Some of us might dream of working in the skateboarding industry. Yet, some of us might have realized, gender has been substantial in defining who gets to realize that dream. Still, Marsha Ann has been working to shatter that glass ceiling from her position at Thrasher Magazine. While Marsha might be ‘OMW2SK8,’ helping the community is only one of Marsha’s many goals as she tackles her studies in hope to guide San Francisco’s disadvantaged youth.
Words by Emanuele Barbier
Shots by A Klass
Film by Louie Alban
Could you tell me how was your day today?
It was pretty chill. I rolled my ankle skating Sunday, so I didn’t go to work on Monday and arrived an hour late today, using my ankle as an excuse. No one seemed to care really. I answered some emails and did a bit of homework, that’s about it, nothing too crazy.
How did you come to work for Thrasher?
I started working in the office three years ago. Before that, I was working at an after school program with elementary school children from ages five to nine. I was teaching the kids skateboarding, that was my little niche […] then I broke my ankle while working there, so I had to quit, it sucked.
I was broke, so I hit one of my really good friends, Tony Vitello. Thrasher happened to be looking for someone in customer service. He was like, ‘You’re not even that nice, how are you gonna deal with customers? You gotta be nice!’ I guess I was nice, since I’ve been there for three years [laughs].
Ok, so you have been nice enough obviously haha,
Exactly! I should mention, I met Tony because I was a ‘Hubba girl’. So I was already kind of involved with Thrasher. Have you heard of Hubba?
Yea, I did some searches before the interview and found the Hubba wheels website,
Oh no! That was like 2009! Let me tell you, it was a different time back then [laughs heavily].
How would you describe your experience at Thrasher?
My experience with Thrasher has been amazing. Because I have my background being a Hubba girl, I feel like the respect is already there. Even though I am also one of the only girls in the office, I feel like I blend in perfectly fine with the guys. They all treat me like one of them.
Have you had problems being one of the only women there?
No, it’s actually pretty cool being one of the only girls. Also, being a girl and being able to skate is really cool when you work at Thrasher. All the coworkers follow me on Instagram, so if I go skate and I land something really cool, I know when I come in on Monday, my co-workers are gonna be like dapping me up, all stoked.
I think if anything, me working in the office has helped bridge the gap with women and queer skateboarders. My boss, Tony, comes to my office once or twice a week, asking about girls skating on Instagram so that he’s more in the know. I feel my presence in the office has influenced them. It’s nice to see that I am making an imprint on these dudes. It’s not just the boys club anymore.
I wanna give a shout out to Maddie Manson. She’s like the warehouse lead at Thrasher. There are four or five guys that work in there and Maddie is the overseer of the boys. So, she’s the boss lady of the warehouse [laughs]. We are the only two women that work for Thrasher and we’re constantly in communication, so it’s pretty cool.
How do you think working there has impacted your vision of the skateboarding community?
It opened my eyes to some of the glaring issues that are [in skateboarding]. I mean, issues that are obvious now that I look back on it, but I didn’t see these things before I worked at Thrasher. […] Now that I see the way things work, it makes me want to speak up and I do speak up.
It’s really crazy when you think about how many women there are skating versus how many women you see represented in the magazine. Less so lately, because Tony has been doing a really good job of featuring more women and having more women involved in all aspects, not just skate photos. I think that’s really been changing and I say that I had a big part in that. I’m always in my boss’s ear like, it’s constant. I’m probably annoying, but you gotta speak up, you know?
So onto your education, you are studying to become a teacher, what got you attracted to that?
I have always wanted to work with children, I didn’t know I wanted to be a teacher. I grew up really poor. My mom was 16 years old when she had me. So I’ve experienced extreme poverty. I’ve had throughout my life really amazing teachers. They didn’t just help me in the sense that they were just teaching me a lesson. They helped me, in the sense, that they brought me clothes, shoes, food. I’ve had some teachers who basically raised me. I’ve always held that in my heart. I see a lot of kids throughout the city in similar positions as I was when growing up, it hurts me and makes me wanna do something to fix that.
So you’re full time at school?
Yeah, I am at school full time. My job at Thrasher is amazing in that regard. I’m able to do so much homework between responding to emails and entering all my data, subscriptions and whatnot. It’s been really conducive to studying. My boss and everyone, are really supportive of my education too.
How does your car license plate reflect your personality?
[laughs] You know, people are always telling me that I skate more than people my age, and most people in general. I skate every single weekend. I’m always there skating from the morning until dark. When I say I’m on my way to skate, I am on my way to skate! In our office, the boys are telling me I skate more than everyone there.
Wow, it’s not just any office, it’s Thrasher.
Yeah, exactly when you think of Thrasher, you think of everyone just ripping. But no, all my coworkers are pretty dusty. [laughs] They’re also just older so it’s hard to get out there.
Did the thought of getting a higher education clash with you wanting to skateboard?
[laughs] I feel a lot of skateboarders get really, really set in this subculture. We feel that in order to be a part of it, we have to be a certain way and do certain things. I really hope that skateboarders are actively thinking about their futures. There’s more to life than just skateboarding. Even though skateboarding is everything.
Did you think that you achieved that balance?
I don’t think I’ve achieved it yet. No, I still am constantly thinking about what it would be like if I just dropped out of school and became a pro, [laughs heavily] I am just kidding.
No, I think I’ve acknowledged that I need to find that balance, and that’s a step in the right direction.
Is that a balance even accomplishable or is it just an illusion?
Maybe it is an illusion, but you gotta chase the dream. You gotta try, you gotta try [chuckles].
