Amy and I met at Ashland skatepark in 2001. She was with Van Nguyen and Jaime Lopez. It was the “Black Eye, Please” tour. Yesssss.
At one point, I remember Amy telling me about a girl from Modesto who was really getting it. I remember how hyped she was on this unknown shredder. As if she had spotted the rare Crested Caracara… or had seen BIGFOOT.
Vanessa Torres soon became another lifelong friend. Hearing about her before we’d met wasn’t out of the ordinary. As skaters, most of us forged ahead solo, in different cities and towns with varying levels of tolerance for girls on skateboards. But that lonely experience that turned out to be a collective one. Meeting people who shared it was a validating, exciting kind of stoke out.
A really special, underground culture emerged. It’s lack of exposure and acknowledgment inspired my dream to create this platform, way back then.
Today, “Non-Trad” skateboarding is generating more interest, making money and receiving acknowledgment by the industry and mainstream. In 2019 Amy and I decided the time had come to help ensure the voice remains authentic.
Our name is also an homage to Big Brother Magazine, which I read cover to cover each month when it arrived in my mailbox. Dave Carnie is a big reason I wanted to be a writer. His drag approach to skateboarding, made me laugh a million times and felt like a breath of fresh air in a world that often took itself way too seriously.
BIGFOOT exists to keep it fun, simple & spicy, and encourage the fringe to have fun with friends & skateboards. Roll with us!
-Migzy
