January 22-24, 2009 - We had our first Trade Show booth in the 'Grind For Life'
Chill Zone at the ASR Trade show in San Diego. It was great! Grind for Life is a
non-profit organization dedicated to helping people with cancer.
Sk8Grl along with Hosoi Skateboards, Kasai Skateboards, 187 Pads, Pocket Pistols,
Sambazon Acai, and more where featured in the Chill Zone.
We had a lot of people take interest in our girls specific skateboard gear, and
the Chill Zone was going off Thursday and Friday. On Thursday, there was the highest
ollie contest where the room was packed and the ollies were off the hook. On Friday,
there was the launch ramp contest. The launch ramp contest brought a really cool
crowd and even a guy in a wheel chair who landed a back flip off this 4 ft. ramp.
It was insane!!!!
We went to the fashion show which is always a lot of fun, they featured the mini
mega ramp for the first time, and Powell Peralta had a really cool art show featuring
the Rip the Ripper; the Bones logo since the dawn of skateboarding.
Holly was on of the people featured on the Keep-A-Breast poster for being a castee
in the only 100% skateboarding cast mold event to raise money for breast cancer.
There are always lots of parties and people from all over the country. The ASR Trade
show is the premiere show for any company in the action sports industry and Sk8Grl
was proud to be a part of it this year.
Jan/Feb. 2009 - Sk8Grl team rider Gaby Ponce graced the cover of 'ESPN'S RISE' Magazine.
At 15 years old, Gaby turned a lot of heads at her first X Games where she placed
5th and everybody is taking notice!
December 1, 2008 - The Osiris
"Children of the Revolution" film starring Sk8Grl team rider Allysha Bergado,
Leticia Bufoni, Shane Borland, Tyson Bowerbank and Jake Hill.
This is a coming of age story about the Osiris kids growing up skateboarding. As
they raise the level of their skating to new highs, every time the cameras came
out. Aside from the 30 minute main feature, this disc also contains over 90 minutes
of bonus footage from the various skate trip and shoot locations the kids travelled
to: Woodward West, San Francisco, and numerous location in Southern California.
December 2008 - Sk8Grl Team rider Gaby Ponce was a featured athlete in 'The Record
SPORTS' Magazine that celebrates North Jersey Youth Athletics. Most athletes had
a one page interview yet Gaby had four pages which shows the popularity of skateboarding
and the fact that it is not just a male sport anymore.
Winter 2008 - The Ultimate Guide to Skateboarding Sponsorship is a first of its
kind guide to sponsorship. This valuable resource will help you determine if sponsorship
is right for you and understand what sponsorship actually means. Find out the secrets
the pros know but rarely talk about. $14.95
A lot of girls write into us here at Sk8Grl, so we hope this helps!
Tenafly ? When teenagers post videos on YouTube, it?s typically for entertainment
purposes and having a laugh with a friend. But for a 16-year-old from Tenafly, it
was a dream come true.
JOE CAMPOREALE/Northern Valley Suburbanite
Gaby Ponce, 16, participated in the X Games this year.
Gaby Ponce, a junior at Tenafly High School has been skateboarding since she was
eight years old.
"It all started off with a skateboard from KB Toys?just playing in the street, the
driveway," said her mom, Melba.
"I just saw other people doing it and I just thought it would be a cool thing to
try," said Gaby. "Not many people in town skateboard in town."
Years later, Gaby started going to Woodward Skatepark of Philly, the closest park
to Tenafly, nearly 90 minutes away.
"That?s her home park where she goes to all the time to practice," said her dad,
Ken. "That?s the only vert ramp in the area."
Ken and Gaby travel to Philadelphia four times per week for her to train herself
by watching other skateboarders and mimicking their tricks until she gets the hang
of it. Ken started filming his daughter skateboarding and Gaby edited the videos
and posted them on the video sharing Web site, YouTube, using video and graphic
arts skills she picked up in high school.
Gaby said she expected "nothing at all" when posting her videos. She just put them
up for fun to show people what she can do on the ramp.
The Ponce family received an e-mail June 17 inviting Gaby to the X Games in Carson,
Calif. at the Home Depot Center. Ken said the committee picked her based on videos
of her competing in local amateur contests.
Gaby ranked fifth from a group of eight females competing in the vert competition.
She explained that competition as doing tricks on a 15-foot U-shaped ramp. Judging
is based on style, consistency, height and difficulty of tricks.
Gaby said it was a dream come true for her to compete in the X Games and "exciting
to be able to skate with other girls because I don?t really get to do that here."
Tenafly is the only area with a ramp, which Gaby outgrew in a short period of time.
Ken said most of the women competing were from California because skateboarding
is more accepted on the West Coast than it is here. Ken said he would like to see
more parks in the area because the kids love it but thinks adults shy away from
it because of insurance liability.
With the help of her sponsors, Timeline, SK8GRL, Motto and Bones, Gaby plans on
progressing her skills in hopes to compete in future X Games.
Ken said the family is very proud, happy and excited that Gaby could accomplish
all of this.
"It was really fun, a little overwhelming, like you?re almost numb," he said. "You
just don?t expect something like that to occur. It?s really nice."
MTV MADE - Alex Mills into a Skateboarder
August 10, 2008 @1 pm PST / 4 pm EST- Pro Skateboarder Holly Lyons was sent from
Sunny Southern California to rural Tipp City, OH teach a girl how to skateboard
for MTV'S Made. Alex Mills is an academic, clumsy girl who had to stay home from
school for a year due to allergies. She watched the Rob and Big show and dreamed
of becoming a skateboard star. Little did she know, skateboarding was a lot more
difficult that she thought. Not only physically, but mentally, and spiritually.
Check out MTV's Made on August 10, 2008 to see Alex Mills transform from being a
Mama's girl who has her schedule laid out for her and little drive to do anything,
to a living in the moment skate girl! She learns about believing in herself, having
confidence, being independent, and doing what's right for her; which is what skateboarding
is all about! Both girls rocked Sk8Grl tops and had lots of Sk8Grl stickers on their
boards and helmets.
With Matt Klinker, the pitcher of
the Dayton Dragons
Alex Is Officially MADE
X Games
The Summer X Games in LA were held at the Staples Center and the Home Depot center.
Every year the X Games gets better and better. Women's skateboarding just keeps
constantly progressing. The winner of women's street was Elissa Steamer. This marks
one of many gold metals she has won at the X Games.
In Women's vert, Brazilian Karen Jones took home her first gold metal as she skated
with confidence and a huge bag of tricks. Second place went to Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins
who did some big airs off of the roll in and landed a kickflip indy. 3rd place went
to Mimi Knoop who is right off a win at the Supergirl Jam. In 5th place was Sk8Grl
Gaby Ponce out of Tenafly, New Jersey. Gaby and Lyn-Z's airs were by far the biggest
and Gaby also ripped with Judo airs, rock to fakies, and 50-50's. She was the only
girl trying frontside 540's and she came really close, which is a really hard trick
. In 7th place, was Sk8Grl Allysha Bergado. She got lots of runs in and did her
inverts, airs, and just learned gay twists right before the contest. Congratulations
to all the girls for pushing vert skating every year.
Skateboard Women's Vert Final Results
1. Karen Jones
2. Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins
3. Mimi Knoop
4. Cara-Beth Burnside
5. Gaby Ponce
6. Julie Kindstrand
7. Allysha Bergado
8. Annie Sullivan
Gaby X Games
Gaby X Games
Allysha Bergado
Allysha Bergado
The XGames Winners
Lea Taylor
Allysha Bergado
Allysha Bergado
Allysha Bergado
Allysha Bergado
Gaby Ponce
Gaby Ponce
Gaby Ponce
North Jersey.com
From Tenafly to L.A.: the X Games beckon
Wednesday, July 30, 2008 - Gaby Ponce stood at the top of a 12-foot vertical ramp,
skateboard at her feet, a young girl precariously balancing her fears and determination.
Ponce is now 16, an incoming junior at Tenafly High School and two days away from
competing at the pinnacle event in her sport ? the X Games in Los Angeles. She is
one of eight females selected for Saturday's Skate Vert final.
Gaby Ponce's passion for skateboarding started with a Christmas gift and a slow
roll down the driveway.
July 25-27, 2008 - S3 Supergirl Jam ? Huntington Beach, Calif., as part of the Honda
U.S. Open of Surfing.
Orange County, Calif. – The Second Annual S3 Supergirl Jam, the only large-scale,
all-female, action sports competition and music festival, kicked off today in Huntington
Beach, Calif. Supergirl 'actionista' Mimi Knoop (Chesapeake, VA) skateboarded to
a first place finish in the Soul Bowl competition. Knoop, who placed second in last
year's S3 Supergirl Jam vert contest, out-performed her opponents this year with
a display of powerful skills, fast skating, and talent that conveyed the confidence
evident in all Supergirl "actionistas" and earned her a check for $3,500.
"Mimi looked like she owned it," said World Cup of Skateboarding head judge Charlie
Wilkins. "Run after run, she skated everything fast and powerfully, including all
corners of the bowl while incorporating traveling airs."
Brazil's Karen Jones earned herself second place finish with tricks such as a 'heel
flip indy grab' which judge Wilkins said he had never seen any girl ever do; and
legend Cara-Beth Burnside captured third with the confident smooth skating for which
she is known.
"I am honored to win," stated Knoop as she commented on her victory. "A lot of girls
were skating well. I wasn't expecting to take first place, but I just happened to
stay on and connect some tricks which worked in my favor."
In 5th place was Sk8Grl team rider Allysha Bergado. She skated so well, with
lots of tricks and is incredible for 12 years old. Keep your eyes out for
this one! In 7th place was Sk8Grl Lea Taylor who got lots of runs in and was
consistent throughout. Sk8Grl Gaby Ponce flew all the way out from New Jersey
and did some of the biggest airs of the day, but she didn't carve the corners which
costed her in the judging, but she was still a crowd favorite.
All-girl bands, The Donnas and The Clique Girlz, capped off the day's activities
with a free concert on the beach. The S3 Supergirl Jam is part of GO211 Live, California's
longest running action sports and lifestyle festival. In addition to showcasing
the world's largest professional surfing competition, the 2008 U.S. Open of Surfing,
the GO211 Live festival village boasts many activities for the action sports enthusiast
young and old.
Allysha Bergado
Allysha Bergado
Lea Taylor
Gaby Ponce
Lea Taylor
Lea Taylor
Allysha Bergado
Lea Taylor Interviewing
Lea Taylor
Gaby Ponce
Gaby Ponce
The Donnas
Holly with Mimi Knoop - winner of the contest
Sk8Grl made the event t-shirts for the Supergirl Jam, and they were a huge hit with
the girls!!
Team pro Holly Lyons was there to show her support even though she had surergy on
her arm and was unable to skate.
Jack Ziehl, Julie, and Kirra Ziehl skating the open session street course!
The Clique Girlz
USA Character Road Trip
May 21, 2008 - Team pro Holly Lyons was a featured Character for 'USA Character
Road Trip'. She was featured during the 'National Treasure' Movie. She met Evan
and Jaron the brothers that host the show. She told them about herself, taught them
to skate, and even got to promote girls skateboarding and Sk8Grl.
Pro Tec Pool Party
May 17, 2008 - Pro Tec is the first World Cup contest for the year and it brings
out the best pros, masters, and of course female skateboarders. Team riders Allysha
Bergado, Lea Taylor and Holly Lyons all skated the event. Holly skated with a severed
tendon and really shouldn't have skated as she is now unable to do any other contests
this summer, but she skated like the rock star she is.
Allysha Bergado ripped the bowl hard with big airs and a rock n roll on the middle
hip to land into 4th place. Lea Taylor skated great and got lots of smooth and consistent
runs in to place 8th. Every year the competition gets better! This is by far the
best pro bowl contest in America.
Allysha Bergado
Lea Taylor
Allysha Bergado
Allysha Bergado
Lea Taylor
Allysha Bergado
Holly Lonny Donna
Allysha and LeaS
MSNBC
Team Pro Holly Lyons featured on MSNBC May 10, 2008
Line Up Magazine
Spring 2008 - Allysha Bergado, the newest addition to our Sk8Grl team had a featured
interview in Line Up Magazine. She's already going big at 11 years old!
March 22, 2008 - This year's Tampa Am was a big success with 35 skaters from
countries as far away as Brazil, Canada, and England being represented. The level
of the skaters was extremely high. All the skaters were showing progression and
style way ahead of their years.
The girls in the contest were well represented and showed they belonged there competing
against the boys. In attendance were Sk8Grl team riders Gaby Ponce and
Lea Taylor, along with Karen Jones from Brazil. All three girls skated great and
ripped with confidence and style against the best up and comers in the pro vert
cuircut. The fans on hand really took notice!
For full results on the girls in the qualifiers check out the Skate Park of
Tampa website. Skateparkoftampa.com
Gaby with a big back side air
Front side grind for Lea
Gaby Ponce wearing Sk8Grl Royalty
Lea Taylor in a Sk8Grl/Supergril t-shirt
Pierre Luc Gagnon and Gaby
Gaby going big
City Lights Dream Center of Santa Ana
March 22, 2008 - We would like to thank Shane and the
City Lights Dream Center of Santa Ana for putting on their first all Girl
Skate Day! The City Lights Dream Center offers a skate park to reach neighborhood
children by offering them a positive and safe atmosphere. Cool Girl Decks
was impressed by their skate park which includes a 13’ vert ramp, 8’
half pipe, 3.5’ mini ramp and a street course! Wow—the neighborhood
girls must be stoked (we suppose the boys are as well!)!
Sk8Grl and Cool Girl Decks was proud to participate in the girls skate day by offering
skating lessons by our very own pro, Holly Lyons. Cool Girls team member,
Alize Montes, and a friend of CGD, Becky, who helped the girls with skating tips
as well.
After skating and working up our appetites, the Dream Center provided a fantastic
BBQ. Ten lucky female skaters were the proud new owners of a Cool Girls deck,
in addition to some new tee’s provided by both CGD and Holly Lyons’
feature brand, Sk8Grl. Viking Helmets were awarded to the most improved girls at
the end of the day and two lucky raffle winners took home complete decks, provided
by Skelanimals and CGD.
City of Lights would like to thank Sk8Grl, CGD, Skelanimals, Viking Helmets and
Kohl's for their participation.
Here’s to more all girl skate days—girl skaters rule!
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Los Angeles
March 9-13, 2008 - Holly's friend Brooke Adams who works at
Splash Magazine invited Holly back to Fashion Week in LA to check out all
the tops designer looks for Fall 2008.
They had a great time! Some of the shows they went to were the Nicky Hilton's show
Nicholai, Veronika Jeanvie from the Ukaran, and Suh-Tahn. They had front row seats
to see the runway shows, that included fun gift bags. They partied at artist
Daniel Maltzman's studio, and were invited to the best VIP parties at Fred
Siegal, Em & Co., and more. They even got into the VIP area at Smashbox which
is an exclusive area were the who's who in the fashion industry were there hanging
out with the Designers and the models.
On Tuesday March 12th, it was a Hilton family affair. Kathy, Rick and Paris Hilton
-- along with Paris' current squeeze Benji Madden -- were front and center at the
Mercedes-Benz L.A. Fashion Week show for Nicky Hilton's high-end Nicholai line.
Ironically Holly and Brooke sat right across the runway from the Hilton's which
felt very Hollywoodish with all the cameras clicking away at them.
Holly met some of the designers and here a photos from a couple of the shows she
went to. Read more
[+]
Interviewer chillin' on the floor with a beer talking for the 'Chelsea Lately' show
Model, Trish, Danielle, Brooke, Holly and Jerod in the VIP party room at Smashbox.
Hanging with the designers and their models!
Brooke, Danielle and Holly after getting our make up done by the pros.
Paris Hilton and Nicky at Nicky's 'Nicholai' show
Brooke Adams and Holly on the red carpet
at Fashion Week
Nicky Hilton coming out at the end of her show
Veronika
Jeanvie
Veronika
Jeanvie
Veronika
Jeanvie
Veronika
Jeanvie
Nicky Hilton
Nicky Hilton
Nicky Hilton
Suh-Tahn
Suh-Tahn
Suh-Tahn
Clash 2 at Clairmont YMCA presented by PacSun
March 8, 2008 - The event is Clash @ Clairemont benefiting Grind for Life
www.grindforlife.com
Tony Hawk, Bucky Lasek, PLG, Andy MacDonald and many others will be there. There
is also a $500 Best Trick sponsored by Thiesnuts and Awkward Skateboards. $10 donation
to Grind for Life gets you in the gates which open at 11am.
Sk8Grl was a sponsor for the event and had a booth were we sold a surprising amount
of Sk8Grl tops! Team Pro Holly Lyons and team rider Lea Taylor were there skating,
having fun, and supporting girls skateboarding along with raising money to fight
cancer.
Holly with
girls in Sk8Grl tops at the Clash II Sk8Grl booth
Los Angeles Times
November
29, 2007 - Cool Girl Decks and Sk8Grl graced the cover of LA Times Business section
with a business makeover. On the hard copy wan an action photo of Cool Girls and
Sk8Grl team pro Holly Lyons
It is a great article promoting girls' skateboarding and mentioned how Sk8Grl sold
3,000 units to 100 stores in the month of November, its first, without any advance
marketing.
[+] read more
Los Angeles
CONFIDENTIAL
October
2007 - Team pro and Sk8Grl owner Holly Lyons was in the Los Angeles Confidential
Fall Issue.
The story covered the Supergirl "Actionista" Launch Party, where athletes
and celebrities gathered to celebrate the launch of the collection.
Over $6,000 was also raised for Boarding for Breast Cancer.
[+] read more
Mercedes-Benz
Fashion Week in Los Angeles
October
14-18, 2007 - From tents to tables and shipping to staging, Mercedes-Benz Fashion
Week at Smashbox Studios is getting a complete make over this season and it's all
green. As the emphasis of the environment has taken a hold, Mercedes-Benz Fashion
Week at Smashbox Studios is proud to put its green foot forward being amongst the
first in the industry to make this commitment. This season's eco-friendly initiatives
include a serious of eco-conscious designers and fashion shows and the greening
of the overall production elements.
A friend invited to me to check out the Mercedez-Benz LA Fashion Week, and now that
I own a clothing company, I felt like it was my duty to investigate. I have to say,
it was a lot of fun! I checked out some of the products that the various companies
had on display, and then I met a really cool couple that I ended up hanging out
with for the rest of the night. They were Brooke Adams and Rob Menz. Brooke works
for Splash Magazine
in LA, and they were both a lot of fun.
I got great seats for the Randolf Duke show, and it was my first time watching the
official Cat Walk. The girls were very serious with their strut, and some of them
were leaning so far back I thought they were literally going to fall back. All the
click, click, flash, flash, was really fun to see in person too. It was so about
Fashion and so LA!
Holly Lyons
October
5th, 2007 - The GvR is held at the etnies Skatepark in Lake Forest, California.
This is the 4th year that enties has held this event. Musical guest this year was,
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who of course rocked!
The girls bowl contest was held on Friday. Last year’s winner and Sk8Grl team
pro, Holly Lyons was out due to a knee injury. Team rider Lea Taylor held it down
for Sk8Grl, and she was ripping all day long.
September
30th, 2007 - This marked the 9th Annual Tim Brauch Memorial Contest in Scotts Valley,
CA. Tim Brauch was a great skater who died of a heart attack years ago. He was much
respected and loved in the skateboard world. Sessions and some other companies wanted
to put on a contest in rememberance of not only a great skater but also a great
person. His family comes to the event every year and they are such loving and kind
people too.
The event went really well and criss crossing craziness was happening a lot in the
practice sessions, and in the pros finals. In the other heats throughout the day,
it was mellower and everyone was giving each other space.
The girls started off the day with two heats of six and then a final heat. Everybody
was skating really well. Sk8Grl team pro Holly Lyons, last years winner, skated
great and ended up placing 4th in the finals even though she injured her knee.
Steve Caballero won the masters division and Benji Galloway pocketed another win
for the season, which locked in his first place standings in World Cup Bowl skateboarding
for the season. It was a great day with Dave Duncan as the announcer and also Annie
Sullivan announced the girls division due to an injury.
To find out more about Tim Brauch, his amazing life and the Memorial
contest, go to: www.timbrauch.com
Some of
the girls were Amaje,
Lexi Barclay, Amelia Brodka, Alize Montes, and Holly
Some of
the Masters guys were Steve Steadam, Steve Caballero, Cooksie, and Jessie Martinez
Holly
S3 Supergirl
Jam
September
16, 2007 - Top Female Action Sports Athletes Compete in S3 Supergirl Jam.
Female street skateboard contest, snowboard rail contest,
and vert demo with the top vert skaters including team pro
Holly Lyons and up and comer Lea Taylor.
Sk8Grl co-branded the event T-shirt with Warner Bros. for the Supergirl S3 Jam!
S3 Supergirl
Jam - Top Female Action Sports Athletes in San Diego, CA.
-Musical
Guests, The Donnas, Perform-
Supergirl vert demo
Sk8Grl booth at the Supergirl Jam
Some of Sk8Grl's t-shirts on display
A true and loyal sk8er! She loved the Sk8Grl booth
September 16, 2007 - some of action sports top female athletes came together in
San Diego to compete in the S3 Supergirl Jam. The Supergirl Jam was on the
final day of the three-day Action Sports World Tour (ASWT) event at the historic
Belmont Park at Mission Beach.
Sk8Grl made the event t-shirts which were given to all athletes, participants, and
sold at the Supergirl Booth! S3 athletes included team pro Holly Lyons and team
rider Lea Taylor!
Thirty
of the top female action sports athletes competed in a snowboard rail jam and street
style skateboard contest for a combined prize purse of $25,000 and the opportunity
to become the first-ever S3 Supergirl champions.
“Action sports have become a powerful expression of independence, style and
strength for young women," said Gretchen Bleiler, world champion snowboarder
and co-host of the S3 Supergirl Jam. "It's fun that the iconic S-shield
of Supergirl will be the symbol we rally around as we celebrate female empowerment
and competition at the S3 Supergirl Jam.”
The S3 snowboard competition took place on a 35 foot-high snowboard mountain that
was created on the beach, with 7,000 pounds of freshly made snow. Riders were
judged by each other over four, 15 minute jam sessions. First, second and
third place prizes were awarded to the top riders in each session. A $2,000
Supergirl Super Power trick prize was also awarded.
The S3 skateboard contest course was designed to showcase the technical aspects
of skateboarding. The course featured a combination of quarter pipes, banks, stairs,
ledges and rails, each of which highlights the skater's talents. The judging was
based on one run and the rider’s performance in the jam session.
In addition to the skateboard and snowboard competitions, attendees of S3 enjoyed
freestyle motocross demos, vert and inline skate demos, live music performances
by The Donnas and other music acts, a fashion show, autograph signings and a variety
of other festival elements.
The host committee for the S3 Supergirl Jam was comprised of four elite female “actionistas”:
Gretchen Bleiler (snow), Fabiola da Silva (inline), Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins (skate)
and Kassia Meador (surf).
The impressive field S3 participants included, Jamie Anderson (snow), Lacey Baker
(skate), Leticia Bufoni (skate), Jacqui Berg (snow), Evelien Bouilliart (skate),
Cara Beth Burnside (vert skate), Amy Caron (skate), Erin Comstock (snow), Tara Dakides
(snow), Tamara Drybrough (skate), Patiane Freitas (skate), Vania Gouveia (skate),
Ellery Hollingsworth (snow), Mimi Knoop (vert skate), Lorena Lima (skate), Holly
Lyons (vert skate), Desiree Melancon (snow), Monica Messias (skate), Lauren Mollica
(skate), Alize Montes (skate), Elizabeth Nitu (skate), Leanne Pelosi (snow), Lauren
Perkins (skate), Marie-France Roy (snow), Chanelle Sladics (snow), Vanessa Torres
(skate). Additional athletes will be announced.
Entrance to the S3 Supergirl Jam, including the concerts and competitions, was free
of charge. The event will be televised nationally on CBS as well as on Versus
and Fuel TV in the U.S. as part of a platform that reaches more than one billion
households globally.
The ASWT, is the oldest and only global competition circuit in action sports that
includes skateboarding, BMX and in-line skating contests.
Sk8Grl created
the event T-Shirt for the Supergirl Jam.
Sk8Grl's
rock!
The Supergirl
Jam fashion show which featured the Supergirl/Sk8Grl co-created tank top
And featured
the Supergirl/Sk8Grl co-created T-shirt
Concrete
Wave
Fall 2007
- Sk8Grl team rider Lea Taylor is featured in the 'Next Wave' section in Concrete
Wave Magazine.
Pretty impressive for an 11 year old girl!
[+] read more
Action Sports World Tour 2007 Official Event Program Guide
September
2007 - 'Girl Power' featured article on how girls are taking centerstage at the
S3 Supergirl Skate, Snow, and Style Jam.
Sk8Grl team rider Lea Taylor and Cool Girl Skateboards team rider Alize Montes getting
interviewed at the Supergirl "Actionista" Launch Party.
Also, Fabiola Da Silva getting ready to drop in and do what she does best on her
inline skates.
[+] read more
Simi
Valley SkateLab Summer Skate Camp
August 17,
2007 – Team pro, Holly Lyons was asked to come up to the Simi Valley Skate
Lab for a Meet & Greet, where they were having a skate camp with about 65 kids
and 6 were girls. She made it up there and was able to meet the kids, demo
the wooden bowl they have, watch them compete for prizes, and she had two Cool Girl’s
Pro model skateboards that she raffled off for free.
“It is so much fun to hang out with the kids when they are learning or new
to skateboarding. They get so excited and it’s just so much fun for them!”
Holly said.
She also brought some of her Sk8Grl t-shirts and gave them out to the girls and
some of the Mom’s.
On August 25th, the skate lab with be having an etnies girls get on board clinic for girls only. So,
if you’re in the area, check it out!
Holly with
Kirra Ziehl, one of the girl skaters wearing Supergirl/Sk8grl tops. Kirra also won
one of the two skateboards given away in the raffle out of 65 kids
Holly signed
autographs for the skaters. The guy next to her won the other board given away
The Oregon
Trifecta - 3 contests in 3 days at 3 different parks
August 10-12,
2007 - What is the Oregon Trifecta? It’s three contests in three days at three
different skate parks in Oregon. This is a really fun and crazy contest set
in the northwest. You not only get top pro cement park and pools riders, you
also get girls, locals, and the old guys. Team riders Holly Lyons, Lea Taylor,
and new team rider Gaby Ponce all went to Oregon for the three day event this year.
The first contest was at Lincoln City on the coast of Oregon. This park starts
off with a 3 foot mini bowl and flows around and up into a 9 or 10 foot bowl with
a vert brick extention.
This contest is always interesting, because unless you live in the area or travel
up there early with time to practice, you never know what could happen. On the day
of each event the girls start off the day. They only get a limited amount of
practice and then go head to head in different heats of 5 or 6 girls and then the
top 6 go onto the finals.
There were 22 girls competing in three different heats. The top 6 girls from the
heats went into the finals. The finalists were made up of our own Holly Lyons, Jodi
McDonald, Nicole Zuck, Annie Sullivan, Amelia Brodka, and Julie Kinstand.
The heat went off well with great skating, fast lines, and even some collisions
in the jam format.
The second day was at Pier Park outside of the Portland area. This park was
amazing. One side has two 9 feet round bowls going into the full pipe. The
full pipe has a whole in it with stairs to get so that you can get out. The
stairs go up the full pipe and over vert by about 2-3 feet. On the other side
of the pipe is a square 11 1⁄2 foot cement vert ramp bowl. This place was
big and smooth!
Only 11 girls even attempted this park due to it’s mass. Holly Lyons
skated it really well and placed 3rd after only getting about 10 practice runs.
Lea Taylor also loves to skate vert and placed 4th which was really great.
On the third day, the contest was at Battle ground in Vancouver, Washington. It
was sprinkling in the morning and nobody really knew if the contest was going to
happen or not. The girls and the masters ended up getting to skate, but the pros
went to an indoor bowl this guy Tobin had in Portland. All Sk8Grl team riders
skated again today and did really well for the short amount of practice time. Holly
placed 4th and even collided with Jodi the last minute in the jam. Gaby really showed
what she had and brought it for sure, placing 3rd with strong runs and various tricks.
All three girls skated well all weekend as they drove and skated from one park to
the next. We didn’t get a lot of action photos of the girls, but Holly
took a few photos of the pros from the first two days and you can see what the parks
looked like!
Alize Montes
and Holly. Holly's little so when you find someone smaller, you must use them as
an arm rest....LOL
Alize with
Dave Duncan the voice of World Cup Skateboarding
Holly, Lea
Taylor, and Alize on the roof of Jodi's bus. This was the best spot to watch the
contest at Lincoln City
Holly, Alize,
and Brittney Krause
Jodi's bus
is the best. We even kidnapped Lea and Alize in the bus...haha!
Amelia Brodka,
Alize, and Brittney at Lincoln City
Holly at
Lincoln City
Little Alize
has a lot of steez at 8 years old.
Holly and
Sergie Ventura
Sergie doing
a 540 McTwist at Pier Park, OR.
Rune Glifberg
rode front side over the over vert door. This was gnarly!
Rune also
went back side over the door. He is the only person who has ever done this....soooooo
gnarly!!
X Games
13 - Friday, August 3rd a Full Day dedicated to Women in Action Sports
August 2-5,
2007 - Sk8Grl team pro, Holly Lyons scores a top 5 at X Games 13!
All the girls invited to compete at X Games 13 skated unreal. Our own Holly Lyons
had several solid runs in the finals featuring inverts, indy airs, frontside and
backside airs. Holly really stepped it up for the contest, and we’re very
happy with her top 5 finish.
Commenting on the strong field in the finals at The Home Depot Center was gold medalist,
Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins who said: “If I was a judge, I would have just quit.”
Lyn-Z was right. I was scoring on my own and I couldn’t tell who took first
place. I had it either being, Lyn-Z, Mimi Knoop or Cara-Beth. Lyn-Z landed two kickflips
during the competition, and also came so close to landing several McTwists, plus
she pulled off a lot of other tricks. Mimi is skating at such a high level right
now. She just placed 1st at the US Open/Soul Bowl contest in Huntington Beach the
week prior to the X Games. Mimi pulled off fastplant, frontside invert, and multiple
disasters. And Cara-Beth is Cara-Beth, I’ve never seen CB have a bad day.
I think she’s the best skater in the world. So like Lyn-Z said, “If
I was a judge, I would have just quit.” Anyone of those three girls could
have taken first. Here’s the run down. Taking gold was Lyn-Z, silver was Mimi
Knoop, Cara-Beth took bronze, in 4th place was Karen Jones from Brazil, 5th was
our own Holly Lyons, 6th place was teen prodigy Apryl Woodcock, and in 7th was legendary
skater Jodi McDonald. Just being invited to the X Games is a huge honor as they
only invite the best skaters in the world. So congratulations to all of 2007’s
X Games athletes!
The week prior to the X Games at the Home Depot Center, I was able to attend a few
practice sessions with the girls. I don’t think any of them skated a vert
ramp like the one used in this years X Games before. ESPN moved the vert ramp from
indoors at the Staple Center where it’s been for the last few years to outdoors
at the Home Depot Center where it was very hot. Basically the vert ramp was huge
and straight with two offset extensions towards the ends, with scary looking rollins
at both ends. During the practice sessions, one thing that I noticed was how these
girls really pull for each other. Even though they were going to compete in just
a few days, these girls were helping their fellow competitors with technique and
cheering them on until they pulled off a certain trick. It was really, really cool.
I wish everyone could have seen the way these pros acted towards each other, and
the day of the contest the respect towards each other continued.
On X Games' Saturday, Holly Lyons was joined by Cool Girl Skateboards’ and
etnies teammate, Alize Montes at the Home Depot Center to teach young girls how
to skate at the etnies girls, get on board clinic. All of our team members love
to give back, and big thanks to etnies for organizing the clinics for them to do
so.
On a side note...2003 was the first year that the X Games invited the first women
pro skaters. A lot has changed since then, and for the better. Back in ’03
Cara-Beth Burnside took 1st place and the prize purse for first for the women then
was $2,000, compared to Bucky Lasek who also took 1st place for the men’s
vert and took home $25,000. Now in 2007, Lyn-Z Adams placed first and took home
$20,000! The total Ladies Vert Purse was $54,000. And we can thank the Alliance
for that.
Mimi Knoop
photo credit: Scott Clarke/ESPN IMAGES/Shazamm
Karen Jones
photo credit: Eric Lars Bakke/ESPN Images/Shazamm
Holly
Cara-Beth
Burnside
photo credit: Eric Lars Bakke/ESPN Images/Shazamm
Karen and
Holly
Holly
Karen
Holly, April
Jodi, Karen, and Mimi
Holly
Holly
Mimi
Mimi and
Holly after the contest
Christian
Hosoi & Holly Lyons kicking it in the athletes' lounge
etnies girls
get on board clinic at the X Games.
Holly was one of the coaches, here with her student Natalie
Alize from
etnies and Cool Girl Skateboards was another coach. How's that....an eight year
old prodigy teaching you!
Courtney
from GRO and one of her students
The coaches
and students after a fun session
The US
Open/Soul Bowl of Skateboarding
July
27-29, 2007 - This years Soul Bowl contest in Huntington Beach, CA. was a huge success
once again! The weather was great. It was sunny and warm, there was loud music blasting,
and people everywhere in their swim suits having fun on the sand. There were different
action sports booths set up all over the beach, Moto X demo's going on through out
the day, the US OPEN of Surfing, and the Soul Bowl of Skateboarding.
On Friday, the Soul Bowl Skateboard contest started off with the ladies. There were
2 heats of girls and the skating just gets better and better every year. All of
the girls were charging super hard and getting in as many runs as possible. The
crowd was stoked and the energy was high. There were 12 girls, 6 in each heat. Girls
were doing inverts, 50-50's, rock n rolls, fast plants, boneless', nose grinds,
airs, and more.
After all the dust cleared, the results were in. The top 5 girls were as follows.
In first place was Mimi Knoop with really long and strong runs, 2nd place was Lyn-Z
Adams, 3rd was Julie, 4th was Sk8Grls' own Holly Lyons, and 5th place was Karen
Jones from Brazil.
Saturday's event was the Masters competing in the Soul Bowl, and Sunday has the
Pro contest with BMX competition as well. Check out this event if you are ever in
the area. It is always great weather, with lots of cool people everywhere having
fun on the beach in sunny southern california. It doesn't get much better than that.
