We thought we’d catch up with a bunch of our knowledgeable and influential friends within the skateboard industry on their hopes and aspirations for the womens skate scene for 2022, from professional skateboarders, business owners and an Olympic team manager – scroll on down to see what our insiders had to say!
HELENA LONG
In 2022, I’d like to see more female skaters hitting the streets!
OG London born and bred Vans rider, Helena Long has been skateboarding for most of her life, and now rides professionally for Swedish based board company, Poetic Collective. Helena works as an assistant gallery curator and recently helped curate the ‘No Comply’ skateboard exhibition at the prestigious Somerset House in London. Check out the short film, ‘Only in Dev’ that was made as part of that exhibition.
DARREN PEARCY
I was lucky enough to witness some incredible skateboarding in 2021. The progression made in women’s skateboarding was the absolute highlight. My hope for 2022 is that the girls blow the doors off. The time is now. Have fun and get it. It’s yours for the taking. ❤️
Starting his career as the team manager for a couple UK based skateboard brands, ‘Derby Daz’ worked his way up to be the UK’s first ever team manager for Skateboard GB. He spends his time working with some of the UK’s top skateboarders, as well as the teenage Olympic wonder women, Sky Brown and Bombette Martin!
STEFANI NURDING
In 2022 I’d love to see women and girls enjoying skateboarding in thier own way without boundaries 💞
Skateboarder, model, mother and entrepreneur, Stef has all of her fingers in the pies and both eyes on the prize – owning multiple businesses (including successful board brand Salon) both in and out of the world of skateboarding – all whilst looking after her cute af toddler!
LUCY ADAMS
I would love to see some UK female skaters hitting the rails this year!
Professional skateboarder, Lucy Adams, has been skateboarding for more than 2 decades and has gained experience in almost all aspects of the industry; from coaching, judging and consultation, to chair of Skateboard GB – which has led to her role as Progression Project Lead at the UK’s national governing body.
HAYLEY FORRESTER
I’d like to see equal prize money for women in competitions and more girls skate nights at indoor skate parks.
You’d be hard pressed to find a pair of eyes in the country that absorbs more female skate clips than this woman. Hayley is the SMM here at Girl Skate UK, and plays a key role in the connection and sustainability of our community.
DR ESTHER SAYERS
In 2022 I would like ‘female skateboarding’ to be just ‘skateboarding’, there are so many ways to perform this thing and there are no rules – not as far as I heard. Skateboarding cos you love it, that’s it, there is no set way that it should be done. Go gurlzz, do it your way 🥰
Dr, lecturer and educator, Esther started her skate journey with her sons in her late forties. Now aged 51, Esther is a prominent figure in the academic skate scene, assisting organisations with consultation and conducting her own research projects on female skateboarding.
YUSRA ALAGELI + LILY LAWSON-CHAN
We hope that the community continues to grow as it has done in the past few years. See female skate brands, collectives and businesses thriving but most importantly, everyone just skateboarding and enjoying themselves.
Tired of traveling to other cities when their local indoor skatepark closed down, Yusra + Lily made it their mission to provide a safe space for the skaters and youths of Leicester. After 3 years of hard work and planning, the power duo now have a thriving inner city skatepark that’s just coming up to a year old. And it’s pink too!
SAMANTHA BRUCE
For 2022, I’d love to see more female events with skaters pushing themselves to the next level and entering competitions (Not just for themselves but to help support the scene). I’d also like to see more females branch off and integrate with male skaters to bridge the gap of inclusivity.
Another OG, those of you old enough may remember Sam in the early 2000’s hit TV Series, ‘RAD: The Groms tour America’, featuring an array of up and coming young skateboarders. Sam currently works as a stuntwoman and children’s TV presenter.
MARIE MAYASSI
I would like to see less racism, less perfomative allyship and tokenism; more more real anti-racism, intersectionality and inclusive action from Girl Skate UK and the U.K. non-male skate scene; Queer and BIPOC people exist and need to be uplifted.
Marie is founder of London based skate crew, ‘Melanin Skate Gals n Pals’, a Black led skate collective creating space and empowering BIPOC and queer skaters though meet ups, lessons and events.
RYAN GRAY
More coverage, more sponsorship, more opportunities, more events, more new talent coming through, and most importantly, more purely rad skateboarding!
Former editor and senior filmer at the iconic Sidewalk Magazine, Ry now co runs his own skate publication, The Skateboarders Companion. Pop in to your local WHSmith and Check out our article in the most recent issue!
ROB WHISTON
I’d like to see the movement pushed further, to a point where all the lines of separation in skateboarding have vanished. A more inclusive skateboarding, which celebrates what makes a person an individual and also the same.
An increase in safe spaces and communities for female-identifying, non binary and lgbtq skaters to grow within.
I’d also be stoked to see a new wave of women picking up cameras, shooting and filming skating.
If you’ve noticed an uptake in banging female skate photos over the last year or two, you can more than likely thank this man. Rob works as senior photographer at The Skateboarders Companion magazine and spends his time traveling the UK shooting some of the country’s finest!
JAZZ GORDON
I’d love to see more females in 2022 be recognised for their talents and achievements.
Jazz is the type of skater comfortable on the street or in the park, and is one of very few Black women in the country competing at national level. She most recently competed at the UK Vert Series and the National Championships.
TOBY BATCHELOR
My 2022 hopes are that as many humans as possible start skating/get back into it/continue to skate and have fun 🙌🏼
Toby is team manager at Rollersnakes Skate Shop in Derby and is the man behind our recent collab board! You can grab one here!
RHIANON BADER
I hope that in 2022 skateboarding will continue its path of being a beacon for true inclusion. In a fairly short amount of time we are seeing skating going from being super male-dominated and largely inaccessible for many people and places around the world, to becoming a welcoming scene for people of all genders, abilities and backgrounds. At the Goodpush Alliance we’re particularly excited about the growth of skateboarding in new countries, and making sure that skaters can access boards and safe places to skate, no matter where they are.
Rhianon is the Goodpush Program Manager at Skateistan, working on worldwide youth development programs such as gender inclusion, youth empowerment and sport for development.
LISA WHITAKER
I love seeing the progression, personalities and people having fun at all levels. Hope to see more of all that, but video parts are my favorite.
Head Honcho at female focused skateboard company, Meow Skateboards, Lisa has been documenting female skateboarding for over two decades, and is the inspirational founder of Girls Skate Network.
We would LOVE to hear your hopes for skateboarding in 2022, join in the discussion over on our Instagram page!
girlskateuk.com 