To Balance is Trust | A photo series by Hannah Bailey

Hannah has been photographing women’s skating around the world for over 10 years, finding inspiration in skateboarding’s diverse faces and underground culture. She was one of our exhibiting photographers at Yeah Girl LA 2018 and Yeah Girl: Homecoming in 2019. Her mission has been to question society’s perception of gender in sport and challenge how women are represented in the media through her images of skateboarding and portraits of skaters. In March 2020 Hannah won the inaugural Getty Images #ShowUs photography grant with the project To Balance is Trust, which aims to look beyond stereotypes, to shine the light on the faces of women, non-binary and female-identifying skaters, and support them to tell their stories.

For many, skateboarding has been seen for the first time on TV this past week with its Olympic debut. Hannah hopes To Balance is Trust will intercept this competitive controlled vision to put it back in the hands of the people who skate through portraits and stories. From wheelchair motocross champion Lily, to Melanin Skate Gals and Pals founder Maz, to eight-year-old skater Mac, long-time skate videographer Yuri, and anti-racist activist/co-founder of SkateBoobs, Hannah met and photographed over 20 skaters from different backgrounds on different missions but united through their boards.

Check out some of the photos from the series below and follow Hannah on Instagram to keep up with all her projects.