Mighty Mama Skate-o-Rama 2011 Was a Blast! May 26, 2011

 

Shredsister Chelle carving up the Iquana Bowl during our annual Mighty Mama Skate-o-Rama

Sometimes in life we get so wrapped up in the daily grind, that we forget what it’s like to feel free.  Skateboarding for me is a way to let go of all the junk in my head that stresses me out.  Skateboarding takes me back to that happy place inside myself, where nothing else matters except being in that moment and enjoying it to the fullest.  Being able to attend the Skateboard Moms’ Mighty-Mama-Skate-O-Rama event that happens yearly on Mother’s Day weekend at the Laguna Nigel skatepark gives me an amazing opportunity to forget my worries and just SHRED!  It feels so good to skate with so many awesome women, girls and families, and it all helps promote women’s skateboarding.  

Not only is skateboarding a great form of exercise, it relieves stress, and builds self-confidence.  What attracted me to skateboarding when I was a girl was that I could do it by myself; I didn’t need to be on a team to participate.  My friends and I were the creative types, definitely not the cliquey types.  We wanted to create our own adventures; we wanted to invent new, cool things to do.  That’s exactly why skateboarding was perfect for me.  We could do anything we wanted — any trick off of any obstacle that we could possibly skate.  We absolutely loved it!  

Fortunately for me there are quite a few other gals out there that share my passion.  Even though the years keep passing, our love will never die.  

For me this year’s event went off with a bang right from the airport.  Skatemom Stacey picked me up and off we drove, and drove, and drove, and finally ended up at a killer skate-park in Chino.  The park was small, but had a really nice flow to it, and a little bit of everything to skate.  The locals were ripping and very friendly I might add.  Of course they were stoked to see women skating their park and did their best to bust out gnarly moves to impress us ladies.  I’ll also add that I find this to be a major bonus when arriving at a new skate-park.  It’s almost like getting a free show.  Keep up the good work Chino guys!  I’ll be looking for ya next time.

It takes courage to put yourself out there, outside of your comfort zone. It takes courage to be willing to fall and to pick yourself back up again.  You know it’s gonna hurt when you eat pavement, but you just don’t care!  Some tricks come easy; those are your bread-n-butter.  Some tricks only come once in a while: 10 tries, 20 tries, 31 tries… MAKE!  Wooohooooo!!!!!  That’s all the matters: the feeling that rushes through your whole body, it’s like nothing else!  It’s simply the best!!!  I think the fact that we constantly have to push ourselves to get out there, and push ourselves to progress, is what makes skateboarding so satisfying!

The next day of adventures started at the beach in Carlsbad with some surfing!  The waves were a bit small, but that didn’t stop us from trying.  Stacey and Jane (from Australia) definitely caught a few good ones!  They were looking awesome out there!  You gals did a great job, thanks for showing us how it’s done!   After our surf session, we headed over to the Iguana Bowl.  It was only a short drive from the beach, and we were warmly welcomed by the gracious owners.  The driveway was filled with ramps, which I had a blast playing on in between bowl runs and to warm up on.   The bowl itself is very impressive and super fun to skate!  It is perfect for learning just about anything on.  I sure wish I had one in my back yard!  The evening was going great, and to top it off a whole bunch more rad skater-chicks showed up and shredded up the place.  It turned out to be a big high-light of the trip for me.  Perfect vibe, perfect company, and not too overwhelming, just chill!  Thanks again to our hosts for sharing their super rad digs with our Skatemom posse! 

The big day finally arrived and we were all beyond stoked!  We couldn’t wait to meet up with the whole Skate Mom/Sisters of Shred gang for the always-awesome Mighty Mama Skate-O-Rama.  The best part of attending this event for me is knowing that the money we raise during our annual raffle is for a good cause, children’s literacy!  The proceeds this year go to Friends of Children and Literature, aka FOCAL, which is an LA-based charity that brings the magic of reading and books to kids in downtown LA.  Our sponsors are always generous, and this year was no exception.  The raffle prizes were completely drool-worthy.  They totally hooked us up! 

Soon the park was surrounded by whizzing sounds of wheels on concrete, and what a sweet sound that is.  Everybody had a blast!  We listened to the groovy sounds of 70’s music, while riding waves of concrete with perma-grin smiles plastered to our faces.  It was totally tubular, and that’s the truth, the whole truth and nothing, but the truth!  It was all over way too soon, and I had to catch a flight back to Sacramento.  We zoomed off and I made my flight just in the nick.  I was sad to leave, but I will be looking forward to next year’s event!  I made a bunch of new friends and some great memories to last a lifetime.  Until next time So Cal folks, skate or die!!

 ~ Chelle

… so, that’s why i decided to start skateboarding. January 28, 2009

i watched shaun white win his gold medal on the halfpipe at the winter olympics in nagano. he looked like he was having so much fun!  he was always laughing and joking around, even during the stiffest competition of his life.

i was 39, and i was tired. i had spent my whole life working 60-80 hours a week, volunteering in my off time, and raising a kid. i rarely laughed, and i yelled at my 6-year-old daughter more than i wanted to admit. i wanted to have more fun, and be silly like the Flying Tomato! i thought about learning to snowboard, but there’s no snow here. then i saw shaun do a mctwist on a skateboard, and that’s all it took! i wanted to know what it was like to fly in the air like that. i knew i’d have to work hard. i figured it would take about a year to learn to skate like shaun white. 

one day, i asked my dad to take care of my daughter, and drove to the local skate shop. i parked the car and took a deep breath. i prepared myself for ridicule. i didn’t know anyone who skated, and i was sure there were no adult skaters in my area. i walked in and told the 17-year-old street skater behind the counter that i wanted to learn to skate ramps and bowls. i had no idea what to buy, i had never set foot on a skateboard. the store clerk stared at me for a good minute (or what seemed like it), and then went to work. he showed me different boards, trucks and wheels. he explained the virtues of each, and let me choose after narrowing the selection down to two or three. an hour later, i had a really nice first setup. he suggested that i buy a helmet and some pads, as well as some special shoes. i thought all of that might be unnecessary, but followed his advice anyway. the store owner rang me up. he said that i’ll fall a lot at first, and that most women prefer longboarding.

i took my shiny new board home, and stood on it for the first time in the living room, on the carpet. i fell almost immediately, and my dad laughed. my wrists hurt! i laughed too.

see? it was already working. 

in the last three years, my job has been on autopilot, i’ve quit most of my volunteer work, and i’ve suffered more injuries than i have in all my other years put together, all the direct result of skating. it makes me sad sometimes when i think of what’s gone, but i can’t say that i regret any of it. for the first time, i’m being true to myself. i’ve laughed more, learned more and loved more than i have in all my other years put together. and i don’t yell at my daughter anymore.