Over the past few decades skateboarding has come a long way in terms of it’s female representation. There is not doubt that we are living in a time where there are more girl skaters than ever before! But when it comes to the business aspect of skateboarding, there are very few brands that started with women, or cater to women in skateboarding exclusively…
As far as teams go, Hoopla and Meow are just about the only two female founded skate brands that organized teams of girl skaters. (At least that I know of. But that’s also part of the problem!) In terms of fashion, we all know about Thrasher, Supreme, Vans, Santa Cruz, which have all grown to pretty big popularity in the skateboarding industry, but they have all been companies founded by men. No hate! It’s always had a male oriented community since the beginning.
Now that girls are part of the equation, it is refreshing to hear about some of the female contribution, at least in my opinion.
One brand that I really wanted to talk about today is called TOMO Grip, under a much larger brand now called TOMO World. This brand was founded by a girl skater named Tomoko Oikawa in 2015, who wanted to expand her artwork into the world of skateboarding. She started off hand painting grip tape stickers initially for herself and her friends in San Francisco, and after time her art became well known by a lot of people. She eventually began painting full sheets of grip and selling them online.
Her website has since grown and now sells clothing with her designs on them as well as accessories.
When I first heard about TOMO Grip I was really excited. Not only were the designs Tomo made super rad, and just up my alley, but it was an opportunity for me to support another girl and her art through skateboarding.
I think that is why I find other girls contribution so comforting. It is cool to know that there are girls out there that want to make a name for themselves in skateboarding, but also be a part of what inspires other people to skate and express themselves. More largely I think that brands that are founded by women naturally inspire other women.
Although not founded by a woman, another brand that collaborated with a female skater in the past was Grizzly. They are another brand mainly known for their grip tape, however they put out clothing as well. In 2018, Grizzly reached out to a girl skater known as “SkateMoss” on Instagram. She became very well known through the Instagram community and was given the opportunity to select and come up with designs for her own line through Grizzly.
Although everything has since sold out, I will never forget how big of a deal that felt. It was the first time they ever dedicated a line of clothing and products through their company that was selected by girls, for girls. To this day, my favorite sheet of grip tape I’ve skated was under her collaboration!
Overall, I feel like in skateboarding, there is a lot of contribution made by women that we just don’t hear about as much as we should. However it is something that needs to be talked about, as well as recognizing the accomplishments, even if they are smaller in the grand scheme.
I think that it is important that women know that there aspects of skating that girls are reaching out into. Aside from brands, there are very successful women skaters that have gone professional for teams, which is amazing and extremely inspiring. The more recognition and support we get, the more opportunities women will have.
Skate Like A Girl 
You should check out the new Vans video “Credits” if you haven’t already! Una Farrar, Fabiana and Breezy are seriously steppin’ it up. Major hype from that video.
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I watched it right after it got put up on Thrasher! Seriously hyped me up so much!
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