Alexis Sablone has many talents. We all look forward to seeing her throw herself across some of the world’s gnarliest street gaps, but don’t forget that in that perpetually beanied head of hers there’s a mind whirring with ideas. She’s an architect, illustrator, and all-round experimental designer, who has grown as one of skateboarding’s most competitively decorated women. She’s designed skateable sculptures in Sweden, spoken on conference panels in London, and put her artistic mark on brands who sponsor her. Between this action-packed schedule, she was kind enough to grant us a chinwag.
‘Sup Alexis! We’ve not seen you since the Pushing Boarders conference in London. How was it for you?
Hey! Yeah, I had a lot of fun at Pushing Borders. To be honest, I really wasn’t sure what to expect. But I ultimately found it really interesting – so insightful and full of great people. I’d love to go again.
This year it’s in Malmö, we hope to see you there! You spoke on two panels at that event. What do you feel was the significance of those conversations for skateboarding and you personally?
Well, personally just sitting on a panel with Jamie Reyes to one side and Elissa Steamer to the other is pretty fucking cool. But beyond that, I loved hearing the different experiences. I think there’s a lot of value in sharing stories, hearing from female skaters across generations and continents about what they went through coming up. it’s amazing because the stories range from completely familiar, to: “Oh wow, I never even thought about it like that.” Even if it’s foreign to you, it can really still resonate.
So true. And what about the skateboarding & urban planning panel?
So: Skateboarding is Not a Crime: How to Build a Skate Friendly City just felt like there was so much knowledge around me. From Ocean Howell and the discussion of skateboarding as the “broom of gentrification”, to Gustav (Svanborg-Eden) describing his experience in Malmö and the ways skateboarders can organise to cultivate positive relationships with their city council – a lot of fascinating stuff and, honestly, stuff I hadn’t spent too much time thinking about before.
Tell us about your studies and how you found yourself most recently applying your expertise designing an obstacle in Malmö?
Well, I have a background in Architecture and most recently received my Masters in Architecture from MIT. But that was in 2016. Since then, I’ve been skating and doing other design work and art. As much as I love architecture, I hate regular jobs, regular schedules – working for someone else.
I completely admire people that work hard and do them, but skating – at least for now – gives me the freedom to not have to do that, I pursue projects I want to pursue. So, as long as that can last, I’m good. The Malmo project was basically a dream for me. Gustav called me out of the blue and asked if I was interested in designing a large-scale skateable sculpture to be placed in a public square in Malmo. I, of course, said yes.
And you design for WKND, what goes into your work with them?
My first skate friend in the world, Trevor (20-odd years later, he is still my best friend), was on WKND and convinced me to be on the team. The design work evolved from there. First, I offered to draw some animations for “Who’s To Say” because we were in a time crunch. After that, a few board graphics.
“I pursue projects I want to pursue. So, as long as that can last, I’m good.”
Then the head designer left and I took over. Now, it’s a two person team, Alia’s out in LA and does most of the clothes and handles all the production, and from NYC (or wherever I am), I draw most of the board graphics and the animations for the WKND videos.
So can we expect your new shoe sponsor Converse to take your design input in any time soon?
Definitely maybe. [Laughs]
Tell us a little about your collaboration with Doyenne? What went into the designs?
I first learned about Doyenne at Pushing Borders and I really liked what they were about; a female-run, genderless skate brand that supports good causes. I reached out and we agreed to collaborate. I designed a shirt along with some other stuff and we had a launch event for all of it in NYC last month.
How was the launch? The Scottish on tour in NYC – I imagine there was some carnage…
It’s funny because I had only communicated with them over phone and email leading up to the event and it technically started at 6PM. There we all were at 5:30PM meeting for the very first time and running all over the place trying to set up the show on time. One really punctual person showed up with everything only half-set up. [Laughs] But we pulled it off just in time for everyone else to arrive! For the record, it was my fault – I’m perpetually late for everything!
Was it always your mission to be a designer within skateboarding?
I always dreamed of getting to draw graphics. I think anyone that skates and draws can probably relate. Aside from that, the Malmo project was a really amazing experience for me because I’ve never been that interested in designing skateparks, but I’ve always wanted to make big sculptures and installations. That project combined the two and helped me realise there might be something more there.
Do you have plans that are grander than skateboarding?
Yes. I have grander plans. I have about a million grander plans. [Laughs] The only thing is I’m not sure how or what will pan out, and in the meantime I’m very happy getting to do work inside of skateboarding.
Devil’s advocate: does architecture and design actually need to cater to skaters, is it not part our DNA to deal with whatever the world throws our way?
No. Skateboarding has been working just fine without architects making things specifically for skating. The whole game of skateboarding is roaming around finding value in random chunks of concrete and marble, and coming up with ways to get weird and misuse those spaces with your skateboard. That said, building some more things that are skate-friendly within the actual city and not just in the “skatepark” would be really cool. There was a time – really not that long ago – when there weren’t skateparks on every corner. Kids today may not know that. [Laughs]
On the other side of spectrum, you were at SLS London. Was it surreal to be at a high stakes comp one week and an academic conference the next? Is there a gap that needs to be cleared between the audiences and supporters of these two types of events?
It should be surreal, but I think I’ve compartmentalized the two to such an extent that they just feel like completely different things. There’s this kind of skateboarding over here which is: jump high, go far, don’t fall, win money! And you feel sick to your stomach with nervousness. And then there’s that kind of skateboarding over there, which is just…skateboarding.
“Gustav called me out of the blue and asked if I was interested in designing a large-scale skateable sculpture to be placed in a public square in Malmo.”
Maybe there’s a way to address the gap between the two, but I also think that skateboarding is unique, it’s life-changing. Not just some sport. An art? Who knows. But I think it would be nearly impossible to accurately communicate all of that to an audience of non-skateboarders around the world. I guess my point is that skateboarding isn’t exactly the counter-culture it used to be. It’s everywhere now. But still, there’s something about it that’s special and can’t really be explained, but amongst skaters it doesn’t have to be. I like that.
You’re also a shining example of women’s increasing prevalence skateboarding, both in America and further afield. As if you weren’t already doing enough…
I grew up in a pretty small town, skating mostly alone. On the weekends I skated with Trevor and sometimes a big group of guys. Except for a couple rare incidents, I don’t think I skated alongside another girl until I started entering contests at 21. Honestly, I didn’t care about that growing up. I didn’t want or need a crew of girls to skate with. I was determined to skate either way. I’m stubborn and I think I actually liked proving people wrong when they all assume you suck because you’re a girl. That said, nowadays every time I’m skating through the city and I pass some other girl skating by I can’t help but smile because it’s just a different world now. It’s so sick to live through it and witness it.
Skate Kitchen, global skate gangs, huge Instagram platforms dedicated to female skateboarding and even a diversity magazine or two have sprung up to try to move the world forward. But where do you see tensions, struggle and need still?
Money. I think the skate industry still supports a massively disproportionate number of male skaters compared to female skaters. The argument has always been “There’s no market” or “Look at the tricks he’s doing in comparison to her.” But obviously that’s dumb. 1) Clearly there’s a market. And 2) Since when did skateboarding care only about skill level and tricks? How about creativity and style – people that stand out – male or female?
