etnies

SF Premiere of "Getting Nowhere Faster" Set for Dec. 2, 2004

In conjunction with the screening of "Getting Nowhere Faster," a Villa Villa Cola art show and cake walk will take place in San Francisco on Dec. 4, 2004, as well as a full day of female-only skate lessons, demos by top female pros and performances by Willpower, Anna Oxygen and Sisterz of the Underground.

The San Francisco premiere of "Getting Nowhere Faster," a new video produced by Villa Villa Cola, the all female skateboard crew, will take place at the Roxie Theatre (3117 16th St. between Valencia and Guerrero) on Thursday, Dec. 2, at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $8 at the door.

While skateboarding has recently become a mainstream attraction, niches of highly talented skaters still remain largely unknown. Villa Villa Cola is about to expose its intriguing story with the release of "Getting Nowhere Faster," a movie that brings to light the elusive and mysterious underworld of female skateboarders. The project features skateboarding from the most talented group of females ever assembled, including professional street skaters, vert pioneers and X Games champions such as Vanessa Torres, Amy Caron, Cara Beth Burnside, Elizabeth Nitu, Faye Jaime, Alex White, Patiane Freitas, "Nugget," Lauren Mollica, Van Nguyen, etnies Girl's own Lauren Perkins and Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins, among others.

Beyond their skateboarding talents, Villa Villa Cola also represents a wildly creative and passionate crew of filmmakers including Lisa Whitaker, Lori Damiano, Tiffany Morgan and Nicole Morgan. "Getting Nowhere Faster" transitions scenes from the everyday to the surreal to showcase an authentic portrayal of the skaters and their talents, and utilizes fantastic situations that could only be created by Villa Villa Cola. Unlike traditional skateboarding videos, "Getting Nowhere Faster" combines women's skateboarding at an explosive skill level never seen before, and is a scripted production featuring multiple female skate crews who find themselves in mysterious and fascinating circumstances.

In conjunction with the release of "Getting Nowhere Faster," the Luggage Store Gallery will present a Villa Villa Cola art show and cake walk at 509 Cultural Center (509 Ellis St. between Leavenworth and Hyde) in San Francisco, as well as additional events at the Tenderloin Children's Playground (across the street from 509 Cultural Center) on Saturday, Dec. 4, from 1 to 5 p.m. The other events that will take place on Saturday include skateboarding instruction for skaters of the female variety (bring your own board and helmet if you can, as supplies are limited) from 1 to 2 p.m.; a skate demo by top female pros, as well as a free skate for all, from 2 to 5 p.m.; and performances by Willpower (recently on tour with Le Tigre), Anna Oxygen and Sisterz of the Underground from 3 to 5 p.m.

Visit Villa Villa Cola for more information and to preview the movie.

17 Style Groove Featuring Ashanti Rocks NYC

On Tuesday, November 16, Seventeen magazine hosted 17 Style Groove, a look at the hottest fall fashions and music trends, at the Virgin Mega Store Union Square in New York City. Tons of girls and guys lined up for a chance to get into the event, which featured a fashion show and live performance by multi-platinum artist Ashanti, as well as interactive sponsor booths, free giveaways, door prizes, exclusive shopping incentives and gift-with-purchase opportunities.

Those lucky enough to score the 17 Style Groove all-access pass that was the ticket into the event got the red carpet treatment, receiving a free gift bag filled with goodies—including an etnies Girl tote bag—as soon as they walked through the door. At the etnies Girl table, girls entered to win the chance to be the etnies Girl of the Month to be featured in the March 2005 issue of Seventeen magazine and in February on etniesGirl.com. A DJ kept the party going during the runway show that had models sporting etnies Girl shoes and clothes, and after the fashion show, a raffle was held that included chances to win head-to-toe etnies Girl gear.

The highlight of the evening was the incredible performance by Ashanti, who sang her most popular songs and gave a special preview of her new album, "Concrete Rose." Better yet, everyone in the room had a great view of the performance since the venue itself was smaller than an average stage. It was the perfect ending to an amazing event. Make sure to look for the etnies Girl of the Month picked from the event in the March issue of Seventeen magazine and on etniesGirl.com in February.

Ashanti rocks the crowd

17 Style Groove attendees show off their etnies Girl totes

Lucy Adams' Girlie Skate Camps Diary

etnies Girl UK skate team rider Lucy Adams sent this dispatch from Girlie Skate Camps in Barcelona, Spain. Get the other side of the story by reading Lauren Perkins' Girlie Skate Camps Journal.

I suppose by calling it a camp, Girlie Camps kind of brought expectations of the types of summer camps you get in the United States; however, having been to Barcelona, and having read about other people's experiences of the Girlie Snow Camps, I knew this was going to be one a hell of a trip!

On arrival day, I was skating the city a bit, but managed to be around the hotel and meet some of the girls and the Girlie crew. I was immediately impressed and excited about the idea of skating and spending time with all of these people. I'm usually quite a shy person, but I found it easy to talk to, and share experiences with, everybody at the camp. There was just such good craic, if you know what I mean! [Editor's note: pronounced "crack," craic is a very Irish expression meaning party atmosphere.]

On the first full day at the camp, we traveled to Sitges Skatepark. This park was good, well designed, but slippery as hell! The girls were fully up for it though; everybody got in there for what was sort of a bowl carving session. Nobody was left sitting by the side—everyone was giving it their all, whether they were learning axle stalls or just learning the basic stance. I enjoyed this morning so much because it was really inspiring seeing so many girls that were totally up for skateboarding! It was amazing to see the Americans skate. Lauren Perkins was cruising the bowl doing frontside 180's and shredding the grind box with 50-50's and 5.0's. Steamer was steaming it in the bowl carving lines, and she hit up a crook on the ledge! I had fun doing some fly outs and then got a backside 5.0 on the box!

After Sitges, we all hung out at the beach and it was cool to talk more with some of the girls. The atmosphere was chill and it seemed that everyone was feeling stoked on skating! After more skating that afternoon, we met back up at the hotel and went for a night skate at MACBA. There was a great vibe and even though I think most were tired, you have to skate at MACBA if you're in Barcelona! I have to admit, I didn't think that skating at MACBA would be all that because when I've visited before, I gotten quite intimidated by the skate history surrounding the spot and there are usually many locals and pros ripping it up. Turns out that I was completely wrong, and being there with a crew of like 20 girls made it an awesome skate! Lauren Perkins loved it, and got a photo of a backside 50-50 on the ledge to drop...and she made it on her fourth try! Some girls practiced ollieing, or what they had been taught earlier on, and some just took it all in by watching others. Sonia Kenfech ripped up the ledge, doing all sorts off of it—even a smooth nollie heelflip! Great end to the first day!

Each day kicked off in such a good way: seeing loads of girl skaters at breakfast and listening to all the skate conversation going on! It was so weird, but in the best way! Schedules had changed but for the better, as we went to an absolutely epic spot called Fondo. The session was probably one of the best in my life, for sure. As a girl skating with guys all the time, it's quite easy to write things off by thinking, "Oh well, he can do it because he's better than me." Although I did feel pushed, this was a completely different experience. I felt so amped by seeing girls skate well and thought, "If they can do it, so can I," confidence and self belief! There was so much good feeling that day, so many tricks went down and everyone had a rad skate.

Noteworthy tricks included Jessie van Roechoudt's backside flip on the bank; Lauren Perkins' frontside 180 over the hip to flat, and smooth ollies over the hip; Julie Bevis' heelflips and kickflips on the bank, and a 50-50 on the ledge; Louise Menke's ollie-and nollie-in from the bench to the bank, and a switch flip on the bank; and my pop shove-it over the hip to flat, ollie in from the bench to the bank, and switch heels on the bank. I also learned half-Cab frontside flips!

In the afternoon, we went to Canyelle's park. The vert skaters on the trip were excited to be going to ride some transition, but I think everyone was a little nervous when we got there! The park was tight and for most even unskateable, but I think some girls were glad just to sit and watch after the session at Fondo!

Mimi Knoop, Julia "Jewels" Bauer and Tina Neff ripped this place! Knoop Dogg was carving smooth lines with nice frontside smiths, and Jewels and Tina were both getting rock fakies on the vert extension! Rolling around the park and chilling finished off a well good day's skating, and there were nothing but smiles on everyone's faces!

On the day of the Jam, which was kicking off at 2:00 p.m., a sleep-in was in order for most, but not the British contingent! We got up early after four hours of sleep and hooked up with Julie Bevis to do some filming for the UK's Viewfinder video! We hit up a spot called Besos, where Julie nearly got a long manual kickflip, but couldn't quite ride away. After about 15 calls of "Last try! C'mon!" we had to get out of there or we were gonna miss the Jam! Turns out that we met up with everyone at Sants, and that was one of my best moments of the camp! Being almost lost in Barcelona and then suddenly seeing 20 girls with skateboards come around the corner was spot on!

As we arrived at Sitges park, it was crazy! There was a big crowd, which I didn't really expect, and loads of skaters. Everyone was up for it straight away, so much so that most pros were exhausted by the time of the demo! I loved it and gave 100 percent. I felt so pushed again and was stoked to be riding with all these great people that I'd met on this trip!

Thank you, Girlie Camps! This was the best time of my life and I'm looking forward to doing it again next summer!

Lucy Adams

Check It Out Girls Magazine Issue 16 Launch Party

Last Friday, Nov. 12, Check It Out Girls Magazine celebrated the launch of its newest issue, number 16, in style. The party, co-sponsored by etnies Girl, kicked off with dinner at Tokio Restaurant in Hollywood, and then moved next door to Beauty Bar for more socializing and dancing. etnies Girl team rider Lauren Perkins, whose photograph appears in issue 16, was there to celebrate, as was former skater and current Emerica apparel designer Saecha Clarke, who is interviewed in the magazine about what it was like to skate in the early '90s. etnies Girl pro Elissa Steamer is also interviewed in issue 16 and, although she wasn't able to make it to the party since she was in New York, she was there both in spirit and on film—everyone was mesmerized by the loop of Elissa's new skate footage that was playing at Beauty Bar. The party was a great success, with skaters and friends of the magazine and etnies Girl in attendance. Better yet, everyone at the packed party was happy to receive etnies Girl totes filled with goodies as they left.

Meet Felicity, the etnies Girl of the Month

Felicity, our fourth etnies Girl of the Month, is an up-and-coming skater who first caught our eye at the recent Wicked Wahine Bowl Contest in Glendale, Calif. Felicity came in an impressive second place in the Grom Division at the contest, which just so happened to be the first contest she'd ever entered. Wasting no time, the 14-year-old Fontana, Calif., native will compete in her second contest, the All Girl Skate Jam, next month. We caught up with Felicity right before her older brothers Joe, 24, and James, 17, picked her up to go skating at the Fontana Skatepark.

etnies Girl: So, Felicity, what are your interests?
Felicity: My main interest is skating, being that the minute I get out of school I skate to the skatepark.

etnies Girl: What are your talents?
Felicity: Well, if you asked my friends, they would say making them laugh.

etnies Girl: How did you get involved in skating?
Felicity: My two older brothers, Joe and James, have been skating since I was seven years old, and I have always been fascinated by it. About four years ago, I finally got the guts to try it out—but it wasn't until about two years ago that I really began to shred it up.

etnies Girl: What do you like about etnies?
Felicity: I think etnies has an awesome skate team.

etnies Girl: Why are you an etnies Girl?
Felicity: I'm an etnies Girl because I'm a confident skater and I love to shred bowls. I'm also my own person and I'm not afraid to show it.

etnies Girl: What do you do for fun?
Felicity: I skate with one of my best friends, listen to music and laugh.

etnies Girl: Where do you find inspiration?
Felicity: I find my inspiration in all of the other girl skaters who have made it pro. I would like to think that could be me someday.

etnies Girl: How does it feel to start to get noticed for your skating, and what's it like to compete in events? What are your goals for yourself and your skating?
Felicity: I think that it's cool to be noticed for my skating because most people stereotype skaters as "guys." I've only skated in one competition so far, and it was a constant high; I definitely can't wait for the next one. My main goal in life is to have fun and live my life to the fullest because life's a garden—dig it! My goals for skating are to have fun and to better my skill in shredding. Yeah, skate or die.

etnies Girl: What's the best piece of advice you've gotten?
Felicity: My older brother, Joe, once told me that if you don't succeed, "you need to try and try again." He used to, and still does, tell me this when I'm trying to either land a new trick or something else where I really need to try hard. I tell my friends the same thing, as I think it's a great way to stay positive and try my best at whatever I do.

etnies Girl: What's really important to you?
Felicity: Besides skating, I would really say school comes first because I know that you can't get anywhere in life with out an education. I plan to go to college—you know, in case skating falls through!

etnies Girl: Is there anything else you would like to tell us about yourself?
Felicity: I'm really not obsessed with skating—I promise! There's just not much else to do in Fontana for a girl like me.

Felicity's Favorite Things

Place: "I'm only 14, so I haven't been very far from home. So it's gonna have to be Fontana and the Chino Skatepark."
Animal: "My late dog, Bam (R.I.P.) He was a Siberian Husky."
Color: Blue, green, red, orange, yellow, black, maroon, egg shell, navy, purple...
Hangout: "Bowling alleys. Just kidding! The Fontana Skatepark."
City: "Philly. I can't wait to visit Love Park."
Song: "'Boys Don't Cry' by The Cure and 'Mama' by my brother Joe's band, Autumn's End."
Album: "Something to Write Home About" by The Get Up Kids
Band: The Get Up Kids
Book: "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss
Movie: "Zoolander," "Joe Dirt," "Bam 411," "Old School"
TV show: "The Simpson's" and "Viva La Bam"
Sport: Skating and softball
Game: Tony Hawk Underground
Food: "Baker's Twin Kitchen, a great fast food place close to home."
Candy: Strawberry Halls, Pixie Stix
Holiday: "Christmas. I always get new skate gear and it's the only time I'm with my whole family."
Smell: Fabric softener
Hobby: Shredding
Guilty pleasure: "Looking at Mitchell, a guy at my skatepark. Hmmmmmmm."
Athlete: Bam Margera
Hero: Bam Margera
etnies shoe: Arto Saari

Felicity in Action

Click here to check out video of Felicity skating.

Photos of Felicity from the Wicked Wahine Bowl Contest, courtesy of Garret Shigenaka from sk8session.com:

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.

My Chemical Romance Playing Free KROQ Show Tomorrow

Tomorrow, Saturday, November 13, the etnies breakout artist of 2004, My Chemical Romance, will be playing a free KROQ show at Best Buy in Orange, Calif. The band will be signing autographs from 1-2 p.m. and will start playing at 3:30 p.m. Best Buy is located at 3741 West Chapman Ave. in Orange. (Down the street from THE BLOCK.)

Don't miss the show!

Seventeen and etnies Girl Team Up for 17 Style Groove

Attend 17 Style Groove and win the chance to be featured in Seventeen magazine and on etniesGirl.com as an etnies Girl of the Month.

On Tuesday, November 16, at 6 p.m., Seventeen magazine will host 17 Style Groove—a look at the hottest trends this season in fashion, beauty and music—at the Virgin Mega Store Union Square in New York City. The event will feature a performance by multi-platinum artist Ashanti, as well as a fashion show, interactive sponsor booths, free giveaways, door prizes, exclusive shopping incentives and gift-with-purchase opportunities.

At the etnies Girl table, girls will be able to enter to win the chance to be the etnies Girl of the Month who will be featured in the February or March 2005 issue of Seventeen magazine and on etniesGirl.com. etnies Girl will also be handing out tote bags with a keychain and filled with other goodies, in addition to giving out door prizes of head-to-toe etnies Girl outfits.

Snow Team Report: The Snow Season Is Here!

It's official—the snow season is here! You'd better start stretching those hamstrings and getting your legs warmed up, 'cause before you know it you'll be getting your shred on...that is, if you haven't already at one of the handful of parks that have opened early.

Here's how the etnies Girl snow team is faring:

Janna Meyen showed her support last week for Side Effect, one of her local shops in Bend, Ore., at their big party to celebrate the beginning of the snow season. Janna reported that she's doing much better and is concentrating on her physical therapy, so she anticipates getting back on track to rule the world this season! She'll be focusing on filming with the Volcom crew this year and attending all of the major contests, including the X Games, The Session and the Triple Crown.

Alexis Waite just celebrated her birthday on October 30. Happy Birthday, Lexi! She also recently returned from a three week trip to Europe, where she visited Stockholm, Helsinki, Turku (Finland), Zurich, Paris, Venice, Innsbruck and the Austrian Alps. She rode for about three days at Hindertux, and spent most of her time in Stockholm. In other exciting news, Alexis recently formed a film company called Misschief Films with some of her fellow female snowboarders. Their goal, Alexis told us, is "to help change people's perception on women's snowboarding, send a bit of a message, and impress some of the critics on women's riding in general." Their teaser is finished and has been showing before "Robot Food" in various premieres around North America this fall. Overall, Alexis told us that she is "feeling great about going into the upcoming season and confident it is going to be really productive and fun! Best of all, fun! I am so lucky to be living this life; it is truly amazing."

Also, make sure to check out Leanne Pelosi, TransWorld Snowboarding's 2004 Rider's Poll "Rookie of the Year" award winner, in the December issue of TransWorld Snowboarding magazine.

Ask a Pro: You Asked and Elissa Answered

etnies Girl's first team rider, Elissa Steamer, is also the first etnies Girl pro to answer your ASK A PRO questions. Check out Elissa's replies to learn her thoughts on getting sponsored, what to do if your friends tell you that you'll never be able to skate, and how to do a kickflip, among other things. Oh, and she didn't discriminate: Elissa even answered a question from a guy.

Do you have a burning question of your own for an etnies Girl pro? Submit your questions to ASK A PRO, and we'll pick ones for the riders to answer themselves.

etnies Girl Spring '05 Collection Launch Party

etnies Girl recently celebrated the launch of its spring '05 collection with a party at the etnies showroom in New York City featuring an art show, "Cohorts," and a concert by Estelle.

Fall in New York is amazing: The leaves turn brilliant colors, the breeze becomes more brisk and the air has a crisp edge to it, instead of the harsh city smells one might typically expect. That thought in mind, etnies Girl decided to embrace New York in its full fall splendor to showcase the etnies Girl spring '05 collection. Livening things up even more was an art show accompanying the launch called "Cohorts" that showcased artists with whom etnies worked on the spring line, including JonOne, Rich Jacobs and Beci Orpin. Besides having great art to set the mood, British musician Estelle—who also designed a shoe with etnies for the spring line—treated the crowd to a fantastic set that got the party bouncing.

The evening started out as a mellow one, with magazine editors and stylists strolling through the showroom. As the night wore on, however, more people started to arrive, enlivening the invite-only event. JonOne did live painting during the party on a 4' x 8' floating wall, Rich Jacobs had a huge installation that included various small drawings and found objects, and Beci Orpin had some of her playful patterns and icons on display. Not to be outdone by the artists, DJ Ayres from "The Rub," an infamous NYC party, spun the tunes, setting the party's festive mood. The combined effect created a great environment for inspiration and fun.

At around 10:30 p.m., Estelle and her crew hit the stage. She grabbed the mic with authority and asked everyone to come closer to the stage, inspiring the crowd of more than 600 people to turn its attention squarely on her. Estelle introduced herself and, with a cue from her DJ, she and her band then began to blast the crowd with rump-shaking grooves. Each song kept building the party's momentum until everyone was dancing and throwing their hands in the air. After an amazing 25 minute set, Estelle was done rocking the party; she did, however, come back for a one-song encore, which got everyone pumped. After the set, DJ Ayres came back to the stage and kept the party going until the wee hours of the morning.

The whole night was fun and everyone who came through had a great time. etnies Girl would like to thank Estelle, JonOne, Rich Jacobs, Beci Orpin, DJ Ayres and the entire etnies Girl crew for making the evening a huge success.

The party in full effect

Estelle rocking the mic

Estelle rocking the party