Stoked 2 Skate Spreading Kindness in SF Bay Area

Stoked 2 Skate is a non-profit private indoor skatepark for the youth in Sonoma County, California.

Recently they opened the park for the Quit Your Day Job SF Bay Area Premier – an all-female skate video by Erik Sandoval & Monique O’Toole.

Proceeds from the event went to Skate Like a Girl SF Bay Area.  I wasn’t able to go but you can see tons of rad shots from MAHFIA.TV

Just click above or below to see all of Carmen Z’s photos.

I wanted to get this post up during Random Acts of Kindness Week because I think the pictures from the event show kindness in action (girls supporting girls) plus it’s truly kind that Stoked 2 Skate opened their doors for this event.

To find out more about Stoked 2 Skate I asked Moniz some questions.

Why and when did you open Stoked 2 Skate?

Moniz:  Since we have two kids that have been skateboarding since they were very young,(Finnley and Minna Stess), we’ve witnessed first hand what skaters are like when they can’t skate for the entire rainy Winter. Have you ever seen a wild animal trapped in a cage? haha It’s like that, but then multiply that times two at our house.

We also met a lot of skaters over the years lamenting about the rainy times and also many kids who wanted to learn to skate but either couldn’t afford the gear or their parents weren’t really into the idea of them skateboarding. We knew we could help with all of that, what Northern California really lacks are indoor skating facilities, so we decided to take it head on. It has been a long but satisfying process and we are still growing.

We’ve had lots of wonderful people join us over the years in the many stages, like our incredible fiscal sponsor Mentor Me Petaluma.

To sum it up we provide a welcoming environment to encourage the instruction, practice, training, enjoyment and advancement of our youth members in all aspects of skateboarding within a safe, supervised indoor environment.

What programs/sessions does Stoked 2 Skate offer?

Moniz:  Our programming is in the planning stages and we will have multiple clinics, classes, events and skate camps.  So far we have partnered with San Francisco Skate Club  and now we are adding  Skate Like a Girl to programming this Summer.

We have hosted many sessions randomly since we’ve built the bowl and street course. It’s been incredible hosting skaters of all ages and abilities from literally all over the world as well as many from all over the U.S.!

We’re just really happy to finally have a facility that makes skaters really stoked especially when it’s raining outside.

Was this premier one of your first “big” events?

Moniz:  This event was actually or second “big” event.
The first was a video premier for a local skateshop a couple of months ago and it was really great because we got to meet a huge bunch of  local skaters  and we all had the best time.
This QYDJ + Skate Like a Girl  premiere/fundraiser was our first with a skate clinic session built into the schedule of the day. We love Skate Like a Girl and we were so happy to have them join us after all this time of talking about partnering up we finally got to start!
We had over 100 skaters for the event hailing from New Mexico, Seattle, Los Angeles and from all over the SF Bay Area.
Skaters from the film were on hand to help out the girls learning to skate too! We had Mariah Duran, Vanessa Torres, Samarria Brevard, Savannah Headden, Jenn Soto, Christiana Smith and filmmaker Monique O’Toole.
Above from  metro skateboarding IG
3 of the realest just conducted a clinic at @stokedtoskate ?? @jennsoto_skates ? @samarriabrevard? @mariahduran_ ?Give them all a follow for more sickness and check our story for more from the event ?: @rickyflipsk8 ?#metrogrammed
above Vanessa Torres, who’s recovering from surgery, in the parking lot on a GN4LW cruiser (there are still a few LIMITED EDITION Element “Getting Nowhere Faster” decks available)
Above from metro skateboarding IG
A @SamarriaBrevard@StokedToSkate/SOMA park’tage – Inspiring watching the ladies of @Quityourdayjobvid raise the bar off its hinges this weekend! Stay tuned for more throughout the week and give em a follow for more sickness #metrogrammed +?: @rickyflipsk8
Above  from metro skateboarding IG
@MariahDuran_takes the safety off at @StokedToSkate/#SOMA ???Great to see the ladies of @QuitYourDayJobVidrip the Bay last weekend ?? Give em a follow for more sickness ?
We even had the best volunteers from The Berkeley High School Skate Club come over to help us out, which was really cool too.
Is following Stoked 2 Skate IG the best way to stay informed on what’s coming up?   How does someone get involved, volunteer, sponsor Stoked 2 Skate?
Moniz:  Stoked to Skate’s IG is a good place to follow in order to keep up with us.  We are working on building our website right now which is stokedtoskate.com so checking in there and we also have a Facebook page.  Contacting us at any of our platforms  is the best way to  volunteer, get involved with us or sponsor!
Thank you so much Moniz for opening the doors and sharing all the kindness that will be flowing from Stoked 2 Skate.  More girls skate when they see girls skating and more acts of kindness happen when people see them, so hope this post inspires everyone to make Random Acts of Kindness Week be every week.