Kim

Hey everyone! Wow its been a long time since I’ve wrote my own stuff on here. Anyways things have been going a lot better for me then they where last year. I went up to Power Inn skate park here in Sacramento the other day and started skating again, it had been awhile let me tell you. I can still pretty much ollie and kick turn though, so just got to keep with it this time and not stop.

I’ve done some great interviews as you can see, with D-mar, Holly Lyons, and G.U.S.T. It was an honor to be able to do all of those interviews, and i thank each and everyone of them for letting me have the opportunity to get to do that.

I’ve also been talking to this great company out of Southern California, called Silly Girl Designs. They have a girl skate posse, they have merchandise, and their company is just all around a great company. So if your looking for some great deals and affordable prices, check them out for sure!

My skateboarding goal in 2009,is to have fun and get better. Skate more now that I have the time, and never give up, even if I want to.  I feel like this year is going to be a great year, and that I am going to reach my goals in skateboarding, and I hope that all of you do as well.

1.What’s your name and where are you from?

my actual name is bill but u can call me c.b. or whatever u want it doesnt matter haha

2.How long has G.U.S.T been around?

i started this company in spring of 2007 so we been around for almost 2 years that fast!!!!

3.What can girls look forward to when being sponsored by G.U.S.T?

they can look forward to being in ads,magazines,interviews,great ppl to skate with,demos,autographs,getting free products and getting stuff before it is made available to the public and getting stuff that is just for them and no one else! u know the typical sponsored skateboarding life!

4.Being a male skater what got you interested in the girl skate scene?

well this is dumb but i first noticed female skateboarders from rookie skateboards and elissa steamer who rode for toy machine at the time and in 1999 i was playing tony hawk’s pro skater 1 and i finally got to the last level of the game but i couldnt beat it with any of the guy skaters so i was like what the hell let me see what elissa can do and so i picked her and she was the first person i ever beat the game with so u know i was super stoked and that is pretty much how it all started lol silly i know haha
5.People that are interested in owning their own company, what would you say is the best thing and what is the worst?

haha that is a weird one the best is to provide those awesome non-sponsorless ppl with a sponsor cause u know they deserve it but arent given a chance by other ppl and the worse thing id have to say is people who want to get sponsored but arent at that level yet and keep asking and people who want to get sponsored but too lazy to get it together to show that they deserve to be sponsored they got the talent but dont have the drive for what is needed to be a sponsored skateboarder but i always like to watch footy of female skateboarding no matter how long or how short it is!

6.Your magazine, The Report, is it only available locally, and if so can people request it to be mailed, is their a charge?

well that isnt my magazine haha i wish it was but uh that magazine belongs to my local skatepark called charmcity located in baltimore,md but uh if someone wants a copy i got a stack of them just to give out to my customers hopefully we will get a article in there some time!

7.Since you guys are all about the industry of skateboarding do you guys support a lot of the major comps?

well we support it because it is female skateboarding so we are down for it in all aspects so if female skateboarding is involved u bet we are down to support it!

8. Do you guys plan on expanding your companay across the U.S.? Opening up company’s etc?

well we will expand to the whole world but i mean we arent going to have offices in other places.i dont really see any need to and we are a small company so we cant quite do big things yet but i hope to some day go as far as having an international team! i love having it in dundalk and that is where it is going to stay forever mwahahahaha!

9.What are you looking for when girls send you a video to get sponsored?

well i look for style and where they are exactly at in skateboarding such as rather they are doing bs noseblunts on ledges or doing stuff that no one else is doing.one of my riders is doing full cabs and fakie full cabs and full cab flips and all kinds of crazy stuff she is rad! and another rider doing kickflip indies and huge tony hawk like indy grabs to fakie and all kinds of crazy stuff! my riders are a few of the top notch girl riders for sure! if u are doing what my riders are doing then we will chat about sponsorship but if u cant get urself together and become a responsible skateboarder and do what is expected of u then nothing can happen until u straighten urself up.but if u are one of those skateboarders who send in footage and know what type of footage to send in then we will get back to u and talk business but when it comes to the video itself i like to see well rounded skateboarders which means u got a bunch of tricks on alot of obstacles and look good doing them. if ur not able to hang with the best of them then u arent sponsorship material simple as that.i get footage every now and then and even though they got great tricks on street they dont really have any ramp tricks or vice versa and that is very important because no company wants a half assed rider on their team well some do but i dont roll like that! if u cant skate everything then u dont deserve to be sponsored.a skateboarder that is worth being sponsored will be able to hang with the session rather it be steps,miniramp,banks,hips,ledges or whatever. there WILL BE occasions where we will have to do a miniramp demo so if u dont have the skills to make urself look good while doing that miniramp demo then u better do something about it and fast. i could go on and on but ill stop there.

10. Tell us about Rockstar, whats great about them? How can we get their product in our skate shop?

rockstar bearings is a bearing company out here on the east coast in new york and their team manager is a funny ass dude!!! they have a guys and girls team they recently came out with a dvd called america eats it’s young and it was a super good dvd and i highly recommend buying it! u can go to any of their myspace profiles at myspace. com/rockstarbearings or myspace. com/rockstargirls if u are a skateshop or skatepark then u can get their products by contacting tyler at 831.818.3462 or tyler@substanceskateboards.com

11. Do skaters on your team travel to other states, or country’s for competitions?

yea they travel to other states i hope that if they traveled to other countries they would take me with them hahaha cause i know id take them with me!

12. what products are you offering at the moment?

we got shirts and stickers at the moment we are hoping to get boards and wheels in early spring of ‘09 but before u release stuff like that u gotta test them out and let me tell u it has been a loooooooooong journey when it comes to that we been thru hell and back with that situation so ill be glad when we find a good manufacturer! not everyone makes high quality affordable products which sucks!

13. Is there any sort of motto for your company?

our motto is support your local female skateboarder and i think that says plenty! i initially came up with the idea from the support ur local skateshop phrase haha

14. Do you ever hope to sign bigger skaters, such as Lacey Baker or lyn-z adams?

haha well that would be pretty awesome but im not really wanting to sign any pros at any point of time the only pros i want skating for me is the ones that i turn pro it is so crazy to know that i can turn ppl pro haha wtf has this world come to!? BUT if we were a big company and they were interested in riding my stuff then we would chat cause that would be awesome but u gotta pay pro riders im not sure how much but u know i wouldnt really be looking forward to that even though i would pay them cause they worked hard to earn that pro status.

15. Do you think skate videos have changed from say 10 years ago? Do you think the change is positive or negative?

haha oh man i have been skating for 12 years and man EVERYTHING has changed no one does vhs anymore everyone bangs out the dvds which isnt a bad thing because dvds can play perfect forever if u take care of them but u could not open a vhs tape and it would still end up going bad after a few years and like the crossover from vhs to dvd started in 2000 i think skate videos are still good after all these years. i still watch them but nothing can beat the classic skate vids from the 90s cause everything was really mellow now u got ppl doing fs flips down 20 stairs and all these ridiculous manual tricks and ppl are just going super duper crazy!!!!! but the main difference is 10 years ago no one cared about almost killing themselves skating they were just out having a good time and still putting watchable video parts together and nowdays ppl are doing something ridiculous every month to try and be the best skateboarder in the world which is a shame! i understand trying to be good but alot of ppl dont realize that u gotta think about the future and how ur body is going to feel cause trying to outdo other ppl in skateboarding is just going to end ur career faster u gotta ask urself do i want to skate to be famous and live the rich and famous lifestyle or am i in it because i enjoy it? u know it is a good example of music these days u got these losers who just make a band to be famous and they are famous for a good while but they dont last no more than 15 years because of their greed to have perks and they just wanted their fans to give them money to live off of! these bands nowadays dont care about the fans they are just a bunch of bitches who wanted to be rich quick because they had nothing else going for them. i will bet 5 dollars that if u ask any of these bands how long they been playing their instrument they will say something along the lines of less than 5 years…pathetic! but i think it is both positive and negative…positive because it is pushing skateboarding farther and negative because ppl get the idea that they need to go jump down 1000 stairs or do a 100 stair handrail.ppl interpret what they see.

16.what skaters inspired you to start skating?
i love this question as well…wow tony hawk,kris markovich,eric koston,reynolds,tas and ben pappas (r.i.p. ben),and all the new deal skateboards guys and basically everyone who was around at that time!

17. Do you think if girl skaters become bigger that they can change the face of skating?
well i think it can but i mean i really honestly hope i dont see a girl skating for summers eve douche or tampax or something like that even though it is funny as shit it would be horrible! i love the scene where it is at and i hope it stays but of course i want it to be big so that girls get more recongized and not hated on but not to the point where corporate america gets ahold of them cause that would be a dark day and id be speechless.

18.How has your company changed since it first started?

well it hasnt changed much really we only been in business for close to 2 years but we were lucky enough to been asked to do events which i always thought would be crazy cause i didnt really think anyone would ever ask us to do any and we started doing a girls contest that i hope will be every year. and that i hope to get bigger every year id really love to see 50 girls ripping up my local park without any guys being there to hit on them. so remember u never know what the future holds!

19. Is it hard getting recognition for your company?

well it isnt really hard but when ur a small company u gotta do everything in the book to get ur name out there so ppl know u exist it gets lame sometimes to be honest BUT it’s business as usual and something we GOTTA do. we also got really hardcore fans who promote(we always need more) and that is really how companies get out there. believe it not my friends actually make fun of me because i run a female skateboarding company they try to make a joke every chance they get which kind of frustrates me once in awhile (honestly almost came close to punching them and kicking their ass)i take my company and female skateboarding serious and to make fun of it is something that will cause a fast ass kicking but it is just like whatever they just dont understand. the main things that ppl should know about our company is that if ur are a female skateboarder then we are doing everything for u!!!we try our best to serve the scene as best as we possibly can with or without money. we will never become a money hungry company or be in it for the money. we are stoked to hear when u learn a new trick or u need help to learn a trick or just want to thank us for working our asses off day and night to make sure that female skateboarding stays around in the future.some ppl dont realize that we work our asses off really really hard for them some appreciate it and some dont but that is how it goes u cant make everybody happy although i wish i could. as i always say at the end of the day if 2 girls can meet up for the first time and skate together for the first time and become friends then somehow turn into a little group of friends then my day has been worth it because i could care less about money i only really care about getting the scene together and getting it out there and to end the hate and sexism in skateboarding!

20.Lastly, what have you seen in skateboarding lately that has impressed you?

id have to say the way the girls have been skating!!! they are doing really big tricks and i think with the way ppl like lacey baker and lyn-z adams and all them are skating!! i think that female skateboarding will get some respect. more guys are respecting female skateboarding because they see them switch 360 flip big gaps or do 15 stair handrails and stuff like that im pretty stoked! girl skateboarding amps me up!!! did u see the skating lacey baker did this summer at the maloof money cup comp? holy shiiiiiiitttttttt element and etnies need to step it up and give this girl some pro models!!!!

Hey everyone! Sorry for the lack of updates! I am now in school as must of you might know from my last entry! Anyways, on the myspace website I found a girl skateboarding company out of Maryland called G.U.S.T. skate co.
They are an amazing team,if you would like to check them out they have a myspace account at www. myspace. com/girl_skaters_unite and their official website at http://gustmd. tripod. com be sure to check out this bearing company from new york with girls riders at www. rockstarbearings. com and their myspace at myspace. com/rockstarbearings and myspace. com/rockstargirls.
You should head to your local skateshop and ask if they carry any rockstar products, and if not contact me or G.U.S.T. and we can give you the contact information for the skateshop to start carrying their products.

In my next post I am going to have a Q&A session with the team manager, hope you guys go and check this out because its a great company and they really want to get the word out about girls and skateboarding! So pass this information on to all of your friends that skate and have them pass it on as well!!

Hey there everyone! It has been months since I’ve actually been on here. Well anyways, I am planning on going to 28th and B this weekend and hop back on my skateboard. Its been way to long since I’ve been on one and I can’t stand it anymore. While I dont really want to share why its been so long since I’ve actually been on one, because its way to personal, I will share this one thing. It was one day about two weeks ago, and that was the hardest day of my life, and the only thing that got me through that day was talking to the people about skateboarding. I talked to them about the dew tour, and how I planned to work in skateboarding one way or the other, of course its not going to be a pro skater, but I know that I have to work in some part of it. I knew that I’d always loved skateboarding, but I never realized the inpact it really had on my life until that day, and up until then, for like three months, I had completley let it go, and I think to myself why in the world would I do that with something that I claim to love so much, and I figured out that maybe it was because I didnt believe in myself anymore, and I thought I was going no where, but that day I realized I couldnt be like that anymore, I’ve got to stay positive to get where I want to go in life, and I will do anything to reach my goal. Well I hope that all of you read my blog and even though its not a skate adventure I hope you still enjoyed it! More to come soon:)

Hey guys! So I went to 28th and B skate park yesterday, it was the best skate day for me. First we got on light rail and got off on 29th st and walked sixteen blocks to get to this skate park.  But let me tell you it was really worth it. This park is the wooden one that I was talking about awhile back, well anyways we got there and I headed straight for the mini ramp and I worked on going up the ramp as high as I could and then going back down it switch, i got that pretty good, so then I am like well I’ve been trying to work on kick turns so why don’t I go down the ramp and when I get to the bottom do a kick turn, it took me most of the day but I finally was able to get it, and let me tell you it was the best feeling in the world to know that I am progressing, I was also able to land some pretty good ollies which I have not been able to do since my accident, so I was super stoked about that, now I am working on kick turns while I’m still up on the wall and also shove its, so I will keep you guys posted on my progression. I hope that everyone is having a great time skating out there and keep up all the great work!

Today’s skate session was quite an adventure to say the least! So I’ve been progressing a little each time I get on my board and today I was in a bowl and I actually got further up the wall and went down switch and went up the other side! I was so proud of myself, my next goal is to go up the wall and kick turn and go back down, which I’ve been trying on this smaller hill outside of the bowl and I think I’ll get it eventually! Well anyways my friend Kevin decided to go with all of us today and he skated a little bit when he was younger but had not skated for about six years, so hes actually doing really good, he was able to get in a bowl and carve around it well when he went up the wall to carve it he fell off his board and slammed on his knee and broke the upper part of his leg and now he has to get a pin in his leg! Man I thought that I had bad luck, but anyways, seeing him just get right back up on a board and be able to do everything that I’ve been working so hard for made me a little frustrated, but then I realized what my boyfriend was telling me, and that was that everyone has their own way of learning and people progress differently, and I’ve just really realized that I cant get frustrated and just know that eventually I will get it. Well just wanted to keep everyone updated and I’ll be back soon!

Hey everyone sorry that its been so long since I’ve posted a blog. Anyways I hope that everyone had a great Go Skateboarding day! I unfortunately wasn’t able to really make it out that day because it was so hot, I did however go out and skate today and for once I was super satisfied with the way I skated, why you ask? Because I made progress, and I’m slowly getting over my fears of things. Today I was able to go up and over this hump that’s by one of the bowls at granite skate park, and then i slid into this one bowl and started riding around it and went up one of the sides and I got farther then I ever have before, only problem was i bailed on my way back down fakie because something felt off about it! But I have a feeling that I will get it, things just really feel like they are starting to click for me with this sport and its making me more and more addicted to it! I cant wait for my next skate adventure tomorrow at 28th and B! I’ll write more tomorrow! And sorry for the delay in pictures but its hard when your camera only takes videos! But I will see what I can do! Everyone just keep going out there and trying your best at skating and just have fun with it!

Hey everyone! So today was a good day, me and another blogger Jolie met up at Granite Skate park today! It was a lot of fun meeting her she is definitely a cool girl and has inspired me to just keep working on my skating.  She worked a lot on her heel flips which shes almost got and ollieing on to the table top! As for me she tried just teaching me how to pump up the side of a bowl, needless to say at this point it didn’t work so well but I just really need to practice. Since I am kinda out of a job at this time I have a lot more free time to really skate! Hopefully me and Jolie will be able to skate together more often and get a regular crew together, I know that is something that she definately wants and it would be awesome to have! So keep an eye out this summer there will definatley be alot to write about!:)

Hey guys!! Well I’m glad that this site is back up and running! Its looking awesome and its cool that now everyone has there own blogs. We are really excited to get this site started and hope that everyone enjoys it as much as we do. I was going through my camera the other day and stumbled upon some pictures of a day that I skated at work, and needless to say it was a great day. See even though I picked up a skateboard when I was 14 I didn’t really get into doing tricks and things until not to long ago, so I am not that great. In these pictures I am actually working on my ollies, and just looking at the pictures and knowing that im making progress made me smile. That is what I find so amazing about the sport is you just keep working at it, and there’s days when you think man I am NEVER going to get this trick or I am never going to be able to learn how to do this kick turn, and then one day it happens and its the most amazing feeling in the world, and that’s one of the many things that keeps me so addicted to this sport. Alright well here’s the pictures, the first one i think is the best one, the other one was just an attempt and the last one is just me being goofy! Hope everyone enjoys them!