“My dad used to be better than me…”

Imagine stepping back into the mid 1970s when skateboarding was associated with ‘bad boys’ and rebels. No women were skating, and if they were- not in the public eye. In the 1990s Elissa Steamer was everything the skating world was talking about. As the first woman to make skateboarding her career, she has since inspired young skaters around the globe. It is now 2020 and skateboarding is making its debut in this year’s summer Olympics. Not only that, but 11-year-old Sky Brown might be qualified to compete! The rebellious urban pastime is finally being taken seriously as a mainstream sport.

Marshall Taylor, a member of staff at Slam Skate Shop in London says that “we've always had a really good number of female customers coming into stores but in the past, they were buying for boyfriends or partners. But we do see more these days buying for themselves.” Two of these women are 19-year-old Ella Anwar-Stevens and 18-year-old Lily Morrow from Bath and Kent. Unlike some women, they continue to skate despite being the only girls present on skate ramps. In other words, they are skaters who keep going and are inclusive of all, despite gender, sexuality and ethnicity. What is the reality of being a woman in a sport that has been dominated by men for decades and how do they really feel about the Olympics debut?

Stevens laughs as she admits that she often found herself at 7am in her dad’s car on her way to the then empty skatepark as she was nervous about skating when the park got crowded. Despite constantly falling on concrete she kept going with one sentence in mind “if I’m even going to try to skate, I might as well actually be good at it.”

Two years later and the first thing she did once moving to Kingston for university was grab her board and walk to the local skatepark. “Although there were no girls, it was a way to make friends regardless of gender.” The best part about being a woman in this sport is having the ability to prove a point; Girls can indeed skate.

Morrow’s older brother skated throughout her childhood, but it was not until a year ago that she finally picked up the board laying in her bedroom. During her first visit to a skatepark she met some of the locals around her age, one of them a part of a film crew from around Kent and South East London called Duro3. “When I watched their videos, I was amazed, and the boys in it became my idols and it is now amazing to be friends with my idols.” She follows up saying that skating is the “first thing I've ben passionate and cared about.”

So, how women within the sport meet each other? Both agree that finding women communities can be difficult, however the skating scene in London has multiple fantastic opportunities; monthly all-girls skating events hosted by Bay66 and House of Vans, Instagram accounts dedicated to London’s scene skating and a general larger presence of women in skateparks around the city. Stevens mentions that “in Bath, there are always more male skaters, but when I came to London, I was actually the majority, which has never ever happened before. That’s how big girl skating is in London.” Contrastingly Morrow says, “it doesn't feel like as much as a community the other cities have, probably due to the size of the city.”

If a community is difficult to uphold in London, how will the skateboarding community be in the Olympics? Morrow acknowledges that the Olympics “isn't a real representation of what skateboarding is.” Similarly, “skating isn’t Olympic, it takes away the charm and fun. Skating should ultimately be about having fun with your mates, not a competition between each other,” Ella says whilst sipping her cappuccino.

Setting the Olympics aside, once asked whether they have experienced any uncomfortable situations, they both seem to have a lot on their mind. Ella’s story almost sounds like something out of a movie, perhaps the reason why numerous women stop skating. “I was walking down the street with my board, and a group of young boys shouted, ‘Oh I bet she can’t even skate.’” Another day I “stood on a skate-ramp, and a naive and oblivious kid came up to me asking whether I was a boy or a girl.” His reply when I said I was a girl was along the lines of “oh it’s just I’ve never seen girls skating, I thought only boys did.” Comments like that makes me so frustrated. “Girls can skate just as much as boys can.”

Alongside some of Steven’s experiences, Morrow explains that she had also had a few “arrogant guys thinking you skate to get male attention, but it's very easy to just ignore them or just say you're not interested.” She also remembers a few “incidents where guys interpreted me wanting to skate, as me trying to move them, but when it was cleared up, we remained friends and they respected my boundaries.”

Despite some uncomfortable and frustrating events, their communities are filled with unconditional support whether “you're learning to push, or backside flip a 12 stair, everyone wants to help and support you.” Stevens continues by reflecting over how, before going to Bath skatepark, she was very intimidated just by looking at the skatepark. However, “now those people inside the park are my friends.” Following from that, an interesting perspective Stevens also points out is that “we should realize that if it was the other way around, girls would automatically look at the one guy who skates or might not land perfectly all the time. – that would be just as bad in my opinion.”

Morrow wants to encourage young girls to borrow a friend’s board they never use, and if you enjoy it get a board. “The only thing you'll regret is not skating sooner!” Afterall, Stevens proudly says “my dad used to be better than me.”

“My dad used to be better than me…”

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