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by Marina
OK so I guess I should tell you all why I love to skateboard. Well when I started I was 10, and no one I knew skated. I got my best freind Kris ( a guy) to try it out with me. My mom reluctantly bought me a board that was made by Candy-- it had a litlle skull on the bottom. So Kris and I started skating.I caught on how to move the board quickly and soon mastered turning. Kris though, was having major trouble. About a year down the road I learned how to ollie and grind. An ollie is a jump you do on your board-- it's the simplest one but the basis of all other skating moves. Kris on the other hand was still trying to learn how turn.
Soon several other friends joined me in skating and it became more "popular". I got myself a new board that would allow me to do more tricks, and Kris finally perfected riding on his!
After 2 years, when I was about 12 years old, I got sponsored. That means that a shop or a company buys your board, wheels, and stuff like jeans and shirts promoting the company to wear skating if you go to competitions. You also go to conventions and do other advertising-- like the opening of a new store, or demonstrations.
When I got sponsored, the standards they set for me were definitely higher then what many of the other skaters had to live up to. I was the only girl there, and when I first came into practice for a meet I was laughed at-- but they stopped laughing when they saw me skate. One boy even said I "ruled", which for skaters is a wonderful compliment. Pretty soon they realized that I was just like them-- I lived to skate, I'd started at about the same age they had, and I'd learned the same tricks they did.
I have now been sponsored for almost 2 years and I love it. I am going to conventions where I meet skaters from all over the country. I meet more guys then girls, but I have been noticing lately the number of girls has been increasing a lot. I am now one of the best skaters on my sponsors bill, and they would try hard not to lose me to another sponsor-- even though I'm a girl!
A lot of people still tease me, saying that i am not "feminine" enough-- whatever that means. They don't think a girl should be doing something only guys do. Even my mom wants me to quit because she doesn't think it's proper. Many girls said I would never get a boyfriend-- but I got a guy just fine on my own. He is sponsored by the same company I am, and he respects me and can appreciate me for what I do.
So, take it from me-- if there are any other girls out there that want to get into skateboarding, or any sport that's a "guys" sport-- then GO FOR IT!
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