Monthly Archives: February 2017

Carol Loves Skateboarding

The video above is from Carol who’s skateboarding in Brazil.  She says

I’m still learning but I really love skateboarding. I’m from Brasilia – Brazil and here a lot of girls go skateboarding.   I do not think it matters whether you’re a man or a woman.   You should practice the sport that makes you happy!

I absolutely agree & I love Carol’s style both on & off the board.

When she’s not skateboarding, she might be studying because she’s a Biology student.  Love that she shows girls can be stylish, sporty & smart.

Where are you skating and what are your other interests?  Girls can be anything they want to be & more girls follow their dreams when they see other girls already living their dreams!

 

Fun at Skateboard Class

Fiorella’s skate class journey just makes me smile!

She’s 5 & in Chili.  Above from lesson 8 and below lesson 9.

By lesson 10 she was ready to conquer the park alone.

Thank you to all the girls who share their pictures & stories because more girls skate when they see girls skating.

And thank you to all the teachers & skate coaches out there who teach so much more than skating – they teach self-confidence!

 

Sunday a Fun Day to Recharge with your Skateboard

Chelsea shares this video with the caption

This is how I spent part of my Sunday, what a beautiful day we had!! I hope you all had a restful day and are ready to conquer another week!

There are so many reasons skating is fun, including it’s ability to clear your mind and get you recharged for the rest of life.

Chelsea’s skating in Colorado where are you having fun skating?

I love how the pink in her shoes matches her wheels plus she keeps it stylish off the board & helps others do the same.

She does amazing work with colors at Studio B Fort Collins Co.  and has solid advice on her IG:

Yes – we are all meant to be beautiful and support the beauty of others – surround yourself with a positive tribe and positivity will grow!

 

 

 

Cheering on her Skateboarding Granddaughter

More girls skate when they see girls skateboarding and get encouragement so I love to see videos like this

@janettelaukea is in Hawaii cheering on her granddaughter

Koi at her skate boarding demo with @skatecarehawaii tonight at Hickman Skate Board Hangar

Thankful that Janette shared about her granddaughter’s passion and about Skate Care Hawaii.  Always exciting to see girls receiving encouragement to follow their passions.  Below a video from one of their Girl Skate Camps.

Where are you having fun skating?  Are you going or helping at a Girls Skate Camp?  I hope you share your pictures/videos and stories soon.

Refurb Skate – Empowering Girls through Skateboarding

I first found out about @refurbskate when I saw

Getting amped for our second girls camp hosted by @sitetrampoline and supported by @boardertown

I started DM & e-mailing with Cayley from @refurbskate.  The girls camps above are in Queenstown New Zealand and they are

putting together these nights to get girls into skateboarding and spur on a project which will take our coaching program to Nepal as well

I love girls skateboarding everywhere so here’s some information on what they’re doing in New Zealand and their plans for Nepal.

above and below some New Zealand pictures

That view is just incredible.  Below a video from the 2nd girls event.

And a photo from Troy Tanner from @goodbuddynz.

So what’s the connection from New Zealand to Nepal?

The company Make Life Skate Life is building a skate park in Pokhara Nepal and after offering our services as laborers, they have asked us if we could use the park after it is finished to set up our coaching programme there.
We are not only aiming to teach girls to skate whilst we are there but advocate the positive impacts skating has had on our lives and encourage the girls to maintain a long term relationship with the sport. Hopefully working with locals who will continue to share the same message after we leave.

I absolutely love this!  More girls skate when they see girls skating and get encouragement.  That’s good for everyone because skateboarding is sport, art, transportation, exercise and builds self-confidence through teaching life lessons like “falling isn’t failing”.

How rad is it that people are willing to leave their country and go far, far away

to share the benefits & love of skateboarding.

To find out more you can check out

or their FaceBook Page

They are headed out on April 28th so wish them luck & if you can help them out.

Kindness is always in style on & off the board.  I feel so lucky to have found out about this project & now be able to share it –  I hope this story inspires you like it inspires me to keep sharing the love of skateboarding.

 

 

Skate Rising Phoenix

11 brand new girls came out to join us at our Phoenix @skaterising event this month! We’re so excited to watch this group of future change makers grow. Not only are they strong, brave, and fearless on their boards, they also have beautiful hearts. We can’t wait to see the acts of kindness they do over the next month. ?@trishspence67

Skate Rising Phoenix started when Mary, the mother of skatergirl Rylie saw the Skate Rising events in the San Diego area & she knew she wanted to have events like it in her area.

Originally from Pennsylvania, Mary’s been living in Phoenix for almost 14 years.  Mary got involved with skateboarding when her daughter Rylie started skating.  That’s how I met them.

Mary reached out to Calli, who started Skate Rising – EXPOSURE Skate’s youth program, and worked with 91 West Skate Park to have an event in January 2017.

Mary loved the event so much that she’s now continuing to volunteer her time & skills to make it a monthly event on the third weekend of the month at 91 West Skate Par from 10am – noon.  I had the chance to ask Mary some questions and get her recap on the February event.

Why do you think skateboarding is good for girls?  Is that why you encourage your daughter & other girls to skate?

Mary:  Skateboarding has been a HUGE confidence builder for my daughter. When she first started going to the skatepark I couldn’t get her to say a word to anyone. She was timid, nervous and unsure of herself. After only 5 months she now has older girls who are like sisters to her. They mentor her and inspire her to push herself. They support her when she falls down and cheer her on when she does something good. She’s learning that behavior and putting it toward encouraging girls younger than her.

The biggest lesson I think she has learned is that you can fall, get back up and try again. We have a lot less drama over something as small as a hang nail now. She’s becoming stronger every month and has the mindset that she can do anything  if she puts her mind to it.

What did you love about the Skate Rising event that made you want to share it?

Mary:  In one word EVERYTHING. Haha. But really, I’ve been trying to teach my daughter the importance of giving back since she was very young. It’s hard with younger kids because a lot of the shelters and organizations that need volunteers don’t allow kids under a certain age. Thinking back to when I was young skateboarders got a bad rap. To see how the sport has evolved and see all the good that is happening in skateboarding, I really wanted to be a part of it. I want to show other parents that skateboarding is an incredible sport for girls and can be safe and fun when you find the right group to do it with. So far the parents have been really impressed with the skaters who volunteer their time. They are amazed at their patience with the girls and how they are able to make even the most nervous girls feel comfortable on their boards. We’ve had coaches who take time off of their jobs to come out and skate with us, which I have a lot of respect for. It shows they care about the future of skateboarding.

above @nealmims helping at a Skate Rising event 

Did the January event get new girls interested in skateboarding?  Way back when Calling all the Skater Girls in Mesa Arizona I wrote this post about a girl who wanted more girls to skateboard in Arizona so I hope more girls are skateboarding in Arizona!

Mary:  Absolutely! I know of 2-3 girls who had never stepped foot on a board before now asking for boards for their birthdays. I’ve seen 2-3 new girls taking trial lessons each week and even coming out to our Girl’s Night open skate session at 91 West.

I think it would be hard to grow the girl skate scene without an event like Skate Rising. It’s just not a sport most parents think to involve their daughters in and many don’t realize it is something you can take a class in.

I think especially for parent’s of girls, particularly dads, it’s a bit intimidating walking into the unknown. The first time I walked into 91 West I was terrified. Had I started her at an event like Skate Rising surrounded by more girls, I think I would have felt much more comfortable. I hope this gives those parents of of those more daring and adventurous girls the comfort they need to allow them to try something new.

above @theprofessoraz helping at a Skate Rising event

What was the response you got from participants at the January event?  

Mary:  The girls who were already skating were so grateful that Exposure allowed us to bring this program to Phoenix. They love seeing new girls skating and making new friends. It’s an incredible group of girls we have at the park. From what I hear, the new girls who have come to Skate Rising go home wanting to live on wheels, even if it means putting on a pair of roller skates if they don’t have a board. I’ve heard nothing but positive feedback from both parents and kids.

If someone (or organization) wants to be involved with Skate Rising Phoenix do they contact you?

Mary:  They can touch base with me at [email protected]

Are the Skate Rising events at 91 West Skate Park in addition to the Wednesday Lady Nights?  

Mary:  Yes! Before we started Skate Rising here in Phoenix we started $5 Ladies Nights to try to inspire other girls to skate. Now we use it to drive even more girls to our monthly Skate Rising events and we’ve seen many girls come out from our first Skate Rising event to join us on Ladies Night.

What happened at the February event?

It was a rainy morning, but we still got 20 girls out to the event, 11 who had not attended last month.

Our topic was spreading kindness and how one act of kindness can make someone’s day, no matter how small it is. We encouraged the girls to go out and do an act of kindness this month and share it on social media to get their name in a drawing for a new skateboard  from Sunset Skateboards with a set of light up wheels. After our talk they wrote their names on leaves to add to our kindness tree to demonstrate how kindness grows.

If the tree looks familiar, it’s because Calli was kind enough to bring it from San Diego to Phoenix.  She & her daughters have made the trip twice to support the Phoenix girls!  (SD February recap)

We had so many generous donors this month who helped us to buy shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, soap and toothbrushes and toothpaste for the Women at the Phoenix Dream Center. The girls packed hygiene kits which included leggings from Ndulge and a meaningful Living Locket from Origami Owl with a flower charm and a love charm to lift their spirits. The kits will be delivered within the next week to women at Phoenix Dream Center which houses people who are getting back on their feet after different life altering situations.

Thank you Mary for updating us on what happened and for getting these quotes from girls who attended.

“I like doing the service project and especially like skateboarding with other girls who are willing to help me learn new skills.” Laynee P., Phoenix, AZ

“What I like most is dropping in and seeing other girl skaters skate hard like me.” Chloe W., Tolleson, AZ

Be sure to follow Skate Rising on IG for all the latest updates on upcoming events.

above from Skate Rising Phoenix

Where are you having fun skating & who are you sharing skating with?  Hope you share soon because more girls do skate when they see girls having fun skating & getting encouragement.

San Diego Princess Project

In prior posts, I wrote about the Princess Project.  This post is about the San Diego Chapter where my dress is headed.

The Princess Project promotes self-confidence and individual beauty by providing free prom dresses and accessories to high school girls who cannot otherwise afford them.

Jennifer, PR & Media Chair, who’s been a part of Princess Project San Diego since it’s beginning in 2009 & Karen, the Chair, shared the following with me.

  1.  This is San Diego’s 9th season of collecting & giving dresses!

2.  To date they have given over 6,000 dresses away.

3.  Their target for this year is to collect 2,000 more dresses.

4.  There are over 35 locations in San Diego collecting dresses.

5.  They have an upcoming fundraiser:  Time Wrap 80’s Prom that will be hosted by Jodi Kodesh from NBC with DJ JoeMamma spinning, and a king and queen of the prom competition!
6.  San Diego Princess Project Spring Dress Giveaways will be at Horton Plaza this year between April 8th & April 23rd.
Plus there will be satellite Dress Giveaway sites at the El Cajon, S. Chula Vista, and Vista County Libraries.  Appointments for teens to come get a dress will be posted at the beginning of March.
7.  The car below hauled over 460 dresses donated from Christina’s Fashions and D’Original dress shops in Chula Vista.
8.  Volunteers make all this happen!  Below is the link to San Diego opportunities.
10.  NBC 7 is also collecting dresses!
I’ll be honest giving my dress away will be hard.  I love it – it’s a MacDuggal and the most beautiful dress I’ve ever had.  However, we’ve had our memories and now it’s time for the dress to bring joy to someone else.
All girls who want to be are Princesses.
 I’ll be joining the crew at Horton Plaza on March 11th – if you have a dress to donate or some time let me know!

Skateboarding on Monday Makes You Feel Like

Stacey shares this video of how skateboarding makes her feel (yes, even on a Monday)!

video by Kieran

Above she’s having fun skating with her longtime friend Kimmy.  They are at Mount Maunganui.

Stacey is a nurse, hiker, yogi, boarder, adventure seeker in New Zealand but soon she’ll be in Australia.  Where are you skating & where are you taking your board next?  More girls skate when they see girls skating.

Thanks for sharing Stacey and for showing us a girl can be stylish, sporty & smart on & off the board!!!