Anybody with a finger on the pulse when it comes to diversity in skateboarding will have heard of Unity. The curly paintings of naked, gender-fluid people – often parting their butt-cheeks for sexual liberation – are the calling card of the queer printing press and skateboard producer from Oakland, California. Jeffrey Cheung and Gabriel Ramirez, something of skate power-couple since Unity’s inception, have grown the project into something more than either of them could have imagined – a “trans”-national community, with the focus on inclusion, empowerment and
positivity in skateboarding.
SHOT BY SAM MCGUIRE
How did you guys meet?
Jeff- Gabriel and I are actually partners. We went to school together in Oakland.
Gabriel- But we didn’t know each other.
“Being queer is a radical thing.”
J- No, we didn’t meet properly until I moved back to Oakland, when we met through some mutual friends.
So you both grew up there?
G- I grew up in South California.
J- I grew up a little outside of Oakland, in the East Bay.
What was that like for you?
J- I dunno, it’s a really diverse place and I love living here, with the progressive thinking, the history. When I was younger I wasn’t really in tune with that, I took it for granted. I grew up in a traditional Chinese family. My world was much smaller back then. Now I’m older, I realise what a great place it is.
“Now I’ve been painting boards for a year or more. That’s over 1100 boards, painting everyday.”
G- I grew up in and around Long Beach, LA. Yeah, I hated everything back there. It was a little more rough, a lot more homophobic. It was ingrained in the day to day culture, you could see it in High, Middle, Elementary School, it was so prevalent in every environment that I existed in. But it was also a good place for me to think about what I wanted in the future, it pushed me to choose a college that was far away. I ended up going to study in Northern California, moved away from family and got a chance to escape and live a different life.
Skating must have been a big influence in those areas…
J- I’m not really too in tune with what’s going on in skateboarding. When I was younger I skated every day, it was the only thing I did. I was so passionate about it, but I fell out of it right after High School for about ten years, until we started Unity last year.
You mean in terms of the industry?
J- Yeah, I’ve not kept up with anything like that.
Do you think it’s important for people in skateboarding to care about what’s going on in the industry?
J- No.
So why did you fall out of love with skateboarding?
J- You know, I loved skating in the Bay Area, but yeah, it was also pretty homophobic despite everything. Everyone I skated with was very heteronormative, cis, and I think that’s very common everywhere in skating, so it lost its charm for me.
So skateboarding and your sexuality were very much at odds?
J- Yeah. Actually, once I did come out to my friends they were supportive, but we sort of grew apart after that.
G- The place where I grew up was the border of Orange County, it was a wasteland, and I was only around a particular mindset, a negative one, so for me I felt like I couldn’t be part of the skate world because of who I was.
Did you ever encounter queer people like yourselves in skating?
J- When I was skating as a kid, I wasn’t out. Most queer people in skateboarding were not open about it, even though there are tons around. So it was difficult to connect. Gabriel actually didn’t really skate until we met.
“What does a queer person look like? Who am I to say that one person can or can’t be a part of this? I’d just be promoting stereotypes.”
G- Yeah it wasn’t until I met Jeff, who was the first queer person I met who skated, that I got really inspired. One of the first times we hung out he convinced me to bomb a hill. [laughs] I wasn’t really comfortable on a board, but it was fun…
And did you survive?
J- He fell at the bottom actually. [laughs] It was pretty bad.
G- I thought I broke both my wrists, but luckily I was okay.
Damn, heavy. Okay, so by now you were both open with each other, comfortable, shredding. When did you decide you could take this further, into Unity?
J- Once I was open about myself and living comfortably, skating became a bigger thing for me again. I started meeting other queer skaters, and it kinda’ blew my mind every time I met one. I was thinking “Damn, if I’d met you when I was a kid I wouldn’t have been so depressed, alone.” So that got me thinking about other skaters out there who might lose skateboarding for the same reason, and so we got inspired to do this queer skate project Unity so people out there would see queer skaters can survive. We actually started as a band, then a printing press, with zines, and that snowballed into skateboarding. Now all of a sudden, skate celebrities are supporting.
I was going to ask, why is Unity the first project of its kind, but you’re saying that with so many queer skaters out there, it’s possibly not?
J- Yeah, you know, it’s possibly not. I don’t know if it’s happened before, but meeting queer skaters makes it real and exciting. In the short amount of time we’ve existed, we’ve received so much attention and support. It’s the time we live in – recent events, the political climate, Brian Anderson coming out – people are just more receptive to this idea now. I think that’s why it’s happening now.
G- We’re bringing the issues to the forefront, not hiding them away.
So it’s growing fast?
J- We’re getting messages from kids, teens, from nearby, internationally, saying that the idea of Unity gives them hope. You know, Brian Anderson coming out really helped, but I wanted to make sure it didn’t focus on gay, cis men who skated, because that’s very limited. It’s interesting, you know, a lot of gay cis men kinda’ do identify with the culture of skateboarding, and don’t feel so left out. Whereas queer, trans or passing-masculine skaters are usually bullied the most or feel too alienated to skate in the first place because of how skate culture is more masculine. That’s something I’ve realised after hearing from so many people, we want to make it better for everyone.
And do you get this type of support from industry figures or brands too?
G- We’ve had some articles on us. The local industry is pretty supportive.
J- I never thought I’d skate again, you know? Now all of a sudden, skate celebrities are supporting what we’re doing.
Do you think mainstream skateboarding culture is ready for Unity, then?
J- As I said, I’ve not picked up a skate mag in a long time, but we have a friend who works at Thrasher and I feel like they’re kinda’ becoming more aware of what their magazine exudes; all the misogynistic, transphobic, homophobic stuff that could be in there. That’s just one example. In mainstream skate culture I think it’ll eventually change to be more inclusive overall. There’s a new movement with career skaters and the magazines will follow.
Do you believe there are a lot of closeted queer pros out there?
J- Yeah, I mean I’m sure there are lots of gay pros. I feel like most of the skate industry encourages cis men, so yeah, mostly they’ll be that group probably. I think non-male-presenting or trans people have most likely been pushed away before they get to that level though. But you know, back in the day, there were plenty of queer women skaters who were pretty comfortable and open about it. I feel like that was never considered as big of a deal as when Brian Anderson came out. It’s interesting…
Your artwork is straight to the point with Unity, it’s artistic, playful and open. Was that a conscious artistic decision developed for Unity’s message, or was it something you’d been doing for a long time already?
J- I did that for a while before Unity Skateboarding. The theme was always pretty similar: sexual liberation, body positivity. Once I started painting on skateboards, the imagery expanded. I started depicting more trans and gender non-conforming folks on skateboards, to reflect what we were doing.
You hand-paint all the boards, rights?
J- Yeah, you know, when we started I just thought “Hey, I’ll hand-paint a couple blanks for me and you, and our friends. Now I’ve been painting boards for a year or more. That’s over a 1100 boards, painting everyday.
That’s crazy production for something so personalised and unique. Are people skating these boards or displaying them?
J- I want people to skate them. They’re $55, so the same price as other decks. We also give a good amount of them away to queer skaters. Actually, when we first started, almost anyone who messaged us online would get a free painted board. I can’t do that now, but we still flow boards to as many queer skaters as we can.
Amazing. But the more successful Unity gets the harder it’s going to be on you, right?
J- [Laughs] To paint ‘em, you mean? Yeah, things are already pretty busy, especially since I still work a job during the day. It’s a little draining, but I enjoy it.
G- Hopefully this year we’re going to do a printed run. But the hard part is figuring out a solid graphic for Jeff. He has the luxury of painting whatever he wants right now, but it’s tough to know what to stick with.
[Unity’s first printed board can be found here]
They’re all so “Unity”, so beautiful in their own right, that it could be any of them.
J- Thank you so much.
You recently went to Paris for a queer skate meet-up. You’ve been doing these for a while, right?
J- We first started with a group of queer folk we skated with in Oakland, but then I heard from guys in the Bay Area and decided to make a flyer for sessions – a certain time, place. The first one in July went so well we did another the next month, then the next, and it became a regular skate meet-up. Folks came to learn, and it was amazing to have so much supportive energy in one place.
G- Loads of people hadn’t skated in a long time or never had, so momentum picked up once more and more people got comfortable with it.
J- Yeah, and we go on trips. There’s a queer skate crew in LA, New York, Atlanta. It’s building communities all over.
G- That’s what we wanted to see, because so many people wanted us to come there and we couldn’t always make it or they couldn’t always come to us.
And how did you break into Europe?
J- The zine-side of Unity meant we did projects with artists all over the world, and we heard about events or fairs in Berlin or somewhere, and then friends asked if we’d do a skate event there too.
G- Yeah, it couldn’t have been more perfect. Such a cool opportunity.
Are the people at these events solely queer, or do you get more of the mainstream faces too?
J- Fairly early on, the issue of “who can come” arose. People were concerned about feeling safe in the space, and so we had to think about that. There was one skate day where the spot was full of dudes skating and it kinda’ made it difficult, but once we decided that, since it’s a public space, anybody can come we just worked on communicating what the gathering was about instead. After all, it’s a day of celebrating queer, fem skaters. I started to paint signs or banners to put up to get the message across to people, and then allies started to come and it was really supportive.
“Just be more open, more welcoming to all identities, orientations, colours. Make skateboarding for everyone, because that’s where it’s lacking the most.”
G- We can’t control who comes, and that’s cool. We just hope enough people show up that everyone feels comfortable regardless of who is there. That’s happened with almost all of them.
J- I mean, what does a queer person look like? Who am I to say that one person can or can’t be a part of this? I’d just be promoting stereotypes, you know? So we welcome everyone.
What’s something you want all our readers to remember?
J- Just be more open, more welcoming to all identities, orientations, colour. Make skateboarding for everyone, because that’s where it’s lacking the most.
G- There are lots of positive things about skateboarding, it’s fun, it’s creative, there’s no team but yet it brings people together. It’s independent, empowering, yet community-driven. Being queer is a radical thing, and skateboarding is rebellious, so they should definitely go together.
@unityskateboarding
unityzines.com
