I first met Deeny Suarez, the mind behind the Argentinian skateboard brand Shimmer Skate Co. back in 2013. At the time we were both living in Barcelona, what was once (dare I say it) the skateboarding capital of the world. Deeny had that precious and rare caretaker instinct. She would always feed me empanadas and give me advice on how to move on whenever I felt stuck at Macba, or life in general. I have always admired Deeny for her determination and strong willpower. But more importantly, I admire her way of always looking out for her people. One day we were drinking tea at the local bakery and Deeny told me she was thinking of moving back to Buenos Aires to start a skateboard brand supporting the local womxn’s skate scene. Years later now, I am so happy to see that Shimmer Skate Co. has not only become a reality but that it continues to grow and evolve. This is a story about the hard work and sacrifices, but also the love and care, that go into doing things right. Built with the strength of our differences, it shows us how activism is not always a conscious choice that we make but rather, the effect of taking action and doing things yourself. It’s a lesson that teaches us how change happens the moment we dare to turn our words into action.
Interview by Maria Lima
Hi Deeny! How are you?
Hi Maria! I’m good. Waiting for the quarantine and COVID-19 to pass so I can go skate again. Meanwhile, I am working from home.
Let’s start with Barcelona, which in many ways, was the beginning of Shimmer Skate Co. and the end of you and I living in the same city.
Yes, that’s true! That’s the last time we saw each other, but what a great time we shared!
2014 was my last year living in Barcelona. I knew I was gonna return to Argentina after spending six years there. I wanted to do more to help Girls Invasion grow. At the time, we had already established the National Women’s Skate Circuit and I was offered a job as a team manager of the Argentinian footwear brand, Nite Shoes, so everything just fit perfectly. I already had a job lined up when I arrived back home and I could dedicate myself to my projects.
Why did you want to create a skateboard brand? And I’m wondering why you left Barcelona in order to do so?
I had the idea of creating a skate-oriented brand since first getting involved with skateboarding. I always wanted to make clothing, mostly to adapt certain garments, like pants, to make them more comfortable for womxn to skate in. But then again, I think it’s more common to see womxn have apparel and footwear sponsors than board sponsors. So I thought I would help fill that gap and start with a brand that focused on producing decks. I wanted to spread, and more importantly, encourage womxn to keep skating and feel supported and valued.
“The biggest challenge has actually been separating the brand from the category of being “a women’s skate brand”. I never thought of it as being exclusively for womxn. The board which is under your feet is essentially the same as mine, your best friend’s and everyone else’s.” – Deeny Suárez
With the help of my friend Luis Guzmán from 7capas Magazine I started Shimmer Skate Co. All while still being in Barcelona I handled the designs, closed sales while Luis was in charge of the orders. Then, finally, when I arrived in Argentina I was able to take care of the orders myself.
I saw a great potential in the Argentinian skate scene. My destiny was there, I just knew! I decided that I should just try to do everything I’d always wanted and then see if it was really what I was meant to do in this world, haha! I thought; what can I do, apart from organizing events, to help the scene continue to grow in a more unstructured way while still promoting it through more traditional channels like magazines and so on.
What brought you to Barcelona in the first place?
Barcelona is like a dream for every skateboarder out there. At the time, I didn’t think it would be a possibility for me, but many of my friends had already made the move and they all encouraged me to go. My initial idea was to go for three months but I ended up staying. I think it was just the right moment. In Buenos Aires I couldn’t find my way to a university degree, I was already twenty-six years old and I assumed it would be a great opportunity, so I saved up money and I left!
So Barcelona was a good time for you?
I had so many incredible experiences while living in Barcelona. I learned a lot from the customs and cultures that are represented there and got to meet some of my longtime womxn skate idols that I’d only seen in video parts. I got to share space and sessions with skateboarding machines like Elissa Steamer, Louisa Menke and Sarah Meurle. I also made great skate family and friends, like Vane Toledano and Vero Trillo among many other people.
Tell us about your experience with creating a skateboard brand. What were some of the biggest challenges and surprises along the way?
The biggest challenge has actually been separating the brand from the category of being “a women’s skate brand”. I never thought of it as being exclusively for womxn. The board which is under your feet is essentially the same as mine, your best friend’s and everyone else’s.
The idea of delivering something different really motivated me. I wanted to create something that wasn’t attached to just one fixed logo but could reinvent itself. A 100% skate brand that was made for and by skateboarders – from designs to manufacturing. The graphics are created in collaboration with Estefi Moreno. She is a skateboarder as well as an amazing illustrator and graffiti artist. She’s super creative and all our graphics stem from the pen in her hand. She has all the freedom to create.
The biggest surprise was actually the positive response we received from people. It’s a really diverse group of skateboarders who follow us. I think people of all genders and identities support us because they love the idea behind every board as well as the way we do things. That really means the world to me!
Why was it important to you that it would be a brand supporting specifically womxn skateboarders?
Because seeing womxn represented by skateboard brands continues to be a rare thing. Just think about how the first generations of female skaters had to start these ventures themselves by creating small businesses and DIY entrepreneurship in order to give rise to and provide incentive to womxn who were skating hard but not getting any attention from the industry.
Being a skateboarder myself I thought about how I could help increase the number of womxn who keep skating and don’t stop due to a lack of access to materials. I also thought about how I could encourage them on a more daily basis, not just during contests. I wanted to make the Shimmer team known to other communities around the world, putting together advertisements in magazines and making video parts. Really just to document the vibrant scene and the talented skateboarders that we have in Argentina. For a girl, to see an advertisement in a magazine of another girl skateboarding can truly open her mind. The same thing happened to me when I watched Elissa’s part in Toy Machine’s “Welcome To Hell”.
“It’s made by a person who skates and it has a team of womxn skateboarders in order to support a scene which, isn’t really being valued or supported by the industry. But that doesn’t mean the brand has a gender or belongs to a fixed category.” – Deeny Suárez
Tell us about the womxn skate scene in Argentina. What are some of the crews and skaters to look out for? I’ve personally noticed Noe Canaparo’s skating and I’m a big fan.
The womxn skate scene in Argentina is somewhat consolidated and established. Finally! haha. The scene has actually existed for more than twenty-five years but there’s been a lot of inconsistency, and people tended to stop skating sooner or later. Today, however, if you go to the skatepark there will likely be five or more girls skating.
To be honest there aren’t that many crews, we all just skate with each other. We just decide on a spot and whoever is free to come is invited, no matter age, gender or style. The same goes for whenever we’re filming. Where we plan on going sometimes depends on who hasn’t gotten as many clips or has a spot and trick in mind. For me personally, I’m still skating with the same people I skated with twenty years ago.
It’s hard to point out anyone in particular because everyone has their own distinctive style and bag of tricks depending on what type of skater and person they are. But watch Vol. 1 and 2 of the Girls Invasion videos and you’ll get a pretty good picture of the current scene. Noe Canaparo, Aldana Bertran, Maira Alfonso, Candela Soliz, Guadalupe Orellano and Valentina Cortez are a few of the names that come to mind.
On that note, could you tell us a little bit about Girls Invasion?
Girls Invasion started out in 2006 as an event to unite and create alliances in Womxn Skateboarding. It’s been fifteen years since our beginning, evolving from being just a meetup where we hosted skate clinics, raffles and free skate. Now it has lead to a much bigger event; The National Women’s Skate Circuit. During the year, four womxn-centered events take place in different parts of the country. The contests are each divided into three categories: beginner – intermediate – advanced. The 4th and final date is in Buenos Aires. We created this structure because we believe it generates a better and more dynamic contest where more people feel represented. Above all it provides a framework for meeting other skaters from all over the country.
Girls Invasion recently put out a couple of videos, right?
Yes. The Girls Invasion Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 are basically four minutes of awesome chaos that represent different skaters from different parts of the country. Three years ago, I had the thought of making a more traditional skate video with the typical duration of thirty minutes, including longer parts. However, I couldn’t find time for it. Then, when the possibility of creating a shorter video came along in the occasion of International Women’s Day 2019 and an event that was supported by Nike SB, we decided to make the first video.
This year’s idea was that Vol. 02 would include both new faces as well as more established riders. My job was pretty much organizing and keeping track of everyone’s schedule.The most recent video was a bigger challenge, since we only had one year of filming and little post-production time, as well as including even more skaters in the video.
Was there anything you especially enjoyed filming?
I was interested in it being a 100% street skating video. I really wanted to facilitate a space where everyone felt free to be creative. Unlike skateparks, streets aren’t created to be skated so it really adds a more original and surprising, but also challenging, aspect to skateboarding. It’s also more common to see skatepark footage, I think.
I stumbled upon the Instagram account @orgfemskateboarding. From what I could understand, it’s an organization promoting diversity and equality in skateboarding, is that right?
Yes. So, OFS was created as a response to the lack of support of Womxn skateboarders in Argentina and as a tool to create a sense of belonging. We were seeing a lot of different issues that weren’t being paid attention to. Like, the fact that there aren’t only three girls skating in the whole country. In fact, the Argentinian womxn skateboarding scene has a long history. We believe that paying attention and honouring this history should form part of events.
OFS points out, and work against, the lack of respect and the ongoing oppression of womxn that is both seen in our community, as well as, in society at large. We celebrate diversity and our differences by, for example, demanding equal pay when it comes to cash prizes. And less talked about is maybe, how all genders should receive the same amount of products and materials when it comes to sponsorships. We believe that this is vitally important for the scene to continue to grow. It’s equally important that womxn who, for years, have devoted their lives to the community, get to work alongside men when it comes to judging, commenting or covering contests.
The Women’s Skateboarding Organization in Argentina is on the same path, understanding that we need to work together for the best results. That there are many capable and experienced womxn hoping to occupy those deserved places in skateboarding both when it comes to recognition and jobs. In one year, we have achieved a lot by simply having a positive dialogue, by showing that we are ready to take action.
Do you feel like the skateboarding industry, and culture in general, have become more inclusive than when you first created Shimmer Skate Co.?
I think so! The younger generations teach us a lot. I’m constantly learning from the girls and their ideas of the world. I always gladly listen to what they have to say. Being from a different generation myself, it’s really important to me that Shimmer Skate Co. communicates and represents their values too, not just my own. When it’s time to promote a new product, I generally try to avoid reproducing categories or putting things into a box of “boards for girls” or “brand for girls”. Shimmer is a small brand. It’s made by a person who skates and it has a team of womxn skateboarders in order to support a scene which, isn’t really being valued or supported by the industry. But that doesn’t mean the brand has a gender or belongs to a fixed category.
It shows from our sales that our message is being embraced. We receive a lot of positive feedback, so I think we’re at a point now, where most people don’t mind seeing an advertisement featuring a womxn skating. I think, it comes down to providing something that isn’t already on the market, standing out from what’s already out there. I like that idea! Each brand has its own identity which is able to change and evolve over time. From design, shapes, materials and advertising, there are so many ways to make things differently. And that’s a really exciting and motivating thought for us.
On that note, I think it’s time to wrap it up. Thank you for chatting with me! Lastly, can you describe Shimmer Skate Co. using only three words?
1 – DESESTRUCTURACIÓN
2 – CREATIVIDAD
3 – DIVERSIÓN
Any final words?
Thank you Maria, for facilitating this space. It’s super important to communicate and spread the word about the efforts we make out of love. I hope to see you soon. Here or there. No matter the place, I hope we will be skateboarding and having a good time together.
