wanted to create a brand that would support the unsupported and represent the underrepresented, and so we did. 

What is the skateboarding scene like in Glasgow? 

It is a small and pretty tight scene, which can be pretty daunting if you are not a “local”. Since we have started Doyenne and organised our beginners session we have seen a massive difference in the scene, it’s bigger and more diverse now. Some started from our sessions and some other new skaters just saw others like them doing it and started too. We don’t realise how radical can be just only the act of being in a skatepark as a minority. 

How have you been able to expand your brand outside of your local community?

Doyenne is a community that anyone can belong to, no matter where they are in the world. Social media has been a very useful tool to expand our community and we have been traveling and organised events and skate sessions in many different places and hoping to do much more of that in the future. We also have worked with organisations and charities from Palestine to Cambodia, and we are in touch with many other communities around the world. 

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“The very existence of Doyenne is based on the need for inclusivity. “

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How does Doyenne establish inclusivity in fashion and skateboarding? 

The very existence of Doyenne is based on the need for inclusivity. 

We started our brand with minorities in mind on a mission to make clothing regardless of gender, whilst donating part of our profit to charities. Through our platform, we created a space where our community can feel empowered, connected, and represented. We understood that you can't have diversity without equal opportunities. That's where our free beginners' lessons came to be, providing a safe space for people to learn how to skate and meet like-minded people. Within the years, we have collaborated with a number of creatives coming from very different backgrounds and touching on the themes of sexuality, mental health, LGBTQ+ experience, and disabilities. From a fashion perspective, Doyenne is for everyone that shares the same value as we do. Our clothes are genderless, ethically produced, and our sizes are accessible (the next collection will have a XXS - 4XL sizing) 

Most of our campaigns feature friends and folks from our community, as we think that they are the real representatives of what Doyenne looks like.

Our brand establishes inclusivity by questioning ourselves and our environment, but most importantly opening conversations with our community and taking the time to listen.

Walk us through the beginnings of Doyenne to the brand now?  How has your focus shifted? What have you learned? What have you changed? 

We have started Doyenne focusing on womxn in skateboarding but very quickly understood that was not enough representation for other marginalised communities so we grew towards being more intersectional in everything we do. We learnt how to look at things from different perspectives and ask ourselves how, from our small platform, we can help with the problems that our community face. Mostly, we listen to people and learn from them.  We still have a lot to learn and we are grateful for all the people that promote awareness and talk openly about what is wrong that most of the time our privilege obscures.

How has COVID19 impacted your business? 

We’ve been home for a long time and we have not been able to organize any beginners sessions or events which are our way to bring people together. We tried to find ways to keep the connection with our Doyenne x Everyone Isolation project and with social media, waiting for the day things can go back to normal. We have been slowed down in production and collections have been delayed, but we still had great support from our community during these times which we are so grateful for.

Your color choices are always bright and seem very intentional. What is the emphasis on color if any?

You caught us, colors combination are definitely our forte. We think that colors are incredibly powerful tools to communicate and there’s so much potential to play with that. Since Doyenne represents who is often not visible in the community we felt that wearing something  that makes you shine brighter than anyone else is a pretty empowering move. You’ll see the Doyenne colors come through the grey concrete wherever you go. 

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“There are no such things as prejudice or judgment in nature and this allows a sense of freedom that is hard to find elsewhere.”

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Tell us about your new collection. What goes into the design process? Was there any specific design or graphic focus with this ?

Our new collection “Come as you feel”, as the title suggests, it’s an invitation to simply be ourselves unapologetically. The main inspiration for this season has been the natural landscape and the authentic spontaneity that comes with being immersed in it. There are no such things as prejudice or judgment in nature and this allows a sense of freedom that is hard to find elsewhere. Our design process took a lot from this sentiment, the collection features very earthy tones, paired with a brighter palette symbolising the rebirth of nature and prints promoting acceptance.

You’re producing your first series of Doyenne boards. How did that decision come about? What are the boards featuring? How was that process?

We have been wanting to produce boards since the start, we were trying to figure out how to do it locally and more sustainably. As a skater, the board you decide to skate is a commitment and we all want to skate boards and brands we support, and we feel the support should be reciprocal. One of the graphics on the boards is the illustration part of our Doyenne x Everyone project where we asked our community to design something with the theme of Unity during the COVID-19 lockdown, and picked the one we felt resonated better with the theme and brand aesthetic. It was great to see all the submissions and showcase them through our platform and be able to involve everyone in the design process. 

What do you see for the future of Doyenne? 

We see Doyenne growing and blooming, because us and everyone around us is growing and blooming too. This is a very new and revolutionary chapter for skateboarding and we are so happy to be part of it. We also see a more sustainable future, for the world and our brand will work towards it and alongside it. 

Photo by: Dominic Manderson

Tell us more about Across the board?

Across the Board is our brand giveback to the community. We have been organising beginners skateboarding sessions in Glasgow for three years now, donated to many charities and collaborated with many artists. Everything we put into our brand was in order to be able to give back, and so Across the Board is a project that will let us expand this more worldwide and literally “across the board”. 

Do you feel like there’s a connection to artists and skateboarding? How do you express your creativity in skateboarding?

Skateboarding is a creative engagement of the body and mind and art is the same. We believe that often art and skateboarding connects through the same feeling of freedom of creation and with seeing inventive potential in mundane objects to turn them into something completely different from the original purpose. Personally, we think that there’s been too many rules within the way people should skate (push mongo if you like it, fuck it!) and we think breaking those rules are creatively redefining what skateboarding can be. 

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Follow Doyenne Skateboards here
Shop Doyenne here

We talk to Charlotte Tegen about creativity in skateboarding and the creation of her skate brand, Housewife Skateboards.  Listen to her playlist created for Quell Party on Spotify now. Enter our #THPS giveaway on our instagram to win a copy of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2!

If you like listening to our podcast PLEASE rate us five stars, leave a review, and subscribe wherever you’re listening. Find everything and anything about Quell on quellskate.com or on Instagram @quellskate. As always, thanks for joining the party.

Okay so we are BACK. I had to finish off Season one of Betty on HBO. I kind of stopped posting on Quell as the tragedies of Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery started to come to light. Obviously it’s incredibly important to recognize that not much has changed with police brutality in this country. I do want to however celebrate the beautiful stories and opportunities Betty gives women of color in the skate community. No one asked for this, and probably no one cares but we’re going to give this season the send off it deserves.

Episode 04

We start off this cliffhanger of an episode with Kirt having no idea that everyone got arrested. Camille is being mad annoying in jail and arguing with Janay about how they ended up there. The mean jail woman calls out Janay and Camille for being asshole friends. Camille calls Bambi...who *spoiler* is absolutely useless. Indigo ends up bailing Janay and Honeybear out of jail with the money she owes for losing her drugs.

The girls absolutely drag Kirt for literally leaving them to get arrested even though she was the one who caused them to get arrested in the first place. “I’m sorry I’m lucky!” “No, you’re white.” I mean...that’s basically what’s the theme of 2020. 

The morning after, the ladies are taking stock of their day. Farouk calls Indigo asking for the money and obviously she just used it to bail out the girls. Indigo takes that modeling job from a couple episodes back. Camille gets out of jail and go finds her man who as I mentioned before, LITERALLY FORGOT TO BAIL HER OUT. We cut to a moody scene of her skating in Queens and ~*realizing things*~

Honeybear asks out Ash finally and we see a really cute date. We catch back up with Kirt who is with a girl who gives her shrooms. We end up at Cooper Park where we get a little clip of Janay skating the manny pad. She addresses the twin and wants to apologize to Yvette so they exchange numbers. Kirt finds them at Cooper and has a big idea to do drugs with them to make it up to them. They obviously won’t hear any of it and leave her. 

Janay asks the girls if they’re wearing bras...and we cut to them at the public pool. It’s all coming back to me, this episode breaks my heart. Janay gets in the pool and hears Yvette’s story about happened between her and Donald. Janay drops a bombshell when she says she knows she’s telling the truth because it happened to her.

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Episode 05

Janay starts talking to Honeybear and Indigo about her past trauma with Donald. This is a really beautiful moment of friendship and support for someone who has been through SA. Honeybear suggests saying something to him and Janay agrees. Cut to a super cute scene of them all holding hands and skating by the pier.

Camille is back with her friends drinking boba and they meet up with Honeybear, Janay and Indigo. They’re all friends now which we love to see it. Bambi comes back and starts acting like nothing happened. Janay destroys him for forgetting Camille’s bail and he obviously gets up and leaves. Indigo admits she took the modeling job and has to go. Camille ends up at Blue Park to meet Bambi after that little interaction. Camille is kind of watching for Bambi as he literally doesn’t pay attention to her. Then he starts to ignore her which really pisses me off personally. She calls him out on it and then he basically brushes her off. Camille kind of tries to bring it up later and realizes how mean Bambi is. Officially team fuck Bambi...don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

Kirt takes the shrooms and hangs out at a pet store. The boys find her laying in the park with a rat she got at the pet store and she offers the shrooms to the rest of them. At this point, I don’t care about Kirt’s story. We’re mad at her. We cut to indigo at the modeling job and it becomes super clear how insanely problematic it is. There are lots of white women cornrows, and cultural appropriation like crazy.

Janay calls out Donald for everything. He obviously gaslights her for telling the truth. This scene is super triggering so if you’re somehow reading this before watching the show months later...be aware. It’s super problematic to see what Donald is saying about Yvette and how she’s basically lying for what happened. I hate to see this because he’s so clearly manipulating her. I think it’s so important though to have included this because at any age these things can happen and sometimes you don’t realize it was wrong until after the fact. It’s valid and okay to feel different about a situation after it happened.

This is the crux of the episode. Honeybear and Ash have a super cute date. Honeybear sees her Dad on the way to the ferry and she hides. She gets kind of defensive about it and ends things with Ash. Honeybear knows it’s wrong but leaves. She cries on the very home.

We cut to Camille crying and one of the boys comes to comfort her. He admits as a friend that he goes through the same energy that Camille has felt. We’ve all been there and that fucking hurts. Janay deletes her channel with Donald on youtube because she knows that at the end of the day she was right. Indigo can’t believe the insane shit that this guy’s photo direction is. She leaves the photoshoot in makeup and her red Gucci coat. We cut to the girls dancing with the coat and smoking  in Janay’s room. They kind of circle back to harassment and the topic of “me too”. The girls come back and Kirt apologizes to them. I guess we’re friends now. 

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Episode 06

We open with Camille skating flatground. This little girl sees her skating and she offers to let her try to skate. Kirt shows up and they teach her a little bit how to skate. Her dad shows up and starts to yell at them. They decide to host a girls skate meetup.

Indigo offers up her Gucci coat to pay back for her drugs. Farouk admits he was teaching her a lesson and she needs to be more careful in life. Indigo goes home and her mom kicks her out of her house.

Honeybear and Janay start making flyers for the skate event. Janay asks about Ash and Honeybear admits what happened between them. They all start to pass out flyers and there’s a little Jaime Reyes and Tony Hawk cameo. We’re back at the deli from episode one and she puts the all girls flyer on their cash register.

Donald finds Janay at the park and finally admits that he fucked up. But he asks for her help to be a better person. Janay is no longer having it and she basically tells him to grow up and take accountability for his actions.

Honeybear makes an apology video to Ash. Kirt is on her way to the meetup and gets hit with a car door. The meetup is POPPING off. All the ladies are at the monument. They’re so excited to see all the girls but no Kirt. They facetime Kirt and she’s in an ambulance. She tells them to go on without her. Then we get the beautiful montages of everyone skating over the bridge and down the street into LES park. 

All the guys are kind of shook which we love to see. Janay facetimes them all and they’re showing Kirt how many women have shown up the the event. Seeing this now made me tear up? Am I ok? We get a bunch of hand filmed footage mixed with everyone just having such a fun time. Then it cuts to Camille’s board outside the little girls house from the beginning of the episode and that’s a wrap on Season ONE.

We are SO stoked to see this collab between Unity x Adidas. It’s really special to see such a diverse community championed for the messages they’re spreading in skateboarding. We’re superfans of Jeff’s illustration’s here at Quell, and it’s truly a testament to Unity’s message to see them all over the apparel and shoes. The images from the campaign are beautiful too. Everything is available today on Adidas

Images by Sam McGuire/ @ samuelmcguire, video by LEO BAÑUELOS / @ bronquito

Quell Skateboarding presents: Quell Party, a non traditional skateboarding podcast. Each week we talk with a member of the skateboarding community to shed light on their story.

The most OG skater yet, Cindy Whitehead (@girlisnota4letterword) sits down for a super in-depth look at skating in the 70's.  Listen to her playlist created for Quell Party on Spotify now.

If you like listening to our podcast PLEASE rate us five stars, leave a review, and subscribe wherever you’re listening. Find everything and anything about Quell on quellskate.com or on Instagram @quellskate. As always, thanks for joining the party.

We were so fortunate to publish a series of incredible skate travel photos from Norma Ibarra. Even more fortunate, Norma has been positing some behind the scenes of her “Behind the Lens” interview on Instagram. We wanted to gather a couple of our favorite clips that really capture how she sets up a shot. We swear…no pun intended.

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Breana Geering Nose Manual

@breezeana Nose Many to Nollie Tre from a while back in Indonesia and as part of my interview in the new issue of @quellskate. 📽: @sirusf

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A post shared by Norma Ibarra (@lapir0) on Apr 29, 2020 at 2:12pm PDT

Itzel Granados

Right before this spot was gone I got to shoot this photo of @itzelgrnds that Is now printed in the new issue of @quellskate. I took the photo during the making of one of @vice + @vans video series by @nat_johns.

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A post shared by Norma Ibarra (@lapir0) on Apr 26, 2020 at 9:02am PDT

Alex White

It’s kind of crazy you can see the exact moment the flash goes off when @thealexwhite drops in.

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A post shared by Norma Ibarra (@lapir0) on May 12, 2020 at 9:16am PDT

and a bonus! Norma had footage of another image of Marbie Miller that was published in the body of the magazine.

Double exposures with @marbie.princess.

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A post shared by Norma Ibarra (@lapir0) on Apr 18, 2020 at 1:20pm PDT

If you want to see more, shop a copy of Issue 005 right here.

Follow Norma on instagram.

Tomorrow is the third birthday of Quell Skateboarding. While we’ve had many accomplishments this year, this is not a time for celebrating. Our community, our world, our people are hurting.

I cannot begin to know what it is like to be a black person in America. What I can do is listen, educate and be understanding. I personally am here to listen to you and educate myself. I am open to any conversations to how we can be better allies.

I am so fortunate to have a platform and a space where I hopefully can share some resources I have been turning to and donating towards.

RECLAIM THE BLOCK reclaimtheblock.org

Organizes Minneapolis community and city council members to move money from the police department into other areas of the city’s budget that promote community health and safety.

COMMUNITY JUSTICE EXCHANGE – NATIONAL BAIL FUND DIRECTORY

communityjusticeexchange.org/nbfn-directory

Regularly updated list of community bail funds that are freeing people by paying bail/bond and are also fighting to abolish the money bail system and pretrial detention.

WE LOVE LAKE STREET

welovelakestreet.com

A non-profit to help rebuild Lake Street’s small businesses and community organizations.

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION

ACLU.ORG

Provides legal assistance to wherever civil liberties are at risk.

COLOR OF CHANGE

@COLOROFCHANGE

Nation’s largest online racial justice organization.

ANTI-RACISM RESOURCES FOR WHITE PEOPLE

Google Doc full of incredible resources– from podcasts, books, websites etc.

We are going to take some time away from posting as we continue to share resources on our stories.

As always please reach out to Quell if you’d like us to share anything.

Rest in peace George Floyd.

Okay these episodes keep getting better and better. We’re back with a recap of episode three of Betty, Skate Kitchen’s HBO series. There’s not a lot to say other than: why are these episodes thirty minutes long? This one was JAM packed with so much information that I wish we got a little breathing room.

As the weather starts to turn, it’s so nice to see these summer skate scenes. Who know’s what this summer will truly bring…at least it’ll bring three more episodes of Betty!

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We open on the night after sleeping at the bottom of the bowl from the previous episode. Kirt, Honeybear and Indigo are at a diner and Kirt realizes it’s Janays birthday! Time to celebrate. Indigo realizes that she left her weed pens somewhere and Honeybear goes with her back to Chelsea to scout them out. Kirt starts smoking in the diner to distract them from paying the bill as she runs away.

At Chelsea we have a Zoe spotting! We get a vibey montage of Zoe and a guy skating and another organic title drop on the side of the bowl. Indigo starts to see these guys smoking her pens and yells at them to get them back. They’ve taken and smoked a bunch of them, and she realizes she’s about to be in deep trouble.

Her and Honeybear leave the park and Honeybear sees the girl that she had a crush on in the park the episode before. Indigo encourages her to go say hi but we later see Honeybear skate towards her to say hi and completely skates past her.

Afterwards, Honeybear is grocery shopping and realizes that Camille still works at the grocery store from the movie...that’s a funny plot to stick with. Honeybear grabs a bunch of shit and obviously goes straight to her check out lane. Camille attempts to apologize as she rings up the items. After Camille rings up everything, Honeybear says she only needs the water bottle, and they exchange “got cha” glances because that is honestly amazing revenge.

Janay is looking at our girl Jules “instagram” when she hears Kirt in the window. Jules aka Yvette is the girl who claims that Donald sexually harassed her. What are we plotting… Anyway, Kirt stole a balloon on her way to hang out with Janay for her birthday and brings it to her to celebrate. They go get their nails done and Kirt doesn’t understand why Janay is glued to her phone. Please note that Jules is with our angel Liv in these cutie fake boomerangs. Janay finally admits that Jules aka Yvette has been talking shit about her and Kirt agrees they should fuck her up.

Meanwhile, Bambi is at the Queens globe and asks fo get a clip with Camille. She loves the way he’s filming her. The other boys are hyped for her except Charlie who says some fucked up shit to her because he’s jealous that Bambi is paying attention to her. Bambi clarifies that he’s not just shooting her because she’s a woman and that she’s actually good. After skating, Bambi starts to talk to Camille about her style and she admits to love Charlie Chaplin. Bambi starts to do his walk and she feels super embarrassed. Do you feel the chemistry? Yikes.

Cut to Janay, Kirt and Honeybear pull up at the park trying to find Yvette based on nothing but Instagram. It’s New York city so I don’t know how effective this would be in actual real life. There’s some fun party where lots of Brooklyn friends make cameos dancing. Janay finally gives in and dances a little bit.

We get a dreamy synth clip of the gang skating down a street in Williamsburg. They all pull up to a spot where everyone went after skating and Farook finds Indigo. They go leave to have a drug convo. Janay is talking to Honeybear and starts judging Yvette based on her instagram and starts to justify why she’s going to fuck her up. We kind of travel through all these conversations and it really makes you feel the energy of being at a party.

Back in Farook’s car him and indigo start arguing and she leaves him to go her his money. Indigo opens one of those insane apartments where the elevator is street level. I’ve always wondered about those. We realize that indigo lives in a super nice apartment with her mom and that she’s pretty wealthy. Indigo asks for $3,000 and her mom obviously says no. She sneaks into her office and writes her check. 

Back at night Bambi and Camille are still walking around and he doesn’t invite her back up. Whats going on there? He asks her to go to “The Dome” in a hour. I’m starting not to trust this hoe. What is he doing to you Camille? Was he worth ruining your friendship with the girls over?

Everyone seems to be at the Dome. Honeybear makes Camille introduce her formally to Ash. They start to make awkward talk but Ash asks to get a drink with her and gives her her number on her board. Skater boys and girls, that’s a move I want to hear about in the future.

Meanwhile, Janay finds “Yvette” and starts screaming at her. Turns out though that Yvette has a beautiful twin who is ready to throw down for her sister. The real Yvette comes over and the girls start to get into an argument. Kirt pushes her out of nowhere and punches someone. Camille gets hit back and a huge fight erupts and then suddenly ends by a skateboard smashing the window.

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Catch our Betty recaps every week here!
If you have any suggestions or anything we’ve missed DM us @quellskate.

Kickflip by Josh Katz

Sam really embodies the hometown hero. When we first met her at 2nd Nature, we were instantly in awe of her skate style and incredibly kind personality. Sam is supportive and determined in and out of skateboarding. Whether it’s stacking clips for her sponsors, or painting beautiful portraits of her friends on old decks – we’re always excited to see what’s next for Sam.

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How did you start skateboarding?

I got into skateboarding through my older sister. I basically used to copy everything she did. I first picked up a skateboard maybe 13 years ago, but I’ve been actually skating and learning tricks since I was nine (so that makes 11 years!) I grew up mostly in Plainfield, New Jersey but moved to Elizabeth, NJ when I turned nine. Elizabeth is where I really started learning how to skate.

What made you want to pick up the skateboard? What inspired you to keep skating?

Seeing my sister skate really made me want to do the same. We did everything together when we were little. I stuck with it because I found skating to be really fun and sort of a sense of freedom. There are no rules to skateboarding so I really get to be creative with it.

When we first met you, you came to our mini competition with Trophy Griptape.
How did you get connected to them?

Wade, the owner of Trophy, reached out to me through instagram. My friend Nico had put in a good word to him. Wade seemed to like my skating and asked me to be a part of the team.

What is your relationship with sponsorship in skateboarding?

I do have a few sponsors. I’m flow for Fortune skateboards, and also ride for New Balance Numeric, Trophy Griptape, Rockstar Bearings, Travel Skateshop, and Hilyfe Shades.

Do you feel pressure to get sponsors in skateboarding or maintain these relationships?

Before having sponsors, I’ve never really felt pressure to get them, but now that I do have a few, I always have that feeling in the back of my mind that I’m not doing enough for them. I know this feeling is probably irrational, but it’s hard to shake the feeling. I don’t have someone to film me at all times so it’s hard to stack clips when I find the time.

Fakie Flip by Erin Patrice O'Brien at Barclay's Center

What do you see/wish for your future in skateboarding? 

What I see and wish for my future in skateboarding is progression. I have a list of a few tricks that I want to learn and goals I have for myself to achieve, and once I reach those goals I’ll make even more for myself. I just want to work on getting better, and whatever comes along with that is icing on the cake!

You paint these beautiful portraits on old skateboard decks. How did you start doing that?

I came up with the idea to paint these portraits with my girlfriend as a Christmas present for some of our closest friends. I thought it would be cool for them to have a picture of them skateboarding on a skateboard. It took a really long time but I love how they came out and hope that everyone who got one feels the same. 

Do you feel like there’s a connection to artists and skateboarding?

Yeah I think skateboarding and art go hand-in-hand. In a lot of ways, skateboarding is art. Like I said, there are so many ways to get creative on a skateboard. You can practice to learn all these very technical tricks or just mess around and do something that no one else has done. There really aren’t any boundaries. And I’ve noticed that people who make art are usually the type of skaters to do really unique tricks and find new ways to utilize a skateboard. I think anyone who skates is an artist.

How do you express your creativity in skateboarding? 

I try to constantly learn new tricks and push myself to expand as a skateboarder. I try to express my creativity with every trick I do and every obstacle I skate; through my style. Most of all, I think I do so by just doing whatever is fun for me. 

When I was younger, I used to stay out in front of my apartment complex with my sister and friends and we would skate all day. There were no skate parks close to us so we always had to come up with new things to do. 

Over the years I have learned that you don’t have to skate a particular way to have fun, nor do you have to skate a certain way to be perceived as a “real” skateboarder. I think that being able to do a little bit of everything really shows that you can be creative.

I really love that sentiment. Your style is so fun to watch. Speaking of watching, we’ve seen you posting more and more videos and edits lately. Are you getting into filming skating more? 

I’ve always filmed for my friends, but now since we’re all stuck in the house, I’ve been putting together clips more! As much as I love skating, I love to see my friends land tricks they’ve been working hard to land, and capture these special moments.

Noseslide by Rich Whitehead in Trenton

“Before you’re comfortable, you’re going to be uncomfortable.”

What advice would you give to someone who wants to start skateboarding?

To anyone who wants to start skating, I would say to not be afraid of looking “stupid” on a skateboard (for lack of a better term). Before you’re comfortable, you’re going to be uncomfortable. It takes a lot of practice to get used to the feeling of riding a skateboard, let alone learning tricks. Also, it helps to not care what others think about you when you’re skating. This is way easier said than done, but focusing on yourself and not everyone else will help your confidence in skating. More often than not, the other people at the skatepark are more worried about themselves than what you’re doing. And skaters know more than anyone else how much dedication it takes to learn, so I’d say to keep all of this in mind when starting. The fun of skating is definitely worth the effort.

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Follow Sam on instagram

Wow. Episode two of Betty was SO much better than Episode 01. Watching this made me feel so many feels. Like I just felt that nice sticky summer feeling of being busy and hanging out with your friends. I specifically thought of a time Quell was judging something for Redbull at LES and then we went and got pizza after and then I skated to a roof and a bar and it felt like the day never ended. Whatever enough about me…

I want to know everything about the characters and where this is going!!! I was genuinely disappointed when this episode ended.

This as always is not sponsored, I just really admire Skate Kitchen and I think what they’ve done and continue to do to spread visibility for SO many groups of people in skateboarding is incredible. Their show is genuinely diverse and AUTHENTIC and they really care about portraying it that way. I think these girls really deserve so much and it’s awesome to see what this series will do for skateboarding. Let’s get into it!

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We start the episode off with small cuts to check in with our characters. We start with a look into Honeybear aka Elizabeth’s??! life. strict household, states island native, religious? We don’t get much more than that but maybe foreshadowing. Cut to Kirt and Indigo living their summer truth. Skating in Union Square, eating ice cream, HANGING OUT…remember that? 

Anyway, Janay and Donald are filming some sort of youtube video about Janay doing a graffiti tour. Donald turns off the comments on their channel because he didn’t like what they were saying about Janay. Sure Donald…

Now, we’re at Fat Kid wooooo! It’s my favorite park honestly, especially for beginner skating. I don’t know why but it’s kind of mellow and it’s huge so you get a bit of practice with speed and your approach. 

Kirt and Indigo see Camille and they’re still not happy about it. Camille’s mystery bae shows up and she starts filming clips of him on her phone. The girls are having fun without her, teaching Indigo a little bit. We get some vibey moments of all the girls doing tricks around the park. 

“You know those betties don’t you” a classic name title drop from Camille’s bae aka Bambi. Camille goes to talk to bae about music and editing and they both admit to watching each other’s clips. Later Camille rolls in shit and Bambi offers to help her clean it off.

Janay starts to list her ideas about her show to Honeybear. Honeybear starts to mention that there are negative comments around Donald, Janays best friend and she realizes the comments weren’t about Janay they were about him. She finds Donald and starts to scream at him in the park about lying about the comments. Allegedly Donald didn’t like someone who liked him and she accuses him of being a predator. he starts to feel trapped and Janay tries to help him. 

This casting agent scouts Indigo in the park and the boys start to laugh at her while the other girls get a little jealous it seems that they weren’t selected. She then bumps into one of Camilles friends, Luis, and he starts screaming at her. Kirt starts a fight with him to defend Indigo. Indigo starts to get really mad and quits skateboarding.  After Kirt finds the girl who has been lingering and screams that she’s gay. they get into a small argument about the girl and she leaves Kirt.

Kirt, Honeybear and Indigo meet up randomly a lot later on the quest for Indigo to keep skating. Kirt apologizes with rave toys and sneak into the park. There’s a beautiful night skating scene that once again makes me tear up a little bit. They skate around and get super high. While laying at the bottom of the bowl, Honeybear admits to liking Ash. 

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Catch our Betty recaps every week here!
If you have any suggestions or anything we’ve missed DM us @quellskate.

Natalie Krishna Das photo by Feral Rust at HELL BOWL

Queen of Hype, Natalie Krishna Das always brings the good vibes. Natalie lives many lives and brings so many positive things to her community in skateboarding. While she first caught our eye through Las ChicAZ Slice of Hell, we grew to become obsessed with her photography.

Natalie captures the spirit of skateboarding in every photo she takes. Every photo makes you feel like we’re apart of the ride.

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First, what are your pronouns?

She, Her, It

How did you start skateboarding? How old were you? Where did you grow up?

My little brother left his skateboard at my mom’s house in Glendale, AZ.  I picked it up when I was 16.  I had just moved to Arizona from Jackson, MS.  I started by rolling off of curbs and skating around my hood.  I met my best friend Nicole Pothen at school playing soccer and we would ditch to go to the skatepark.

What made you want to pick up the skateboard? What inspired you to keep skating?

I started skating 22 years ago. I always wanted to learn how. I loved how punk rock and rebellious it was at the time. I remember traveling to skate all of the All Girl Skate Jam events. That’s what really lit the fire in me to continue skating, traveling and competing. I ended up skating all of the Southern California CASL contests along with some smaller series of contests where I met Lacey Baker, Lindsey Pastrana, Ocea Lei and many others. 

When did you start being interested in photography?

I’ve always loved shooting photos.  I had a Vivitar film camera when I was about 10 years old.  I took it everywhere with me.  My dad handed me down a super nice Nikon SLR when I turned 15.  At Arizona State University, I minored in Interdisciplinary Arts where I studied black and white photography and photoshop.  This sparked my deep down interest in photography.  My view of photography morphed from a classic style to a more artistic style of setting up the shoots.

When did you start taking skate photos?

I drove across the US with a crew of skateboarder photographers about 15 years ago (I know, I’m old)  and we took turns shooting each other for a photography blog.  The crew consisted of Mike Tindle, Mikey Duran, me, and a one more.  

Throughout the years, I’ve picked up tips from friends and legends along the way.  Rhino from Thrasher helped guide me into getting my newest camera addition of a Canon 7D Mark II.  

Jessie Frietze F by Natalie

Did you take skate photos before going on this trip? or was this an all immersive experience?

Prior to this trip, I shot skate photos, but I was more focused on shooting fashion photography. 

How would you describe Las Chicaz? What is your mission?

Las ChicAZ started as a small crew of girls in AZ.  It’s now evolved into a crew of 25 girls and 12 dudes spanning across the globe.  We have riders in Canada, Mexico, Norway, and The USA.  Our mission is to have epic road trips as team builders while skating some iconic spots and new spots.  We also throw monthly events where we team up with various non profits and a different brewery each month.  

LasChicAZ group photo at the famous backyard HELL BOWL DIY in Tucson, AZ

How do you select what non profits to work with as Las ChicAZ?

We try to team up with non profits who help women in need who are local. The last non profit we helped was TQPuebla.  We were able to supply a misplaced trans couple from Cuba with furnishings for their new apartment. The couple had just been released from ICE detention. We’ve also helped the Caring Coalition with their food bank for high school kids without lunches, HOPE for women and men of domestic abuse, and many more. 

How did Las ChicAZ form?

About 7 years ago, The Berrics hosted an online video contest.  We had a crew, but no name.  I called us “Las ChicAZ” and we entered the contest.  Our crew is always evolving.  More members join and they move closer, and some move away.  

We were invited to judge a contest in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico years ago and when they announced “Las ChicAZ” we realized that it sounded lame.  THE GIRLS… what was I thinking?! LOL  So we added “Las ChicAZ SLICE OF HELL”

It seems like from the start you were skateboarding with women and are a part of so many groups or organizations that support women.

How has surrounding yourself with women helped you grow as a skateboarder?

When I first started skating, I was one of the only girls at any skatepark from 1999 until about 2012. It was intimidating to show up to a new park to be surrounded by only guys. Don’t get me wrong, the guys were super supportive. Skating with girls is an entirely different experience though. I was always the “token girl” on my various guy skate teams. We would go skate a spot and it would be a huge gap or handrail. I was more of a vert skater, so I would just skate the red curbs off to the side.  Once I found more girls to skate with, we would skate similar things and I would actually enjoy skating different spots. 

Katie from HELL BOWL & Skate B.A.B.S. by Natalie

What do you do with Exposure and Skate Rising?

I’m the Manager of Social Media for Exposure Skate.  I interview skaters, repost everybody’s awesome videos, and create new content for the brand.  With Skate Rising, I am the Program Director for Arizona with my counterpart Stacy Lovell (mother of badass young ripper Mia Lovell.)  I also handle the social media for Skate Rising. 

At Skate Rising we teach girls ages 4-18 how to skate.  They learn empowerment through skating and compassion through service.  We have a theme for each event that is in line with the selected charity.  A guest speaker comes and the girls do a hands on activity to get involved with being charitable.

Reina by Natalie

How did you get involved in those organizations? 

I started out as a volunteer for Skate After School and Tim Ward suggested that Stacy Lovell reach out to me about volunteering for Skate Rising as an assistant event manager.  Since then, I’ve been promoted to Program Director and I was also hired onto the management team for Exposure Skate.

Skate Rising is an incredible way to support young skateboarders and work with children. How do you balance being a mother and a skateboarder?

No joke, it’s rough.  My daughter just turned 4.  Anytime I try to leave the house to go skate, she asks to come with me and gets upset when I leave.  Luckily, my husband is super supportive and he hangs out with my daughter when I go skate.  If she comes with me, I can’t focus on learning new tricks.  It’s exciting when she wants to skate with me, but it’s important that I have some adult time for some skate therapy.

Does your daughter have an interest in skateboarding?

She does. She will do rock to fakies if I hold her hand. She just turned 4 and has a love for adrenaline like her mama and I’m excited to take her on this skate journey with me as long as she wants to go. 

What advice would you give for someone who wants to start skateboarding?

It’s never too late to learn.  It doesn’t matter what age you are.  If you want to learn a new skill, it takes time and effort.  Skateboarding is 90% mental.  It definitely helps to be in good shape though.

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Interview by Adrian Koenigsberg
Follow Natalie on Instagram for more