We started with the desire of skating with more women, and ended up changing a global industry and social stereotypes.
Things were very different back in Madrid in 2010 when Jacky Madenfrost and Valeria Kechichian created Longboard Girls Crew (LGC). Back then, there were just a handful of women, Trans and non-binary people longboarding in the world – and almost zero visibility of those few that were out there.
What started as a desire to find others like us to skate together, gradually transformed into a mission. We wanted to make a sport, absolutely male-dominated at the time, as inclusive as possible and to increase the representation we had, which was scarce and extremely sexualized.
Longboard videos, entries to competitions, awards, and sponsorship of women, Trans or non-binary riders were practically inexistent. Since our early days, we created and shared content with a new kind of exposure, where diversity was in the spotlight. We hosted events to build a community from scratch and invited 130+ ambassadors in 60+ countries, branching out to become the biggest community in the industry. We have released 4 Longboard Girls Crew films so far: our classic shorts Girls Can Ride (2010) and Carving the Mountains (2011) and our long films Endless Roads (2012) and Open (2014). We have launched campaigns to denounce violence against women in the longboard scene, and have worked with brands to change the way we are portrayed and perceived.
Through this work, we’ve built a large social presence to keep pushing our mission and reaching people everywhere, worldwide. Now it’s us creating our own opportunities and managing the quantity and quality of exposure we get, and defying and shifting social norms in order to achieve our true potential. It’s us changing the way society thinks of us, and the way we think of ourselves. Representation matters, but the quality of that representation is equally important.
Historically, women are not raised to lead, to be bold or to try new things. We believe that by breaking certain stereotypes we’re helping build a stronger, healthier society for all humankind.
Guided by the force, empowerment and transformation longboarding brought to our lives, we created a further extension, our non-profit: LONGBOARD WOMEN UNITED, using skate and longboarding as tools for social change in highly vulnerable areas around the world. Click here to find out more (and to donate, if you can).
10+ years later, we’re still pushing strong towards our mission, and although exposure has increased (and improved) and many old social norms have changed, there is still a long way to go. We aim to keep building community around the world, to create space and increase visibility of new talent, to work with businesses and brands to fairly represent (and pay) women, and to ensure spaces are safe for all of us who have felt or feel as minorities in this sport.
Let’s keep changing the game.
Short Version for Social Media
@longboardgirlscrew started with the desire of skating with more women, and ended up changing a global industry and social stereotypes.
Longboard videos, entries to competitions, awards, and sponsorship of women, Trans or non-binary riders were practically inexistent in 2010, when LGC was born. Since its early days, LGC created and shared content with a new kind of exposure, where diversity was in the spotlight. They’ve hosted events to build a community from scratch and invited 130+ ambassadors in 60+ countries, branching out to become the biggest community in the industry. LGC has released 4 films so far (check them out on their YouTube channel), launched campaigns to denounce violence against women in the longboard scene.
Through this work, LGC has built a large social presence to keep pushing our mission and reaching people worldwide, creating our own opportunities and managing the quantity and quality of exposure we get, and defying and shifting social norms in order to achieve our true potential. Representation matters, but the quality of that representation is equally important. LGC believes that by breaking certain stereotypes we’re helping build a stronger, healthier society for all humankind.
Guided by the force, empowerment and transformation longboarding brought to our lives, LGC created a further extension, their non-profit @longboardwomen using skate and longboarding as tools for social change in highly vulnerable areas around the world.
Now, 10+ years later, LGC is still pushing strong towards their mission, and although exposure has increased (and improved) and many old social norms have changed, there is still a long way to go. LGC aims to keep building community around the world, to create space and increase visibility of new talent, to work with businesses and brands to fairly represent (and pay) women, and to ensure spaces are safer for all of us who have felt or feel as minorities in this sport.
check: http://longboardgirlscrew.com/