New Generation of Black skateboarders

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Christopher Irving on May 4, 2009 at 10:44pm

That's a good POSITIVE step for the new generation of brothas and sistas.

Permalink Reply by Paula Amram on May 22, 2009 at 9:55am

Permalink Reply by Willis Thomas on August 27, 2009 at 3:18pm

I think that is a good thing cause i live in Detroit and i am the only person on a baord and people look at me like i am differnt from them but to be honest i just like doin stuff that makes me happy and been on my board just makes me feel a way i can even explain

Permalink Reply by Kaminelana Cheatem on September 2, 2010 at 1:51am

Hey -- I'm an old, regular foot and I'm just dropping in. @WillisThomas -- I definitely hear you. Riding a board is like a whole different world. My senses were keen and alert to everything around me. And that feeling of being connected to your board, and having a smooth, centered ride where you can hear the wind hum in your ears? It's priceless. I'm over-40 and I don't skate as much as I used to -- and, no, it's NOT an "I'm-too-old-for-this" age kind of thing as much as it's about my blown out knees and hellish osteoarthritis -- but it's still deep in my blood. I'm so stoked whenever I see brothers and sisters out riding the streets. I first started riding in the early 70s in my hometown (chicago) on my banana boards (my first was a classic yellow...the next was nuclear orange), but my friends and I graduated to creating and building our own boards after being inspired by the now infamous Dogtown Articles in Skateboarder mag. We were little picky, precocious tweens, but we had visions of the kind of stuff we wanted to ride. By the end of the 70s I was an obsessed, everyday rider and a loyal devotee of Powell boards. Back when I started, there weren't a lot of girls or skaters of color to look up to, so Peggy Oki, Marty Grimes and Shogo Kubo were like stars to me. As we rolled into the 80s, diversity still continued to sloooowly expand and I was so STOKED to finally see a sister like Stephanie Person put a claim on the vert territory. And I must say, even though she's not a sister of color, I was still elated to see Elissa Steamer kicking down walls as a strong street skater as the 90s progressed.

Here's to the new generation out there raising hell (especially in street skating) -- and here's hoping they keep a level head with all the commercial sponsorship insanity swirling around them.

Permalink Reply by BLACKBOARD 25 on September 3, 2010 at 5:13pm

Betty

Thanks for stopping by. wow 40 on a board and a female skater. Priceless. I was talking to an old school skater and just wondering how do you feel about the young and coming skaters today. P.S love the hair

BoweryBetty said:

Hey -- I'm an old, regular foot and I'm just dropping in. @WillisThomas -- I definitely hear you. Riding a board is like a whole different world. My senses were keen and alert to everything around me. And that feeling of being connected to your board, and having a smooth, centered ride where you can hear the wind hum in your ears? It's priceless. I'm over-40 and I don't skate as much as I used to -- and, no, it's NOT an "I'm-too-old-for-this" age kind of thing as much as it's about my blown out knees and hellish osteoarthritis -- but it's still deep in my blood. I'm so stoked whenever I see brothers and sisters out riding the streets. I first started riding in the early 70s in my hometown (chicago) on my banana boards (my first was a classic yellow...the next was nuclear orange), but my friends and I graduated to creating and building our own boards after being inspired by the now infamous Dogtown Articles in Skateboarder mag. We were little picky, precocious tweens, but we had visions of the kind of stuff we wanted to ride. By the end of the 70s I was an obsessed, everyday rider and a loyal devotee of Powell boards. Back when I started, there weren't a lot of girls or skaters of color to look up to, so Peggy Oki, Marty Grimes and Shogo Kubo were like stars to me. As we rolled into the 80s, diversity still continued to sloooowly expand and I was so STOKED to finally see a sister like Stephanie Person put a claim on the vert territory. And I must say, even though she's not a sister of color, I was still elated to see Elissa Steamer kicking down walls as a strong street skater as the 90s progressed.

Here's to the new generation out there raising hell (especially in street skating) -- and here's hoping they keep a level head with all the commercial sponsorship insanity swirling around them.

Permalink Reply by Kaminelana Cheatem on September 3, 2010 at 7:53pm

Thanx for the compliment on my dreads. I swear I could burn a new hole in the ozone layer talking about the "new school" vs. my old school. I'm all for riding half-pipes, pools and going for sick air, but Street is my true love. There are a few kids I've been keeping my eyes on -- Leticia Bufoni: I've been watching this kid almost since she first started popping ollies on the scene. Totally reminded me of the kind of upstarts my tween female peers and I were in the late 70s as we proved our skills to the big boys. I first saw this amazing video footage of her at some competitions a couple years ago -- I think she was 10 or 11!! I've been tuned in ever since. She's got an incredible passion and mad skills. Can't wait to see how she continues to evolve and become an even more gifted skater; Lacey Baker is another amazing kid who has been working her way up and proving herself these past couple years. I was lucky enough to be visiting friends in Florida back in '08 and we drove to the Tampa Am to check out the competition. She was so rad. Totally calm. She killed it -- and I think she placed really, really high in the contest (I think there were 200 or 300 skaters). And then there's Marisa Dal Santo and Vanessa Torres -- 2 absolute powerhouses and faves I LOVE to watch. And there definitely are some guy skaters I've got my eyes on, too, but the ones who really come to mind are Theotis Beasley and Sean "Frecks" Stewart. INSANE skills -- Love 'em.

BLACKBOARD 25 said:

Betty
Thanks for stopping by. wow 40 on a board and a female skater. Priceless. I was talking to an old school skater and just wondering how do you feel about the young and coming skaters today. P.S love the hair
BoweryBetty said:

Hey -- I'm an old, regular foot and I'm just dropping in. @WillisThomas -- I definitely hear you. Riding a board is like a whole different world. My senses were keen and alert to everything around me. And that feeling of being connected to your board, and having a smooth, centered ride where you can hear the wind hum in your ears? It's priceless. I'm over-40 and I don't skate as much as I used to -- and, no, it's NOT an "I'm-too-old-for-this" age kind of thing as much as it's about my blown out knees and hellish osteoarthritis -- but it's still deep in my blood. I'm so stoked whenever I see brothers and sisters out riding the streets. I first started riding in the early 70s in my hometown (chicago) on my banana boards (my first was a classic yellow...the next was nuclear orange), but my friends and I graduated to creating and building our own boards after being inspired by the now infamous Dogtown Articles in Skateboarder mag. We were little picky, precocious tweens, but we had visions of the kind of stuff we wanted to ride. By the end of the 70s I was an obsessed, everyday rider and a loyal devotee of Powell boards. Back when I started, there weren't a lot of girls or skaters of color to look up to, so Peggy Oki, Marty Grimes and Shogo Kubo were like stars to me. As we rolled into the 80s, diversity still continued to sloooowly expand and I was so STOKED to finally see a sister like Stephanie Person put a claim on the vert territory. And I must say, even though she's not a sister of color, I was still elated to see Elissa Steamer kicking down walls as a strong street skater as the 90s progressed.

Here's to the new generation out there raising hell (especially in street skating) -- and here's hoping they keep a level head with all the commercial sponsorship insanity swirling around them.

Permalink Reply by BLACKBOARD 25 on September 7, 2010 at 2:08pm

Hey Betty
although you don't skate as much you definitely on the scene; you know your stuff .
Thanks for the complement and the support. I trully appreciate it and it means alot.

P.S it look like a mix of different colors in your dread; very cool.

BoweryBetty said:

Thanx for the compliment on my dreads. I swear I could burn a new hole in the ozone layer talking about the "new school" vs. my old school. I'm all for riding half-pipes, pools and going for sick air, but Street is my true love. There are a few kids I've been keeping my eyes on -- Leticia Bufoni: I've been watching this kid almost since she first started popping ollies on the scene. Totally reminded me of the kind of upstarts my tween female peers and I were in the late 70s as we proved our skills to the big boys. I first saw this amazing video footage of her at some competitions a couple years ago -- I think she was 10 or 11!! I've been tuned in ever since. She's got an incredible passion and mad skills. Can't wait to see how she continues to evolve and become an even more gifted skater; Lacey Baker is another amazing kid who has been working her way up and proving herself these past couple years. I was lucky enough to be visiting friends in Florida back in '08 and we drove to the Tampa Am to check out the competition. She was so rad. Totally calm. She killed it -- and I think she placed really, really high in the contest (I think there were 200 or 300 skaters). And then there's Marisa Dal Santo and Vanessa Torres -- 2 absolute powerhouses and faves I LOVE to watch. And there definitely are some guy skaters I've got my eyes on, too, but the ones who really come to mind are Theotis Beasley and Sean "Frecks" Stewart. INSANE skills -- Love 'em.

BLACKBOARD 25 said:

Betty
Thanks for stopping by. wow 40 on a board and a female skater. Priceless. I was talking to an old school skater and just wondering how do you feel about the young and coming skaters today. P.S love the hair
BoweryBetty said:

Hey -- I'm an old, regular foot and I'm just dropping in. @WillisThomas -- I definitely hear you. Riding a board is like a whole different world. My senses were keen and alert to everything around me. And that feeling of being connected to your board, and having a smooth, centered ride where you can hear the wind hum in your ears? It's priceless. I'm over-40 and I don't skate as much as I used to -- and, no, it's NOT an "I'm-too-old-for-this" age kind of thing as much as it's about my blown out knees and hellish osteoarthritis -- but it's still deep in my blood. I'm so stoked whenever I see brothers and sisters out riding the streets. I first started riding in the early 70s in my hometown (chicago) on my banana boards (my first was a classic yellow...the next was nuclear orange), but my friends and I graduated to creating and building our own boards after being inspired by the now infamous Dogtown Articles in Skateboarder mag. We were little picky, precocious tweens, but we had visions of the kind of stuff we wanted to ride. By the end of the 70s I was an obsessed, everyday rider and a loyal devotee of Powell boards. Back when I started, there weren't a lot of girls or skaters of color to look up to, so Peggy Oki, Marty Grimes and Shogo Kubo were like stars to me. As we rolled into the 80s, diversity still continued to sloooowly expand and I was so STOKED to finally see a sister like Stephanie Person put a claim on the vert territory. And I must say, even though she's not a sister of color, I was still elated to see Elissa Steamer kicking down walls as a strong street skater as the 90s progressed.

Here's to the new generation out there raising hell (especially in street skating) -- and here's hoping they keep a level head with all the commercial sponsorship insanity swirling around them.

Permalink Reply by Kaminelana Cheatem on September 7, 2010 at 3:22pm

You are so welcome, kiddo. I'm adding Blackboard 25 to my sacred list of labels I'm going to buy stuff from. I took a look at the deck on your site and saw that's it's 7 ply maple -- do you make them in 9 ply, too?? Will you be adding any other decks to the site (or maybe I missed a section)?? It's times like this that I wish I was back living in NYC and could just hop the subway and limp my arthritic legs over to your shop. Keep on pushing and stay true to your vision. What you're doing is definitely a critical part of this new chapter of skateboarding -- especially for women and skaters of color -- keep up the great work. And as for my dear, old locks...yup there's a few colors in there. First I gently bleached them to a light brown/almost dark blonde so the colors would really pop. The main color is Manic Panic's amplified formula of their Hot Hot Pink, then there's the bits of bleached-out light brown I let peak through for some fun contrast...and then I added some of Manic Panic's amplified shade of Wild Fire (it's like a super firey red) to some of my other locks for more contrast. My hair is starting to go a lot grayer than it used to (I got so sick of dying my locks to get rid of the grays) and I'd love to sport a full head of silver/gray locks one day like Toni Morrison, but right now I'm having loads of fun with these colors.

BLACKBOARD 25 said:

Hey Betty
although you don't skate as much you definitely on the scene; you know your stuff .
Thanks for the complement and the support. I trully appreciate it and it means alot.

P.S it look like a mix of different colors in your dread; very cool.

BoweryBetty said:

Thanx for the compliment on my dreads. I swear I could burn a new hole in the ozone layer talking about the "new school" vs. my old school. I'm all for riding half-pipes, pools and going for sick air, but Street is my true love. There are a few kids I've been keeping my eyes on -- Leticia Bufoni: I've been watching this kid almost since she first started popping ollies on the scene. Totally reminded me of the kind of upstarts my tween female peers and I were in the late 70s as we proved our skills to the big boys. I first saw this amazing video footage of her at some competitions a couple years ago -- I think she was 10 or 11!! I've been tuned in ever since. She's got an incredible passion and mad skills. Can't wait to see how she continues to evolve and become an even more gifted skater; Lacey Baker is another amazing kid who has been working her way up and proving herself these past couple years. I was lucky enough to be visiting friends in Florida back in '08 and we drove to the Tampa Am to check out the competition. She was so rad. Totally calm. She killed it -- and I think she placed really, really high in the contest (I think there were 200 or 300 skaters). And then there's Marisa Dal Santo and Vanessa Torres -- 2 absolute powerhouses and faves I LOVE to watch. And there definitely are some guy skaters I've got my eyes on, too, but the ones who really come to mind are Theotis Beasley and Sean "Frecks" Stewart. INSANE skills -- Love 'em.

BLACKBOARD 25 said:

Betty
Thanks for stopping by. wow 40 on a board and a female skater. Priceless. I was talking to an old school skater and just wondering how do you feel about the young and coming skaters today. P.S love the hair
BoweryBetty said:

Hey -- I'm an old, regular foot and I'm just dropping in. @WillisThomas -- I definitely hear you. Riding a board is like a whole different world. My senses were keen and alert to everything around me. And that feeling of being connected to your board, and having a smooth, centered ride where you can hear the wind hum in your ears? It's priceless. I'm over-40 and I don't skate as much as I used to -- and, no, it's NOT an "I'm-too-old-for-this" age kind of thing as much as it's about my blown out knees and hellish osteoarthritis -- but it's still deep in my blood. I'm so stoked whenever I see brothers and sisters out riding the streets. I first started riding in the early 70s in my hometown (chicago) on my banana boards (my first was a classic yellow...the next was nuclear orange), but my friends and I graduated to creating and building our own boards after being inspired by the now infamous Dogtown Articles in Skateboarder mag. We were little picky, precocious tweens, but we had visions of the kind of stuff we wanted to ride. By the end of the 70s I was an obsessed, everyday rider and a loyal devotee of Powell boards. Back when I started, there weren't a lot of girls or skaters of color to look up to, so Peggy Oki, Marty Grimes and Shogo Kubo were like stars to me. As we rolled into the 80s, diversity still continued to sloooowly expand and I was so STOKED to finally see a sister like Stephanie Person put a claim on the vert territory. And I must say, even though she's not a sister of color, I was still elated to see Elissa Steamer kicking down walls as a strong street skater as the 90s progressed.

Here's to the new generation out there raising hell (especially in street skating) -- and here's hoping they keep a level head with all the commercial sponsorship insanity swirling around them.

Permalink Reply by Shrilinda E. on December 9, 2011 at 3:45pm

Finally, a new generation that doesn't waste any of their time at looking at a person's skin, culture, or individual thoughts. Pushing towards better horizons.

Permalink Reply by Shemaiah Sturdivant on January 4, 2012 at 6:35pm

As a skater in a predominately black neighborhood  , I still come across a few ignorant people who either stereotype me as either a lesbian or being an "Uncle Tom " . Hopefully with time , people will open their minds !

Permalink Reply by SKATEXEDGE on February 21, 2012 at 12:09pm

When my brother and I started skating we were definitely the only ones. The only other black skater we saw was pro Marty Grimes (Z-Flex) in the magazines. We took heat from other black kids for doing "that white boy shit". Ridiculous.

 

All these years later we're still skating and I'm stoked to see ALL colors represented in skateboarding. Ignorance is why people think you have to be a certain color to do ANYTHING!!