If you are a skateboarder, queer or not, you’ve likely already heard about the Oakland queer DIY skate scene. You may also already be familiar with the names Cher Autumn Straub, Kane Caples, Mae Ross and Triss McGowan. Yet, if this is not the case, here’s a perfect opportunity to get to know them through the lens of creative couple Lana Jay Lackey and Tyler Kohlhoff.
Words Maria Lima
In these four vibrant collage-style mini-documentaries, members of the Bay Area crew share their thoughts on identity, gender and finding their way into skateboarding. This is in many ways, not your average ‘fast and hard’ skate video but one that embraces slowness while diving into the lesser-known territories of skateboarding.
Creators Lana Jay Lackey and Tyler Kohlhoff have through this project painted an image of modern-day America, a queering of America and of skateboarding. Somehow the youthful punk spirit of these moving images brings Larry Clark’s movie Kids to mind. Except, the regressive gender-and racial politics and misogynistic cis-males are now replaced with kind and caring human beings who help old ladies cross the street (see Cher’s video part). Lackey and Kohlhoff’s take on skate culture is refreshing, to say the least.
Yet, there’s no denying that the straight white cis-male gaze is still very much present in the world of skateboarding. Entering the skatepark, as a queer and gender non-conforming person, can still to this day jeopardize your safety. As Lucia “Lucky” Aguilar points out in the i-D article, being seen is not necessarily the same as being acknowledged.
“Most of the time I go unacknowledged, but definitely seen […] I like to go to parks now because I push that anxiety aside, think about how I don’t give a fuck, and skate hard. The parks haven’t necessarily changed, but my mentality has.” – Lucky
Recent movements of queer skate groups from the Bay Area but also worldwide, show how resilience is fostering change. Inclusivity within the larger skateboarding scene doesn’t happen by waiting around for invitations but through actively creating alternatives to the mainstream skateboarding.
Kane Caples makes a similar statement in his profile video, “For anybody out there who says they don’t have that space in their area, you have to create that space.”
Documenting the lives of these non-conforming skateboarders is not only a way of archiving an already existing and growing queer skate culture but also provides stories for future generations to feel represented and seen. These documentaries amplify the voices of a previously silenced group of the skateboarding community, as well as in society at large.
The stylistic choice of video collages and fast shifting images brilliantly shows how identity, just as skateboarding, is always multiple, changing and evolving.
Cher Autumn Straub is the future skate mom of all trans kids at the skateparks! Cher discusses the challenges of physically, but also, mentally transitioning and how these changes affect her skateboarding abilities. Not only does Cher skate with a punk attitude that the rest of us can only dream of, but her words also remind us of the lack of awareness and disconnection from our body’s reactions and movements. Especially when considering how bodily and physical of an experience skateboarding is.
Mae Ross shares ideas on how the gender/sex binary for many of us no longer serves as an explanation or understanding of identity and desire. Instead, Mae sees the revolution of small daily acts in daring to be your authentic self. Mae Ross is not only a skateboarder who cares about doing tricks but recognizes the responsibility of being there for younger generations and seeing the power of social media in community building.
Triss McGowan wears really cool outfits and talks about how identity is always multiple and how to not limit yourself to being one thing. As Triss says, one day you might feel like Angelina Jolie in a white tank top, the next you might feel like a Teletubby. Navigating how we feel and see ourselves in relation to how we are being seen by others is something we constantly have to deal with, in the skateparks and everywhere else.
Kane Caples always has a couch for a friend to crash on. In this video, they share their experience with finding ways to be comfortable in skateboarding without compromising themself. The expectation of performing toughness and masculinity that we know to exist in skateboarding is easily challenged by the way we dress – and Kane does exactly that. What we wear is, like the way we skate, a way of self-expression and self-discovery. It is something that either liberates or constrains us. Clothing is in some ways like a community; it is something that supports and holds us but, that we have to care for and take care of in order for it to fully sustain and protect us.
Feature image: Original material by Tyler Kohlhoff, collage by Forrest Scholl
