Change is rarely the work of a single individual, still there are certain people that stand out when it comes to womxn’s skateboarding history. It’s a relatively short history, that might not have been fully told, or even acknowledged to have taken place. It’s long overdue to tell the stories of those who make a difference in our communities. The people who make things happen on their own terms, unapologetically. Lisa Whitaker is undoubtedly one of these people. Although there is still work to be done to make skateboarding more inclusive and diverse it is worth remembering the efforts and hard work that got us to where we are. After all, a tremendous amount of work has already been done to make way for womxn’s, trans’ and non-binary’ skateboarding to exist.
Change doesn’t happen from one day to the next, but rather through the subtle acts of resilience and creativity that happens during our everyday lives. Even if it’s easy to conclude that we’re in a better place and that things have undoubtedly improved, the past can serve as an immense source of inspiration for the future. Sometimes looking back is a way of continuing to move forward.
Interview by Maria Lima
When I watched Villa Villa Cola’s ‘Getting Nowhere Faster’ for the first time after its release in 2004 I was completely blown away. Never before in my life had I seen womxn skateboarders come together in a full-length video, and not just doing a few tricks, but getting full parts. The video featured all of my favorite skateboarders: Vanessa Torres, Amy Caron, Stefanie Thomas, Lyn-Z Adams Pastrana, Mimi Knoop, Alex White, Alison “Nugget” Matasi and I could keep going.
I would watch it every day before going out to skate by myself and feel encouraged by seeing that somewhere there was a community. There was a place for me in skateboarding. This video was the only reference of womxn’s skateboarding available to me at the time. Perhaps I had discovered Elissa Steamer’s part in Toy Machine’s ‘Welcome to Hell’ but that was it. There was no Instagram or Facebook and to me it seemed like the only womxn’s skate scene that existed, was in sunny California.
‘Getting Nowhere Faster’ was filmed by Lisa Whitaker. By the time of its release, Lisa was no stranger to the industry. She was frequently submitting footage to 411, who eventually became an important help in producing and distributing the video. Lisa also formed The Side Project, which was later renamed the Girls Skate Network. The Girls Skate Network was the first DIY online skateboarding platform for womxn skaters to connect through. The website was, in many ways, groundbreaking. It created a worldwide community before Instagram and Facebook even existed.
The day I got contacted by Lisa to get my profile and an interview included on the site I truly felt like I was a part of something big. Like I belonged in skateboarding. What Lisa did, was to create a home, an alternative, for all of us who felt homeless and invisible to the skateboarding industry. She facilitated a space for representation to exist and grow on our own terms. Essentially, she documented our history to make sure it would form part of the future.
In 2012, Lisa formed Meow Skateboards to further support womxn’s skateboarding when she saw a demand that no other brands seemed to be responding to. I guess, what I’m trying to say here is, if you don’t already know Lisa you haven’t done your homework!
I got on a phone call with Lisa on a late Tuesday night and all while her four-year-old was running tests of her heart’s temperature with an Apple Watch charger, we ended up talking about more or less, the last twenty years of womxn’s skateboarding history.
Let’s start by going back in time a bit. Could you tell us about what Villa Villa Cola was and how it all started?
Villa Villa Cola was started by Tiffany and Nicole Morgan, twin sisters from the San Diego area. I believe the story goes that their parents had a college fund set aside for them, but they ended up not going to college and wanted to use the money to start a company instead. This is a memory from like a couple of decades ago so hopefully I’m getting this right [laughs]. They tried to start as a board company and were also making some apparel. They went around to shops but nobody was interested in it because as they said “there are no girls who skate around here”. So, after a while they were like ‘“okay, we need to get more girls skating or make it more visible” and shifted their focus to making zines and videos. Lori D. [Damiano], Faye Jaime, Van Nguyen and a few more friends were also involved at this point. So, Villa Villa Cola became more of a group of friends that made media. Nicole Morgan headed up the first video Striking Fear Into The Hearts of Teenage Girls (1997) and Lori D. made a 16mm documentary about VVC titled Defeating Projections (1999) for a class while she was attending UCSD.
Was that when you first met the VVC crew and started filming parts for the videos?
I met them in 1997 at the first All Girl Skate Jam that Patti Segovia put on in San Diego. I don’t even remember how I’d heard about it. We went down there joking “oh what place am I gonna get 1st, 2nd or 3rd out of the three girls who show up” but then when we got there Cara-Beth Burnside, Jen O’Brien, Jaime Reyes, Elissa Steamer, Lauren Mollica, Jessie Van Roechoudt all showed up. It was amazing! It was the first time I had really seen any other girls skating like that in real life. I met so many people who are still my good friends today. The VVC girls were just starting to work on Striking Fear Into the Hearts of Teenage Girls. At the time and I had been filming my friend Van Nguyen so we ended up submitting her part for that and working together.
I’m curious to know more about the crazy storyline and all the skits in Getting Nowhere Faster. How did you come up with that?
I really wanted to make a solid skate video with my friends. I was so hungry for content like that growing up. My favorite skateboarders were guys like Matt Hensley and Ed Templeton, but there was something way different about seeing other girls skate for some reason. Like, the little section in the Powell video with Anita [Tennesohn] and Lori [Rigsby]. That had such an impact on me. So when I started meeting these other girls at contests and there was no media coverage, I started focusing on filming them and wanted to put together a video. I had filmed for a couple of years and was starting to have enough for a video, but a lot of that footage ended up being used in AKA Girl Skater. At the same time I was also filming some of the guys and submitting footage to 411 Video Magazine…
“They had no idea that there were that many girls skating or at that level. They were like “forget the DVD bonus, we’ll help you make a full video””
So you were already filming for 411 at the time?
Yes, so one of the times that I went to 411 to drop off some footage with Josh Friedberg, it was right at the time when things were switching from VHS to DVD and they were looking for some content for DVD bonus features, and he asked me if I had any footage of the girls to submit. Since I had been working towards a video I had already gathered some footage and brought thatdebbie to him. Johnny Schillereff, the owner of Element, was there when he watched it and they were both completely blown away. They had no idea that there were that many girls skating or at that level. They were like “forget the DVD bonus, we’ll help you make a full video” and helped produce and distribute it which took it to a whole new level.
But one of the things they were concerned with was how to make it appeal to a larger crowd. There weren’t that many girls skating at that time, so they wanted it to include something other than just “skate, skate, skate”. Everyone in the Villa Villa Cola crew had went their own ways years earlier. Tiffany and Nicole got into Wilderness Survival stuff, Faye moved up to San Francisco and Lori D. was going to art school up north. But just around the time the 411 opportunity came up, I ran into them at a trade show and we decided to collaborate. I was working on filming the skate parts and the rest of the crew worked on the skits.
Did you ever think Debbie Escalante was a metaphor for a real-time issue in the skateboarding industry? To me, Debbie has kind of become the living, or not so living she did drown in the end, image of a certain part of industry that was attempting to feminize or make womxn’s skateboarding fit into a certain box that would be more marketable.
I’m sure that was some part of it. But honestly I don’t even remember the full story of Debbie Escalante. She was in Striking Fear Into the Hearts of Teenage Girls too. But man, we had some of the craziest skits!
“It was even crazier being there. He was telling us “okay, if I get stuck come into the water and pull me out.””
Yes, it was a big production too. A lot of acting and dancing scenes.
Van made up the dancing scenes. There was this other scene too…Tiffany or Nicole lived at a place that backed up to the singer Neil Young’s ranch and I think they were like tracking animals and ended up on his property. The ranch caretaker ran into them and was like “what are you doing here?”, but somehow they became friends and he’s the guy who jumps into the lake on the motorcycle. He pretty much just offered that up like “oh, you guys are working on this? I have this motorcycle!” So there was this pond or something on the property and I don’t even know how that played out, but they put Debbie Escalante on the back of his motorcycle and he jumped it into this lake, it was so bizarre! [laughs].
That was a such a crazy scene, that stunt was insane!
It was even crazier being there. He was telling us “okay, if I get stuck come into the water and pull me out” because, you know, there was mud on the bottom. Now that I look back at some of the stuff that happened during those skits, like the parade in Canada that we somehow pulled off with the help from Michelle Pezel from Antisocial. We did a whole parade in an alley in Canada! How it all came together was so crazy [laughs].
It was really a different viewing experience than the average skate video, that’s for sure.
I can definitely appreciate that more now. I think at the time, I wasn’t fully into it because I wanted to make just like a serious skate video. They were so out there and that wasn’t really my style, but I have definitely grown to appreciate them more looking back on it.
How did brands react to the project? You said you had gotten support from Element Skateboards?
Vanessa [Torres] was skating for Element at the time and they sponsored the video. That video got a lot of recognition from the industry. Being distributed by 411 was a big help as well because they were everywhere. Those big companies taking us seriously, helped us reach a bigger audience. The feedback was great and everyone was really stoked on it. I think, because of the fact that there really hadn’t been anything like it before.
Yes, it was definitely the first time I had encountered anything like that.
And again this was before the internet or maybe right at the start of the internet. But to know that Getting Nowhere Faster made such an impact on people worldwide was huge. We never had that type of reach before, when we were making our VHS videos.
Was this all before The Side Project or were you already working on that?
That was happening at the same time. I think I started The Side Project in 2003 and the video came out in 2004. They wanted to make a website for it and Lori D. knew Flash, so she was designing the Villa Villa Cola site and that was when I was first learning about it. I was curious to learn more so I started messing around with web-building programs. I needed content to put on test site and I ended up using footage of my friends skating. So it, unintentionally, became a girls skate site that I had thought only a few of my friends would see. But shortly after I made it, I started getting emails from girls around the world who stumbled upon it. It was so early on, there wasn’t that much content on the internet. If you searched for anything related to girls skateboarding, I think it must have come up. You didn’t have to Google rank or anything [laughs]. I received a message from a girl saying that she had always wanted to skate and asked her parents for a skateboard, but they had told her that it was only for boys. She found the site and showed it to her parents who then agreed to get her a board. Hearing that made me realize how important it was to make this stuff visible and motivated me to keep it going.
“Girls started making their own stuff, connecting with each other and the scene just grew. If we had to rely on industry to do that, it probably wouldn’t have happened.”
It was a different time back then. The internet was still such a small place and womxn’s skateboarding was still relatively small too.
For sure. So much has changed even in the last few years, it’s crazy.
Now we’re seeing more womxn, trans, and non-binary skateboarders being supported by bigger brands and getting the recognition they deserve. Do you think this reflects a shift in mentality or just a change of business model or strategy? I mean, it seems that every company wants to look diverse now.
Yeah but it was good for a company to look diverse back then too [laughs]. I think it’s a combination of a lot of things. The internet, social media, probably social media being the biggest factor. Before, there was kind of like gatekeepers who controlled what was seen and being put out there. The internet opened it up more, but social media has had the biggest impact. Girls started making their own stuff, connecting with each other and the scene just grew. If we had to rely on industry to do that, it probably wouldn’t have happened.
Totally. I remember whenever a part or video would drop back then it was something that you were really looking forward to. Now there’s just so much content, there’s always something new to watch.
Yeah [laughs]. I can’t even keep up now. When I was first doing The Side Project or Girls Skate Network, I was scouring everywhere to try to find content to post about. Now I honestly feel like I’m not even able to watch everything that’s going on. There’s just so much! Which is amazing.
“I wanted to grow it [Meow] so there was a demand first. I didn’t want to force it on anyone. I was just trying to make it for those people who wanted it. It grew really organically.”
I wanted to ask you, did you feel like people in general were being supportive and taking you seriously both back then but also more recently in regards to starting Meow Skateboards? I’ve sometimes come across an attitude of “that’s not a real brand, they are just helping out friends.” Like, smaller brands, maybe more so in the past, would get invalidated if they were based on friendship rather than making profit. Is this an attitude you’re familiar with?
I am sure there are some people who felt that way, but in my own experience that hasn’t been the overall case. When I started [Meow] in 2012 there were no, or very few, female pro models available. Elissa Steamer, Jaime Reyes, Jessie Van Roechoudt, Vanessa Torres and a couple others had gotten pro models years before but then when the economy crashed around 2008 those opportunities went away. After that there was a whole generation, who never got the opportunity to have a board, like Alexis Sablone, Marisa Dal Santo, Mimi Knoop. There was this group of people missing. I had the others boards on my wall but then there was this crew, like Leo [Baker] to mention one, that didn’t have that same opportunity. No one was supporting them at that time and at that level. My husband actually got the idea after we received a tax return and asked me “do you want to start a company?”. My initial thought was that I didn’t want to start a company just to start a company or to compete with what was already out there. The only way I would be interested in doing it was if I could give opportunities to some of these people who needed it.
Because of Girls Skate Network I knew there was a market out there. Maybe it wasn’t gonna be at every shop and maybe it would be super small, but it would be something fun to work on with my friends. I wasn’t even concerned with hitting up shops, especially after hearing Villa Villa Cola’s experience with trying to sell stuff and getting rejected. One thing that I had the advantage of, that they didn’t have back then, was the internet. So, we just started off really small. I wanted to grow it so there was a demand first. I didn’t want to force it on anyone. I was just trying to make it for those people who wanted it. It grew really organically. Pretty much all of the shops and distributors we have now reached out to us. They just heard about it and were really stoked on it.
“It’s crazy, I feel like there was a time where a huge percentage of the female skate content available, was stuff that I was creating.”
The documentation of womxn’s skateboarding has been somewhat scarce before Instagram and social media came along. Was the need of documenting womxn’s skate culture and creating an archive something that you consciously thought about back then? Or did it just kind of happen? I mean, were you like “I need to go out and film this because nobody else is doing it.”
Back then, a lot of the contests that I would go to, even big events like X-Games, I felt like if I didn’t go and film them and put them on Girls Skate Network, they wouldn’t have been seen. They didn’t get aired on TV or on a website or anything like that. So there was a lot of events that I felt like I needed to go to and cover. That’s not the case anymore [laughs]. Now it’s hard to get a media pass and there are so many filmers on deck of every contest. I don’t feel the need to film those events anymore because they are being covered.
That’s a great thing I suppose. What initially shifted your focus from being the one doing the tricks to being the one behind the camera?
There was a whole generation coming up behind me that were way better than I ever was. So, I stopped skating the contests and started filming them because I knew how hungry I was for content growing up. It’s crazy, I feel like there was a time where a huge percentage of the female skate content available, was stuff that I was creating. Now Thrasher, Transworld and all the big companies like Nike, Vans, Adidas are all creating content. That wasn’t the case back then.
“People weren’t making any money and they were all there for the love of skating.”
To this day there are still very few professional female filmers out there. Shari [White] has been doing an amazing job recently, but there’s still a general scarcity. Do you think there’s also a technology gap to fill? Maybe a gendered prejudice when it comes to womxn and technology? You know, the same when people say womxn can’t drive.
That’s a tough one. I honestly don’t know. The skate scene has grown so much and there are so many more womxn skating out there, but there hasn’t been the same amount of growth behind camera. Monique [O’Toole] made Quit Your Day Job and Shari White just finished Credits which was so amazing by the way! Killed it on that one. But yes, there is still such a lack.
How do you feel about the womxn’s skate scene in the present moment? Are there still changes you wish to see done? Do you think the scene is thriving or is it just like a different thing now?
It’s thriving, but has also become a different thing. It’s so exciting to see the opportunities that are being given and that people are able to make a living from skateboarding. This is something we fought so long and hard for, but then at the same time, it loses something. There used to be this tight-knit crew. Like you said, I don’t know how long ago, but I met you online through Girls Skate Network. Back then you kind of just reached out to each other and made connections, there were just so few girls skating. It really felt like a special bond. Now there are so many girls skating and I don’t know if the younger generation has those same connections or not. It’s way different at the contests now. Before it was like…
It was kind of just like one big session…
Yes, it was a big session with friends. People weren’t making any money and they were all there for the love of skating. It’s definitely changed now with the Olympics and all, but at the same time, that stuff has helped the growth and progression so much. It has made it more visible to younger girls, which means more are getting involved and getting the opportunity to skate, so that’s a positive thing. But it also makes me appreciate the skateboarding I grew up doing in parking lots and schoolyards with no pressure to perform on a big stage, just hours and hours of good times with friends.
“Now that there is more visibility and companies are taking notice, the next step is that more non-traditional skateboarders get opportunities to make a career outside of doing contests if they choose.”
I feel like back then the same people who would skate street would skate contest and it would always be the same faces you would see but now ‘contest skater’ is like a whole new category.
Yeah, some of the new contest skaters have never skated street.
But it’s great that we’re at a point where you can get to choose what you want to skate and just do what you feel comfortable doing. Because some people are just not into doing contests so if they have the opportunity to focus on let’s say, filming a video part instead, that’s amazing.
Shari White, Kristin Ebeling, Leo Baker, Vanessa Torres, Mariah Duran, Christiana Means, Lisa Whitaker, Neex Washington, Yuri Lee. Photo by Norma Ibarra
Yes, which wasn’t an option I think even just a few years ago. The year Leo [Baker] won Street League they were still working a 9-5 job to pay bills. It wasn’t possible to support yourself without doing contests. But now some are getting the opportunity to skate full time, travel and focus on skateboarding, and that’s when progression happens.
Yes, totally. Like, the fact that skating can be something for everyone. That no matter what you like to skate, you can make a living without having to compromise yourself.
Now that there is more visibility and companies are taking notice, the next step is that more non-traditional skateboarders get opportunities to make a career outside of doing contests if they choose. That’s what I’m really excited about.
And just hiring more womxn to do the work behind the scenes…
Yes, that still needs growth. Filming, taking photos, judging contests and working at the companies. All aspects.
