etnies

Meet Ily, the etnies Girl of the Month

Ily (pronounced eye-lee), our etnies Girl of the Month, has two overriding passions in life: skateboarding and art. Oh, and she likes to cut her own hair. And did we mention she has a borderline obsession with Denver? The 15-year-old skateboarder and artiste extraordinaire from Nashville, Tenn., sums herself up thus: “I do my hair a lot, because I get really bored of it. I laugh a lot too. I also don’t wear a lot of makeup. Everything I do is pretty random.” All we know is that we wouldn’t mind spending an afternoon hanging out with Ily…you know, so we could do our hair and skate and stuff.

“…everything I do revolves around skateboarding. I have made some of the greatest friends from it.”

etnies Girl: What are your interests?
Ily: Skateboarding, drawing, music, Denver, and I like doing hair. I also like getting on my computer and taking pictures. And well, of course, guys.

etnies Girl: What are your talents?
Ily: Drawing and skating, mainly. And I guess I’m pretty good at MySpace HTML. I like to make artsy stuff too, stencils and stuff. I guess I’m pretty talented at that.

etnies Girl: How did you get involved in skateboarding?
Ily: I went to Denver for a summer and met some friends there who skated. I came back home and a new kid who moved in had a skateboard. I had one too so we skated every once and awhile. I didn’t really get into it, though, until they built one of the first outdoor parks around [where I live]. From that day on, I’ve been skating.

etnies Girl: What do you like about etnies Girl?
Ily: I like that it’s a pretty cool way to get girls into action sports—by letting them see that other girls can do it too. It gives girls the confidence they need to succeed in what they want to achieve.

etnies Girl: Why are you an etnies Girl?
Ily: I think that I’m an etnies Girl because I’m creative and don’t try to follow the world. I’m having fun doing something I’m confident in.

etnies Girl: What do you do for fun?
Ily: For fun, I skate, draw, listen to music and hang out with my friends all the time. I get on my computer a lot too.

etnies Girl: Where do you find inspiration?
Ily: I find inspiration in my friends and pro skaters. Whenever I watch a video, it makes me want go outside and skate so I can learn new stuff.

etnies Girl: What’s your biggest accomplishment?
Ily: Skating-wise, being able to do what I can do now. I’m not afraid to try new stuff, so then I get better at it.

etnies Girl: Why do you love skateboarding so much?
Ily: Because it’s pretty much my life; everything I do revolves around skateboarding. I have made some of the greatest friends from it. Just spending my time skating, traveling to new places to go to skateparks and hanging out with friends who do the same thing is pretty awesome.

etnies Girl: You’re really into art too, right?
Ily: Yeah, art is amazing. I’ve been drawing since I was little, so now I’m pretty good at it—drawing, stenciling, spray painting, just creating anything that looks sick.

etnies Girl: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Ily: “Just commit to it,” which has been given to me by a lot of people. You have commit to what you’re trying to do, if you want do it. This goes for anything, not just skating. But mainly I use this advice to land what I’m trying to land.

etnies Girl: What’s really important to you?
Ily: Things that are really important to me are my friends, my music, my art and skateboarding.

Ily’s Favorite Things

Place: Denver, Colo.
Animal: Dogs
Color: Turquoise
Hangout: “Going downtown.”
City: Denver, Colo.
Song: “I just like music in general.”
Album: “Recently, ‘Live It Out’ by Metric.”
Band: “There are too many good ones.”
Book: “The Harry Potter and Lemony Snicket series.”
Movie: “Skate videos!”
TV show: “CSI,” “The OC” and “Family Guy”
Sport: Skateboarding
Game: “Whatever we play at the skatepark.”
Food: BBQ pizza
Candy: TWIX and Red Hots
Holiday: Christmas
Smell: Cinnamon and ginger
Hobby: Skateboarding, art and music
Guilty pleasure: “Coffee. Lots and lots of coffee!”
Athlete: Ryan Sheckler
Hero: “My friends and Jesus.”
etnies Girl shoe: Easy-E in pink/white

Ily's Artwork

One of Ily's drawings

Be an etnies Girl of the Month

Would you like to be the next etnies Girl of the Month? Leave a comment telling us why you deserve to be the next etnies Girl along with your age and, if you’re extra nerdy (which we love) add a link to a picture of yourself. Make sure to leave your CORRECT (no funny business!) e-mail address in the e-mail field, or we won’t be able to contact you if you’re chosen. (Don’t worry, your e-mail address won’t show up in your comment.) If you’re feeling shy, you can also 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.

Janna Meyen: Simply Golden

Sweet victory: Janna accepting her gold medal

As we reported last Saturday, etnies Girl team rider Janna Meyen won her fourth consecutive Winter X Games gold in Slopestyle, becoming the first athlete ever in X Games history to fourpeat! Here’s an update on her history-making final run and the events that led up to it.

Janna celebrating with her brother (left) and etnies Snow Team Manager Eddie Lee. Since Eddie knew Janna was going to fourpeat all along, he came prepared with T-shirts.

In Friday’s qualifiers, Janna led the pack by nearly 14 points, scoring so high in her first run—90.33 points—that she didn’t even bother taking a second one. Saturday during the main event, however, she fell doing a front 540 in her first run, putting her in last place with 52.00 points. Gulp. “Everyone was freaking out not knowing what was going to happen next,” remembers etnies Snow Team Manager Eddie Lee. Being a consummate pro (Janna has been winning events since 1991), she took a breather and collected her thoughts. She then proceeded to pull out a flawless second run: switch boardslide down the flat/down box to railslide-fakie, Cab 720, Cab 540, backside 540, air over the Xchange box, to a huge backside 360 on the “last chance booter.” The run earned her 91.33 points, taking her from last place to first. Simply golden.

To check out more photos from the event, visit the Janna Meyen Winter X Fourpeat Photo Gallery.

January’s Moto-X Team Report

Long time no motocross team report! Find out what etnies Girl team riders Sarah Whitmore and Tarah Gieger have been up to over the past month, in their own words…

Tarah (left) and Sarah know how to play nice.

On January 4, Sarah Whitmore left her home in Northern Michigan and traveled to California. Here’s what she said she has been up to since:

“First off, it is cold back home and I’m not able to ride. I normally go to Georgia in the winter to train, but since I am riding for Richardson’s RV this year I came here to support the male riders on our team who are riding the West Coast Supercross races. Besides going to all of the Supercross events to watch my team ride, I am busy riding every day—all I do is ride, train and eat. I have done some photo shoots with some lifestyle magazines and sponsors but the highlight of my month was when the MTV “True Life” episode aired with me on it. I actually didn’t want to see it because I knew I would look stupid (and I did) but everyone else seemed to like it and it was good for the sport in general to be on a mainstream channel like MTV. I’m just bummed they showed me crying like a baby on national TV. I am going to be out here for almost another month before I head back east to the Indy trade show. Hopefully I’ll be faster by then.”

Here’s what Tarah Gieger had to say about how she has been spending her time:

“Lately I have been doing more of the same. I have been out in California this past month going to the Supercross races for my sponsors: shaking hands, taking pictures and kissing babies while yeah, guying it all day. I flew back to Florida a couple of weeks ago to go to Surf Expo and see my mom. We also adopted a new dog while we were there. Other than that, I have just been surfing while I am in California. Last week I went on a little road trip up to San Francisco for the Supercross up there. My friend and I drove up the coast, stopping along the way to surf.”

That’s it for this month! Stay tuned for regular motocross team reports.

Vote for the Clear Cut Contest Winner by Jan. 31!

Over 8,000 people have voted for the winner of the You’re the Designer Clear Cut Contest in just under two weeks, and now the voting period is coming to a close. If you haven’t picked your favorite yet, you only have through tomorrow, Jan. 31, to vote on submissions by the following finalists: Candice from Amsterdam, Netherlands; P. Carvalho from Brussels, Belgium; Rachel from Hatboro, Pa.; Lotte from Den Haag, Netherlands; and Betty from Essen, Germany. Check out their submissions and vote for your favorite before it’s too late!

UPDATE: Since this article was posted this afternoon, about 1,000 more votes have come in and the frontrunner has changed for the first time in over a week. This contest isn’t over yet! Get your votes in before the end of the day tomorrow.

Happy Birthday, Evelien!

Birthday girl Evelien (right) with Lauren Perkins

We’d like to wish a very happy birthday today to etnies Girl European team skater Evelien Bouilliart. Happy Sweet 16, Evelien!

Janna Meyen Winter X Fourpeat!

Congratulations to etnies Girl team rider Janna Meyen, who won her fourth consecutive Winter X Games gold in Slopestyle today in Aspen, Colo., becoming the first athlete ever in X Games history to fourpeat! Stay tuned to etniesgirl.com for more details on her win.

etnies Girl Supports TRASHed Recycling Store at Winter X

If you’re lucky enough to be at the Winter X Games taking place in Aspen, Colo., Jan. 28-31, you may just find yourself with some brand new etnies Girl gear just for recycling bottles or cans instead of tossing them in the trash.

At this year's Winter X, you can bring your cans and bottles to the TRASHed Recycling Store for your chance to take home etnies Girl gear and other cool merchandise. Items are available to all event goers who recycle their bottles at the TRASHed Recycling Store; based on the value of the merchandise, people will be able to purchase items that range in cost according to the number of bottles and cans they recycle.

Founded in 2004, TRASHed is a nonprofit organization that seeks to raise awareness of the problem of excess waste by showing how simple it is to recycle. In addition to swapping garbage for gear, TRASHed collaborates with artists, action sports athletes and celebrities to design and display original artwork on recycling bins at events nationwide.

Get the etnies Girl Spring ’06 Catalog!

Spring is in the air at etniesgirl.com! Click on the image to the left to download the new etnies Girl Spring ’06 Catalog and get ready to shop for some of the cutest shoes, clothes and accessories of the season.

Chick Flip Cliniques 2006

Learn to skate at the etnies Girl sponsored Chick Flip Cliniques 2006 in Quebec, Canada, this February and March!

These three skate camps for girls will take place at the best skateparks in the Quebec Province on the following dates:

February 4, 2006 – South Park in Brossard
February 18, 2006 – Orkus Skatepark in Montreal
March 11, 2006 – Universe Skatepark in Repentigny

Each camp will take place from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., and there will be an open session afterwards from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Every day will end with a best trick and a poser game for the campers from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. All of the coaches are certified by the P.E.S.Q.

Visit Rugged Riders for more information or to sign up for the camps.

You and ME (my etnies)

Do you like getting things your way? Of course you do!

Lucky for you, now you can add etnies to the list of things you can get just the way you like. etnies recently launched the ME (my etnies) page in the Online Store that lets you design your very own pair of etnies with custom colorways, patterns and a personalized ID imprint.

Check out the etnies Girl Blog Limited Edition Callicut that I, your trusty etniesgirl.com editor, designed by entering code 122175. You can order a pair of those shoes or design your own, and have them delivered right to your doorstep. If you want everyone to see your custom kicks, design a pair and post your design code in the blog.

Catch Sarah Whitmore on MTV’s “True Life”

Catch etnies Girl motocross superstar Sarah Whitmore on MTV’s “True Life: I Live on the Edge” this Thursday, Jan. 19. Check your local listings for the show’s airtime, and if you watch the show make sure to tell us what you think of it in the blog.

Vote for the Clear Cut Contest Winner!

We received tons of great submissions for the You’re the Designer Clear Cut Contest from all over the world—the only continent that we didn’t receive any from was Antarctica—so it was a daunting task for the etnies Girl designers to pick only five designs out of so many amazing entries. It took some time, but the finalists have been selected. Congratulations to the following designers: Candice from Amsterdam, Netherlands; P. Carvalho from Brussels, Belgium; Rachel from Hatboro, Pa.; Lotte from Den Haag, Netherlands; and Betty from Essen, Germany.

Now that the finalists have been chosen, it’s time for you to vote for the winner! Check out the designs and vote for your favorite by Jan. 31, 2006. The grand prize winner will receive five pairs of the Clear Cut that include the winning “E” insert design and a head-to-toe etnies Girl outfit. The four runners-up will receive a pair of the Clear Cut and an etnies Girl T-shirt.

Thank you to everyone who entered the contest and good luck to the finalists!

etnies Girl and URB Contest Winner

Congratulations to Jessica of Rockaway Park, N.Y., who won the etnies Girl and URB Magazine Contest! Jessica was the first female to name three pro skaters who have released albums and, for her effort, will receive a pair of the etnies Girl shoes of her choice.

Make sure to keep checking the Contests page for more opportunities to win.

Evelien Wins Pop! Session Winter Bash

Congratulations to etnies Girl skater Evelien Bouilliart, who took first in women’s street at the Pop! Session Winter Bash in Tallinn, Estonia, on Jan. 6-8, 2006.

Evelien’s big bag o’ tricks included a feeble down the rail, back 50-50 on a small ledge, 50-50 on a ledge, 180 indy grab from the quarterpipe into the wall, a 50-50 down the handrail, and she almost pulled an indy grab over the big BMX jump.

Said Evelien about her win, “I won 235 euros—weird prize money—and some Fructis thing for the hair.”

etnies Girl Spring ’06 Collection Online and In Stores Now!

Check out the brand new etnies Girl Spring ’06 Collection for some of the coolest shoes and clothing of the season! A PDF version of the Spring ’06 catalog will be available on the site for download soon, and make sure to use our Shop Locator if you don’t know where to find an etnies Girl retailer near you.

Enter the Clear Cut Contest Today!

If you’ve always wanted to be a shoe designer, you need to act fast! Today is your last chance to enter etnies Girl’s You’re the Designer Clear Cut Contest for the opportunity to have your design vision become a reality.

The grand prize winner will receive five pairs of the Clear Cut that include the winning “E” insert design and a head-to-toe etnies Girl outfit. The four runners-up will receive a pair of the Clear Cut and an etnies Girl T-shirt.

Remember, all entries must be received no later than today, January 10, 2006, in order to be eligible. Enter to win before it’s too late!

Sheck Makes SI's Top 10!

Congrats to etnies / Almost pro, Ryan Sheckler for being chosen as one of Sports Illustrated's Top 10 Crowd Pleasers of 2005! Please ignore the moronic text about facial hair written by the "journalists" over at Sports Illustrated. Forgive them, they know not what they do.

Sign Up for etnies Girl Updates!

Make it your New Year’s resolution to stay updated on all of the latest etnies Girl happenings, products, events and promotions by signing up for the etnies Girl Newsletter, Site Alerts and RSS Feed! Wouldn’t it be nice if your other resolutions were so simple to keep?

Win An Afternoon With Ryan Sheckler!

An afternoon with Sheck huh? Priceless.

Ryan Sheckler is looking for a personal logo and he wants you to draw it! Here's a chance at your 15 minutes of fame and some free stuff from etnies, Almost and a weekend with Ryan himself! Head on over to Ryan's website for all the info.

Happy New Year From etnies Girl!

etnies Girl would like to wish you, your friends and families a very Happy New Year! Thanks so much for helping to make the etnies Girl site’s first full year such a great one, and here’s to 2006!