The Women of Skate One
50 Years of a story that's Never Been Told
Everyone knows the Bones Brigade. Almost nobody knows about Christie, Brenda, Rosie, or the eleven-year all-female team, Hoopla. We asked Powell Peralta co-founder George Powell to finally tell us Hoopla’s side of the story.
When we first got in touch with George Powell first about doing a feature on Powell Peralta, he made a point of stressing that the brand's story was "so much more than the Bones Brigade." He wasn't exaggerating. Skate One, the company behind Powell-Peralta, Bones Bearings, BONES Wheels, RollerBones, and more, has a fifty-year history of women building and skating for this brand, most of which has genuinely never been told publicly before - until now. He kindly offered to open the archives for us, and this is what we found….
IN GEORGE’S OWN WORDS
Skate One has a 50-year history of celebrating women who skate and work in the industry, where does that story actually begin?
"On the business side it begins with my ex-wife, Christie. Christie was my partner and helped me build the company. She also happens to be the sister of our legendary artist Court Johnson (VCJ), as well as our long-time (42 years) Purchasing Manager, Jill Johnson.
On the team side, it starts with Brenda Devine, the first female skater ever to be sponsored by Powell in 1978. Brenda was one of the early women helping to establish a presence for female skaters in the late 1970s.
Didi Devine
Photo Credit: From the Powell Peralta Archives
We then had a number of talented female riders throughout the 1980s, including Wendy Zacks and Lori Rigsbee, who helped represent women's skateboarding during the height of the Bones Brigade era. We also sponsored Didi Devine, Anita Tessensohn and Leaf Treinen. Anita and Leaf's appearance in the landmark 1987 ad, 'Some Girls Play With Dolls. Real Women Skate' helped inspire a generation of female skateboarders.
Anita Tessensohn
Photo Credit: From the Powell Peralta Archives
Lori and Anita, as well as freestyle skater Sophie Bourgeois, are featured in the Powell Peralta Public Domain video. While the main Bones Brigade roster was mostly male, Powell Peralta was one of the very few major skate companies that gave a dedicated video segment to female skaters.
For 11 years, Hoopla was our all-female skate team, led by professional skateboarders Mimi Knoop and Cara-Beth Burnside. They brought their experience and passion to building the team, actively seeking out talented female skaters, turning Allysha Bergado, Samarria Brevard, and Alana Smith pro in 2015. Mimi also created much of the artwork for the team and pro models, bringing her own creativity and perspective into the brand.
Mimi Knoop and Cara-beth Burnside at our La Patera building with the mobile vert ramp
Photo Credit: Dana Sherlock
We have always felt it was important that skateboarding represent every type of person. Kids are inspired when they see people like themselves participating, succeeding, and contributing to the industry they love. Over the years, we have worked to help make skateboarding a place where anyone who loves the sport can feel that they belong."
“Some Girls Play With Dolls. Real Women Skate.”
Real Women Skate Ad. First run in the 1987 issue of Thrasher Magazine
Photo Credit: From the Powell Peralta Archives
Are there specific women from that history whose stories haven't been told publicly that you'd want us to help share?
"Here's a fun piece of Powell Peralta trivia that most people don't know. Whenever you see one of our tough-looking skeletons in a graphic (starting with the original Skateboard Skeleton in 1978) you're actually looking at Rosie, our female medical supply skeleton.
Rosie has been part of our art department since 1977, patiently modeling for VCJ without ever asking for a break or complaining about long hours. For nearly 50 years, she's been the reference behind our most iconic skeleton graphics. Even today, Rosie is still Court's muse, quietly playing her part in Powell Peralta history."
A behind the scenes shot of court, Rosie and George during Stacy Peralta’s filming of 2015 short documentry titled “George Powell.”
Photo Credit: Dana Sherlock
Proof sheet of Rosie for VCJ’s reference.
Photo Credit: From the Powell Peralta Archives
What roles have women played at Skate One over the years beyond riding, design, business and team management? How has the presence of women at Powell Peralta/Skate One changed from the early days to now?
"Since the beginning, women have always played a vital role in the success of Skate One. They hold various key production roles in our factory, and are also prevalent in our sales, administrative and art departments. We have several female employees who have worked here for 20+, and even 40+ years!
Today, women hold leadership and key roles throughout our company, including Chief Financial Officer, Human Resources Manager, Vice President of Purchasing, Vice President of Sales, Export and Domestic Sales Managers, Product Manager, Product Photographer, Payroll, Export Coordinator, Engineering Assistant, Planner, and numerous production positions.
Our Powell Peralta, Bones Wheels, and Bones Bearings teams are also home to a growing roster of female athletes. Bones Wheels and Bones Bearings proudly sponsor dozens of incredible women from around the world. Chloe Covell, Lizzie Armanto, Sky Brown, Ruby Lilley, Bryce Wettstein, Rayssa Leal, Arisa Trew, and, of course, Sakura are just a few of the amazing athletes who represent our brands."
Sakura Yosozumi is part of the current Powell-Peralta roster and competed at the Olympics, what made her the right fit for the team?
"We feel very lucky to have Sakura as part of our team. She is loved not only for her incredible ability as an athlete, but also for the person she is. Sakura represents the absolute best of skateboarding and has become an important ambassador for the entire skateboarding community in Japan."
Sakura Yosozumi
Looking at where women's skateboarding is right now, where do you see it heading next, and what part do you want Powell Peralta/Skate One to play in that?
"The equality created by Olympic competition standards has helped elevate women's skateboarding into the 'major leagues' of the sport. And thanks to the trailblazing female skaters of the 1970s and 1980s, women have had the time, opportunity, and role models needed to grow within skateboarding, starting younger, developing their skills earlier, more quickly, and pushing the progression of the sport. The world for female athletes today is dramatically different than it was twenty years ago. Women's sports in general have become more visible, and widely respected.
Skateboarding is unique compared to many traditional sports because it is driven as much by creativity, style, balance, and technical ability as it is by physical strength. It allows a wider range of attributes to determine success. There are so many insanely talented female skateboarders today I'm left believing that we may soon see women surpass men in certain areas of skateboarding as they continue to redefine what is possible within the sport.
In 2008, as more girls entered skateboarding, we felt there was an opportunity for a brand dedicated to promoting women's skating. We started Hoopla with Cara-Beth and Mimi and worked to grow it for about 11 years. Over time, however, many female skaters chose to ride for brands that sponsored both men and women, rather than a women-only brand. Eventually, we retired Hoopla and returned to the traditional approach of putting men and women on the same teams. That was fine with us, because our goal has always been to simply support great skateboarders and help the sport grow.
Powell Peralta, Bones Wheels, and Bones Bearings will certainly add more female skaters to our teams in the years ahead. This has been a long time coming. Talented girls and women have been part of skateboarding since the 1960s, but for many years their numbers were relatively small. Today, the growth of women's skateboarding is creating opportunities that simply did not exist in earlier decades, and we expect that trend to continue."
Mimi Knoop and Cara-beth Burnside for a Hoopla promotional photoshoot
Photo Credit: Dana Sherlock
Sakura Yosozumi is riding for the same team Brenda Devine rode for in 1978. Fifty years from now, someone else will be. That's the actual legacy here, not the logo, the continuity and the fact that it was all built for the love of skating, long before it ever had anything to do with money.
If you want to see where that legacy stands right now, keep an eye on the women currently riding for Powell-Peralta, Bones Wheels, and Bones Bearings: Chloe Covell, one of the youngest and most exciting names in street skating right now.
Chloe Covell fs ngrind
Photo by Chris Ortiz
Lizzie Armanto, a long-time fixture of the brand's team and one of the most respected vert and park skaters in the world.
Lizzie Armanto frontside boneless
Photo by Bart Jones
Ruby Lilley, whose progression over the last few years has made her one to genuinely watch.
Ruby Lilly Lower Bob
Photo by Eduardo Sanchez
Sakura Yosozumi, the Olympic competitor carrying the same team spirit that started with Brenda Devine back in 1978. Different disciplines, different generations of skating, but all part of the same fifty-year thread this piece has been about.
Sakura Yosozumi
Next part, we're going back further, into the garage in Santa Barbara where this all started, and the two people who nearly lost everything kept it alive. Part 2 lands August 28th. And if you want to learn more about the world of skating, check out the rest of our blog and magazine.