Thank you to everyone who has shared their story of inspiration in 2017.  More girls skateboard when they see stylish girls having fun skating and the lessons you learn on the board help you off the board!

Thanks also to all the organizations that help me share the message that #girlscanskate and that following your passions is never a distraction.

Best Nine references several of my favorite organizations that help all girls keep it stylish!

• Tilly’s Life Center with Rastaclat is “spreading positivity” by empowering youth.
• The Princess Project is empowering girls through donated dresses.
• Skate Rising is empowering girls by modeling skateboarding and compassion.

Looking forward to many more posts in 2018.

xoxo skatingfashionista

Since her October 2016 post,  @fenty_af has been busy!

Click above to see her new video in collaboration with @startnclap. It’s filmed in Nice Ville – Promenade des Anglais.

She has so many amazing shots on her IG.

Thanks @fenty_af for sharing – you inspire me to longboard & have me dreaming of a trip to France.

All around the world more girls skate when they see stylish girls having fun skating!  Hope you share your adventures soon.

Catherine found this skate spot in Oslo, Norway.  This was back in the summer –  now she’s on the slopes.

The memories of finding a fun skate spot last way past that day, they can last a lifetime.  So if you have a favorite spot, I hope you share it soon.

Thanks for sharing the beauty of Norway Catherine aka @sk8girl4ever.  

Matt Suncin aka The Sk8 Coach offers private lessons, group clinics, and skatepark tours. I recently had the opportunity to interview Matt who’s based out of Arizona.

You’ve been skateboarding since 2004 and coaching since 2010, how have you seen girls skateboarding grow?

Matt:  The growth I have seen in women’s skateboarding over the past decade has been tremendous. Not only are the number of girls in skateboarding increasing, but the possibilities for them to actually make skateboarding a career is expanding too.

With this new wave of professional women skateboarders taking the industry by storm, I think it’s really opened the gate for a lot of young girls to aspire to become skateboarders.

When I first started teaching skateboarding lessons there were very few girls in our program, but just in the past few years alone, I have seen the number of girls coming in for lessons quadrupole. Now it seems like there’s a girl in every skate class!

With all-girl events like Skate Rising and Exposure Skate contest empowering more girls to get into skateboarding, it’s apparent that girls are going to have a big future in skateboarding.

Do you ever do girls skate sessions/tours or do you prefer to just have everyone in the mix?

Matt:  I recently created my first all-girls skate class at Kids That Rip (KTR) in Mesa, Arizona after being inspired by an event I volunteered at called Skate Rising. The way they were able to bring all these girls together to encourage each other to skateboard and give back to the community was really inspiring, and I wanted to create something similar to that on a smaller scale. There are girls ages 5-10 y/o in the class and it’s definitely one of my favorite classes to work with.

Together they’ve all made a lot of progress and some of them even entered in their first competition this year. It was awesome to see their confidence boost afterward and how pumped they got on skating. I’m stoked to be a part of it all with them and it’s going to be rad to see where they take skateboarding in the future.

Encouragement helps the person being encouraged and the giver, how have you benefitted from being able to share skateboarding?

Matt:  Totally, my whole life has been changed because of it! Sharing my passion for skateboarding with the kids has been so gratifying. Being a good role model for them and just encouraging them to go for their dreams has simultaneously helped me achieve my hopes and dreams too. I never really thought I could make skateboarding into a career, but somehow it’s actually been working for me in this niche little way. I wake up every day and go to a skatepark for work, it’s been a blessing.

video celebrating a first kick flip

So many doors have been opened up for me because my passion for sharing skateboarding, and I have hopes of traveling the world to share that passion. So far I’ve made it to California for Camp Woodward.. keeping my fingers crossed for Hawaii next!

In addition to being The Sk8 Coach, you’re a college student, and volunteer. How do you find the time – make it all balance?

Matt:  It definitely gets a little hectic sometimes, but I like the hustle. Honestly, I’ve just gotten used to the grind and working hard. I like staying busy because it satisfies my need for progression. I crave progression in all facets of my life like I crave progression on a skateboard, it’s just satisfying! The good news is I pretty much make my own schedule, so I can still make time for the essential stuff like taking my dog on walks and catching up with family/friends.

What’s one of your favorite memories from coaching and what’s an upcoming event/tour you’re excited about and why?

Matt:  That’s a tough one! Well, one of my favorite memories from coaching this year was actually just a few months ago at this contest called ‘Locals Only’. I started doing this thing where I would go out to the park where the contest was held and try to help the kids figure out their runs. So there were these two girls that I got to work with named Paige and Savannah, and it was both their first time entering in a contest. This contest was pretty big, and it was held by the biggest shop in Arizona called Cowtown. If you’ve ever skated in a contest you know how it goes, nerves were high and the pressure was there. As a coach, I was just telling them to go out and have fun, try their best and I’m proud of them no matter the outcome. So they went out and skated their lil’ hearts out for 3 minutes in the AZ sun with everyone out there watching and it was just so cool to be a part of that with them. The fact that they went out and conquered their fears, got past the nerves, and just skated was a huge success in my book. So all the kids and parents were stoked and eagerly awaiting the award ceremony. Then, to complete surprise of us all, they announce that Paige wins 2nd and Savannah wins 3rd! The girls just lit up with excitement and joy! Everyone was stoked, and it was probably my most proud moment as a coach.

The next event that I am super pumped for is a competition called ‘Hesh Sesh’ and it’s in February. My sponsor Nemesis skateboards are putting it on and it’s actually going to be at my workplace, KTR Mesa. We just remodeled our park this year and haven’t had any events for it yet, so to have my sponsor come out and put on a contest for us is going to be awesome. Big shout out to Nemesis skateboards and KTR Mesa for setting this up, I can’t wait!

Thanks Matt for taking the time to share.  To find out more about The SK8 Coach follow them on IG and check out their webpage.

Who inspires you to keep it stylish on & off the board?  When we share stories about what’s going on that’s positive the positivity grows.

For instance I found out about

when I saw that Matt’s a supporter.  We can all make a positive difference.  All acts of kindness make a positive difference – when you’re helping someone learn a trick, cheering someone on, collecting supplies you’re spreading kindness that will grow.

Merry Christmas & hope you share your stories of fun on a skateboard.

Yes, we’d all rather be riding our skateboards, but sometimes you have to carry them – on the plane, bus, or when security is enforcing those no skateboarding signs!  Unity Backpacks got creative and eliminated the straps making it ever so quick & easy to go from riding to carrying your board.

I recently got to check in with Brandon the co-founder.

Why did you first come up with the idea? 

The idea of a Unity Skateboard Backpack came upon from a student facing the everyday struggles of commuting on campus. With only inadequate options on the market, we decided to come up with our own option.

Through months of product development we have launched a quality skateboard backpack with an innovative design to allow skaters world-wide to never carry their board by hand again!

Below the video shows how easy it is to go from riding to carrying your skateboard!

If there’s no straps how does the skateboard stay in place?

Riders simply peel & apply a pre-cut Unity Skatecro grip tape cutout onto their board. We offer small, medium and large Skatecros to fit boards of all sizes. Our current prototype is designed to hold boards up to 12lbs, comfortably. However, we are currently revamping our design to hold boards up to 15lbs!

Our pre-cut Skatecro is not our only grip tape option. Often times, users have a desire to create their own Skatecro designs by purchasing our DIY roll of Unity-Specific Skatecro. This allows users to either completely grip their board or get crafty with their designs.

Our grip has been tested both competitive street skaters to ensure the grip tape quality is consistent with it’s main purpose, to grip. Several semi professional skaters were surprised by the quality of the grip tape in terms of it’s ability to grip and allow for flicks/tricks.

Recently, many of our riders have been applying the Skatrecro, etiher DIY or pre-cut, to the underside of their board. The adhesive on the grip tape is industrial strength, designed to be applied to surfaces of many textures. It’s easily applied to a variety of name-brand boards (Penny, Sector 9, Carver, etc..)

Riders/wearers can choose what side of the board to “stick” to their Unity backpack.

Thanks Brandon for taking the time to answer the questions.  I love when people get creative at how to improve things & make things simple.

How are you maximizing your creativity with skateboarding?

Love the video above of how Liv aka @girlbrainz came back after an injury.

You can check out Liv on her IG and on @sk8babes.  I was amazed at her cart wheel.

Yes cart wheel.  Click above to see her land it.

Skateboarding is more fun when you have friends to share it with.  Liv has fun with Ang @gnarcastic – who are you having fun skateboarding with?

Brianna captioned this photo

Skate even when your left ankle hasn’t fully recovered.

Sometimes you want to skateboard so much, you just can’t wait for anything.

Brianna was skateboarding at Stevens Point Skatepark in Wisconsin.  When she’s not at the skatepark, she might be in class at UW, golfing or cross country skating.

I love that she has so many passions and that she shared cross country skating with us!

Where are you having fun skating?  When you take the time to share you inspire other girls to skate for fun!

Click any of these pictures to see videos of Brianna having fun skating.

I’ve had the pleasure of blogging about Pride Socks before when I met the founder Rachel at a Skate Rising event she was speaking at

Now, I’m happy to share Pride Sock’s latest release:

Pride Socks, an apparel brand empowering individuals to take pride in who they are, has teamed up with the youngest pro skateboarder, Sky Brown, to release a limited edition sock. The “Sky’s the Limit” sock will raise money for the Indochina Starfish Foundation (ISF), which works to ensure all children in Cambodia have their basic needs met.  They take kids begging for money off the streets and into the classroom.

The socks are available at Pride Socks on-line and every purchase donates $5 to ISF.

The Sky’s the Limit sock is part of Pride Socks’ “Custom For A Cause,” in which, Rachel teams up with individuals to create an original sock design benefitting a chosen nonprofit.

I love to see fashion & skateboarding working together to benefit the world!

Where are you having fun skateboarding and keeping it stylish on & off the board?  When you share your stories, you inspire more people to do the same.

@laims_on_skates captioned this

So proud of my girl I could watch her skate all day

I love to see girls get encouragement when they skateboard and try other things.

Encouraging others can be fun.  It benefits both the person being cheered & the cheerer.  Why?  Because when you cheer someone on you’re spreading positivity & positivity always grows exponentially and brings happiness.

@laims_on_skates is a cheerleader and skater.

How are you having fun skating?

One of the places this family has fun skating is West Beach Skatepark in Australia.  All around the world there’s fun to be had on & off the board so I hope you share soon.

Skate Rising, EXPOSURE Skate’s youth program for girls, meets at the Encinitas Skate Plaza the second Saturday of every month. The girls meet up to learn, be of service, and skate.

This past Saturday, December 9th was extra special because it was dedicated to showing Skate Rising participant Vivian Gomez that she is not fighting pediatric cancer alone!

Vivian is 10 years old, her favorite color is purple and she loves leis. So it was rad to see so many in the community come out wearing their purple, putting on a lei and showing Vivian she’s not alone as she fights DIPG, a rare form of brain cancer.

Before the skateboarding started, everyone heard from Dr. Tyler Seibert, a UCSD Oncologist on how simple acts of kindness can bring joy.  Kindness then abounded as eleven of the bravest girls I’ve even seen cut their hair for @locksofloveofficial.

Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.

These are just a few of the girls and stylists from the Kelly Cardenas Salon who participated at the event.

The girls then made 70 activity kits for pediatric patients going through radiation treatment.

photo above @mmoorephotos

Everyone took time to sign Vivian’s card, which she received with a goody basket that included the hand knotted blanket below and an exquisite helmet from My Grey Matterz who participates at every Skate Rising by running the loaner equipment & educating everyone on how to protect your brain.

Then it was time to skateboard.  Neal Mims who’s always so kind to organize the Learn to Skate portion of the program lead the train!

How truly beautiful to see all the purple & leis cruising the plaza.

I always love to see handholding & support on & off the board.

photo above @jessicaannsepulveda

The support for Vivian’s Go Fund Me was truly amazing.

Above pro skateboarder Jono Schwan had to work hard to keep up with how generous people were.  Those who donated at the event got to pick either a free ice cream coin from Handles Ice Cream in Encinitas or a pair of Stance Socks.

The event ended with a raffle, which included 2 Grind for Life Skate Decks, an Autonomy deck, and a complete from 180 Skate.

Plus all the girls who participated received a 180 Skate Pink Tee.

If you weren’t able to make it, you can still support Vivian.

Vivian with pro skateboarder Andy MacDonald & Chris from GFL

You can support Vivian by making a #videosforvivian

We invite YOU to join us in putting many smiles on her face. . . take 30 seconds out of your day to wear the color purple if you have it (her favorite color) post a sweet message for Vivian and challenge three people to do the same.
Use the hashtag #VIDEOSFORVIVIAN
Watch this video to learn more!

@thekelsays

and/or donating to her Go Fund Me.

Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) has no known cure at this time, but I believe that all things are possible when we work together. Thank you to all you participated and will participate.

To find out more about Skate Rising contact the organizer Calli Kelsay at [email protected]

You can check out Skate Rising Encinitas the second Saturday of the month at the Encinitas Skate Plaza or if you’re in the Phoenix area you can check out Skate Rising Phoenix.

Skate Rising Phoenix’s Video For Vivian

unless noted photos: Gavin Silberman