Queer Skating in LA

[Ziad]

I'd definitely join a straight only skate club, I'm openly straight and proud but it'll be too homophobic and everyone will hate me   

[mattchew]

Unity is awesome and inspiring. They have encouraged so many people to either check out or continue to skate. Why is that so threatening and offensive to some of you?

Like others have said, reading the shitty comments on here is exactly why Unity is needed in the first place, because of shitheads making people unwelcome/threatened. Here’s a tip: stop being a homophobic asshole.

[goldfishboot]

there are excellent queer skate crews all around the country. there's something really great about being in a group of people who share an identity with you, past just being a skateboarder. I live in Iowa, so it's not easy for me to find queer skateboarders in my little city. I've been traveling out to Fargo in DeKalb, IL and out to Madison, WI a bunch this last year just to be around my people. It's empowering

[no life]

I'd definitely join a straight only skate club, I'm openly straight and proud but it'll be too homophobic and everyone will hate me 

wow shocking, you're not only a racist and a misogynist but also a homophobe

[kid casserole]

IF I FOUND OUT MY CHILD WAS SKATING WITH UNITY!!

[GAY]

IF I FOUND OUT MY CHILD WAS SKATING WITH UNITY!!

What if she came home and was like, "It's cool, mom! I'm not gay, I'm just a fag hag!"

[theresnothinghere]

there are excellent queer skate crews all around the country. there's something really great about being in a group of people who share an identity with you, past just being a skateboarder. I live in Iowa, so it's not easy for me to find queer skateboarders in my little city. I've been traveling out to Fargo in DeKalb, IL and out to Madison, WI a bunch this last year just to be around my people. It's empowering

Damn that's so sick. It would be tight to get a list of all the gay crews/queer/trans friendly spots across the US. Unity just hit Mexico which was sick. Any specific spots/crews you recommend? I only know of Unity (bay area), Queer skate date ( Santa Cruz), Night Peach (Sacramento), and I believe there's one in NYC.

[Monkey_Mcpott]

Aren’t we all a little gay

"I think we're all a little gay" - Jerry Hsu

Also GAY, where do you skate in LA?

[planman]

there are excellent queer skate crews all around the country. there's something really great about being in a group of people who share an identity with you, past just being a skateboarder. I live in Iowa, so it's not easy for me to find queer skateboarders in my little city. I've been traveling out to Fargo in DeKalb, IL and out to Madison, WI a bunch this last year just to be around my people. It's empowering

Did you meet a guy named Dakota at Fargo?

[ihatejulio]

Skating with the Unity team at Rockridge has been on my skate bucket list since they started. If they were around when I was growing up I would have been nothing but stoked.

Believe it or not, the only public place where I hear "faggot" constantly being thrown around is at skateparks. There are still so many homophobic fuckwads in skating as you can tell from the new posters on the 1st page. And if Unity wants to have skate events where they don't have to be surrounded by fragile macho douchebags, of which the Bay is full of, then let them.

[00000000]

Normalizing mental illness

[Noioso]

Sorry if any one ever felt vibed out at an event!

I skate with Unity and most of us are pretty shy (or maybe stoned), so aren't the best at making conversation on the first go...that can probably not always come across the best. I promise most people who come out have good intentions. I personally sometimes keep skating because I can feel awkward talking. haha.

Also, a lot of these events are planned last minute so they can be a little all over the place in the beginning. lol When I went down to LA in November, I was supposed to basically set the queer skate day up with one other person, but we both felt pretty nervous/awkward because we weren't familiar with the space at all. So if that was me, sorry again! But I personally had a great time and can't wait to go back.

Jeff and Gabe are amazing people and I promise all they want is to make people feel welcome! They do so much and it's just the two of them.

There's gonna be a couple of events coming up the first week of March, and I should be at all of them. If you see the post, and want a buddy at an event to introduce you feel free to PM me here and we can connect on instagram or something. I can also link you up with someone who knows tons of queer skate folks in LA.

[theresnothinghere]

Sorry if any one ever felt vibed out at an event!

I skate with Unity and most of us are pretty shy (or maybe stoned), so aren't the best at making conversation on the first go...that can probably not always come across the best. I promise most people who come out have good intentions. I personally sometimes keep skating because I can feel awkward talking. haha.

Also, a lot of these events are planned last minute so they can be a little all over the place in the beginning. lol When I went down to LA in November, I was supposed to basically set the queer skate day up with one other person, but we both felt pretty nervous/awkward because we weren't familiar with the space at all. So if that was me, sorry again! But I personally had a great time and can't wait to go back.

Jeff and Gabe are amazing people and I promise all they want is to make people feel welcome! They do so much and it's just the two of them.

There's gonna be a couple of events coming up the first week of March, and I should be at all of them. If you see the post, and want a buddy at an event to introduce you feel free to PM me here and we can connect on instagram or something. I can also link you up with someone who knows tons of queer skate folks in LA.

So sick! Last one I was at was the one at Bella Vista, won a shirt and some skate shoes. Definitely haven't had a bad experience. Used to skate when I was a teen but barely got back into it last year and am taking it slowly 'cause my bones are all kinds of fucked up. Was super nervous but within the hour, hella queers were greeting and helping me out. Definitely want the link in LA, I'll PM.

[two sprained ankles]

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Just skate with everyone
fuck a gay club

[close]

-homophobic person

[two sprained ankles]

unity and everyone involved in organizing queer skate events are amongst the most important things happening within the realm of skateboarding right now. I don't think many of you are aware or realize how intimidating, uncomfortable, unwelcoming, and discouraging trying to skateboard can be for someone of any age/skill level who is queer/trans/non-binary. These events and ideas are so integral to making skateboarding a more inclusive space for people and to help build an overall better community for everyone who skates to be a part of.

dead ass if you have an issue with this - you are dense and need re-evaluate what you are actually angry about.

[poor alice]

unity and everyone involved in organizing queer skate events are amongst the most important things happening within the realm of skateboarding right now. I don't think many of you are aware or realize how intimidating, uncomfortable, unwelcoming, and discouraging trying to skateboard can be for someone of any age/skill level who is queer/trans/non-binary. These events and ideas are so integral to making skateboarding a more inclusive space for people and to help build an overall better community for everyone who skates to be a part of.

dead ass if you have an issue with this - you are dense and need re-evaluate what you are actually angry about.

Quoted for truth.

But sure, yeah “just skate with everyone and don’t worry about it”. Sound.

[DCLOVE]

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unity and everyone involved in organizing queer skate events are amongst the most important things happening within the realm of skateboarding right now. I don't think many of you are aware or realize how intimidating, uncomfortable, unwelcoming, and discouraging trying to skateboard can be for someone of any age/skill level who is queer/trans/non-binary. These events and ideas are so integral to making skateboarding a more inclusive space for people and to help build an overall better community for everyone who skates to be a part of.

dead ass if you have an issue with this - you are dense and need re-evaluate what you are actually angry about.

[close]

Quoted for truth.

But sure, yeah “just skate with everyone and don’t worry about it”. Sound.

I think that’s really what it comes down to with some of responses here. A lot of us don’t know what’s that like. I think a lot of people view skating as pretty inclusive so they think it’s odd to make a point to say hey we’re a group of queer skaters. I can imagine being young and a member of lgbt community in skating would be rough especially when your core crew would likely be a bunch of immature teenage boys.

We’ve had gay women , a trans woman , and gay filmer in skating for nearly two decades before we had a male pro come out as gay and according to a lot of people we still have a few big name pros in the closet. I think it’s good to have a face for the lgbt community to better represented in skating. It may be a tad polarizing at first especially with unity’s graphics and the whole all queer team but hopefully this is a push towards a point where we don’t need these kind of clubs and teams to feel more comfortable in skating. For as multicultural and welcoming the skate community is we have had a bad track record with women and the gay community being involved in skating.

This is a good thing. If you don’t think so keep your mouth shut and just let people be. You’re not gonna change anything with your crappy opinions.

[otherside]

Just to add my 2p worth - I’m a middle aged gay man who’s been skating for the majority of my life. I totally agree, in principle with the idea that segregation isn’t the answer and that ‘everyone should just skate together’, but the reality isn’t that simple. On a personal level I’ve always avoided segregating myself out form the rest of society, and as a result I spent a lot of my life living in houses full of skater, working in skate shops and later doing other random bits of work in the skate industry. As an adult it’s been absolutely fine and I’ve never experienced any homophobia in the skate industry, to the point that I got kind of sick of well wishing skaters drunkenly telling me how great it was that I brought my boyfriend along to whatever random skate event we were at.

But, and it’s a big but - thinking back to my teenage years, it didn’t feel that way at all! It’s easy to forget how much of the skate scene is made up of insecure teenage boys acting like complete dicks. Sure, most of them grow out of it, but as a teenager I remember hearing so much relentlessly homophobic comments, and feeling utterly alone as a gay kid skating. After I came out I had to have endless awkward conversations with people trying to apologise for the things they’d said around me before they realised I was gay.

So yeah, as an adult I’m happy enough not seeking out any of these queer skate crews on the odd occasion I go out skating, and generally just hang out with the same bunch of middle aged straight men I’ve been skating, drinking, and generally getting old with for the last 20 years or so, but I still absolutely get why a lot of teenagers think they’re necessary. Sure, in an ideal world they wouldn’t need exist, but we’re sure as hell not there yet!

There is a difficult balance between the need for visibility, and the risk of LGBT folks isolating themselves from wider society, and I completely understand that people will have differing but equally valid opinions on this. But for now, as long as some kid skating in the middle of nowhere is able to see that these queer skate crews exist, and as a result not feel as alone as I did as a teenager, then more fucking power to them.

[DCLOVE]

Just to add my 2p worth - I’m a middle aged gay man who’s been skating for the majority of my life. I totally agree, in principle with the idea that segregation isn’t the answer and that ‘everyone should just skate together’, but the reality isn’t that simple. On a personal level I’ve always avoided segregating myself out form the rest of society, and as a result I spent a lot of my life living in houses full of skater, working in skate shops and later doing other random bits of work in the skate industry. As an adult it’s been absolutely fine and I’ve never experienced any homophobia in the skate industry, to the point that I got kind of sick of well wishing skaters drunkenly telling me how great it was that I brought my boyfriend along to whatever random skate event we were at.

But, and it’s a big but - thinking back to my teenage years, it didn’t feel that way at all! It’s easy to forget how much of the skate scene is made up of insecure teenage boys acting like complete dicks. Sure, most of them grow out of it, but as a teenager I remember hearing so much relentlessly homophobic comments, and feeling utterly alone as a gay kid skating. After I came out I had to have endless awkward conversations with people trying to apologise for the things they’d said around me before they realised I was gay.

So yeah, as an adult I’m happy enough not seeking out any of these queer skate crews on the odd occasion I go out skating, and generally just hang out with the same bunch of middle aged straight men I’ve been skating, drinking, and generally getting old with for the last 20 years or so, but I still absolutely get why a lot of teenagers think they’re necessary. Sure, in an ideal world they wouldn’t need exist, but we’re sure as hell not there yet!

There is a difficult balance between the need for visibility, and the risk of LGBT folks isolating themselves from wider society, and I completely understand that people will have differing but equally valid opinions on this. But for now, as long as some kid skating in the middle of nowhere is able to see that these queer skate crews exist, and as a result not feel as alone as I did as a teenager, then more fucking power to them.

I think this one of the biggest issues we as a society are facing regarding the lgbt community right now. It’s a super fine line with visibility and isolation and people on the outside of it can confused with it and that’s where some of the issues stem from. Well at least where I’m at which has a huge a gay community but at times it feels more cliqueish than just pushing for better representation and educating others on the situation.

I’m honestly surprised this thread didn’t go full blow shit show like some of the other touchy topics. If we’re gonna freak out about Jason jesse and Daryl angel on here I think we need the same level of support for the lgbt community. Odd how who a person decides to spend their time with triggers so many people.

I know it’s starting to get confusing and complicated with the advent of gender fluidity and a more vocal trans community but fuck it in skating at least we all something in common here and should try and support even if we don’t fully understand.

[poor alice]

I’m glad this is opening up the discussion wider and others are sharing their experiences.
I’ve shared tiny bits of my experiences as a near 30 year old potentially transgender / very feminine guy in the Steve Brandi thread so I’ll not dive too deep into it but I’ve experienced AND seen my fair share of homophobia (for lack of a better word) in both my skate scene and in the professional ranks  / skate media.

Just go to the skatepark ya big poon. Idk if you are a transgender or a homosexual and are afraid of being judged or whatever, doesnt really matter to me. I feel like most skaters aren't really trippin either(from my experience) as long as you're following common skatepark etiquette and not being a flamboyant doucher.

Firstly, it’s hard to tell the tone of what someone is saying online, especially here with how generally sarcastic we can all be- but this comment seems incredibly unaware and lacking in empathy for someone else’s experience.  What you’re saying is the equivalent of “just deal with it”.
“Just go to the skatepark ya big poon”? You can’t be fucking serious.

You say that you have grown up with Gay / LGBT family and friends, but you are seemingly unaware of how skateboarding (at large and on a local level) can make someone who is not heteronormative (as much as I don’t want to use that word it serves its purpose here) feel unwelcome , awkward , unwanted etc.

Events like these exist and need to exist precisely because of the attitudes on display here. Just because you say it doesn’t matter to you, does not negate the fact that skateboarding has not been as open, free-thinking and accepting as it likes to think it is, specifically as far as women and LGBT people are concerned.

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Just skate with everyone
fuck a gay club

[close]

[close]

this. people isolate themselves and then wonder why no one fucks with them.

I’m going to assume you’re being serious here, and from this comment I can work out that either you’re a fucking idiot or your deliberately being dismissive and ignorant of how LGBT people have been made fun of and often ostracised or made to feel like the outliers in skateboarding.
I mean FUCK , within the last two years we had one of the most famous pros announce “Skateboarding is not for girls”. Not an LGBT issue but women and LGBT are for sure on the fringe of skating. Think about that coupled with the fact that a major pro has only just recently “come out”, that should give you a small idea as to why we might feel marginalised in skateboarding, whether we’re female , gay, trans or whatever.

Like another poster said, Unity doing what they are doing will at least show young skaters that they too can be included in what has typically been a boys cub for the longest time. The importance of this cannot be overstated here- I’m quite open and confident with myself and my choices as they pertain to my LGBT identity but I would never have dreamed of opening myself up on here had people like BA and Brandi not laid the groundwork before me. It certainly encouraged me to be more myself and feel a little bit more welcome in our culture.



Edit:
Additional paragraph and some grammatical fixes.

[otherside]

I think this one of the biggest issues we as a society are facing regarding the lgbt community right now. It’s a super fine line with visibility and isolation and people on the outside of it can confused with it and that’s where some of the issues stem from. Well at least where I’m at which has a huge a gay community but at times it feels more cliqueish than just pushing for better representation and educating others on the situation.

Risking drifting off the original topic of the thread here - I agree with you, but I've come to realise over the years that I don't have the right to tell anyone how to live their lives, or expect people to have the same perspective that I do.

I live in a place with a huge gay community and my choice is to engage with it when it comes to political issues (so I'll go on marches demanding better treatment for LGBT asylum seekers or whatever), but to spend my social life away from the gay scene because as you said it feels cliquey and self segregating.

But for some people, having a defined LGBT community, and therefore a place where they feel accepted, to be amongst 'their people', and just like everyone else around them is important. It isn't that important to me (to be honest I can't think of anything more tedious than spending my life surrounded by people who are exactly like me), but a lot of the people I've met who really feel the need to be part of the gay scene had a really shit time of it growing up. So if that's what it takes for people to feel ok about themselves, then so be it. On balance I think it's a good thing that my city has the visibility of a 'gay neighbourhood', even though I don't spend time in it.

Same goes for LGBT folks who skate. If they need a defined queer skate crew, complete with a banner and all that jazz to feel ok, then that's all good. I see the teenage kids of my friends having a totally different set of experiences, their friends are coming out at 14 or 15, and hanging out with a wider group of people without having to segregate themselves off in the gay scene. Based on that, these queer skate crews will most likely be a phase that we go through. They'll provide useful visibility for a while, and a refuge for people who feel marginalised by skating as a whole, then dissipate as time goes on and the scene feels more accepting to more people.

[tag_king]

I have a Unity related question:

They used to have this guy who rode for them that went by Chad Powers CEO. He was like a candy raver that had a bear backpack and a pet rat. He made weird edits and skated in boxer shorts & lipstick, but from what I could tell, wasn't gay, just eccentric. I always kinda thought he was a bit of a trans/gay culture vulture (if he was in fact straight) but his clips were entertaining enough that I lurked here and there. He has since disappeared from the Unity page and his semi-famous Insta page has been deleted. Anyone have any info on what happened? I heard murmurs that he got run out of montreal for being a perv, but that was from an unreliable source.

[feedmeseymour]

[goldfishboot]

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there are excellent queer skate crews all around the country. there's something really great about being in a group of people who share an identity with you, past just being a skateboarder. I live in Iowa, so it's not easy for me to find queer skateboarders in my little city. I've been traveling out to Fargo in DeKalb, IL and out to Madison, WI a bunch this last year just to be around my people. It's empowering

[close]

Did you meet a guy named Dakota at Fargo?

Dakota is a really incredible skater. We met at Fargo's first queer skate night a couple three months ago and hit it off. Arbi, too. I went there the first time with my friend Marbie who I grew up skating with in Iowa and who now lives in Madison. She's a total ripper, too. Last time I went, I brought a couple of my straight-presenting but well-informed, sympathetic skate pals along and they had a really good time.

 Regarding the other poster who was asking about other queer skate crews, I only know about my little section of the Midwest so I'm not a great resource for that. I do know of a femme skate night in Madison that my friend Marbie goes to but that's a little more specific towards femme people (obv). I can fully back what Forward in Madison is doing. Beautiful, inclusive DIY skatepark thing ran by a handful of keyholders in the Madison punk scene. Always building new stuff and holding queer skate jams and stuff. Extremely cool.

[DCLOVE]

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I think this one of the biggest issues we as a society are facing regarding the lgbt community right now. It’s a super fine line with visibility and isolation and people on the outside of it can confused with it and that’s where some of the issues stem from. Well at least where I’m at which has a huge a gay community but at times it feels more cliqueish than just pushing for better representation and educating others on the situation.

[close]

Risking drifting off the original topic of the thread here - I agree with you, but I've come to realise over the years that I don't have the right to tell anyone how to live their lives, or expect people to have the same perspective that I do.

I live in a place with a huge gay community and my choice is to engage with it when it comes to political issues (so I'll go on marches demanding better treatment for LGBT asylum seekers or whatever), but to spend my social life away from the gay scene because as you said it feels cliquey and self segregating.

But for some people, having a defined LGBT community, and therefore a place where they feel accepted, to be amongst 'their people', and just like everyone else around them is important. It isn't that important to me (to be honest I can't think of anything more tedious than spending my life surrounded by people who are exactly like me), but a lot of the people I've met who really feel the need to be part of the gay scene had a really shit time of it growing up. So if that's what it takes for people to feel ok about themselves, then so be it. On balance I think it's a good thing that my city has the visibility of a 'gay neighbourhood', even though I don't spend time in it.

Same goes for LGBT folks who skate. If they need a defined queer skate crew, complete with a banner and all that jazz to feel ok, then that's all good. I see the teenage kids of my friends having a totally different set of experiences, their friends are coming out at 14 or 15, and hanging out with a wider group of people without having to segregate themselves off in the gay scene. Based on that, these queer skate crews will most likely be a phase that we go through. They'll provide useful visibility for a while, and a refuge for people who feel marginalised by skating as a whole, then dissipate as time goes on and the scene feels more accepting to more people.

It’s dope kids these days even get these opportunities. I hated the whole skater fag comments as a kid cause of the whole tight pant baker look I can’t imagine what that felt like for actual gay skaters . Then adding to the top the fear of not being accepted by your skater friends too thus alienating a lot of people from what was likely and escape and a place they felt accepted and could share something with others .

As someone else we’re still not doing that as a community in regards to the female and lgbt communities when you have assholes like nyjah publicly saying girls shouldn’t skate. As easy as it is to say who cares just skate right now we need people to speak up so we can to a point where everyone feels like they can “just skate”.

The future of skating is kind of uncertain feeling right now but embracing the girl and lgbt skaters is a step in the right direction and only adds to what makes skating so great.

[planman]

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there are excellent queer skate crews all around the country. there's something really great about being in a group of people who share an identity with you, past just being a skateboarder. I live in Iowa, so it's not easy for me to find queer skateboarders in my little city. I've been traveling out to Fargo in DeKalb, IL and out to Madison, WI a bunch this last year just to be around my people. It's empowering

[close]

Did you meet a guy named Dakota at Fargo?

[close]

Dakota is a really incredible skater. We met at Fargo's first queer skate night a couple three months ago and hit it off. Arbi, too. I went there the first time with my friend Marbie who I grew up skating with in Iowa and who now lives in Madison. She's a total ripper, too. Last time I went, I brought a couple of my straight-presenting but well-informed, sympathetic skate pals along and they had a really good time.

 Regarding the other poster who was asking about other queer skate crews, I only know about my little section of the Midwest so I'm not a great resource for that. I do know of a femme skate night in Madison that my friend Marbie goes to but that's a little more specific towards femme people (obv). I can fully back what Forward in Madison is doing. Beautiful, inclusive DIY skatepark thing ran by a handful of keyholders in the Madison punk scene. Always building new stuff and holding queer skate jams and stuff. Extremely cool.

Dakota's the homie! I've known/been skating with him for a number of years now, he's fucked up good. I actually just started following Marbie on insta because I saw her in Dakota's post from the first Q Skate Night, she's a complete ripper. I'm not in the LGBT+ community but I'd definitely like to get up there next time Dakota goes if my schedule allows. The guys who run Fargo really do a good job. Lemme know if you're ever in Chicago and wanna skate.

[whorific]

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I dunno a queers only skate club sounds kinda gay
but hey whatever turns yer crank I guess

[close]

You think that sounds gay, you should see a queers only bareback sex party.

man as long as there aren't any bug-chasers and gift giving have the fuck at it but I gotta draw the line at ya know death and deathlike sickness

[whorific]

there are excellent queer skate crews all around the country. there's something really great about being in a group of people who share an identity with you, past just being a skateboarder. I live in Iowa, so it's not easy for me to find queer skateboarders in my little city. I've been traveling out to Fargo in DeKalb, IL and out to Madison, WI a bunch this last year just to be around my people. It's empowering

Dude aint Minneapolis like the SF of the midwest? I bet their is a rad queer skate culture there. Back when peeps were still all homophobic in the 80's my friend got a Variflex twisted from Target and I got a Vision ripper at the roller skating rink with sims wheels and he was qeerer than a 3 dollar bill. Bet he at least lurks IG.

[whorific]

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IF I FOUND OUT MY CHILD WAS SKATING WITH UNITY!!

[close]

What if she came home and was like, "It's cool, mom! I'm not gay, I'm just a fag hag!"

Fag Hags are hot and so are their gay friends

[whorific]

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there are excellent queer skate crews all around the country. there's something really great about being in a group of people who share an identity with you, past just being a skateboarder. I live in Iowa, so it's not easy for me to find queer skateboarders in my little city. I've been traveling out to Fargo in DeKalb, IL and out to Madison, WI a bunch this last year just to be around my people. It's empowering

[close]

Damn that's so sick. It would be tight to get a list of all the gay crews/queer/trans friendly spots across the US. Unity just hit Mexico which was sick. Any specific spots/crews you recommend? I only know of Unity (bay area), Queer skate date ( Santa Cruz), Night Peach (Sacramento), and I believe there's one in NYC.

Yeah I was just posting there has got to be one in Minneapolis was always told it was the SF of the midwest