@__babystears went
Out for a rip before the sun goes down
she was skating on Vancouver Island.
I love all the scenic places she is skating and she loves
how much stronger my legs are from longboarding. Its such a fun way to work out????
Skating is definitely a fun workout. Where are you skating and why do you find it fun? More girls skate when they see girls and we encourage each other.
Loved this picture of Miss Ashley Jean skateboarding in Brocklehurst Kamloops and had to find out where it was in the world.
Brocklehurst Kamloops is in Canada. Above Miss Ashley Jean in Kenna Cartwright Park. This is her home base, she travels the world and has the best adventures.
I got to ask Miss Ashley Jean about Yama Plus and her thoughts on girls skateboarding.
Yama Plus is a blossoming apparel brand started in Niseko Japan by Niseko sports! It’s all about the love for the mountains!
I just finished doing a snowboard season there and it was a must have to bring home and represent Niseko and the amazing winter I spent there! ?✌️
I’m all about getting the girls amongst it!! We are just as capable of being fearless shredders!!
Niseko Grand Hirafu Ski Resort – Japan
Thanks for sharing Miss Ashley Jean. Love your style & adventures on & off the board.
Mount Wellington Hobart – Australia
Where are you having fun skateboarding? Or are you an adventurer like Miss Ashley Jean traveling the world. Hope you share your pictures and stories soon.
@cozyycap skateboards for stress relief. I have to agree it’s one of the best reasons to skate.
It’s fun to skateboard with others, but sometimes it’s just best to skate by yourself. At least for me it clears my head and takes me away from the stresses of life.
Will the stress still be there when I’m done skating? Yes, but sometimes it’s not as bad because the break I had skating was enough time to give me new perspective.
When I focus on what’s stressing me it grows and grows and grows until I feel overwhelmed. Skateboarding can stop the spiral. How does skateboarding help you?
Thanks for sharing @cozyycap and for the reminder that I need to go to Canada – love your pictures.
Lilly captioned this photo
Waiting for summer
After seeing that photo and another where she survived some “battle wounds”
I asked her if she’d share why she likes skating and why it’s worth the battle wounds. Her answer was amazing.
I love skatingboarding and longboarding because when I cruise by the lake and feel the wind through my hair it gives me liberation, peace, joy and solace.
My mom who was my best friend, passed away 1 year ago and that’s when I started longboarding. I try new things to heal from the pain and get over the grieving process and I found it through a deck of wood, attached to some metal bearings and 4 rubber wheels.
I’m so glad that Lilly found a source of “liberation, peace, joy, and solace” – a way to heal from a devastating loss. Skateboarding can be fun for so many reasons and I’m honored when girls share their reasons. Being able to share these stories always inspires me to keep skating and writing.
thank you Lilly
What’s meditation look like to you? To Elisha Rose it looks like this
There are endless reasons to skateboard, yes including meditation.
Thanks Elisha Rose for sharing from Toronto and you definitely know how to keep it stylish on & off the board.
When it’s you & your board the possibilities for fun are endless and the confidence you develop is with you on & off the board.
@imagemaven took this shot of @hustlegrindskate aka Crystal.
I had the chance to ask Crystal why she started skateboarding in her 30s.
The story is really simple. Up until the last week of July 2016, I had never stepped on a skateboard before. Not once. But when I did, it felt like love.
After reorganizing our garage, I came across a high-rise longboard and skateboard which had gathered dust the last 5 years. I wanted to get my kiddo active and off the devices so we took the boards out to the cul de sac to have a push around. I was hooked.
I’m in it for the feelings. When I skate, I feel scared the entire time – like adrenaline! But it’s also punctuated with huge bursts of joy and I can’t let go of that. I can’t get enough. I haven’t quite landed my drop-in but this week is the week. Today might even be the day. Wish me luck!
Thanks Crystal for sharing why you started and keep skateboarding. I wish you luck & success at everything you do. Your positivity inspires me.
I also love how you built a quarter pipe at your office – “girls of action” are stylish on & off the board!
In addition to being a skateboarder and mom, Crystal is VP Full Blast Creative, Founder of Social Bulls in Canada.
UPDATE
Hey Jordan, I’d like to up date your piece. Crystal is now dropping in on her own, and on her own ramp. I was her hand holder ? Cheers, Marlene
I absolutely love when updates are good news! Congrats to Crystal and I hope she inspires many others to chase their passions, whether it’s on a skateboard or whatever. Plus I hope Marlene aka @imagemaven reminds us all to share our talents. Whatever skill we have it grows when we share it with others.
Happy Holidays!
Chantal: Women are always going to support other women and I think having a woman photographer shooting a female skater is just the ultimate combination.
Men and women often see things differently and to change the perspective to a women’s is always going to be interesting because the photo/skate industry is so male dominated. You stick two powerful women together who are passionate and driven for skateboarding and amazing things will happen.
When you meet a little dude at the skatepark and he asks you to take his photo and then tells you that you need to come back to his park sometime, but only after he gets out of daycare.
There is no gender bias in skateboarding. We must work harder to achieve gender equality. Start with being inclusive and giving opportunities to girls to shine. – skateboarders for hope
When I started on this series of posts – Girls Who Shoot Girls Skateboarding – I wanted to include girls who shoot long boarders. So I reached out to my friend Candy Dungan aka candybombing and that’s how I met Harmony.
TBH I haven’t met Candy or Harmony in person. To me it’s part of the beauty of being a blogger and a skateboarder – you meet people all around the world.
Each of the photographers got to choose how their blog post would go – here’s Harmony’s story.
My name is Harmony Thompson and I am a skateboarder, film maker, photographer, tattoo artist and musician from Vancouver BC.
Harmony skating with Kady in a photo by Simon Lee
I started skateboarding a few years ago when I met a longboarder girl, Charlie. She hooked me up with my first downhill board and inspired me to face my fears of falling and to just skate for the love of skating. She also taught me how to fall safely, so I could feel more confident trying new and scarier things. Since then I have fallen in love with all forms of skateboarding but mainly bowl, downhill and street.
As a photographer it seemed natural that eventually I would take pictures of the people around me and the things I had been experiencing, but I never thought I would end up with photos I had taken for fun published in one of my favorite magazines!
After separating my shoulder at Maryhill, I was super bummed out that I couldn’t enter my first race at Danger Bay (I was even registered!) so I decided to just go for fun and shoot pictures of my friends who were racing that day.
I ended up taking this really cool picture of my two good friends (Kady and Bhakti) who were practically holding hands through carnage corner. Later after sharing the pictures on facebook I was contacted by a girl named Candy from Concrete Wave, who wanted to use the pictures I took of them in a little write up about girls in longboarding.
I was stoked that my first paid and published photography gig was from shooting pictures of my friends at an amazing event AND I got to tell them they were going to be in the 15th anniversary edition of concrete wave!
I remember Kady sharing a post of that picture with a caption something around the lines of “whats better than a picture of 2 rad skater girls? one that was taken by another rad skater girl!” It was super cool to see how positively it impacted my friends, we were all rushing to get as many copies as we could! Suddenly I didn’t feel so bad about my injury and I was super stoked that I was able to capture that moment for them!
On another note Id like to give a little shout out to Chick Flip and the Skate Witches who taught me how to drop in and got me into the world of street skating as well as the Vancouver Ladyboarders (which is run by the lovely ladies in those pictures up there!) who continuously spread the stoke with everyone they come in contact with! It is so amazing to see all the support that is becoming available for female skaters and I think it can actually be really inspiring for a lot of the guys out there too! Keep on shredding!
Harmony photo by Colin Buckley
If you are interested in seeing the random photography, videos, art or music that I create or if you just want to talk or skate or whatever, you can find me at facebook.com/soradsoharmony or youtube.com/soradsoharmony (pretty much anywhere at SoRadSoHarmony)
I am always stoked to meet more rad girls or people of any gender who want to skate and/or create in any way! So if you see me around or find me on the internet don’t be shy to say hi or send me a message!
Much Love!
Harmony ~
Above Kaeleigh aka @kaeshreds at Skate Night @ride_n_play in Edmonton Alberta – Canada.
Kaeleigh was motivated to start skateboarding by her big sister @avaraehc and because she is also a snowboarders. She also has some supportive friends that motivate her to keep learning! (Uncle Shawn, Chad and McKenna).
Above avarehc – further proof age is just a number. You are never too young or old to motivate, inspire & encourage others. Avarehc is a SheShreds Ambassador keeping it stylish on & off the board.
Update 9/11/16 – just love this photo – youngest competitor today at the Fise skate competition in Callingwood – with her new deck
I never said I was good at geography and sometimes the guesses I make about where people are skating are far off.
Why did I think resolve.and.evolve aka Caroline was skating in Wyoming? I really don’t know, but what’s good is she answered me back. She’s skating in Montreal Quebec and encourages all her girls to get on a board!
I’ve only ever skated in Canada but I dream of cruising around the world in my future! I stared skating in my hometown of Ottawa Ontario and now I ride the mean streets of Montreal Quebec. I’m always looking for other ladies who longboard or skate and I encourage every lady to give it a try! I actually often get stopped by other girls who just want to tell me they like my grip tape and then I often end up asking them if they want to give it a try! Also I actually snapped my femur in half longboarding drunk so I’m always warning people about the dangers – Caroline
Even if my geography never improves this blog is one of the best things that ever happened to me. Plus it’s educational – love how Caroline shared her mistake so we won’t make the same one.
And if you can believe this Caroline is a Pastry Chef – yet again another reason for me to skate in Canada.
By the way the largest city in Wyoming – Cheyenne is 2,569 km from Montreal, Quebec – which is only 1,596 miles – at least it was right continent.
And I’m almost back from vacation – in the Washington DC airport now ✈️
