February 20, 2026 • 31 mins
Skateboarding is classified by the Olympics as an “acrobatics + combat” sport — which is both terrifying and… kind of accurate.
This week, Ashley Rehfeld is joined by Mimi Knoop and Alex White on the sports desk to unpack: Brazil World Skate prep, SLS results, whether skateboarding is a sport or just athletic anarchy, and why the future can hold both street culture and real infrastructure.
Plus, we issue a formal challenge: Skaters — stop gatekeeping your own clips. Hard post the footage already.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Good Luck with That is an iHeart women's sports production
in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Hey everyone, my name is Ashley raypeld and this is
good Luck with That. Joining me today is Mimi Noop
and Alex White. This is a podcast about women in
gender expansive skateboarding. Mimi, it's been a minute. Welcome back.
What's good. How have you been.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
I've been good. Yeah, it's nice to be back. Nice
to see you guys. I'm getting ready for Brazil next week,
the World Skate event down there. It's Apollo. That's pretty
much it.
Speaker 4 (00:38):
How much is going in behind the scenes getting ready
for that.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
It's a herculean feat to go through the rigormarole of registering.
You know, I think we have twenty three, twenty two
or twenty three skaters going and then six staff. So yeah,
it's a mission to get everyone up to up to
speed on you know, all the registration requirements and the
(01:01):
deadlines for World Skate and it's yeah, it's a lot
of admin, I would say, but we got over the
finish line just yesterday, so we're good to go.
Speaker 5 (01:09):
Alex, what's up with you.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
It's been a week since we talked you were busy
in the top of the podcast loading in your boxes
of shoes.
Speaker 5 (01:16):
What else is good?
Speaker 4 (01:17):
I'm like really trying to improve flat ground skating.
Speaker 6 (01:20):
So I'm trying to learn switch flips, and I've completely
changed my setup.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
I'm writing a seven seventy.
Speaker 6 (01:26):
Five, which is like a really thin board, a really
flat board with low ventures and small wheels. I'm writing
a tech nineties setup basically because I'm.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
Like, okay, it's at forty two years old.
Speaker 6 (01:37):
There's not many areas in skateboarding that you can try
to progress in that are safe. I'm like flat ground boom, Like,
what am I going to do?
Speaker 4 (01:44):
Roll my angle? Like that's the worst, right, I think?
Knock on wood.
Speaker 6 (01:47):
So I've been like really into flat ground skating and
it's so satisfying, Like curb skating and flat ground skating
right now is just like, I don't know, having a
fun time with that switch plackground skateboarding.
Speaker 5 (02:00):
Yeah, satisfying. Yeah, I like it.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
What size wheels are you riding? Fifty ones?
Speaker 6 (02:07):
Okay, I'm riding I have like six setups, but that's
the one I've been before it started raining here.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
I was writing that a.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Lot sounds fun. You need to call Lisa Whitaker out
and do some manuels somewhere.
Speaker 6 (02:19):
Yeah, fun thing too. Shout out to Lisa Whitaker on
Beyond Boards. If you guys out there are listening, you
should check out her episode on that podcast. She's on
Beyond Boards and that was a really awesome listen because
obviously it's not a good luck with that podcast episode
if we don't mention Lisa Whittaker.
Speaker 5 (02:37):
What was your question. I haven't listened to the podcast yet.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Oh.
Speaker 6 (02:40):
I asked her what she missed most about filming Minessa Torres,
Namy Crohn and Leo Baker and what she misses least
about filming them, because you know, she used to drive
every around, everyone around and like film their clips and
babysit young budding alcoholics, much like what Mimi said earlier
before we started recording about babysitting children, some of them
(03:02):
with emotional issues.
Speaker 5 (03:04):
What was the response, I mean, that's why you listen.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
She misses us having all that time. You know, it
does feel like I don't know.
Speaker 6 (03:10):
February too in general just feels like why does everything
feel like it's moving so fast? Why do we not
have time? My kids like five minutes to them is forever.
Someone said, like it was like a total dad statement.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
He was like, no, I just measure the year like this,
shorts and Christmas two.
Speaker 5 (03:27):
Times a year. You know what.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
I've been doing, like a lot of other people in
the world lately, watching the Winter Olympics and at night
that's been like the one exciting thing where I'm like,
all right, what's on.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
It's on, like, you know, opposite time for us in America.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
But I was thinking, do you guys remember Team Average, No,
the best surfers and then the best skateboarders and put
them on a surf trip and then have them swap disciplines.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
I don't, and so you oh, so good.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Great a really cool indie early idea for Monster Children.
It was like Steph Gilmour, Dane Reynolds, Dylan Reeder, the whole,
Like it was just everyone who was it. And then yeah,
they'd go on a trip to like Sri Lanka or
someonere really obscure and say hey, try surfing, Hey try skating,
and then also get to like really show up their
(04:17):
skill set.
Speaker 5 (04:18):
And I was like last night watching speed.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Skating and I was like, okay, after this is my
new proposition. Take it to the people up top me mee,
I know, you know, some folks tell them this is
what will work for viewership. After the Olympics. After you
like do you get your medals, there's like one week
where if you have the same type of equipment you
swap sports. Though, so like speed skaters have to ice dance,
(04:40):
or like hockey players have to ice dance, and ice
dancers have to speed skate, and like I don't know,
snowboarders and halfpipe have to like losee or something crazy.
Speaker 5 (04:50):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
I think this is interesting. I have information for you
about this.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
A lot of what people in the Olympic space called
stick and balls or it's like you know, regular team sports,
structured sports. They will take athletes that have maybe a
certain skill set. They'll take someone from like baseball and
then put them into a winter Olympic sport so they
maximize like the athletes ability across summer and winter sports.
(05:19):
It's actually very common.
Speaker 6 (05:20):
I'm wondering in my head, what do you think skateboarders
would be good at in the Winter Olympics.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
It'd be probably like.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Curling, good question, something really technical curly. I can see
I can see some curlers.
Speaker 5 (05:34):
I can see some.
Speaker 4 (05:35):
Luge like I could see.
Speaker 6 (05:38):
Go down to a skeleton, lose or you just don't
care if you're gonna deliver or die. Yes, hell ride
on a loge some of the way these these vert
skaters do like nines and like fake e s evens
like maybe they could be ice skaters, figure skaters. You
know they can knock get access vertical horizontal.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
All right, we'll stay tuned because we've got four years
to get this thing going. So we're campaigning now. We
don't have a name, but talk about advertisement opportunities, all right.
So we got some quick hits going on in the news.
It's been a week and the internet is still obsessed
with Nora. Anyone see in print the t eddie Little
(06:20):
Nora's standing next to a loading dock, spray painted and
it says boys in there done that?
Speaker 5 (06:25):
Anyone see that one?
Speaker 4 (06:26):
Yeah? I mean that one was pretty funny. I gotta
say I liked it.
Speaker 5 (06:30):
I laughed.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
The double edge.
Speaker 6 (06:32):
Short of that is that boys are going to talk
about that.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
Men.
Speaker 6 (06:35):
I don't know, commenters on the internet can I constantly
talk about her gender and sexuality?
Speaker 4 (06:41):
And then when she brings it up.
Speaker 6 (06:43):
They go, why are you making it all about your
gender and sexuality? You know, it's like if she says something,
you know, God forbid, but everybody's talking about.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
Her, so it's like, you know, anyway, not fair.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Also in the news, we got Skate Shop Day coming in,
which is a big one. It's a great way to
support your local skate shop. Pop into a skate shop
that you care about, buy something, go show some love
to them. Deluxe does a great job in partnering worldwide
with all those skate shops, so do other companies. I
just know that Deluxe has been there from day one
my Skate Shop Day, trying to turn it into a
(07:17):
more significant skateboard holiday like go Skate Day. Their Skateboards
has a new guest pro board with Beatrice Demand for
Skate Shop Day, which is really cool. I think every
year there has done a good job bringing on a
new guest board and exciting pro to rep the company
for Skate Shop Day. So I just want to shout
out there and Beatrice. Really easy connection makes sense to me.
(07:38):
The board looks great again. February twenty first, go walk
into your nearest skate shop, buy anything, Please support your
skate shop.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
Good luck with that podcast.
Speaker 6 (07:50):
We'll be right back after this quick ad break.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Bronx Girl Skate has a colorway with nikesb that just
came out. Super cool to see, Alex, you want to
tell us a little bit more about that.
Speaker 6 (08:10):
Yeah, I'm so proud at the team over there at
Bronx Girls Skate. Bronxchuell Skate was established in twenty twenty
by Mel Ramirez and Cava Vesquez. Kava and Mel just built,
you know, just like many of these little skate movements,
these clicks in community work just from the ground up.
And I love that the whole Nike Dunk colorway campaign
(08:31):
is from the Bronx with love because they have become transcended.
Just the Bronx and Bronx Girl Skate is such a
cool group and such an amazing program that they're doing,
so big shout out to them. I love them both
their they're icons already. The College Skateboarding Education Foundation also
known as c SEF, got a new board member, Betty Gordon.
(08:54):
Betty Gordon is a author Four Wheels and a Board.
Speaker 4 (08:57):
She's a curator. She used to work at the smith Sonian.
Speaker 6 (09:00):
She's an awesome skate and surf historian too, so she
is on the board. Also, want to add CSF is
now taking applications. They give out grants and scholarships for
skateboarders that are interested in pursuing collegiate higher education. So yeah,
their window for applications is open right now. If you
are a young student skateboarder, they might give you a scholarship.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Why does February suddenly feel like it's June and summer
events season is just about to crack off.
Speaker 6 (09:31):
I got to tell you, this is the first year
since pre pandemic that we've had a schedule of events.
Speaker 4 (09:38):
In February for the upcoming year.
Speaker 6 (09:41):
Every year, I feel like they string it together and
we don't know where we're going until twenty four hours.
It's like we're mister and missus Smith out here. There's
a ton that's been going on. Street League release their schedule.
We have the Olympic Skateboarding schedule a lot there. X
Games League I think is pretty tentative about what they're
going to do as well to PSLs, like every week
now there's a lot going on. I'll kick it off
(10:03):
right now. That Street League Sydney stop just happened. Heisa
Leal took first place. Second place was Liz A Kamma,
third was Chloy Cavell. And just a couple months ago,
also while we were on our little hiatus break, Heisa
Leal clinched her fourth Super Crown win in a row.
That's four in a row that she's won the Super
Crown for Street League. And what I thought was interesting
(10:24):
from the Super Crown to Sydney right here for Street
League is that the podiums were identical. It's been Haisa
Liz Chloe two events in a row, and these are
the same skaters at Skate Street League. They also skate
in X Games. They also skate in these Olympic qualifiers too.
But just to see that kind of dominance in those three,
is that telling of what's going to happen?
Speaker 2 (10:45):
I guess my question is is like, is this dominance
boring or aspirational?
Speaker 3 (10:51):
I think it's aspirational. I think, you know, obviously those
three extremely talented and will be for many years to come.
But I think all so the pool is only getting wider.
I mean, I think there's new, more new and new
kids coming in from all around the world from places
no one ever expected that are right out the gate
(11:13):
like contenders. So I think it'll be interesting to see
how long, you know, the skaters who are actually consistently
winning these things, how long can they keep that up,
you know, going into this next year. You know a
lot of the events I think are really smaller fields,
like twelve skaters invite only. But when you get into
(11:35):
the Olympic qualifiers, all of a sudden, the countries and
the national governing bodies have discretion on who they slot
into these events. So I think we might see a
lot of new faces and in the next month or
so coming out and yeah, we'll see if things get
scrambled or not. I think it's exciting.
Speaker 6 (11:54):
I think that that's a big distinction to make to
me me that Street League is an invitational event Olympics.
There's qualification. Basically, anyone in the world that has the
money the two hundred dollars US for the entry fee
and is recognized by a national governing body for the
country that they live in can enter the Olympics. At
some point. There is an entry point to try to
make it to LA twenty eight Olympics. So Street League
(12:16):
is hesitant on who they pull up especially on the
men's side. I feel like they will. Somebody has to
really prove themselves. Like jinnwu Onodera from the men's side.
You know, he won the Super Crown and he just
won in Sydney again back to back, and he is
sixteen years old, and they held him off a little
bit from the invites because they knew the minute they
(12:37):
invited him, it's all over for everybody else. Honestly, since
he started, since he got in the street League, he's
won everything, and I think he will continue to win
everything this year.
Speaker 4 (12:45):
And I think that in the women's side too.
Speaker 6 (12:47):
I mean, I want to talk about Ibuki Matsumoto, who
won the November event, the Kidakyushu skateboarding event here, the
qualifier for the Olympics. A BOOKI just turned fourteen. A
bookie hasn't gotten the call up for street league yet.
I mean, I would put everything on the line that
a bookie will start winning street leagues when she gets invited.
Speaker 5 (13:09):
That's just it.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
It's like these new faces that you know, the the
Olympic pathway is able to create a funnel in to
these yeah, to these other prestigious events that are that
are invite only I think it'll be interesting to see
all of these skaters competing in the same place for
(13:30):
the first time, to see, you know, who gets nerves,
who sticks it out.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
You know.
Speaker 6 (13:37):
Well, in the next week or in two weeks, you
and me, me, me are going to head to Sam
Paulo for the twenty twenty five World Champs.
Speaker 4 (13:44):
And the World Champs is from last year.
Speaker 6 (13:47):
These are basically the top thirty for men and women
each discipline, park and street, and I haven't really seen
much park skating like because they didn't get to compete
last year and since July of last year too, so
the park skaters right here too. I had a couple
stats I want to throw at you and get your reactions. Okay,
for the first street Japan, eleven out of the thirty
(14:10):
qualifiers for the World Champs are Japanese, Six out of
the eight pre seeded are Japanese. In park, six out
of the thirty qualified already are Japanese, and five out
of the eight pre seeded are Japanese.
Speaker 4 (14:22):
Me me from Team USA, What team were you looking at?
Speaker 3 (14:26):
Everyone's going to come at this with a different sort
of strategy and perspective, but really, what's happening is the
Japanese are competing against the Japanese because only three of
them will qualify for LA per Gender participlant. So it's
really about that all the way up until the eleventh
hour before LA so. US is competing really against the
(14:49):
US Japanese, and of course they're all in the same field.
You want to do as well as you can. You
want a podium, you want to make it to the finals.
All that exists. But I really think it puts a
lot of of increased pressure on the Japanese skaters themselves
in their own field, and I think that might be
making them better faster. So maybe that's private too, I
(15:10):
don't know, but I do think yeah you can. I
think historically, going into like an X Games or do
Tour years and years ago, you're competing against the whole field,
and I think with the Olympics you really have to
be strategic. It's about getting in that top three within
your country, and I think all that comes into play
with those events.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Question what, like you said, you can put in tuner bucks,
NGB recognize you you have to qualify, though, could you
like if somebody's listening and is like, I'm going to
throw my chances for my country. Can you walk us
through like the odds of being able to do that
and what it takes.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
So the way it works, first of all, World Skate,
the International Federation, will dictate how that works. And right
now now we're going into the rescheduled twenty twenty five
World Championship, which was set to happen September last year,
so this won't count towards LA. If it does at all,
we don't know what that'll look like because World Skate
(16:13):
basically has to release the LA qualifying system, which which
details how all that works. We don't have that piece
of the puzzle yet. So for this event specifically, we
went off previous rankings for US skaters that go into
that event, and if you're in the top thirty, you
can have up to six athletes per gender per discipline
(16:37):
within that top thirty as they are automatically invited, But
then you only get three per gender participline in addition
to that, so it's not open to everyone. It's up
to each country how they want to create their own
pathway to funnel new talent in and currently in the
US there isn't something like that in place, but we
(16:57):
hope for there to be within the next few months
before the LA qualifying starts. So you know, for instance,
Australia they have their own pathway, Japan they have their
own pathway. It's all different for each federation and they
have discretion on how.
Speaker 5 (17:13):
They do that.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
We very much want to lean on results based data
rather than going in hand picking people because we feel
like that's the fairest way to approach it. But without events,
that becomes really murky too, because there haven't been enough
events that are open to everyone to be able to
judge from. So it's a very difficult space to navigate.
(17:37):
A lot of people want to know, how do I
qualify for LA? You know, a lot of people are
asking questions and we're trying to figure that out behind
the scenes. But it really is hinging on that LA
qualifying system, which we don't have yet.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
I think what's interesting is federations in Europe that stipe
in the entire team with healthcare and benefits to be
supported in schooling while they're skating, travel, huge coaching support
systems that check off more than just like you have
a physio coach, you have an actual coach with you
for skating you have a training facility, Like these countries
(18:09):
are stepping up because they value art and sport and
they have that throughout all of the organization around sport.
In the USA, it's like more subsidized through sponsorship. And Mimi,
I think you know a lot about this, so could
you tell us kind of like that infrastructure behind it.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
I think it's largely dependent upon funding structures and who
has the most consistent funding?
Speaker 5 (18:30):
You know, is.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
It an annual amount, is it per quad you know,
per four years leading up to the Olympics. You know,
that kind of determines what runway you have to create support.
And I think you know a lot of other countries
have that through government funding that's just sort of baked in,
and if they get medals in the Olympics of the
(18:51):
prior Olympics, then they have even more direct data to
be like, let's fund that sport more. There's opportunity here,
you know. And and the US it's private enterprise or donors.
It's it's not we don't have that baked in government
funding structures. It's very very different. It's very different year
(19:14):
to year.
Speaker 6 (19:14):
Even what you're telling me that the US is not
spending their tax dollars on the arts skateboarding and youth.
Speaker 4 (19:22):
What are they spending tax dollars.
Speaker 3 (19:24):
On that's in the answer. I don't have, Alex, but
I will tell you a skateboard is considered an acrobat
and combat sport, not in art in the Olympics, so
it's one of acrobat and combat. It's one of eleven
acrobat and combat sports. Technically, skateboarding is not a sport.
It's actually an acrobatic in combat sport. Got sorry, I
(19:49):
want in the discipline of acrobats and combat.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
It's pretty cool. Yeah, I think it's you know, I
say this every podcast. It's an interesting and classically we
get in these conversations that have been happening for a
very long time. Is this a sport? Skateboarding is not
a sport, Alex. I think you said last episode, skateboarding
is not a sport.
Speaker 5 (20:12):
As an Olympic broadcaster, it's not a sport.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Well, when we look at this competitive side of thing,
that check, the financial check clears like it's a sport.
And in fact, all of us here are beneficiaries of
working being employed by the sport side of skateboarding. We
deserve to pass us on to these younger kids.
Speaker 6 (20:31):
I mean, haven't you heard Jake Phelps say skateboarding doesn't
know you shit.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
I think the goal is, like the infrastructure that's being
built in real time, is to have those types of
support systems there and to have a quality of life
to be in pursuit of this activity that is acrobatics
in combat.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
I think it's about coming from a place of abundance
a set of scarcity, Like the more ways we can
create value around skateboarding, the more people can skateboard full time.
And that's literally the only point, Like, at least for
me years ago, is like I just wanted to skate
more and if there are more ways for me to
enable myself to do that, then that's awesome. It means
(21:12):
I have a higher chance of being able to do that.
And I think it's no different today for the current
We see kids now starting skateboarding to be in the Olympics,
not because they think it's fun or they want to
do with their friends. They're starting it because they can
go to the Olympics. That's one little sliver of the
entire world of skateboarding. It doesn't have to like the
(21:34):
three of us on this call can say what skateboarding is.
It could be totally different for all three of us.
That's what skateboarding is, you know, And it's yeah, people
should be able to decide for themselves what it is.
I think that's the beauty of it. But yeah, we
live in a different time now.
Speaker 6 (21:49):
Yeah, I wanted to separate one thing though. I think
that skateboarding is an athletic pursuit. Very able ast too,
but it's a very athletic pursuit, and I think athleticism
gets confused with sport a lot. And I'm saying competitive
skateboarding is a sport when I said that in the
last episode, just clearing the record. Actually, skateboarding itself, I
don't feel like is a sport because it doesn't have it.
Speaker 4 (22:09):
Meets those criteria that we think of.
Speaker 6 (22:11):
And I'm so stuck on the idea that it's an
acrobatic and combat designation in the Olympics.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
I feel like I should hear like sound effects of
explosions and like Ninja sounds.
Speaker 6 (22:25):
Yeah, and I'm happy for all of the opportunities. I
don't fault anybody for any way that they got in skateboarding.
If they got into it because they want to do
Olympic skateboarding.
Speaker 4 (22:35):
That's fine.
Speaker 6 (22:36):
I don't feel super protective of skateboarding in the sense
that it's going to be fine, Like skating curves with
your friends is going to be fine, Skating parks is
going to be fine. We moved way past the skateboarding
is not a crime era. I was definitely a victim
of that era. I mean, like that was, yes, a
little different. We've moved to this new place now where
it's got a lot of polarity in it too. Like
(22:57):
you were saying, Ashley, it can be a lot of
different things for different people. But yeah, I think that
we're just so new to all this. We're new to
like all these new formats that people are trying to
throw in, like we talked about last week, like PSL
and X Games League and is ver't going to come
back and be an Olympic sport? Is slalom and downhill
racing gonna start? You know what's gonna happen with? You
(23:17):
know the four wheels you know in a plank wood.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
I don't know, Well, one builds culture and like one
builds infrastructure, and I think the infrastructure that we're seeing
around it is really just like happening in front of
us in real time, and if you pick the competitive
side and you're supported with your country behind you, they
can potentially tell you what you can and cannot do
in skateboarding. So like there are countries right now in
(23:41):
federations that are like, you can represent our country, but
you are not allowed to street skate. So your chances
of showing up in Thrasher magazine or in the core industry,
that's out the door.
Speaker 5 (23:50):
You basically like sign a contract, you know, saying this.
Speaker 6 (23:53):
Yeah, not even the business or not even like the
getting to be in Thrasher, getting to experience street skating
in New York, getting to have those kind of like
a bit like dealing with.
Speaker 4 (24:04):
Cracks on the East Coat dealing. I mean, they just
don't get to deal with anything.
Speaker 6 (24:07):
I remember Wheel's a Fortune in twenty nineteen, Zen Wai Zoe,
she's an Olympic skater for China. We brought her out
that she you know, Dan Wildman, her coach, managed to
get her out there to Wheel's a Fortune to skate.
Speaker 4 (24:20):
We took her to Garfield High School.
Speaker 6 (24:22):
It was her first time street skating and she like
front boarded the rail and like she I mean, she's
so good, but she's literally had never street skated before
that day.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
All right, everyone, we're gonna take a quick ad break.
Speaker 5 (24:36):
We'll be right back.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
I think skateboard is evaluated at four point.
Speaker 5 (24:49):
Five billion dollars.
Speaker 4 (24:51):
That's a huge industry that was getting that money. Like
I don't.
Speaker 6 (24:54):
I'm sorry, Like I hear those evaluations, but I'm like, where, Well,
that's why I think we're bad at business, because I
think where the business is.
Speaker 4 (25:04):
Going and what are we selling that's four point five billion?
Speaker 6 (25:06):
Like I always had those a problem with those hard
good sales too, right, like managing brands. I know how
much they were making, Like what what was this evaluation
was more.
Speaker 2 (25:16):
A street where I think it's more in like the
non skatecore consumer who buys our products and wears our
brands like in soft goods and in shoewear. Like I
think that is where the majority of the industry's money is.
And that's again that like effects that we need to
allow them to be a part of all of this
because essentially that trickle down part comes to us that.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
Without a structure, though, I mean, it's gonna be up
and down every year to year, it's never going to
be consistent. But I also think, yeah, without the structure,
it also is a wide open space where we can
turn it into whatever we want too.
Speaker 5 (25:51):
So that's like the pros of it.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
But but yeah, I wish there was a way to
make things more consistent.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
You know, if you could be a pro skateboarder, which
route would you go? The street or competition side? Oh god,
you're thirteen again. You get your first sponsor show I did.
Speaker 4 (26:11):
I did Straight on your Way video parts only too.
Speaker 6 (26:14):
Yeah, I think I would have wanted You know, it's
a cop out, but I say the same thing as me.
Speaker 4 (26:17):
I would love to do both.
Speaker 6 (26:18):
I would like to have the mind I have now
for our contest when I was fourteen, because when you're
and I think about this all the time, when we're
like talking to the kids, you're just like you're so
overwhelmed and like overstimulated, And like, now I'm able to
know what I have to do, and if my body
would cooperate.
Speaker 4 (26:34):
I could I can make a comeback.
Speaker 6 (26:36):
Actually, this is where I'm gonna announce my twenty twenty
eight bid Team USA.
Speaker 4 (26:39):
I'm coming back.
Speaker 6 (26:40):
Me and Minesta Tares, We're taking to the streets we're
gonna start a YouTube channel, a GoFundMe.
Speaker 4 (26:45):
We're gonna bring it back. We're gonna be the forty
somethings at LA twenty eight. You hear it here first,
you heard it here first.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
And I'm gonna put this bet on polymarket right after
we get off the call. So place your bets, people,
We've got some years to count down until it comes.
Speaker 6 (27:01):
I think Vanessa could do it, Honestly, I think Vanessa
could do it. Vanessa she could put She knows runs
man because all the qualifications, she can just get to
the quarters with runs.
Speaker 5 (27:11):
She's good.
Speaker 4 (27:11):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Oh, she's so consistent. If her knee, if she could
keep her knee rehabbed, she could do it.
Speaker 5 (27:16):
For sure.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
They're just people who are meant to be on a skateboard.
Vanessa Torres one of those people.
Speaker 5 (27:21):
She's most people who doesn't.
Speaker 4 (27:23):
Have to skate to get better at it.
Speaker 5 (27:24):
That is insane.
Speaker 6 (27:27):
My hot take for twenty twenty six is like, let's
go let's go hard on Instagram again. Okay, skaters, like,
let's get back on Instagram and not save everything, give.
Speaker 4 (27:36):
Me something to watch. But wait, you really think that
you should just drop.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
All of your content into the little like tiny iPhone and.
Speaker 6 (27:45):
Just tomorrow is not promised to us, Ashley. All we
have is today, hard post, be brave.
Speaker 3 (27:51):
Anytime you can take control over your own whatever you're
putting out into the world better, I don't Yeah, I
don't think you should wait for someone else to do it,
because these companies go up and down. Like I just
create the stability yourself if if you're if you're able
to it's yeah. I think I agree with Alex.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
Actually for once you heard it here, skaters, hard posts
out of your skateboarding.
Speaker 5 (28:17):
Is it good? Don't care? Is it great?
Speaker 4 (28:19):
Still? Don't care?
Speaker 5 (28:20):
Just do it?
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Anyways, I dare all of us to post a hard
post of our skateboarding within one week.
Speaker 3 (28:28):
The moral stories. Don't just don't care, like, just do it,
do what you want to do. I think that's really
all we need to be focusing on this point.
Speaker 5 (28:38):
I need to live by that.
Speaker 4 (28:39):
Actually you just you just you just wrote yourself a check.
Speaker 3 (28:42):
You're gonna, yeah, actually you're gonna You're gonna also have
to do this steal all right?
Speaker 2 (28:49):
Everyone, Well, that brings us right to a great place
to go. What do you need some luck with? We
are a podcast called good Luck with That, and I'd
just like to find out what you all are in
need of some luck this week.
Speaker 6 (29:02):
First off, I think it's just like emotional support. I'm
going to Brazil and my son is leaving for Costa
Rica on a school trip the same week.
Speaker 4 (29:11):
I have been so used to as a.
Speaker 6 (29:12):
Parent traveling and leaving them behind to watch him get
on an international flight by himself, and then I have
to get left behind. I understand how they feel more,
and I'm like scared up at night. I'm like, oh,
I hope that everything goes okay. So good luck to
with with anxiety anxious mom.
Speaker 5 (29:30):
Stuff for me. Please.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
I think I'm gonna need luck with finding something to
post on Instagram that's skateboarding related.
Speaker 5 (29:37):
The people want it. The people want it. Mimi, you
have fans.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
We were talking you up last episode for how we
are excited for when the Hall of Fame calls you
up and finally gives you the award that you deserve.
Speaker 6 (29:49):
Updates since the last episode. I am now on the
Hall of Fame committee.
Speaker 4 (29:52):
Shut up.
Speaker 3 (29:53):
That's amazing.
Speaker 4 (29:54):
Yeah, I'm gonna tell Mimi.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
Tell tell them I'm not I'm not from the nineties.
I didn't drop in on Verutil two thousand and three,
so someone needs to like get those.
Speaker 4 (30:04):
Are you an inductee You got inducted Downder nineties.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
Yeah, not inducted. I think I was on some list somewhere.
You're on the list, said nineties. Yeah, yeah, So I
just yeah, I didn't about ten years out from that.
I skated in the nineties, but I was just you know,
it's the curb street skating era because there are no
skate parks where I live.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
We got two weeks of rain in California right now
in northern California. Great for the ecosystem, terrible for my sanity.
So I'm going to need some luck with that and
not being able to be outside and getting that skateboard
clip Hard posted out of nowhere, which everyone knows. I
don't post on Instagram. I keep a low profile, so
(30:46):
this will be fun. All right, Everyone that's going to
take us out for this week's episode, please follow us
on at good Luck Pod, write us, review us, tell
a friend about us. We're going to be here next week.
We are really happy to have you guys with us.
Speaker 5 (31:03):
All right, good luck with that.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Good Luck with that is an iHeart Women's Sports production
in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment.
Speaker 6 (31:15):
We are your hosts Ashley Rayfield, Dora of Askenzelo's, Alex White,
and Mimi Now.
Speaker 4 (31:20):
Our executive producer is Jesse Katz.
Speaker 6 (31:22):
Produced by Tari Harrison, Daniel Goodman and Grace Views.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
Listen to Good Luck with That, a skateboarding podcast, on
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Good Luck with That is an iHeart women's sports production
in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Hey everyone, my name is Ashley raypeld and this is
good Luck with That. Joining me today is Mimi Noop
and Alex White. This is a podcast about women in
gender expansive skateboarding. Mimi, it's been a minute. Welcome back.
What's good. How have you been.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
I've been good. Yeah, it's nice to be back. Nice
to see you guys. I'm getting ready for Brazil next week,
the World Skate event down there. It's Apollo. That's pretty
much it.
Speaker 4 (00:38):
How much is going in behind the scenes getting ready
for that.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
It's a herculean feat to go through the rigormarole of registering.
You know, I think we have twenty three, twenty two
or twenty three skaters going and then six staff. So yeah,
it's a mission to get everyone up to up to
speed on you know, all the registration requirements and the
(01:01):
deadlines for World Skate and it's yeah, it's a lot
of admin, I would say, but we got over the
finish line just yesterday, so we're good to go.
Speaker 5 (01:09):
Alex, what's up with you.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
It's been a week since we talked you were busy
in the top of the podcast loading in your boxes
of shoes.
Speaker 5 (01:16):
What else is good?
Speaker 4 (01:17):
I'm like really trying to improve flat ground skating.
Speaker 6 (01:20):
So I'm trying to learn switch flips, and I've completely
changed my setup.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
I'm writing a seven seventy.
Speaker 6 (01:26):
Five, which is like a really thin board, a really
flat board with low ventures and small wheels. I'm writing
a tech nineties setup basically because I'm.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
Like, okay, it's at forty two years old.
Speaker 6 (01:37):
There's not many areas in skateboarding that you can try
to progress in that are safe. I'm like flat ground boom, Like,
what am I going to do?
Speaker 4 (01:44):
Roll my angle? Like that's the worst, right, I think?
Knock on wood.
Speaker 6 (01:47):
So I've been like really into flat ground skating and
it's so satisfying, Like curb skating and flat ground skating
right now is just like, I don't know, having a
fun time with that switch plackground skateboarding.
Speaker 5 (02:00):
Yeah, satisfying. Yeah, I like it.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
What size wheels are you riding? Fifty ones?
Speaker 6 (02:07):
Okay, I'm riding I have like six setups, but that's
the one I've been before it started raining here.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
I was writing that a.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Lot sounds fun. You need to call Lisa Whitaker out
and do some manuels somewhere.
Speaker 6 (02:19):
Yeah, fun thing too. Shout out to Lisa Whitaker on
Beyond Boards. If you guys out there are listening, you
should check out her episode on that podcast. She's on
Beyond Boards and that was a really awesome listen because
obviously it's not a good luck with that podcast episode
if we don't mention Lisa Whittaker.
Speaker 5 (02:37):
What was your question. I haven't listened to the podcast yet.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Oh.
Speaker 6 (02:40):
I asked her what she missed most about filming Minessa Torres,
Namy Crohn and Leo Baker and what she misses least
about filming them, because you know, she used to drive
every around, everyone around and like film their clips and
babysit young budding alcoholics, much like what Mimi said earlier
before we started recording about babysitting children, some of them
(03:02):
with emotional issues.
Speaker 5 (03:04):
What was the response, I mean, that's why you listen.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
She misses us having all that time. You know, it
does feel like I don't know.
Speaker 6 (03:10):
February too in general just feels like why does everything
feel like it's moving so fast? Why do we not
have time? My kids like five minutes to them is forever.
Someone said, like it was like a total dad statement.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
He was like, no, I just measure the year like this,
shorts and Christmas two.
Speaker 5 (03:27):
Times a year. You know what.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
I've been doing, like a lot of other people in
the world lately, watching the Winter Olympics and at night
that's been like the one exciting thing where I'm like,
all right, what's on.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
It's on, like, you know, opposite time for us in America.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
But I was thinking, do you guys remember Team Average, No,
the best surfers and then the best skateboarders and put
them on a surf trip and then have them swap disciplines.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
I don't, and so you oh, so good.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Great a really cool indie early idea for Monster Children.
It was like Steph Gilmour, Dane Reynolds, Dylan Reeder, the whole,
Like it was just everyone who was it. And then yeah,
they'd go on a trip to like Sri Lanka or
someonere really obscure and say hey, try surfing, Hey try skating,
and then also get to like really show up their
(04:17):
skill set.
Speaker 5 (04:18):
And I was like last night watching speed.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Skating and I was like, okay, after this is my
new proposition. Take it to the people up top me mee,
I know, you know, some folks tell them this is
what will work for viewership. After the Olympics. After you
like do you get your medals, there's like one week
where if you have the same type of equipment you
swap sports. Though, so like speed skaters have to ice dance,
(04:40):
or like hockey players have to ice dance, and ice
dancers have to speed skate, and like I don't know,
snowboarders and halfpipe have to like losee or something crazy.
Speaker 5 (04:50):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
I think this is interesting. I have information for you
about this.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
A lot of what people in the Olympic space called
stick and balls or it's like you know, regular team sports,
structured sports. They will take athletes that have maybe a
certain skill set. They'll take someone from like baseball and
then put them into a winter Olympic sport so they
maximize like the athletes ability across summer and winter sports.
(05:19):
It's actually very common.
Speaker 6 (05:20):
I'm wondering in my head, what do you think skateboarders
would be good at in the Winter Olympics.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
It'd be probably like.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Curling, good question, something really technical curly. I can see
I can see some curlers.
Speaker 5 (05:34):
I can see some.
Speaker 4 (05:35):
Luge like I could see.
Speaker 6 (05:38):
Go down to a skeleton, lose or you just don't
care if you're gonna deliver or die. Yes, hell ride
on a loge some of the way these these vert
skaters do like nines and like fake e s evens
like maybe they could be ice skaters, figure skaters. You
know they can knock get access vertical horizontal.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
All right, we'll stay tuned because we've got four years
to get this thing going. So we're campaigning now. We
don't have a name, but talk about advertisement opportunities, all right.
So we got some quick hits going on in the news.
It's been a week and the internet is still obsessed
with Nora. Anyone see in print the t eddie Little
(06:20):
Nora's standing next to a loading dock, spray painted and
it says boys in there done that?
Speaker 5 (06:25):
Anyone see that one?
Speaker 4 (06:26):
Yeah? I mean that one was pretty funny. I gotta
say I liked it.
Speaker 5 (06:30):
I laughed.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
The double edge.
Speaker 6 (06:32):
Short of that is that boys are going to talk
about that.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
Men.
Speaker 6 (06:35):
I don't know, commenters on the internet can I constantly
talk about her gender and sexuality?
Speaker 4 (06:41):
And then when she brings it up.
Speaker 6 (06:43):
They go, why are you making it all about your
gender and sexuality? You know, it's like if she says something,
you know, God forbid, but everybody's talking about.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
Her, so it's like, you know, anyway, not fair.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Also in the news, we got Skate Shop Day coming in,
which is a big one. It's a great way to
support your local skate shop. Pop into a skate shop
that you care about, buy something, go show some love
to them. Deluxe does a great job in partnering worldwide
with all those skate shops, so do other companies. I
just know that Deluxe has been there from day one
my Skate Shop Day, trying to turn it into a
(07:17):
more significant skateboard holiday like go Skate Day. Their Skateboards
has a new guest pro board with Beatrice Demand for
Skate Shop Day, which is really cool. I think every
year there has done a good job bringing on a
new guest board and exciting pro to rep the company
for Skate Shop Day. So I just want to shout
out there and Beatrice. Really easy connection makes sense to me.
(07:38):
The board looks great again. February twenty first, go walk
into your nearest skate shop, buy anything, Please support your
skate shop.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
Good luck with that podcast.
Speaker 6 (07:50):
We'll be right back after this quick ad break.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Bronx Girl Skate has a colorway with nikesb that just
came out. Super cool to see, Alex, you want to
tell us a little bit more about that.
Speaker 6 (08:10):
Yeah, I'm so proud at the team over there at
Bronx Girls Skate. Bronxchuell Skate was established in twenty twenty
by Mel Ramirez and Cava Vesquez. Kava and Mel just built,
you know, just like many of these little skate movements,
these clicks in community work just from the ground up.
And I love that the whole Nike Dunk colorway campaign
(08:31):
is from the Bronx with love because they have become transcended.
Just the Bronx and Bronx Girl Skate is such a
cool group and such an amazing program that they're doing,
so big shout out to them. I love them both
their they're icons already. The College Skateboarding Education Foundation also
known as c SEF, got a new board member, Betty Gordon.
(08:54):
Betty Gordon is a author Four Wheels and a Board.
Speaker 4 (08:57):
She's a curator. She used to work at the smith Sonian.
Speaker 6 (09:00):
She's an awesome skate and surf historian too, so she
is on the board. Also, want to add CSF is
now taking applications. They give out grants and scholarships for
skateboarders that are interested in pursuing collegiate higher education. So yeah,
their window for applications is open right now. If you
are a young student skateboarder, they might give you a scholarship.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Why does February suddenly feel like it's June and summer
events season is just about to crack off.
Speaker 6 (09:31):
I got to tell you, this is the first year
since pre pandemic that we've had a schedule of events.
Speaker 4 (09:38):
In February for the upcoming year.
Speaker 6 (09:41):
Every year, I feel like they string it together and
we don't know where we're going until twenty four hours.
It's like we're mister and missus Smith out here. There's
a ton that's been going on. Street League release their schedule.
We have the Olympic Skateboarding schedule a lot there. X
Games League I think is pretty tentative about what they're
going to do as well to PSLs, like every week
now there's a lot going on. I'll kick it off
(10:03):
right now. That Street League Sydney stop just happened. Heisa
Leal took first place. Second place was Liz A Kamma,
third was Chloy Cavell. And just a couple months ago,
also while we were on our little hiatus break, Heisa
Leal clinched her fourth Super Crown win in a row.
That's four in a row that she's won the Super
Crown for Street League. And what I thought was interesting
(10:24):
from the Super Crown to Sydney right here for Street
League is that the podiums were identical. It's been Haisa
Liz Chloe two events in a row, and these are
the same skaters at Skate Street League. They also skate
in X Games. They also skate in these Olympic qualifiers too.
But just to see that kind of dominance in those three,
is that telling of what's going to happen?
Speaker 2 (10:45):
I guess my question is is like, is this dominance
boring or aspirational?
Speaker 3 (10:51):
I think it's aspirational. I think, you know, obviously those
three extremely talented and will be for many years to come.
But I think all so the pool is only getting wider.
I mean, I think there's new, more new and new
kids coming in from all around the world from places
no one ever expected that are right out the gate
(11:13):
like contenders. So I think it'll be interesting to see
how long, you know, the skaters who are actually consistently
winning these things, how long can they keep that up,
you know, going into this next year. You know a
lot of the events I think are really smaller fields,
like twelve skaters invite only. But when you get into
(11:35):
the Olympic qualifiers, all of a sudden, the countries and
the national governing bodies have discretion on who they slot
into these events. So I think we might see a
lot of new faces and in the next month or
so coming out and yeah, we'll see if things get
scrambled or not. I think it's exciting.
Speaker 6 (11:54):
I think that that's a big distinction to make to
me me that Street League is an invitational event Olympics.
There's qualification. Basically, anyone in the world that has the
money the two hundred dollars US for the entry fee
and is recognized by a national governing body for the
country that they live in can enter the Olympics. At
some point. There is an entry point to try to
make it to LA twenty eight Olympics. So Street League
(12:16):
is hesitant on who they pull up especially on the
men's side. I feel like they will. Somebody has to
really prove themselves. Like jinnwu Onodera from the men's side.
You know, he won the Super Crown and he just
won in Sydney again back to back, and he is
sixteen years old, and they held him off a little
bit from the invites because they knew the minute they
(12:37):
invited him, it's all over for everybody else. Honestly, since
he started, since he got in the street League, he's
won everything, and I think he will continue to win
everything this year.
Speaker 4 (12:45):
And I think that in the women's side too.
Speaker 6 (12:47):
I mean, I want to talk about Ibuki Matsumoto, who
won the November event, the Kidakyushu skateboarding event here, the
qualifier for the Olympics. A BOOKI just turned fourteen. A
bookie hasn't gotten the call up for street league yet.
I mean, I would put everything on the line that
a bookie will start winning street leagues when she gets invited.
Speaker 5 (13:09):
That's just it.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
It's like these new faces that you know, the the
Olympic pathway is able to create a funnel in to
these yeah, to these other prestigious events that are that
are invite only I think it'll be interesting to see
all of these skaters competing in the same place for
(13:30):
the first time, to see, you know, who gets nerves,
who sticks it out.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
You know.
Speaker 6 (13:37):
Well, in the next week or in two weeks, you
and me, me, me are going to head to Sam
Paulo for the twenty twenty five World Champs.
Speaker 4 (13:44):
And the World Champs is from last year.
Speaker 6 (13:47):
These are basically the top thirty for men and women
each discipline, park and street, and I haven't really seen
much park skating like because they didn't get to compete
last year and since July of last year too, so
the park skaters right here too. I had a couple
stats I want to throw at you and get your reactions. Okay,
for the first street Japan, eleven out of the thirty
(14:10):
qualifiers for the World Champs are Japanese, Six out of
the eight pre seeded are Japanese. In park, six out
of the thirty qualified already are Japanese, and five out
of the eight pre seeded are Japanese.
Speaker 4 (14:22):
Me me from Team USA, What team were you looking at?
Speaker 3 (14:26):
Everyone's going to come at this with a different sort
of strategy and perspective, but really, what's happening is the
Japanese are competing against the Japanese because only three of
them will qualify for LA per Gender participlant. So it's
really about that all the way up until the eleventh
hour before LA so. US is competing really against the
(14:49):
US Japanese, and of course they're all in the same field.
You want to do as well as you can. You
want a podium, you want to make it to the finals.
All that exists. But I really think it puts a
lot of of increased pressure on the Japanese skaters themselves
in their own field, and I think that might be
making them better faster. So maybe that's private too, I
(15:10):
don't know, but I do think yeah you can. I
think historically, going into like an X Games or do
Tour years and years ago, you're competing against the whole field,
and I think with the Olympics you really have to
be strategic. It's about getting in that top three within
your country, and I think all that comes into play
with those events.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Question what, like you said, you can put in tuner bucks,
NGB recognize you you have to qualify, though, could you
like if somebody's listening and is like, I'm going to
throw my chances for my country. Can you walk us
through like the odds of being able to do that
and what it takes.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
So the way it works, first of all, World Skate,
the International Federation, will dictate how that works. And right
now now we're going into the rescheduled twenty twenty five
World Championship, which was set to happen September last year,
so this won't count towards LA. If it does at all,
we don't know what that'll look like because World Skate
(16:13):
basically has to release the LA qualifying system, which which
details how all that works. We don't have that piece
of the puzzle yet. So for this event specifically, we
went off previous rankings for US skaters that go into
that event, and if you're in the top thirty, you
can have up to six athletes per gender per discipline
(16:37):
within that top thirty as they are automatically invited, But
then you only get three per gender participline in addition
to that, so it's not open to everyone. It's up
to each country how they want to create their own
pathway to funnel new talent in and currently in the
US there isn't something like that in place, but we
(16:57):
hope for there to be within the next few months
before the LA qualifying starts. So you know, for instance,
Australia they have their own pathway, Japan they have their
own pathway. It's all different for each federation and they
have discretion on how.
Speaker 5 (17:13):
They do that.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
We very much want to lean on results based data
rather than going in hand picking people because we feel
like that's the fairest way to approach it. But without events,
that becomes really murky too, because there haven't been enough
events that are open to everyone to be able to
judge from. So it's a very difficult space to navigate.
(17:37):
A lot of people want to know, how do I
qualify for LA? You know, a lot of people are
asking questions and we're trying to figure that out behind
the scenes. But it really is hinging on that LA
qualifying system, which we don't have yet.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
I think what's interesting is federations in Europe that stipe
in the entire team with healthcare and benefits to be
supported in schooling while they're skating, travel, huge coaching support
systems that check off more than just like you have
a physio coach, you have an actual coach with you
for skating you have a training facility, Like these countries
(18:09):
are stepping up because they value art and sport and
they have that throughout all of the organization around sport.
In the USA, it's like more subsidized through sponsorship. And Mimi,
I think you know a lot about this, so could
you tell us kind of like that infrastructure behind it.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
I think it's largely dependent upon funding structures and who
has the most consistent funding?
Speaker 5 (18:30):
You know, is.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
It an annual amount, is it per quad you know,
per four years leading up to the Olympics. You know,
that kind of determines what runway you have to create support.
And I think you know a lot of other countries
have that through government funding that's just sort of baked in,
and if they get medals in the Olympics of the
(18:51):
prior Olympics, then they have even more direct data to
be like, let's fund that sport more. There's opportunity here,
you know. And and the US it's private enterprise or donors.
It's it's not we don't have that baked in government
funding structures. It's very very different. It's very different year
(19:14):
to year.
Speaker 6 (19:14):
Even what you're telling me that the US is not
spending their tax dollars on the arts skateboarding and youth.
Speaker 4 (19:22):
What are they spending tax dollars.
Speaker 3 (19:24):
On that's in the answer. I don't have, Alex, but
I will tell you a skateboard is considered an acrobat
and combat sport, not in art in the Olympics, so
it's one of acrobat and combat. It's one of eleven
acrobat and combat sports. Technically, skateboarding is not a sport.
It's actually an acrobatic in combat sport. Got sorry, I
(19:49):
want in the discipline of acrobats and combat.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
It's pretty cool. Yeah, I think it's you know, I
say this every podcast. It's an interesting and classically we
get in these conversations that have been happening for a
very long time. Is this a sport? Skateboarding is not
a sport, Alex. I think you said last episode, skateboarding
is not a sport.
Speaker 5 (20:12):
As an Olympic broadcaster, it's not a sport.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Well, when we look at this competitive side of thing,
that check, the financial check clears like it's a sport.
And in fact, all of us here are beneficiaries of
working being employed by the sport side of skateboarding. We
deserve to pass us on to these younger kids.
Speaker 6 (20:31):
I mean, haven't you heard Jake Phelps say skateboarding doesn't
know you shit.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
I think the goal is, like the infrastructure that's being
built in real time, is to have those types of
support systems there and to have a quality of life
to be in pursuit of this activity that is acrobatics
in combat.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
I think it's about coming from a place of abundance
a set of scarcity, Like the more ways we can
create value around skateboarding, the more people can skateboard full time.
And that's literally the only point, Like, at least for
me years ago, is like I just wanted to skate
more and if there are more ways for me to
enable myself to do that, then that's awesome. It means
(21:12):
I have a higher chance of being able to do that.
And I think it's no different today for the current
We see kids now starting skateboarding to be in the Olympics,
not because they think it's fun or they want to
do with their friends. They're starting it because they can
go to the Olympics. That's one little sliver of the
entire world of skateboarding. It doesn't have to like the
(21:34):
three of us on this call can say what skateboarding is.
It could be totally different for all three of us.
That's what skateboarding is, you know, And it's yeah, people
should be able to decide for themselves what it is.
I think that's the beauty of it. But yeah, we
live in a different time now.
Speaker 6 (21:49):
Yeah, I wanted to separate one thing though. I think
that skateboarding is an athletic pursuit. Very able ast too,
but it's a very athletic pursuit, and I think athleticism
gets confused with sport a lot. And I'm saying competitive
skateboarding is a sport when I said that in the
last episode, just clearing the record. Actually, skateboarding itself, I
don't feel like is a sport because it doesn't have it.
Speaker 4 (22:09):
Meets those criteria that we think of.
Speaker 6 (22:11):
And I'm so stuck on the idea that it's an
acrobatic and combat designation in the Olympics.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
I feel like I should hear like sound effects of
explosions and like Ninja sounds.
Speaker 6 (22:25):
Yeah, and I'm happy for all of the opportunities. I
don't fault anybody for any way that they got in skateboarding.
If they got into it because they want to do
Olympic skateboarding.
Speaker 4 (22:35):
That's fine.
Speaker 6 (22:36):
I don't feel super protective of skateboarding in the sense
that it's going to be fine, Like skating curves with
your friends is going to be fine, Skating parks is
going to be fine. We moved way past the skateboarding
is not a crime era. I was definitely a victim
of that era. I mean, like that was, yes, a
little different. We've moved to this new place now where
it's got a lot of polarity in it too. Like
(22:57):
you were saying, Ashley, it can be a lot of
different things for different people. But yeah, I think that
we're just so new to all this. We're new to
like all these new formats that people are trying to
throw in, like we talked about last week, like PSL
and X Games League and is ver't going to come
back and be an Olympic sport? Is slalom and downhill
racing gonna start? You know what's gonna happen with? You
(23:17):
know the four wheels you know in a plank wood.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
I don't know, Well, one builds culture and like one
builds infrastructure, and I think the infrastructure that we're seeing
around it is really just like happening in front of
us in real time, and if you pick the competitive
side and you're supported with your country behind you, they
can potentially tell you what you can and cannot do
in skateboarding. So like there are countries right now in
(23:41):
federations that are like, you can represent our country, but
you are not allowed to street skate. So your chances
of showing up in Thrasher magazine or in the core industry,
that's out the door.
Speaker 5 (23:50):
You basically like sign a contract, you know, saying this.
Speaker 6 (23:53):
Yeah, not even the business or not even like the
getting to be in Thrasher, getting to experience street skating
in New York, getting to have those kind of like
a bit like dealing with.
Speaker 4 (24:04):
Cracks on the East Coat dealing. I mean, they just
don't get to deal with anything.
Speaker 6 (24:07):
I remember Wheel's a Fortune in twenty nineteen, Zen Wai Zoe,
she's an Olympic skater for China. We brought her out
that she you know, Dan Wildman, her coach, managed to
get her out there to Wheel's a Fortune to skate.
Speaker 4 (24:20):
We took her to Garfield High School.
Speaker 6 (24:22):
It was her first time street skating and she like
front boarded the rail and like she I mean, she's
so good, but she's literally had never street skated before
that day.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
All right, everyone, we're gonna take a quick ad break.
Speaker 5 (24:36):
We'll be right back.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
I think skateboard is evaluated at four point.
Speaker 5 (24:49):
Five billion dollars.
Speaker 4 (24:51):
That's a huge industry that was getting that money. Like
I don't.
Speaker 6 (24:54):
I'm sorry, Like I hear those evaluations, but I'm like, where, Well,
that's why I think we're bad at business, because I
think where the business is.
Speaker 4 (25:04):
Going and what are we selling that's four point five billion?
Speaker 6 (25:06):
Like I always had those a problem with those hard
good sales too, right, like managing brands. I know how
much they were making, Like what what was this evaluation
was more.
Speaker 2 (25:16):
A street where I think it's more in like the
non skatecore consumer who buys our products and wears our
brands like in soft goods and in shoewear. Like I
think that is where the majority of the industry's money is.
And that's again that like effects that we need to
allow them to be a part of all of this
because essentially that trickle down part comes to us that.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
Without a structure, though, I mean, it's gonna be up
and down every year to year, it's never going to
be consistent. But I also think, yeah, without the structure,
it also is a wide open space where we can
turn it into whatever we want too.
Speaker 5 (25:51):
So that's like the pros of it.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
But but yeah, I wish there was a way to
make things more consistent.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
You know, if you could be a pro skateboarder, which
route would you go? The street or competition side? Oh god,
you're thirteen again. You get your first sponsor show I did.
Speaker 4 (26:11):
I did Straight on your Way video parts only too.
Speaker 6 (26:14):
Yeah, I think I would have wanted You know, it's
a cop out, but I say the same thing as me.
Speaker 4 (26:17):
I would love to do both.
Speaker 6 (26:18):
I would like to have the mind I have now
for our contest when I was fourteen, because when you're
and I think about this all the time, when we're
like talking to the kids, you're just like you're so
overwhelmed and like overstimulated, And like, now I'm able to
know what I have to do, and if my body
would cooperate.
Speaker 4 (26:34):
I could I can make a comeback.
Speaker 6 (26:36):
Actually, this is where I'm gonna announce my twenty twenty
eight bid Team USA.
Speaker 4 (26:39):
I'm coming back.
Speaker 6 (26:40):
Me and Minesta Tares, We're taking to the streets we're
gonna start a YouTube channel, a GoFundMe.
Speaker 4 (26:45):
We're gonna bring it back. We're gonna be the forty
somethings at LA twenty eight. You hear it here first,
you heard it here first.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
And I'm gonna put this bet on polymarket right after
we get off the call. So place your bets, people,
We've got some years to count down until it comes.
Speaker 6 (27:01):
I think Vanessa could do it, Honestly, I think Vanessa
could do it. Vanessa she could put She knows runs
man because all the qualifications, she can just get to
the quarters with runs.
Speaker 5 (27:11):
She's good.
Speaker 4 (27:11):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Oh, she's so consistent. If her knee, if she could
keep her knee rehabbed, she could do it.
Speaker 5 (27:16):
For sure.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
They're just people who are meant to be on a skateboard.
Vanessa Torres one of those people.
Speaker 5 (27:21):
She's most people who doesn't.
Speaker 4 (27:23):
Have to skate to get better at it.
Speaker 5 (27:24):
That is insane.
Speaker 6 (27:27):
My hot take for twenty twenty six is like, let's
go let's go hard on Instagram again. Okay, skaters, like,
let's get back on Instagram and not save everything, give.
Speaker 4 (27:36):
Me something to watch. But wait, you really think that
you should just drop.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
All of your content into the little like tiny iPhone and.
Speaker 6 (27:45):
Just tomorrow is not promised to us, Ashley. All we
have is today, hard post, be brave.
Speaker 3 (27:51):
Anytime you can take control over your own whatever you're
putting out into the world better, I don't Yeah, I
don't think you should wait for someone else to do it,
because these companies go up and down. Like I just
create the stability yourself if if you're if you're able
to it's yeah. I think I agree with Alex.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
Actually for once you heard it here, skaters, hard posts
out of your skateboarding.
Speaker 5 (28:17):
Is it good? Don't care? Is it great?
Speaker 4 (28:19):
Still? Don't care?
Speaker 5 (28:20):
Just do it?
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Anyways, I dare all of us to post a hard
post of our skateboarding within one week.
Speaker 3 (28:28):
The moral stories. Don't just don't care, like, just do it,
do what you want to do. I think that's really
all we need to be focusing on this point.
Speaker 5 (28:38):
I need to live by that.
Speaker 4 (28:39):
Actually you just you just you just wrote yourself a check.
Speaker 3 (28:42):
You're gonna, yeah, actually you're gonna You're gonna also have
to do this steal all right?
Speaker 2 (28:49):
Everyone, Well, that brings us right to a great place
to go. What do you need some luck with? We
are a podcast called good Luck with That, and I'd
just like to find out what you all are in
need of some luck this week.
Speaker 6 (29:02):
First off, I think it's just like emotional support. I'm
going to Brazil and my son is leaving for Costa
Rica on a school trip the same week.
Speaker 4 (29:11):
I have been so used to as a.
Speaker 6 (29:12):
Parent traveling and leaving them behind to watch him get
on an international flight by himself, and then I have
to get left behind. I understand how they feel more,
and I'm like scared up at night. I'm like, oh,
I hope that everything goes okay. So good luck to
with with anxiety anxious mom.
Speaker 5 (29:30):
Stuff for me. Please.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
I think I'm gonna need luck with finding something to
post on Instagram that's skateboarding related.
Speaker 5 (29:37):
The people want it. The people want it. Mimi, you
have fans.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
We were talking you up last episode for how we
are excited for when the Hall of Fame calls you
up and finally gives you the award that you deserve.
Speaker 6 (29:49):
Updates since the last episode. I am now on the
Hall of Fame committee.
Speaker 4 (29:52):
Shut up.
Speaker 3 (29:53):
That's amazing.
Speaker 4 (29:54):
Yeah, I'm gonna tell Mimi.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
Tell tell them I'm not I'm not from the nineties.
I didn't drop in on Verutil two thousand and three,
so someone needs to like get those.
Speaker 4 (30:04):
Are you an inductee You got inducted Downder nineties.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
Yeah, not inducted. I think I was on some list somewhere.
You're on the list, said nineties. Yeah, yeah, So I
just yeah, I didn't about ten years out from that.
I skated in the nineties, but I was just you know,
it's the curb street skating era because there are no
skate parks where I live.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
We got two weeks of rain in California right now
in northern California. Great for the ecosystem, terrible for my sanity.
So I'm going to need some luck with that and
not being able to be outside and getting that skateboard
clip Hard posted out of nowhere, which everyone knows. I
don't post on Instagram. I keep a low profile, so
(30:46):
this will be fun. All right, Everyone that's going to
take us out for this week's episode, please follow us
on at good Luck Pod, write us, review us, tell
a friend about us. We're going to be here next week.
We are really happy to have you guys with us.
Speaker 5 (31:03):
All right, good luck with that.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Good Luck with that is an iHeart Women's Sports production
in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment.
Speaker 6 (31:15):
We are your hosts Ashley Rayfield, Dora of Askenzelo's, Alex White,
and Mimi Now.
Speaker 4 (31:20):
Our executive producer is Jesse Katz.
Speaker 6 (31:22):
Produced by Tari Harrison, Daniel Goodman and Grace Views.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
Listen to Good Luck with That, a skateboarding podcast, on
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Popular Podcasts
Betrayal Weekly
Betrayal Weekly is back for a new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal Team by emailing them at betrayalpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com