etnies

The Wicked Wahine Bowl Contest Presented By Etnies Girl

The Wicked Wahine Girls Only Pro/Am Bowl Contest Presented by etnies Girl that took place Saturday, September 18 at the Glendale Skatepark may have been the largest girl skate session to go down since the wave of free public skateparks opening in the last few years started luring female skaters to the concrete in ever increasing numbers. Over 40 females ages eight to 38 entered the contest, and another 10 to 15 girls who were not entered in the contest still came out to skate.

It was amazing to see the tricks and lines girls were doing, considering there was finally a contest held at one of the better concrete parks. The level of skating was impressive, and highlights included:

• The top three GROMS were doing airs
• Three out of the five Am finalists were rolling in to the bowl
• The 12-year-old winner of the Am competition was doing backside airs 2 ft. over the 9ft. hip, as well as lipslides and boardslides around the over-vert clamshell
• The Am final skaters would have easily rivaled the Pro in skate ability
• Every single girl in the Am and Pro finals could grind the over-vert pool coping (11ft.)

Not only did all of the girls skate well, but they had so much fun while doing it. It really didn't even feel like a contest, but more like the biggest girl session ever with a great vibe going all day.

RESULTS

Pros

1st: Mimi Knoop – San Diego, Calif. (sponsor: Nikita, Factory)
2nd: Heidi Fitzgerald – San Diego, Calif. (sponsor: Autobahn, Dickies Girl, Independent, FAB Optix, Dagger Skates, Randoms)
3rd: Holly Lyons – Encinitas, Calif. (sponsor: Roxy, Power Shoes, Nixon)
4th: Juwels Bauer – Seal Beach, Calif. (sponsor: Nikita, Eastern Boarder)
5th: Nicole Zuck – San Diego, Calif. (sponsor: Lady Daggers)
6th: Amber Cangilose – Carlsbad, Calif. (sponsor: Gallaz, Black Label, Nixon)

Ams

1st: Apryl Woodcock – Chino, Calif. (sponsor: Termite, Protec, Vans, Eyewitness, Grindking, Rims, Rampwerx, Termitegrip)
2nd: Jean Rusen – Tempe, Ariz. (sponsor: ConcreteDivas.com)
3rd: Rose Bernfeld – Oceanside, Calif. (sponsor: Sacrifice Skateboards, Rockets, Daughter Jasymn)
4th: Caylen Dakin – Trukee, Calif. (sponsor: Nikita, Electric, Skatepark Guide, Exit Real World)
5th: Heidi Kreis – La Palma, Calif.

Groms

1st: Lexi Barclay – Folsom, Calif. (sponsor: Surf & Skate Board Shop, Skate Park Guide)
2nd: Felicity Corral – Fontana, Calif.
3rd: Chelsea Olsen – Round Lake, Ill. (sponsor: Grandpa Roy)
4th: Amee Jay Papelora – Lakewood, Calif.
5th: Michelle Buck – Lake Forest, Calif.
6th: Nicole Sheridan – Culver City, Calif. (sponsor: SPAUSA)
7th: Cara Lawson – Fontana, Calif.
8th: Melissa O' Grady – Los Angeles, Calif. (sponsor: SPAUSA)

Best Trick

Apryl Woodcock – slide ‘n’ roll in the over-vert pocket

Special Awards

Farthest Travel: Chrissie Stegt – Munster, Germany
Youngest Skater: Lexi Barclay – 8 years old

Amee Jay Papelora does a high-speed kickturn on the vert for a 4th place finish in the Grom division.

Am division winner Apryl Woodcock used solid 50-50 grinds as a set-up trick for backside and frontside disasters on the opposing wall of the over-vert pocket.

Warming up for the Pro finals, Mimi Knoop grinds the over-vert.

Mimi Knoop inverts her way into first place to take home the $1,000 prize in the Pro division.

Nichole Zuck frontside grinds the over-vert pocket with Northwest pride in the Pro finals.

Apryl Woodcock walked away with a win for the Am division, as well as a win for Best Trick, beating out Mimi Knoop, winner of the Pro division. Keep your eye on this 12-year-old, as her already insane bag of tricks just continues to grow.

Behind The Scenes At The Etnies Girl Photo Shoot

etnies Girl recently did a photo shoot with team riders Alexis Waite, Mary Osborne and Lauren Perkins, as well as models Angel and Jennifer. Check out what happened behind the scenes by reading Alexis’ Team Journal and by visiting the Gallery.

Alexis Waite's etnies Girl Photo Shoot Journal

etnies Girl snow team rider Alexis Waite kept this journal when she was in Southern California doing a photo shoot for etnies Girl's spring line. Check out the behind the scenes photos from the photo shoot by visiting the Photo Gallery.

It's Thursday morning, September 16, 2004, and I just got to Sole Technology in Lake Forest. Today I am doing a photo shoot for ThirtyTwo boots with the rest of the team.

Just yesterday we wrapped up a shoot for the etnies Girl spring collection. We were treated like stars and living the high life in the Santa Monica Viceroy Hotel, amongst the rich and famous, ha ha! Well, I guess this is kind of true, as Victoria's Secret was having a shoot and putting their models up there, and I had many other celebrity sightings in the hotel as well. I guess that is just daily life in L.A. though, weird place.

The etnies crew, comprised of Grace, Patrice, Sarah and Bryan, did an awesome job organizing the whole event. Our stylist, Michelle, and makeup/hair stylist, Shyama, (who was also there for the shoot last spring) were both great to be around and slayed their jobs. Not to mention Amanda, our photographer, and her assistant Eden, who did a great job too. Is my gushing praise annoying yet? Maybe it is, but screw it—they all killed it and deserve props! And I would like to give and extra shout to Bryan for being the only man amongst the 15 ladies and holding his own—good work, man!

So, September in Southern California, in case you were not aware, is some serious industry party time. Luckily for me (not really, but I have to look on the bright side), I have had a sinus infection and bronchitis for the last few weeks, so I have been taking on the party season with nothing to prove (no different from the norm). I did attend a posh WE party at the downtown L.A. Standard Hotel on Monday night, though, so showing up Tuesday morning and driving seven miles on the 10 freeway for an hour left me pretty exhausted. As soon as I got to the Viceroy Hotel (our headquarters), it was off to hills of Malibu. We were all tired at 9 a.m. and moving at a half-caf speed. It was fine though; the weather was cloudy but cleared up further into the afternoon, which was what we wanted: sunlight. That day, the only one with any apparent energy was our model, Angel, who was a character and kept the conversations and dramatic element going.

The location we shot at was property owned by Pierre from Sole Technology, and it was amazing. The view from up top was beautiful, looking into the canyon and onto the ocean. Even cooler than the property is the home that he plans to build there. The house is basically going to be a retreat home that is fully skateable, complete with a newly built empty pool in the front yard for skating. It was funny to watch the pool being constructed on the hilltop, which has a perfect view, with the metal coping going in first. Even though Pierre is a big-time executive, he is still keeping it real. Thanks, Pierre!

So we shot in Malibu all day. The highlight of this shoot was seeing all of the new etnies shoe and clothing samples. The lines are looking sooo good this next season, really!!! It is obvious that etnies has really committed to their women's department. They are not making a lot of pieces, but all their pieces come with tons of style, fashion risks, and the fits are great. And their shoes, in my opinion, keep getting better and better. Now etnies provides a casual shoe for just about anyone with any style. I am sorry, I am not trying to be a sales person. I am just honestly excited to be a part of such a down company that makes such cool, good stuff.

I have never seen such a tired crew after we got back. We all headed straight for our rooms to lie down for an hour or so and take showers. I am surprised any of us made it to dinner. We ate at the Viceroy's restaurant, which was great, but it was a long, fancy meal and I found my eyes taking extra long blinks many times before it was over. The food was worth it though, and so were the luxurious beds we got to go back to; I know I slept well that night.

Wednesday's call time was 8 a.m. I was so lazy and tired that I stayed in bed until 9 a.m. and then rolled straight into the makeup room. Luckily, I didn't get into trouble; it actually worked out perfectly. Today was all about the crazy scene on the Venice Beach strip. The Malibu shoot was more about natural, pretty shots, whereas the Venice shoot was trying to capture the more urban and fashion forward side of the line. I loved the outfits I was put in today!!! They were awesome, fun and totally my style. I love rocking looks during shoots that I would actually wear—it is much more fun! My hair worked out better today too, so that superficially made me feel better. The day before, I was advised that I should have washed it before the shoot because it was way too greasy to style well—oops, my bad. Here's a pro beauty tip for you girls who care: when your hair is too greasy, but you have no time for a shower, put baby powder all over your scalp at the roots, rub it in really well, get all the white out (no water needed) and soon all the grease will have been absorbed and your hair will have more volume. For the dark haired girls out there, beauty supply stores sell brown baby powder. It works, but still use shampoo every once in awhile, please!!! Anyways, where was I? Oh yeah, Venice. I had never been there. It is pretty creepy and dirty, but it was really interesting seeing all the personalities cruising around. Everyone there wants to talk with you, but I wouldn't call it a friendly place ever—it's weird! It was overcast so it wasn't too hot, luckily. I was there with Mary Osborne and Jennifer (a model). We got some good shots and went back to the hotel before the sun got too high and the light too harsh. I changed outfits, had an iced coffee by the fancy pool and got to chill for an hour or so before heading back to Venice with the whole crew. We headed back around 4:30 p.m. and the streets had completely changed. It was so crowded! The skatepark was packed; the local characters were out in full force. We were all rested and in good spirits knowing that the shoot was almost over, and it was working out. We ran around, played, skated and I got to do some back flipping on the grass! It was awesome to get to watch Lauren Perkins skate around for a little bit. She killed it, and damn that girl has some pop! As beautiful and calm as Malibu was, I think the crazy scene and character of Venice created some really interesting photos with some flavor and, of course, more genuine laughs, smiles and faces.

All in all, the shoot was a success! I had fun getting everyone involved and seeing some interesting new places and people. Some standout memories are Angel's strong personality but good heart, and her sometimes hard to follow, crazy, stories and opinions. I also really enjoyed our tired but excellent "dinner party" on Tuesday night. Cool people work for etnies, and they are always fun to hang out with outside the work or office environment when we all can relax and be ourselves completely. I am happy to be a part of the etnies (and ThirtyTwo) family. I had a good time on the shoot (when I wasn't virtually falling asleep on my feet), we were treated royally and I look back on the last two days with a smile. Looking forward to our next shoot!!!

Alexis Waite

Costa Mesa Skatepark Groundbreaking Ceremony

On Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2004, at 5:00 p.m., the Costa Mesa, Calif., City Council will host a Groundbreaking Ceremony to celebrate the start of the Costa Mesa Skatepark Project. The public is invited to the groundbreaking, which will be held at the future skatepark site at 970 Arlington (on the corner of Arlington and Junipero) near the Costa Mesa Tennis Center and Dog Park, and directly behind the Orange County Fairgrounds.

The project includes the construction of a 15,000 square foot skate park and various other park amenities. Construction is to begin in October of this year, and should be completed within six months. The skatepark itself will have something for everyone, as it will contain a large combined multilevel bowl area, a small bowl area, a small street plaza area and a street course with stairs, rails, quarterpipe launch ramp, a long functional step up area, eurogaps and more.

Costa Mesa Skatepark layout.

Snow Team Report: Hot Dawg!

Leanne Pelosi and Laura Hadar both walk away $1,000 richer at the Bear Mountain Hot Dawgs & Rail Jam.

On Saturday, Sept. 18, Bear Mountain kicked off the 2004/05 season with hot dogs grilling on the BBQ and over 40 shred dogs giving it their best shot to win some cash during the Hot Dawgs & Rail Jam. The sun was shining, and the shred fest was in full effect. A junkyard jib zone was set up right at the base of Bear Mountain resort, where riders such as Leanne Pelosi and Laura Hadar threw down their bag of tricks. The one hour "Express Yourself" jib fest was pretty much a free-for-all: Bodies were flying all over the place as riders tried their hardest to make it into the finals scheduled for later that day.

Leanne and Laura both made it into the final heat, which took place at the base of the administrative building. The course was simply an 18-stair handrail with a box set in the middle, and some serious jibbing went down during the hour. Leanne and Laura threw down some impressive 50-50s, nose presses and board slides, and when the final results came through at the end of the session Leanne took the $1,000.

After the event came to a close and the judging staff had already written the names on the checks, however, they realized that Laura had actually scored the highest points, so they ended up giving Laura $1,000, too. Either way, the girls threw down some serious heat, so they both deserved first place and the cash. Congrats, ladies!

Laura and Leanne (L to R)

Laura's lipslide

Leanne's boardslide

Leanne and her big, fat check!

Skate Team Report

Elissa Steamer and Lauren Perkins were in Cleveland, Ohio, over the weekend competing in the women's street skate contest at the Gravity Games. They didn't just compete, though, they grabbed first and second place respectively! Elissa and Lauren skated amazingly well, both in their runs and in the jam sessions that went down after the runs were over. They were 50/50in' hubbas, boardsliding big rails, doing rock to fakies on bank to walls, doing frontside flips and kickflips everywhere, as well as smith grinds—the list goes on and on.

Other highlights from the Gravity Games included:

• Lauren kept slamming on her elbow and developed a nice looking swellbow.
• Back-to-back nights at Cleveland Indians baseball games made Elissa quite happy...Yeah, baseball games are aiight!
• Elissa won $3,430 ($3,500, but the city took $70 for some tax something or other) and didn't waste anytime spending it—she bought three bottles of Dom Perignon champagne that night (at $170 per bottle).

Congrats to both Elissa and Lauren on their outstanding showings at the Gravity Games!

Next are the Triple Crown Finals in Huntington Beach, Calif., this weekend. Lauren already lives in HB, so the contest is right at home; however, Elissa lives in San Francisco, so she'll be traveling down later this week for the contest. Will we see another one-two sweep this weekend? You'll just have to wait and see...

After the Triple Crown contest this weekend, Lauren and Elissa will both fly to Barcelona, Spain, for the etnies Girl-sponsored Girlie Skate Camp. They leave next Tuesday, Sept. 28, and return on the following Tuesday, Oct. 5. They'll be doing some demos, signing autographs and teaching girls how to skate, as well as enjoying all of the amazing skate spots that Barcelona has to offer.

Elissa...another golden moment

Lauren scores silver

Swellbows really suck.

The Girlie Skate Camp And Pro Skate Jam Are Coming Up

In just two short weeks, the Girlie Skate Camp and Pro Skate Jam will hit the skateboard capital of Europe—Barcelona, Spain. From Sept. 30 to Oct. 4, 2004, this one of a kind camp presented by Nikita and sponsored by etnies Girl will give female skaters of all skill levels the chance to up their skateboard game through three days of skateboard coaching at Barcelona's top street and park spots alongside female skate stars like etnies pros Elissa Steamer, Lauren Perkins and Jessie Van Roechoudt, as well as Nikita's Mimi Knoop, Tina Neff and others.

Campers will also get to see their favorite female pros tear it up at The Girlie Pro Skate Jam, which will take place the 3rd of October at the recently opened Sitges Skatepark near Barcelona. The Jam includes both bowl and street and consists of 15 minute sessions in which each girl attempts her best trick until she falls, at which time the next competitor takes over. With world renowned riders like Elissa Steamer, Lucy Adams, Lauren Perkins, Julia Bauer and Louisa Menke confirmed to skate, the Jam promises to keep onlookers on the edge of their seats.

Confirmed riders include:

Elissa Steamer (US), etnies
• 1st place, X Games X, Los Angeles, Calif., 2004
• 1st place, World Cup Australia, Women's Street, Melbourne, Australia, 2004
• First and only female skater in any of the Tony Hawk video games

Lucy Adams (UK), etnies, Nikita
• Britain's top female skater
• 1st place, Queen of the Streets competition, Birmingham, England, 2003

Lauren Perkins (US), etnies
• 3rd place, X Games X, Los Angeles, Calif., 2004
• 3rd place, Slam City Jam, Women's Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 2004
• 2nd place, Slam City Jam, Women's Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 2003

Ianire Elorriaga (SPA)
• Spain’s leading female skater
• 1st place, etnies European Open, Girls’ Jam, Basel, Switzerland, August 2004

Mimi Knoop (US)
Louisa Menke (HOL)
Julia “Juwels” Bauer (US)
Esther Vanplon (GER)
Tina Neff (GER)
Jill Viggiani (US)
Begona Cortes (SPA)
Juliana Marinio (GER)
Schedule for the Pro Skate Jam on October 3, 2004:
Changes may occur due to weather

14.00 - 14.45: Training
15.00 - 15.15: Qualification “Girlie Pro Skate Jam”
15.15 - 15.45: “Camp Jam” for the camp girls
15.45 - 16.00: Semi-finals “Girlie Pro Skate Jam”
16.00 - 16.30: “Camp Jam” for the camp girls
16.30 - 16.45: Finals “Girlie Pro Skate Jam”
17.00: Girlie Pro Skate Jam Prize Ceremony, “Camp Jam” Prize Ceremony
17.30 - 19.00: Free Session and photo shoot

Directions to Sitges Skatepark:

CAR:
- Via de las Gran Carts Catalancs (south)
- Plaza de Espagna direction Sitges (motorway)

TRAIN:
- From Barcelona Sants or Plaza Catalunya
- Renfe Cercanias n.2 towards St.Vicenc / Vilanova-Macanet
- Sitges is on the zone 4

WHEN IN SITGES:

- Sitges Centre / Rambla del Miglia
- Left to Avigunda Cami dels Capellans
- Left at the traffic light to Av. Cami de la Fita
- Up the road to the school
- Park is at the bottom on the left

For more info on the Girlie Snow/Surf/Skate Camps go to www.girliecamps.com

Etnies Girl Presents First Event In Wicked Wahine Bowl Series

etnies Girl has teamed up with Wahine Skate to present the first event in the Wicked Wahine Bowl Series. The girls-only pro/am bowl skating contest will take place at 11 a.m. at the Glendale Skatepark on Saturday, Sept. 18.

Many members of the skateboarding community have shown tremendous interest in the Wicked Wahine Bowl Series, and plan to show their support for girls’ skateboarding by attending the event; additionally, the top girls in skateboarding have been invited. Vendors from the local community, as well as the skateboard industry, will be on hand to provide products, food and services to spectators and participants. Spectators will also be able to participate in product raffles and free product giveaways donated by contest sponsors.

Traditionally, girls’ skateboarding contests have been a smaller and less recognized part of larger men’s events, and the few girls’ events that do exist are designed strictly for street and vert skaters. The Wicked Wahine Bowl Series was started to support the emergence of girls’ skating in general, and to promote girls’ pool skating in particular. Additional events in the Wicked Wahine Bowl Series will take place at pools and parks across the U.S.

Join etnies Girl in showing your support for girls’ skateboarding by attending the Wicked Wahine Bowl Series. Visit www.wahineskate.com for more information, or to enter the contest.

Snow Team Report: Janna Wins Rider of the Year!

Snow?

Yeah, SNOW!

You know—that white fluffy stuff.

We know it's hard to imagine snow when it's Africa hot outside, but here's some chillin' news from the snow world...

Janna Meyen won Rider of the Year, Women's, at the 6th Annual TransWorld SNOWboarding Riders' Poll Awards last Wednesday in San Diego after more than 100 top professional snowboarders selected her as the Rider of the Year in the Women's category. To back it up, Janna had one of the best winters possible: She claimed X Games gold in Slopestyle, first place at the Triple Crown and first in both Slopestyle and the Rail Jam at The Session in Vail. etnies Girl is proud and honored to support such a committed and passionate snowboarder. Congratulations, Janna, from your etnies Girl family!

Also, congratulations to Leanne Pelosi for winning Rookie of the Year, Women's, at the 6th Annual TransWorld SNOWboarding Riders' Poll Awards! We look forward to seeing a lot more from Leanne.
Alexis Waite has been getting her picture taken a lot recently: She just got back from a photo shoot with Roxy in New Zealand, and will be attending a photo shoot this week with etnies Girl for the '05 ad campaign.
In other snow news, the Hot Dawgs and Rail Jam will take place at Bear Mountain in Big Bear, Calif., on Sept. 18. Riders who will be competing for the $10,000 prize purse include Alexis Waite, Leanne Pelosi and Laura Hadar.

Janna accepting her award for Rider of the Year

Leanne winning Rookie of the Year

Skate Team Report

Lauren Perkins just started school on Tuesday. A couple of weeks ago, she spent a week at Woodward Skate Camp in Pennsylvania—it was sort of a last hurrah before school started. She had an amazing time, skating everyday and hanging out with all the campers who were there for the week. Now she has a very busy fall ahead of her: On September 16, she will head out to Cleveland for the Gravity Games; the following weekend, the Triple Crown Finals will be in her hometown of Huntington Beach, Calif.; and in the first weekend of October she will head to Barcelona, Spain, for Girlie Skate Camp. We think she's going to love Spain...it's so beautiful!

Elissa Steamer has been in San Francisco since the X Games ended in August, enjoying the last bit of decent S.F. weather before winter comes bringing lots of wind and rain. Elissa, like Lauren, has a busy schedule coming up; she will also be at the Gravity Games, Triple Crown Finals and Girlie Skate Camp in Barcelona. She plans to stay in Barcelona for a little while afterwards to skate and to enjoy everything the city has to offer before heading back to San Francisco.

Meet Gabriela, the etnies Girl of the Month

Gabriela, our second etnies Girl of the Month, has packed a lot of living into her 13 years. Born in Pasadena, Calif., she moved to Montreux, Switzerland, when she was 18 months old and also lived in Albuquerque, N.M., and Minneapolis, Minn., all before the age of six. The eighth grader now lives with her parents in Laguna Beach, Calif., and attends the Orange County High School of the Arts (OCHSA), which she describes as a cross between the "Fame" school and Hogwarts from Harry Potter: "Kids are always singing and dancing in the halls, and running around in costumes or carrying an instrument. You have to audition, so you really have to want to go there to get in. It's like a big family, because we all worked so hard to get there." At OCHSA, Gabriela takes French, ballet, creative writing and music appreciation, among other classes, and in her free time, composes her own music using GarageBand, customizes her clothes and makes films. We sat down with her to discuss what she does for fun, where she finds inspiration and her obsession with anime.

etnies Girl: What do you like about etnies?
Gabriela: I love etnies shoes because you don't have to wear socks with them. (I hate, hate socks.) etnies are so cozy; it's like wearing little couches on your feet. You could trudge through oceans and your feet would still be dry! Plus, they're really cute. I wear a lot of pink, green and pastel colored clothes, and they match everything.

etnies Girl: Why are you an etnies Girl?
Gabriela: I'm an etnies Girl because I'm creative. I've always been into visual stuff: movies, photography, drawing and writing. I like to make up words and write poems. Poetry is cool because it's like painting images with words—that sounds so cliché, but it's true! I customize all of my clothes—I cut them up, draw on my shoes and stuff. I'm happy being myself—I don't try to be something I'm not—and of course I wear etnies.

etnies Girl: How did you get involved in skate/snow/surf?
Gabriela: I think skateboarding is really cool. I did kind of skate almost right once at Target. I thought I was really good, but I fell on my face and the store employees laughed at me. But lots of people who are really good at skateboarding probably fell on their faces at one point and were laughed at too, right? Mostly I like the lifestyle and the way it looks. The whole scene is very edgy and attractive to the eye, which I like because I'm just so visual. I like the shoes, the gear and the clothes.

etnies Girl: What do you do for fun?
Gabriela: I make collages, I multitask, I go places with my friends and I play video games. I think we should just leave all virtual entertainment to the Japanese—I love Japanese games. I read a lot. I really like manga (Japanese comic books), "Weetzie Bat" by Francesca Lia Block—anything Francesca Lia Block writes is really neat—and David Sedaris. I also have "The Shrine." I'm a pack rat, and I've collected a bunch of stuff on the desk in my room—little stuff; tiny, cute little things I like to put on display. The Shrine contains plastic frogs; a plastic Yoshi; Japanese fortune cats; found objects; Japanese candy; candy wrappers; a bottle collection; stacks of bottle caps; little tchotchkes; a pink plastic figurine of "Mew," a Pokemon cat character, which I got at a Japanese store in Laguna; and plastic Hello Kitty figurines. I also make collages using found objects like candy wrappers, photographs, postcards, wrapping paper and photos from the Internet. I go to the mall with friends, go to beach, go to friends' houses to hang out and have house parties.

etnies Girl: Where do you find inspiration?
Gabriela: I get inspired by trance music—I like ATB, a German artist, and the Internet artist DJ Doboy. I love Japanese video games like "Soul Caliber 2," "Animal Crossing" and "Dance Dance Revolution," and I love lots and lots of anime. I'm a serious anime dork! I even went to Comic-Con, the comic book convention in San Diego, this year. Aesthetically, I sort of like darker anime like "Yami No Matsuei," "Witch Hunter Robin," "Spirited Away" and "Haibane Renmei." I like the way glass animal figurines look—they're like ice, and so delicate. Boys inspire me—all of the great male thinkers had female muses, so I could have a boy muse!

etnies Girl: Tell us about your art and filmmaking.
Gabriela: I really like film. I sometimes make movies with my friends, but no one does what I tell them to. I like to watch weird, foreign movies and overanalyze them. I also really enjoy making collages. I'm on a constant search for things to put in them like pictures, labels and such. My work a lot of times is quite monochromatic and busy. I'm working on making them simpler. I do a lot of other types of art but I won't bore you.

etnies Girl: What's the best piece of advice you've gotten?
Gabriela: I wanted to start a wardrobe makeover, but thought maybe I should wait until the next school year because I thought it would be an easier transition. A kid at school told me, "Why wait for transition? Just do it now." He was actually right.

etnies Girl: What's really important to you?
Gabriela: Getting a shower every day!

Gabriela's Favorite Things

Place: Gazeboes
Animal: Penguins
Color: Plaid
Hangout: The mall
City: Tokyo
Songs: "Dr. Jones" by Aqua, "Southern Sun" by Paul Oakenfold, "Give It Away" by Deepest Blue, "Summer Sunshine" by The Corrs, "Love At first Fright" by The Murder Dolls
Band: Tatu
Book: "'Weetzie Bat' by Francesca Lia Block. It's a twisted fantasy somewhere between fairytale and reality about love, danger and L.A. Everyone in the world should read it."
Movie: "'From Justin to Kelly.' I love that movie, even if everyone makes fun of me for saying so! I think the cinematography is brilliant. On their first date, they're in a white boat in white jump suits and the water's reflecting off white sun spots, and all the houses stenciled in the back are white. It's gorgeous."
Game: Candy Land
Food: Asian food and spicy food
Candy: Chocolate strawberries
Holiday: Christmas
Smell: Vanilla and cherry
Hobby: Dancing
Guilty pleasure: "Watching 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.'"
Hero: "Kyan Douglas from 'Queer Eye' is so fashionable. If I could meet one celebrity, it would have to be him!"
etnies shoe: "They're all so great, but I especially love my MC Raps!"

Gabriela's Work

Listen to "Yukuri's Liquid Love (Magic Ghetto Blaster)," a song Gabriela composed on GarageBand.

One of Gabriela's collages

Be an etnies Girl of the Month

Would you like to be the next etnies Girl of the Month? E-mail a paragraph describing why you should be our next etnies Girl along with a photo of yourself to etniesgirl [at] soletechnology.com, or send it to:

etnies Girl of the Month
c/o Sole Technology, Inc.
25422 Trabuco Rd., Suite 105 #235
Lake Forest, CA 92609

Don't forget to include your name, age, address and phone number.