Monday, April 2

The Future of Women's Skateboarding

By Julie Gengo

It's not only little boys swarming skateparks world wide, little girls are taking a liking to this not-so-feminine activity as well. Maybe it's due to the Skateboard Shannon doll or maybe it's that the up-coming generation knows early on that girls can definitely rule the world and skateboarding is just another thing that seems fun enough to try.

A prime example of one such grom is nine-year-old Hanna Lisk. Hanna, who lives minutes away from the Vans Skatepark in Orange, California discovered skateboarding just last year and decided that she wanted to give it a go. The increased coverage of skateboarding on TV also helped encourage her to get her own board and gear. Now only a year later, this under-four-foot powerhouse is not only sponsored by Vans but also Roxy, Grindking, Black Flys and Kruxial (a portable roller coaster of sorts for skateboarding).

She also recently won the Amateur division in both the mini-ramp and street contests at the recent Etnies All Girl Skate Jam. For her efforts, Hanna won a Sector Nine longboard and a Chorus snowboard both gear that she will have to grow into.

According to her mom, Hanna was born to be daring: "Since she was little she was jumping off the top of the refrigerator so I knew she would be doing something dangerous. But none of her siblings are athletic. So I don't know where she came from."

Why did you start skating?

Hanna: Because it looked fun on TV and I saw the Vans Skatepark and said, "hey mom I want to go there." So I did.

What was it like when you first started skating there?

Hanna: I kept on falling and people helped me and I watched what they did and I did what they did and I landed it.

How often do you skate?

Hanna: Once a week because I do gymnastics too.

Has gymnastic helped with skating?

Hanna: Yeah a lot because I'm balancing a lot.

What other sports are you into?

Hanna: Snowboarding, rollerblading, swimming, razors and biking.

So do you plan on becoming a ripping snowboarder as well?

Hanna: Snowboarding is really good. I snowboarded in Utah once and went down the big mountain all by myself.

So how do you feel skating with all those boys?

Hanna: I would like more of the girls to skate with me than the boys.

Are you interested in becoming a pro?

Hanna: Yeah, so I can be a pro at snowboarding, skateboarding ?

Who are you favorite skaters?

Hanna: Cara-Beth, Tony Hawk, Elissa Steamer.