etnies

Meet Marina, the etnies Girl of the Month

Meet Marina, a 16-year-old skater from Belfast, Northern Ireland, and our newest etnies Girl of the Month!

etnies Girl: What are your interests?
Marina: Skateboarding! It's my life. I also love Led Zeppelin—music has always been a big part of my personality. And I wouldn't be anywhere with out all my friends! Big up Da Pigeons! I’m also really interested in politics and psychology...but basically I think about skating 24/7.

etnies Girl: What are your talents?
Marina: I can skate, and skating is hard so I'm pretty chuffed. I can play guitar too but not extraordinarily well.

“When I land a really good kickflip it honestly makes my day.”

etnies Girl: How did you get involved in skateboarding?
Marina: When I was a wee lass, I watched some guys skating at St. Anne’s Cathedral before it got architecturally destroyed. I got to know them and started skating on a wee cheap set up. I used to go everywhere on that thing, even to the shop or just bombing hills before some “spides”—Belfast hard lads—stole it.

etnies Girl: What do you like about etnies Girl?
Marina: It supports female talent like no other company. Big respect, guys!

etnies Girl: Why are you an etnies Girl?
Marina: I'm individual and I have a huge passion for life. Skateboarding is who I am and I'll never let anybody get in the way of it.

etnies Girl: What do you do for fun?
Marina: For fun I skate, surprisingly enough. [Laughs] I also love Billy Connolly. I have many a good time with my best pal, Carly, and bomb hills.

etnies Girl: Where do you find inspiration?
Marina: I find inspiration in other girls [who skate]. Be it an ollie or a tre flip down a ten set, they make me smile. Also, any other skater who's appreciative of the money their folks put out for them skating…and those parents for understanding.

etnies Girl: What’s your biggest accomplishment?
Marina: My biggest accomplishment so far has been getting respect from guys and giving other girls the courage to skate in front of other people.

etnies Girl: Why do you love skateboarding so much?
Marina: I love the feeling once you've landed a good trick. When I land a really good kickflip it honestly makes my day. It's also universal—it brings people together all over the world to do what they love and that's amazing. I wouldn't be here without it.

etnies Girl: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Marina: “Don't push yourself, just do what you feel like and let yourself through in your skating.” Conhuir Lynn gave me this piece of advice when I was getting stressed out about footage in November 2004. I'll remember it forever.

etnies Girl: What’s really important to you?
Marina: Friendship is really important to me. If I didn't have my friends I'd be a different person. I'm a more confident person now and I'm always laughing and smiling.

etnies Girl: Is there anything else you would like to say before we go?
Marina: Love life. Skate. PEACE! Up da crews! Bomb hills, not countries!

Marina’s Favorite Things

Place: Home
Animal: Sharks
Color: Green
Hangout: “Custom House Square—but I just skate there a lot.”
City: Barcelona and Dublin
Song: “‘The Power of Love’ by Huey Lewis and the News! Yeah!”
Album: “Led Zeppelin III”
Band: Led Zeppelin, Tool, The Beatles, Metallica
Book: “Harry Potter” and “A Clockwork Orange”
Movie: “A Clockwork Orange” and “The Big Lebowski”
TV show: “The Family Guy,” “Lost” and “Friends”
Sport: Skateboarding
Game: S-k-a-t-e
Food: Whole-wheat spaghetti
Candy: Dime Bars
Holiday: “Easter's good ‘cause it's not windy and cold but also not really hot and dry.”
Smell: Nag Champa and freshly cut grass
Hobby: “Skating, I guess. It's really all I do.”
Athlete: Arto Saari
Hero: “All my mates! Bonzo! Arto!”
etnies Girl shoe: Kingpin and Gal 86

Marina’s Artwork

Marina recently made this drawing of Arto Saari. Here’s what she had to say about it: “Conhuir Lynn brought it over to him last week, which is so amazing. I hope Arto liked it, but Conhuir hasn't been in contact yet.” Something tells us Arto likes it.

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.

Sarah Whitmore Talks With the Virtual Trainer

etnies Girl team rider Sarah Whitmore is one of the fastest women on the planet on a motocross bike—but that doesn’t mean she looks like a dude. Check out her Virtual Trainer interview on Racer X Online to find out she remains girlie while still kicking ass on the track.

UPDATE: Part two of Sarah’s Virtual Trainer interview is now up on Racer X Online.

GvR Footage on YouTube

My latest obsession is YouTube. Case in point: this rad video from etnies GvR. Most of the footage is of the guys, but watch closely and you’ll see etnies Girl skaters Evelien Bouilliart (wearing all black, with her hair in a ponytail), Lauren Perkins (wearing a white T-shirt, with her hair up) and Elissa Steamer (wearing a white T-shirt, with her hair down). Thanks to Icelounge for posting the video.

Blog Comments Are Back!

Thanks for being patient while comments in the blog were down so we could clear spam from the site. All of your old comments are back and you can leave new comments again, so it’s time to get your comment on!

Evelien Bouilliart Video on YouTube

Check out this short but very sweet video of Evelien Bouilliart from YouTube. Enjoy!

Sally Fitzgibbons Wins Pro-Teen

Congratulations to etnies Australia surfer and former etnies Girl of the Month Sally Fitzgibbons for winning the Billabong Pro-Teen Girls event in Wollongong, Australia, over the weekend! Sally beat Nicola Atherton in the final on Saturday, Feb. 18, to clinch her second ASP Australasia Junior Series event at Wollongong. Way to go, Sally!

Blog Comments Temporarily Down

You may have noticed that old comments in the blog are missing and that you can’t currently leave new comments. No need to panic! We’re just working on deleting a ton of spam from the site and hope to have the comments up and running again by tomorrow evening. Think of this as a perfect opportunity to turn off your computer and go skate!

Spring ’06 Footwear in Online Store Now

Good news! The etnies Girl Spring ’06 footwear collection is now available in the Online Store. While you’re shopping, make sure to check out Ryan Sheckler’s new pro model and try customizing your own etnies in the ME (my etnies) page.

Learn to Skate at the Chick Flip Cliniques 2006 in Quebec

If you live in Quebec, Canada, you still have two more chances left to learn how to skate at the etnies Girl-sponsored Chick Flip Cliniques 2006!

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

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.

etnies Girl Sponsors “Sorcerers” Art Show

Calling all metalheads! Do you miss MTV’s OG “Headbanger’s Ball”? Do you pine for pre-plastic surgery Axl Rose? Then make sure to check out “Sorcerers,” Angela Boatwright’s first West Coast solo show sponsored by etnies Girl at 222 Gallery in Los Angeles. The photography exhibit spotlights Angela’s ever-present love of (you guessed it) heavy metal and will take place from March 3 to April 28, 2006. Curated by 222 Gallery’s Karl Peters and Jeremy Baker, Killer of Giants owner and freelance photographer Angela Boatwright will be featuring her heavy metal-inspired imagery—long haired fans, crowd shots, backstage scenes, corpse paint and fake blood—all in one intense showcase.

222 Gallery
7922 West 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048
323 782 1900

Here’s Angela’s bio just in case you haven’t already heard of her:

When Angela Boatwright was born on May 20, 1975, in Columbus, Ohio, she was the first Boatwright born in the north. Years later, at a Guns N' Roses/Aerosmith show at nearby Buckeye Lake, Angela was reborn in the name of metal. It was around that time she started taking pictures of her favorite bands, moving from metal to hardcore to skate and back again as she saw fit. After high school, Angela set off for the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York; but, impatient to start being a photographer, she ending up leaving after a couple of years. Soon after, she shot her first album cover for Eyehategod, and turned pro in 1998.

After years of freelancing, shooting everyone from Method Man to Rachel Weisz for magazines ranging from XXL to Jane, Angela took on the role of director of photography at the graffiti and pop culture magazine Mass Appeal, where she has been for over seven years. Now magazines come to her, writing up her openings in Women's Wear Daily and giving her multi-page features in Anthem and Strength magazines, for which she has also shot covers. She has also taken on advertising, shooting for the anti-tobacco campaign Truth and for etnies Girl’s spring 2006 ad campaign, as well as eight catalogs for Urban Outfitters. Angela shared gallery space with graffiti artists such as Shepard Fairey and Futura at her first show, entitled “True School,” in 2001. Her first solo show, curated by legendary designer Matt Owens, was in the spring of 2002 at the Riviera Gallery in Brooklyn.

In the spring of 2004, Angela traded her position as director of photography for special projects director of Mass Appeal, thus freeing up some time and allowing her to create her newest company, Killer of Giants. Representing image makers such as legendary skateboarding photographer Brian Gaberman, hip hop photographer Mike Schreiber and collage artist Bobby Puleo, alongside herself, Killer of Giants has only just begun. And with clients the likes of Weiden + Kennedy, Mountain Dew and Vibe magazine, Killer of Giants has nowhere to go but up.

Angela is currently so busy that she can't remember her own name, but whether trying to figure out how to get to Finland for her next feature in Revolver magazine or to Norway for the next metal fest, Angela continues to do right by Boatwrights, metal fans and photographers all over this great land and beyond.

Win a Year’s Supply of etnies Girl Shoes!

As etnies Girl’s Valentine’s Day gift to you, we’re running a new contest to give you the chance to win a year’s supply of etnies Girl shoes! One grand prize winner will be randomly selected to win 12 pairs of etnies Girl kicks, and two runners-up will each receive one pair of shoes. Enter by March 28, 2006, and get ready to make room in your closet! Good luck!

etnies Girl Skaters Sweep The Global Assault!

And the winner is…

Congratulations to Elissa Steamer, Evelien Bouilliart and Lauren Perkins for cleaning up at The Global Assault, which took place in Melbourne, Australia, over the weekend! etnies Girl’s finest took home first, second and third, respectively.

Elissa’s win secured her a spot in the men’s semi-finals, where she pulled out a seventh place finish. It wasn’t enough to advance her to the finals, but it was a commendable finish against some tough competition and ended up putting $500 in her pocket.

This year’s contest featured a newly revamped street course design with a massive 40-foot roll-in (10 feet higher than last year) and a 15-foot-2-inch vert quarter pipe. The girls wreaked carnage on the new course with an array of tricks in front of a capacity crowd. Highlights from Elissa’s run included backlips and kickflip front boards on the flatbar, nollies up the big Euro gap and ollies over the big rail.

Happy Birthday, Janna!

We’d like to wish a very happy birthday today to etnies Girl snowboarder and history-making X Games athlete Janna Meyen!

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, even better yet, add a link to your Web site or MySpace page. Make sure to leave your CORRECT 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 a little shy, you can also e-mail a paragraph describing why you should be our next etnies Girl, along with your name, age, address, phone number and 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

If we pick you, you’ll get featured on the site as an etnies Girl of the Month—and you’ll win a new pair of shoes of your choice to boot!

etnies Girl’s Travel Tips, Part II

First we told you how to make a flight more enjoyable with etnies Girl’s Travel Tips, Part I. But what if you can’t even find a flight you can afford to take? Not to worry. Here are etnies Girl’s failsafe ways to find a cheap ticket.

1. When to Search: Airlines release new fares at 12:01 a.m. (yes, one minute past midnight) on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Stay up late and log on to find deals.
2. Where to Look: Ticket prices vary wildly, so it’s best to look at multiple sites. Take some of the hassle out of the process by using Mobissimo, a travel search engine (sort of like Google for flights) that allows you to search all of the major domestic and international travel sites and airlines (plus dozens of others that are often overlooked) in one easy step.
3. When to Fly: Fly on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday for the best deals; better yet, include a Saturday stay over and your fare could drop another 25 percent.
4. When to Purchase: For domestic flights, buy your ticket at least seven days in advance; for international flights, give yourself 21 days.

We hope these tips help, and if you have any tips of your own, make sure to let us know in the blog. Happy travels from all of us at etnies Girl!

February’s Skate Team Report

Lauren at ASR: Grrr! Shecky, who’s behind her, doesn’t seem to notice anything out of the ordinary.

Elissa Steamer had quite the busy January! After the holidays, which she largely spent in Ft. Myers, Fla., she went to Colorado, San Diego and Arizona. She spent Jan. 9-11 in Keystone, Colo., for the Zumiez 100K event, which Zumiez holds yearly to reward its employees who sell more than $100,000 worth of gear throughout the year. Elissa went to the event last year, and had such a good time (i.e. played so much blackjack) that she was pretty excited when she was invited to go again this year. After the Zumiez event, she returned to San Francisco for a little over a week before heading down to San Diego for the ASR trade show, which took place Jan. 20-22. etnies is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2006, so the festivities were aplenty. On Friday night a party was held in etnies’ honor, and on Saturday two autograph signings were held, with Elissa taking part in the second one. Needless to say, etnies’ 20th birthday was celebrated throughout the weekend. Elissa flew back to San Francisco after the trade show, and a few days later headed out to Arizona to enjoy the good weather and get some skating done. She is currently in SF, and will be leaving again in about a week for the Global Assault contest happening in Australia. The winner of the girls’ contest gets a spot in the finals of the men’s contest, so a lot is at stake! Stay tuned for updates about how Elissa and the rest of the etnies crew does down under.

Elissa grew a sick ‘stache to keep warm in Colorado…

Lauren Perkins has been at home in Huntington Beach, Calif., lately, doing her schoolwork and trying to get ahead of herself so she doesn’t have to go crazy catching up when she returns from traveling. She has also been on a mission skating and finding time to get out and shoot some photos. She, like Elissa, was down at the ASR trade show in San Diego to take part in the etnies 20th anniversary celebration. In between the schoolwork, the skating and the trade show, Lauren has found quite a bit of time to come down to the etnies offices and give loads of feedback and input about our gear…in fact, she’ll have some special sample colorways on her feet soon, so keep your eyes peeled! She’ll be leaving next week for the contest in Australia, as well.

Evelien Bouilliart celebrated her Sweet 16 on January 30, as you may have read on the site. We love birthdays around here, so we’ll say it again—Happy Birthday, Evelien! Unfortunately, she has been a little under the weather so she didn’t feel the best on her birthday, but she still had a good time. Evelien, like Lauren, is back in school and has been concentrating on that as of late. She will also be flying to Australia next week for the contest. She already got a start to the contest year, and in quite the fashion, with a first place finish! The Pop! Session Winter Bash went down early last month, Jan. 6-8, to be exact, and Evelien won it with ease.

We’ll have updates on the contest in Australia in coming weeks…make sure to wish Elissa, Lauren and Evelien good luck in the blog!

etnies & Yellowcard Giveaway!

etnies and Yellowcard have joined forces on an incredible giveaway to celebrate the band's latest release, "Lights and Sounds," out now on Capitol Records! Many are calling it one of their finest records to date with the same high energy punk rock you have come to expect from the Yellowcard boys. They will be touring all spring, so keep an eye out!

The Grand Prize winner will receive an X Box, copy of EA Burnout, a pair of etnies shoes, subscription to TransWorld Skateboarding magazine, Freestyle watch and a copy of "Lights and Sounds."

The second prize winner will receive an Epiphone guitar, Coffin Case, a pair of etnies shoes, copy of EA Burnout, subscription to TransWorld Skateboarding magazine, Freestyle watch and a copy of "Lights and Sounds."

Three third prize winners will receive a pair of etnies shoes, copy of EA Burnout, subscription to TransWorld Skateboarding magazine, Freestyle watch and a copy of "Lights and Sounds."

The Bonus prize winner will receive a folding four-foot quarter pipe from Freshpark.

Enter now!

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