A crowd full of groms gather under a Converse canopy and draw unique designs on fresh kicks, soon be given away to some lucky raffle prize winners. A row of blank white tote bags sit on a table next to markers for people to color on in the shade of an Element Skateboards tent.
Dear Aunt Skatie,
Thanks so much for the socks you sent us for our 18th birthday. We can’t wait to wear them when we skate at your big party on August 20th from 6-10pm at USC’s surf house 1207 W 29th Street. We’ve skated a few miniramps in our day but never while listening to a Tony Hawk cover band.
Sasha is 33 years old, a skater, a powerhouse, and is making history, opening the first Black female-owned skate shop in North America.
“Skate now, cry later” might be Ty Thompson’s catchphrase but for this skateboarding skulptress who also bartends as her day job, there isn’t a lot of time for crying.
A conversation with BIGFOOT contributor Gabriela Levy about our inability to keep track of all the ‘haps led to the creation of the NO MO FOMO calendar, a tool to help eradicate FOMO from non-trad skaters worldwide!
Shanae delivers her part piping hot to your doorstep. Fast and fresh, it aint no Digiorno. Just full-force Sheezy style from start to finish, out there tearing a pepperoni hole in Melbourne-area parks and street spots.
In 2016 our friend Monica Shaw met Anshu while on a skate trip in India with 12 other non-trad skaters from around the world. Recently, she asked us to spread the word that Anshu is in immediate need of medical assistance to remove a rod from her leg that was placed due to a skateboarding injury.
Janthavy Norton grew up watching her brothers skate the streets of Chandler, AZ, but it wasn’t until one night at a party she decided to make friends with a miniramp and tried dropping in… and just kept slamming until the party ended. She’s been skating every day since.
Mutual aid can take many forms, it’s just about people coming together to meet each other’s needs. To a large extent, just creating space for marginalized people to come skate together is a form of mutual aid, but PANSY also carries out this mission in the form of donation drives, skate lessons and forming safe discussion spaces.
Life hasn’t slowed down for the creators of Villa Villa Cola’s “Getting Nowhere Faster.” But during the 15 years since the it’s release, the world of non-trad skateboarding has progressed at lighting speed. Recognized far and wide as a cult classic, the video is regularly referenced by the world’s best as the inspiration behind their choice to start skating.
