2020 skate visions: Pushing Boarders reflections part 3

The Pushing Boarders skateboarding conference held in the skate-friendly city of Malmo, Sweden last year brought together a dynamic mix of skateboarders and individuals supportive of skateboarding for five days of panel talks, skate demonstrations, films, exhibitions and working groups. This included skaters who are academics, professional skaters, journalists, social workers, builders, architects, educators, non-profits, community networks, company founders, photographers, artists, zine makers, authors, museum curators, historians and many more. In Part 1 of this 3 part series, Dr Indigo Willing, a sociologist, skateboarder and panelist on The University of Skate: Support Your Local Academic spoke with womxn and non-binary individuals who were there about the history of skateboarding and why Pushing Boarders was a sign of the times, what people wanted to talk about there, and things that worked or could be improved in the event. In Part 2 the Pushing Boarders ‘class of 2019’ were asked to look inwards, with discussions focusing on steps to looking after skateboarders’ mental health and suicide prevention, with a particular focus on assessing the level of support services for skaters working on the ‘front lines’. This included skaters who work with highly vulnerable communities in both the West and non-West.

As we all are pushing forward into a new decade, our third and final article asks womxn and non-binary skateboarders, and allies, what work lies ahead, and what advice do they have for anyone wanting to go out there and make a difference in our global skate community.

Actively Making Skateboarding for Everyone

At a surface level, it seems that the global skateboarding scene in the last decade has opened up to be a more inclusive place on many fronts. Nike SB signed up non-binary team member Leo Baker, a Rage Against the Gaze panelist at PB, who is also seen in big ad campaigns, magazine covers, and a Miley Cyrus music video. Middle-aged skateboarders in their 40s who are mums like Dr Esther Sayers — a Skate and Educate: From Classrooms to Communites panelist — became more visible, as seen in articles such by Free Skateboarding Magazine, Proper Gnar and Skateism (also see Mighty Mama Skate-a-Rama). First Nations skaters like Di’orr Greenwood from the Apache Skateboards Team are carving out their own space in the worlds of skate art, skateboarding, films and more. And Thrasher Magazine, the ‘bible’ of skateboarding, started including more online content featuring womxn’s skate groups like The Skate Witches who screened some of their films at Pushing Boarders as part of the Smörgåsboard Film Festival.

However, UK sponsored skater Helena Long (who skates for Poetic Collective) still feels there’s plenty of work left to do. This includes how we all need “to reinforce that skateboarding is for everyone. Really make the effort to continue to support skaters — especially those from a smaller community within the larger one — and let them know that there’s always a place for them”. At the same time, she emphasizes that “we need to learn to avoid tokenism. Skateboarding is for everyone but don’t force it to ‘seem’ inclusive. If it isn’t, change it by teaching others how to respect each other… a skater can be anyone under the sun no matter who they are, where they’re from or what pronoun they go by”.

Tara Porter of Neighbour Skate also critically reflects on how, “skateboarding is filled with lots of self-professed ‘good guys’ that haven’t done the self-reflective work that it takes to understand their privilege. Whether that be white, straight, cis, able-bodied etc”. A key issue, she explains, is that “as with all aspects of life, when people with privilege don’t do the work, the responsibility falls onto those without. I think for me recently, I’ve been thinking about how do we make this kind of reflective process more of a normal part of skateboarding”.

Ableism is an issue that has been long neglected by mainstream skateboarding. But change is also happening, as highlighted by Claire Alleaume (from Two Set Magazine) from the Stay Core, Stay Poor panel. She states, “What I’d love to see explored further is adaptive skateboarding and how the industry and community can support increased participation and more inclusive design. Paul Shier and Josh Friedberg both addressed this at Pushing Boarders but it’s certainly one that deserves more airtime”.

Filmmaker Rachael Sherlock emphasizes how Pushing Boarders made her “take more notice of non-binary skaters and people who don’t identify or feel they fit into certain spaces within skateboarding. This has recently led me to meet with a group in London called Sibling who focus heavily on inclusivity”. She explains, “I do a lot of work at Girl’s Only nights and put on girls only skate jams and I never realised how they can exclude the LGBTQ+ community and non-binary people. Don’t get me wrong, Girl’s Nights are amazing and provide a safe space for women that is really needed, but I’ve realised that there are a lot more people that could benefit from a safe space”.

Panelist Amber Edmonston (of Womxn Skate the World and Free Skateboarding Movement) from The Revolution will not be Patronised panel also emphasizes the importance of safe and supportive spaces for womxn and gender non-conforming, gender queer and non-binary skaters. She feels that otherwise, getting a fair chance to roll when men are still in the majority can still be an issue, even when organisers aim to be inclusive. She outlines how, “Pushing Boarders suggests that we’re finally moving away from the “bro-ism” of skating… That said, there were still times in Bryggeriet Skatepark (one of the main event venues) that skaters — predominantly white, cis-male and straight — were flying everywhere with no space for improvers or others who didn’t want to fight for space in the main area”. She observed for example how, “the volunteers — many of whom were womxn — were being ignored and dismissed as they tried to create a small section for this purpose. This suggests that we’re getting much better at talking about and supporting these other parts of skateboarding but in practice we’re way further behind”.

Similar observations are made by Beatrice Hallman who presented at the Academic Forum. She recalls, “When I saw these three local girls, all dressed up and with full make-up, sitting on their boards lengthways in the indoor skatepark longing to be seen and to participate I recognised myself in them. No one gave them space to connect or to have the opportunity to come between the lines”. She continues, “It is important, as one of the panel speakers said, to educate the skateboarders… that occupy space, to let others who struggle with participating in and share the space with them”. She indicates that mature age individuals who are new to skateboarding may find it even harder, “I love that skateboarding women had a panel of their own, but just missed that age differences were not taken into account. Age-wise, the women in the panel was pretty homogeneous, but I certainly believe that this issue will be cared for in the future. I know from being an older woman in skateboarding culture, and other speakers like Dr Esther Sayers too, that we are pretty diverse and all need to be visible and heard”.

Enni Kalilainen (from Siblings Helsinki) offers clarity, power and expertise on what is also valuable for the trans community stating, “social support is most beneficial if we want to progress. Respect and equity is one of the most important things we should have as human beings. We all know that womxn and non-binary people are supported totally differently in different locations too. Finland has a long way to go and so do many other countries”. In short, the more effort and resources given for social support, the more skateboarders of all backgrounds can reach their full potential. For instance, “Swedish womxn skaters have been able to progress in skateboarding to a super high level, compared to my country’s womxn’s skill level. That is why we have only a few good womxn skaters”. But support should not just come from local skaters, it needs to be global too. Enni spoke of unfair situations in Finland that have been openly discriminatory to womxn, particularly in competitions, as well as unacceptable language that is homophobic, transphobic and sexist going unchecked and downplayed by senior figures in skateboarding who should be held accountable. To move forward, Enni states, “We need more transparency in all levels — participation and storytelling, financing — and we need more allies”.

Also a presenter on the Academic Forum, Bethany Geckle outlines how, “It’s not enough to rely on empty platitudes like “skateboarding’s for everyone” and then sit back when “everyone” is not skating”. She adds, “Skateboarding has such rich ties with music and art and so does queer culture. Exploring those connections more and inviting in more collaborations may be a possible technique to bridge those gaps. We see it a little bit in things like the Keith Haring or Andy Warhol board series, Boys of Summer, pretty much Spike Jonze’s whole career, etc. It could just be more intentional or receive more attention. It would make skateboarding seem more inviting, welcoming, and familiar to those tentative about entering”.

As we move ahead into the new decade, academic Dr Pollyanna Ruiz from the panel Sacred Spots: Defining Heritage in Skate Culture urges that issues of racism not be neglected. She states that at Pushing Boarders, “I felt that the conversation around race was slightly muted in comparison to the conversations around gender or sexuality”. She further explains, “I’m not a skater so have no first-hand experience to offer here but the literature around race, the city and the policing of public space suggests that there are plenty of race related issues for the skateboarding community to reflect upon”.

Broadening the view from Western to non-Western skate scenes, researcher Dr Adelina Ong from The University of Skate panel argues that as global skate projects and non-profits continue to expand and grow larger, caution is needed to collaborate rather than dominate. She explains, “As researcher Majid Rahnema argues, development policies ‘tend to create induced and addictive needs… We might take heed from this for skateboarding programmes that leave the participants dependent on the facilitators”. The best way forward, she proposes, is to listen to the readily available local experts who work within their own communities, such as those on the Globally Stoked panel. She states, “I was really glad to hear the panel express this more clearly and eloquently than I could ever do: Ayanda Mnyandu (from Skateistan South Africa) emphasized that it is very important to train locals so that the skills to run the programme stay there. Otherwise the person who comes for one to two months leaves and takes the skills with them and no one can address the problem. And in response to a question about a programme that fuses religion with skateboarding in developed countries, Atita Verghese (from Girls Skate India) stated that “skateboarding should bring us together, not tear us further apart”.

In the new push to be better people, this also means more than just across the human population. Atita Verghese, also from the Globally Stoked panel highlights how the global footprint we leave impacts on all kinds of animals and the health of the environment. She advises, “Skater or not we can all make a difference, firstly by understanding that the climate crisis isn’t caused by one person eating meat, or a few people leaving the lights on when you leave a room. It’s the big companies and corporations that own everything that need to change. And our job is to boycott/put pressure on them as much as possible to make that change”. This is not to say we should not take individual action where we can. She continues, “try your best to avoid causing a demand for things that come from the other side of the globe, don’t eat mass produced meat — if you can’t look the animal in the eye and kill and cook it yourself you are no meat eater, don’t be stupid and waste milkshakes and food like they do on KOTR, carry your own bags to shop and your own bottle instead of buying plastic”.

In terms of challenging gender equity, Atita states, “vote with your money… even if it’s small, like supporting Welcome Skateboards because they made Nora pro and support other female skaters”. But more broadly, she urges for us to see how, “Everything is linked — the climate and feminism is intrinsically linked for example. All our problems stem from the same source and patriarchy and capitalism need to go ASAP. People from white/developed nations have made the most impact on our environment and the people that are paying for it, and will be paying the biggest for it, are the people that did the least to contribute to it. And as always women — particularly black, brown and marginalised womxn — will suffer the most from any such crisis. So instead of flying halfway around the world to educate people on the environment crisis please look within you, your communities and corporations”.

Betsy Gordon (from The Smithsonian) who co-chaired the Sacred Spots panel also feels that dialogue is possible and necessary with the skate industry. Along with the bigger global picture, she urges that on the ground, “We need to talk about money and how skate companies pay their teams, photographers, filmers, office personnel, etc. I would like to delve into some of the corporate structure of the skate industry’s big three — Nike, Vans, Adidas”. In her view, “That would mean inviting the skate industry and allowing them to have space. I think this would be an incredibly brave thing to do. We tend to demonize them as being heartless evil capitalists. Let’s invite them to the table to hear what they have to say”.

Another big institution facing calls to be accountable is the media. Kirby Clark (from Decks for Change) states, “I have a message for those that hold the power in skateboarding and skate media. You have a responsibility to tell an accurate story of skateboarding. It’s community is diverse and it needs to be celebrated”. Furthermore, she adds “Make an effort to step out of your bubble to include skaters that are unlike you, and be aware that trans, non-binary, queer, POC, women skaters have all already learnt they are not welcome, so do not expect them to approach you because they have tried before and been burnt. Maybe not by you, but by people that are just like you and that has crushed them. They shouldn’t have to keep going through that”. She urges skate editors and content creators, “Don’t sit back on the comfy ‘I’m just a cis-white-male’ sofa and ask people to educate you or approach you to feature them in your mag. You have google, you have a platform, you have friends. Do the research, reach out, and let’s all help to create space to celebrate our combined love for skateboarding”.

Discriminatory and just plain non-cool language once regularly used in skateboarding is also something that can be turned around in 2020 and beyond. Kim Butter (from Womxn Skate the World) states, “It’s not a shocking fact that the cis, white, middle class men dominate the skateboarding scene. But it doesn’t only decide who’s being represented on Thrasher. It defines the way we think, talk and value skateboarding… We’ve adapted a certain set of expressions and habits within skateboarding. This specific discourse is what gives the dominant group the power to keep on dominating the scene”. Changes she calls for include being more aware of not normalizing terms like “that’s a gay-ass trick” or “you’re being a pussy” or “it’s just a joke” or “shut up and skate”. Her hopes are that skaters will “pay attention to how we express things and which words we use for it. When we all fully understand this, we can truly call out the structures of how this domination works, in order to make the statement ‘skateboarding is for everyone!’ true one day”.

Academic Forum presenter and The Revolution Will Not Be Patronised panelist Kava Garcia Vasquez (also see their article in Skateism) ties up these threads succinctly and with clear advice. Firstly they point to the broader awareness we all need for skateboarding to improve for everyone in the year and decade ahead stating, “Skateboarding does not exist in a vacuum, impervious to ‘outside’ influences. Rather, skateboarders bring all of their assumptions, experiences, and socialisation(s) with them into the skatepark”. Secondly, they critically highlight some of the discrepancies between the attitude and actions in some skaters, revealing that “Despite the popular opinion that a skateboard functions as a ‘grand equalizer’, I’ve noticed that many of the same skateboarders who claim they ‘don’t care’ if someone is different are the same ones spewing their vitriol in the comments section of skateboarding videos that feature women, non-binary folks, and people of colour”.

Kava also summarises a whole range of issues the other interviewees also articulated, “Let’s be real: although skateboarding has become considerably more inclusive in recent years, skateboarding is not as welcoming as it could be. Why are people (read: men) so pressed about the fact that a woman pushes mongo, or the fact that she’s wearing a skirt while doing a treflip? The simultaneous celebration and condemnation of the diversification of skateboarding reflect the political polarisation of our modern world”. This is not to say there is nothing that can be done. Kava continues, “I believe that we as skateboarders are in a unique position to demonstrate to the rest of the world a more collaborative, intersectional future is possible. We must build the infrastructure to reckon with the uglier parts of our skate culture and use those insights to drive the construction of the world we want to live in”. However, the process offers no easy ride or ego boosts as, “Doing so entails letting go of the idea that anyone ‘owns’ or is the ultimate authority of what and who counts as skateboarding. There is no formula for how to exist in the world as a skateboarder. Though I am certainly disappointed in the comments section of The Berrics, I feel honoured to be a part of the expansion currently underway in the skate world. Love is the wave!”.

While the above views do not capture all the ‘ethical’ work needed to make skateboarding welcoming and providing equity for everyone, it is clear that skaters are rising above negative stereotypes and dedicated to turning around notions that the scene is ‘just for dudes’ who have to ‘shut up and skate’. The skateboarders from Pushing Boarders interviewed here value being accountable, reflective, inclusive and caring, and their individual and collective contributions to skateboarding are certainly representative of that. Plenty of advice, wisdom, encouragement and mentoring can be drawn from the combination of years of community activism, volunteering and social and cultural innovation amongst this cohort. So to launch into 2020 we asked them to share some love with other skaters out there wanting to make a difference.

Everyone Can Make a Difference

There are many ways to make a difference as a skater, both in front of and behind the scenes, and with all kinds of abilities and skills. There is always the issue of taking care of yourself and your mental health along the way as discussed in our Part 2 article. And one of the biggest pieces of advice was to not go it alone and to reach out when needed. Same goes for when we might be feeling the best and ready to go change the world to one we want for ourselves and others.

Kim Woozy (from Skate Like A Girl SFBay) who was on the Stay Core, Stay Poor panel has been a major game changer in womxn’s skateboarding for many years. In her view, going solo is not nearly as powerful as team work. She states, “Whatever it is you are inspired by, find like-minded people to be friends with and have on your team. Or find people who are doing what you are doing and join them! You don’t always have to reinvent the wheel”. She adds, “Let go of being attached to it being “your thing”. Trying to do everything on your own or your way is exhausting and lonely. With teams and teamwork, anything is possible!”

From the Tech Will Save Us panel Imke Leerink (from Girls Shred) shares a similar view about the power of doing things together with others. She also points to the need to be around people that cheer you on and to do the same, “You can accomplish anything, especially when having a support system. We all have to be there for each other more and help each other, lift each other up”. While it can be hard at times, she is understanding and suggests learning as you go, “Don’t ever give up doing what you love doing. No matter what level you are and how quickly you learn. Enjoy every little piece of the process, as it will give you valuable lessons and teaches you a lot about yourself too. Pass on the joy, positivity and experience”.

Rhianon Bader (from Skateistan’s Goodpush Alliance) who spoke on The Skate and Educate panel is another game changer in skating who also values doing things in a team and benefiting from collaboration. She is also a big supporter of mentoring others, with Goodpush Alliance being one of the partners of the ROLL Models project giving leadership training to womxn in Europe. She states, “The best chance we have of changing the world for the better is if we work together and support each other. Whether you want to make a difference in your own community or on a global scale, you might find that there are great projects and organisations already out there that are looking for people with your skills — or you might need to be the one who gets the ball rolling”. She also feels that balancing a sense of community and self care are vital, commenting that, “reaching out to the skateboarding community is a great way to build momentum and to make the world feel much, much smaller. Believe in yourself, be open to feedback, and remember that you will not be able to help others unless you make sure to look after yourself along the way”.

Betsy Gordon draws attention to how the sky’s the limit, and to really see how far you can take your leadership skills. How about a skater for president? And more to the point, you? Why not? Or if not, have a say on who else will be. She advises, “Vote (particularly for people in USA). Even if you hate your choices, vote. Participate in government, even though you are not represented or treated equally. Educate yourself about the existing power structures and find a way to participate. Run for office. Volunteer for a candidate”. In a decade where countries such as Finland and New Zealand are being run by womxn in their 30s and early 40s, the possibility-models are definitely emerging. And let’s remember how young Joan of Arc was and what they achieved.

However, getting change to happen is not about us all being a ‘perfect high achiever’ type with the perfect record and doing no wrong. Far from it. It takes a lot of trial and error, patience, persistence and humility too. Dr Pollyanna Ruiz reminds us of great learning moments from Pushing Boarders such as how, “failing is as an important aspect of skateboarding as succeeding, and this strikes me as key in relation to skateboarding activism. Acknowledging that activism is hard rather than erasing the struggle from the story seems to be a way of getting through… I thought that various organisers and panellist openness in expressing these difficulties was extraordinarily admirable and established a model which others (such as myself!) can try and emulate”. We live in an age where we want things fast and our attention spans can be so waning that captions on 60 second skate videos even beg of us to ‘wait until the end!’. This can transfer over to things that really count. Pollyanna urges us that instigating change can be “a long and drawn out process” and often “happens painfully slowly. Individuals may step up and then step back during the course of any given campaign and, in a collective struggle, that can only be a good thing. It gives people time to recuperate, it ensures that knowledge and skills are shared, it enables a campaign to be in it for the long haul”.

Amber Edmonson also proposes that when we do want to make change, it is OK to start off small, even while we might be dreaming big. She advises, “In terms of skate projects, don’t look at these big builds in conflict areas and think that’s amazing but I can’t do that. You can make a difference without a lot of funding or building a new park. My advice is to start super small, do a donation drive at your local park and collect some old equipment, commit to 5 or so kids and turn up every single week for them. Make the effort to get to know the community you’re in and prioritise the sustainability of the project over any kind of expansion. It doesn’t have to be big or flashy and it can make such a big difference.” From her own experiences, choosing to volunteer is a great way to do our part incrementally, “Volunteering saved my life, built my confidence, gave me a path out of dancing and set me on this bizarre road to wherever the hell I am now. I truly believe that it’s one of the best things you can do for yourself. Find out about local volunteering opportunities and take it from there, even if you’re just washing dishes, you’ll be amazed at the people you meet and the perspectives you gain [read more here]”.

Rachael Sherlock, who has been filming rising skate scenes in places like Turkey also encourages skaters to just travel and mix and hang with skaters from other countries for the social benefits. She states, “it would be nice for more skaters to feel they can venture out on solo skate trips and also to know that they can visit places that have skateparks like Palestine and Kurdistan without having to volunteer with an organisation”. She continues, “These parks are open to the public so you shouldn’t worry if you’ve been wanting to volunteer with SkatePAL for the last couple of years but haven’t been able to because you can’t get a month off work — just get a week off work and go visit the place anyway as a tourist! And stay in a hostel and support the local shops and stuff. It’s still just as good experience and you’ll make friends easily if you have a skateboard and the right kind of attitude”.

Professional skateboarder Lucy Adams who chaired The Revolution Will Not Be Patronised panel raises similar ideas about the value of everyone just getting out there and doing things and mixing, even if there’s not a big idea or cause attached, as it can also promote personal growth, stronger communities and global connections. She explains that, “For me, it is trying to always be open and willing to seize opportunities to learn. I think I always feel like I’m so busy and taking on more things seems overwhelming, but actually just little things like having a conversation with people you wouldn’t usually can open you up to new ways of thinking and therefore may impact positively on your actions”. Offering insight into how both little and big steps all count, she states “it doesn’t have to be huge moves to make a difference — I mean yeah, there are loads of ways to volunteer and support organisations that are already out there or even start your own thing if you feel there’s a gap and you can make a difference, but sometimes it’s just the little things… post a positive comment, give props if something stokes you out, have a chat with different people down at the skatepark”.

You Make Things Possible

With all the talk about skateboarding being for ‘everyone’ and that ‘everyone’ can make a difference there is a risk of homogenizing and assimilating skateboarding. Clearly we need to avoid adopting any ‘one size fits all’ frameworks and approaches, since that is what marginalized womxn, non-binary, gender non-conforming and gender queer skaters and many other minorities in skating in the first place. There is also a need to reflect on the fine line between ‘doing good’ and being intrusive ‘do-gooders’, especially given each and every one of us all live within — not outside of — complex power dynamics. In many cases, we also skate, work and live on the land of First Nations Peoples and in continents that historically have been economically set back from being heavily colonised and drained by conflict and Western commerce. As raised in Part 1 and Part 2 of the Pushing Boarders reflection articles, intersectional awareness matters, such as class bias, racism, colourism, ableism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ageism, colonialism, plus big institutions and other structural forces. At the same time, we should not forget to look within ourselves and what we can do as individuals, each with our own life experiences and biographies. As the wisdom offered in this concluding part of the article illustrates, each of us can bring something special, innovative and influential to the world from being ourselves.

Professional skater Candy Jacobs from The Revolution Will Not Be Patronised panel offers us the gift of some intergenerational wisdom. She states, “My grandma had a saying, I always tell the kids in the school I go to the same, and it is easy — ‘Wat u niet wil dat u geschied, doet dat ook een ander niet’. It means that you should treat others the way you would like to be treated and I think that goes a long way. Take the responsibility you are given in your time here to influence the people around you”.

A space to make a difference may not always be easy to attain but it is something The University of Skate panelist and Pushing Boarders co-organizer Dr Dani Abulhawa encourages us to claim. She states, “Don’t be afraid to be who you are. Authenticity of movement gives you a real sense of embodied freedom that’s addictive and so good for you. Write yourself into spaces, even the difficult ones, because you have every right to be there”. Also embracing this outlook, photographer and Queer skate events organizer, Emanuele Barbier encourages individuals to keep trying to make a difference even though it is difficult “when there are no systems supporting you or large media representing you”. They refer to the very act of skateboarding as guidance, “Bringing change requires the same thing as skateboarding does: grit. Hold your head up high and go forth without the worries of hurting people’s normative worlds”.

A common theme is that fitting in and conforming to anything that is not true to oneself is harmful, even if there are quick rewards from the larger mainstream such as easy money and celebrity. Leyla G. Leon (from Concrete Jungle Foundation) who spoke on the Globally Stoked panel offers deeper insight. “To make a difference, always do the opposite of what the rest do, always look for improvements, not only personal, but also for the community and the new generations. They must be clear that skateboarding is not a world of vices or fame, it is a world where others are shared and respected. It is a world of teaching and learning, especially in a world where it is always necessary to fight for what you want to achieve.”

It is still early days as far as this decade goes but even though a lot of injustices marked the last one, a lot of radical changes unfolded too. In 2020 there is every reason for skateboarders — and those in the wider-community we collaborate with, reach and influence — to keep standing out and standing for something. In Katta Sterner’s (from The Swedish Skateboard Federation) words, “Put your hand on your heart and do not hesitate to go against the stream, that’s when the magic happens!”. Let’s also listen to Kat Sy who reminds us, “You can literally do anything and no one will stop you. Send it”. And lastly, some wisdom from one of skateboarding’s biggest game changers, one of the most kick-ass, tenacious and kindest professional skateboarders ever to hit a vert, and all round legend Mimi Knoop (Womens Skateboarding Alliance) who affirms the following: “Find something that excites you and go after it. Leave this world a better place than how you first found it. Contribute to something; anything. Your life will be richer and well-lived if you do”. Hear, hear. And a Happy New Year.