Congrats to the Regular footers! We killed it!

etnies Girl had a ton of great representation at the GvR Dawn of the Shred Jam. Elissa Steamer, Lauren Perkins, Evelien Bouilliart, Rachel Reinhard, Lorena Lima, Louisa Menke, Stefanie Thomas and Alize Montes (bowl). Four of the top eight finalists were etnies riders! Go, girls! Also congrats to our second place winner and the newest etnies Girl flow rider, Rachel Reinhard out of Colorado! This was Rachel's first world cup skateboarding contest and competed like a pro! Great job Rachel! Thanks to all the girls that came out to represent.

On the surf front, Congrats to AUS rider Sally Fitzgibbons for giving it her all in the NAB Beachley Classic last week. She won the trials to compete in the contest and definitely gave Beachley a run for her money. Also big ups to Leilani Gryde for getting invited to compete and ending up quite well among the top WCT women's surfers!

Long time no Team Update! Fortunately, we’re about to remedy that problem. Check out what the team has been up to lately, and look forward to much more regular updates…

Elissa Steamer has been traveling and skating, skating and traveling. Since being added to the Zero pro team, she has been blowing up all over the place. She had a close call when she rolled her ankle back in January but, from the sound of it, things are fine now. Expect Elissa to be on the map bigger than ever this year!

Lauren Perkins was featured in the May 6 edition of West, the L.A. Times’ weekend magazine. If you haven’t already read the article, check it out! Right before that article came out, she went to Coachella for a little music and fun. (Read Lauren’s Coachella Journal.) On a personal front, Lauren has been using her time to attend REAL SCHOOL! She enrolled back in Huntington Beach High School to finish out her senior year, and get back into the social life (read: go to prom). We never knew LP was so nostalgic! Even with all of her time spent in school, Lauren still managed to make it to the etnies offices to do some testing for a new girls’-specific skate shoe coming out in June called The NIXX. She was the first female to be suited up (just like they do for video games), black suit and white balls galore! We won’t post those pictures or she would be mortified, so you will just have to imagine. Other than that, Perkins has been skating as much as she can when she’s not busy with school…which is almost done! We can’t wait to be there when she graduates in her cap and gown come June.

Evelien Bouilliart has been keeping busy with school and doing a bit of traveling in the past few months for the etnies Wooden Waffles tour in Belgium. You also might not recognize her, because she dyed her hair black. (Yes, we like to keep you updated on all of the important info. Hair is important. That’s her above in the dark hair and shades.)

Janna Meyen had been training super hard in Keystone, Colo., for X Games 11 when she rolled her ankle a few days before qualifiers. It ended up being pretty serious—she tore two tendons and received some heavy bone bruising on the bottom of her tibia. Unfortunately, she was not able to compete, but she still attended to cheer the rest of the girls on. She also did some commentating for ESPN during the women’s slopestyle competition. She has been keeping up with her physical therapy, yoga and swimming, and is working toward getting her shred back on. She’ll be coaching this summer at High Cascade along with Wille Yli-Luoma and Leanne Pelosi. If you haven’t already signed up, visit the High Cascade site to secure your spot.

Leanne Pelosi (AKA “Party Pelosi”) has been keeping quite busy, per usual. This past season, she started working on yet another film project, Runway Films. The film production company will have its first release this September that showcases a handful of the best female shredders in the world. On the contest front, she placed first at Whistler’s Coca Cola Rail Jam last month. This summer, Leanne will be coaching at High Cascade and MGT Girls Session.

Tarah Gieger placed second at the WMA opener at Glen Helen on May 12. Congrats, Tarah! Also, if you don’t already know, Tarah is on the etnies Girl surf team, as well as representing moto…

Sarah Whitmore took home third place at the WMA opener at Glen Helen. Congrats, Sarah! This is even more impressive considering she underwent surgery to her shoulder a mere six months ago.

Stacey Mulligan got through the long, cold winter in Pittsburgh with her newfound love of snowboarding. She said she had been missing out because “snowboarding is the funnest thing ever.” We’re sure Leanne and Janna would agree with her. Other than that, Stacey has been traveling to Cleveland a lot to ride a crazy mountain bike park, she graduated from school in April and has been accepted to go to grad school in Marbella, Spain, where she will be heading in July. Congrats, Stacey!

Nina Buitrago has been doing quite a bit of traveling this year. She traveled to Cleveland in mid-January for an all-girls jam session. She was trying to recover from a crash she had the day before, but you would never be able to tell from the photos she sent. After her trip to Cleveland, Nina headed out on a 20-hour drive to Texas. She stopped in St. Louis at a friend’s house to rest for a few hours, and made there just in time to pick up her two friends from France at the airport in Dallas. They showed her such an amazing time while she was in France after the etnies 20 year party in Paris back in June that it was only fair to show them around. Nina lived in Texas last winter so she knew all of the good spots and parks. In March, Nina headed to Canada for the Toronto BMX Jam, which she won. Well done, Nina!

Serena Brooke (AKA “Sauce”) has been quite the traveler in the past several months, flying from surf training in Australia, all the way to Los Angeles to shoot for Fuel TV, and then back to Australia to compete in the Midori Pro at Newcastle, where she placed fifth and took home $850. While in Los Angeles, she spent time in Malibu, although the surf was not the best. Currently, Serena is keeping herself very busy on the WQS Tour.

Leilani Gryde turned 20 on May 1. Happy belated birthday, Leilani! She was also ranked sixth on Surfer magazine’s “The New Hot 100” (May issue) and just appeared on FUEL TV’s “The Daily Habit” on May 28. Leilani is currently following the WQS Tour along with teammate Serena Brooke.

Mary Osborne is featured in the new Robert August film, “The Endless Journey Continues,” and attended the premiere in Huntington Beach and a screening in Encinitas this month. In February, she attended the Robert August Surf & Turf charity event in Costa Rica, as she does every year. This year, however, she flew down a few days before the event with Robert and Sam August to help Free Wheel Chair Mission pass out 1,100 wheelchairs to disabled people in San Jose, Costa Rica’s capital city. Free Wheelchair Mission has distributed over 200,000 wheelchairs worldwide, including in areas of extreme need such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Robert, Sam and Mary participated in the distribution of these mobility-giving chairs, as well as the narration of a series of short form video documentaries about this special day. Mary says it was an experience that she will never forget and that she felt honored to be a part of the distribution. One by one, chairs were quickly being assembled by charity workers as family and friends of the disabled waited patiently to receive their gift of hope. Tears filled her eyes as family members carried their loved ones into the building and were able to wheel them out. Thanks for giving back, Mary!

That’s about it for now! Until next time…

At the beginning of the month, Elissa Steamer, Lauren Perkins and Evelien Bouilliart traveled to New York City for an etnies Girl photo shoot, which took place over several days in multiple locations throughout the city. The trip culminated with the first of three parties etnies will be holding this year to celebrate our 20th anniversary. We’re sure you read all about the party already, so we’ll spare you the details. Let’s just say that an etnies party with a mini ramp on the roof of our new SoHo showroom spells G-O-O-D T-I-M-E-S. Let’s just leave it at that.

Since the business in NYC, here is the latest…

Elissa at the top of the Empire State Building

Elissa Steamer is somewhere over the Atlantic as this is being written. From New York, she headed to her hometown of Ft. Myers, Fla., to kick it with some family and friends before heading to Barcelona, Spain, to do some shredding in arguably the best city for skating…as well as to have more of the aforementioned G-O-O-D T-I-M-ES. She met up with etnies riders Arto Saari, Ali Boulala and Eric Fletcher, and etnies staff photographer Oliver Barton, as well as Flip Skateboards team manager and filmer extraordinaire Ewan Bowman. She was there for about 10 days, and from what we’ve heard the trip was a success. Nice one, Elissa! When she gets back to San Francisco, she’ll probably be taking a few days to adjust, before getting back in the streets to get more photos and footage.

Lauren Perkins has been at home in Huntington Beach, Calif., skating and doing schoolwork since returning from New York. Volcom just finished their new training facility, and Lauren has been spending quite a bit of time there.

Evelien Bouilliart came out to Southern California after the New York trip to visit with her board sponsor, Element Skateboards, and to do some skating at some SoCal spots. She ended up rolling her ankle the second day here, which she wasn’t too happy about, as she had plans to destroy some very popular spots…none of which have even been touched by a girl yet. Next time Evelien, next time! Right now, she is at home in Belgium, skating everyday and going to school.

That’s about it for now. Until next time…

What have etnies Girl shredders Janna Meyen, Leanne Pelosi and Alexis Waite been up to this month? So glad you asked!

Janna “Banana” Meyen has been working her boo-tay off this spring! She’s been focusing 120 percent (that’s right, 10 percent more than 110 percent!) on her video part with the Volcom crew. She spent the last three weeks in Alaska slaying it. Make sure to check out her video part in the new, highly anticipated Volcom movie, which is scheduled to be released this fall.

Leanne Pelosi (aka “Party Pelosi”) just never stops! She’s been all over the globe this year: Canada, Europe, Japan, New York City, Vermont, Southern California—you name it. She’s probably one of the busiest shredders out there. After her world tour, her etnies/ThirtyTwo team manager, Eddie Lee, says she’ll next be seen sitting in the front row of a fashion show or maybe pounding some fruity drinks somewhere on a tropical island. Wouldn’t that be nice.

Alexis Waite (aka “Sexi Lexi”) has been chillin’ in Salt Lake City, Utah, after traveling back and forth from state to state and abroad to Europe. She recently returned from Switzerland, where she had been to compete in the Roxy Chicken Jam. Lexi placed eighth—not bad at all, especially considering she had been in NYC for the etnies Girl photo shoot and some team bonding (read: partying) before flying straight to Europe. She’s currently getting ready to head to Mammoth for the Ms. Superpark session; shortly after that, she’ll be heading to the etnies/ThirtyTwo headquarters to work with the R&D crew and strike a pose for the camera. Lexi has also been concentrating on filming with Misschief Films, so be sure to check out the fruits of her labor sometime this fall.

That’s it for now! Until next time…

Leanne

Since the last snow team report, Janna Meyen made history, becoming the first athlete ever in X Games history to fourpeat! Lately she has been concentrating on filming with the Volcom crew, and she is currently on the road hitting up the backcountry. She reports that she’s having a blast and will continue to follow the snow. She’s also getting ready for an Alaska trip in early April. It will be her first Heli experience, so she’s pretty pumped.

Leanne Pelosi and Alexis Waite have been on a serious mission to get the goods as well. They were seen a few weeks ago at the Legendary Mt. Baker Banked Slalom and then shortly after that, they drove up to Whistler to get some backcountry shredding in. They are both currently in Tahoe for the Vans Cup. Shortly after that, Leanne will head to Japan for her first time with the K2 crew to terrorize Tokyo and Akihabara. Good luck, Leanne, and make sure to bring lots of oatmeal! As for Lexi, she will continue her filming journey with Misschief, probably somewhere in Tahoe.

To see more photos from Leanne and Alexis’ Whistler trip, visit the Photo Gallery.

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!

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.

Janna Meyen is already gathering footage for her part in the Volcom movie. She's been at it since Baker opened up early last month. Right now, she’s somewhere out in the backcountry filming and bagging shots. Way to go, Janna!

Up, up and away!

Leanne Pelosi and Alexis Waite just returned from a five day road trip and photo shoot up the California Coast with the etnies Girl team last week. Read about it in the Team Journals section of the site to find out about the random spots they stopped in to cause some havoc. This week, they’re shredding Park City, Utah, to practice for the Chicken Jam going down this weekend. Good luck, ladies!

In other news, make sure to check out Leanne Pelosi in the winter issue of Salt Magazine. She's been on fire lately and has been getting tons of coverage. She will be doing an interview with ESPN The Magazine right after the Chicken Jam and she also has an upcoming interview with Snowboard Canada. We also just learned that she won Female Rider of the Year from Snowboarder Magazine! Congratulations, “Party” Pelosi!

That's about it for now...

Keep checking back for more news!

Here’s a quick update on what Elissa, Lauren and Evelien have been up to this month…

Elissa Steamer has been at home in San Francisco, Calif., since the etnies GvR and Push, the etnies Girl Jam contests in October. She’s been skating pretty much everyday (weather permitting), finding time to golf and enjoying some downtime. She’ll be heading to Southern California soon for an etnies Girl team photo shoot. The photo shoot, which is scheduled for Dec. 5-9, will be a road trip in the etnies RV that will take the girls from the etnies headquarters in Lake Forest up to San Francisco. Lauren Perkins will also be on the shoot, as will girls from the snow, surf, motocross and BMX teams.

Speaking of Lauren, she’s been at home in Huntington Beach, Calif., for awhile now, as there haven’t been any contests lately and she hasn’t had any other travel plans. She’s just been keeping herself busy with school and finding time to skate whenever she’s caught up with her schoolwork. As mentioned, she will be on the etnies Girl team photo shoot road trip next month, before enjoying some time at home for the holidays.

Evelien Bouilliart has been at home in Belgium taking care of her school commitments before she gets a big break for Christmas…only a couple more weeks to go, Eve! Outside of school, she has found some time to skate—mainly at the indoor skatepark near her house, since the weather has been pretty cold in Belgium. School, skating and getting rid of her nagging injuries (ankles, especially) are what she has planned for the next couple of months.

Keep checking the site for updates and photos from the etnies Girl team photo shoot road trip, and Happy Thanksgiving from the skate team!

Elissa Steamer, Lauren Perkins, Evelien Bouilliart and flow riders Jessie Van Roechoudt, Kenna Gallagher and Stefanie Thomas were all at the etnies Skatepark of Lake Forest over the weekend for the etnies GvR (Goofy Vs. Regular) contest weekend blowout. The GvR weekend’s festivities included the final event in the Push, the etnies Girl Jam contest series on Saturday, Oct. 22, which is why the girls were in town. Elissa ended up in third place, Evelien in fourth, Lauren in fifth, Jessie in seventh, and Kenna placed eighth. Congratulations to all of them on a successful weekend!

Elissa Steamer signing autographs at GvR for her fans…

Elissa flew back to San Francisco on Monday. She’ll be up in SF for the next month or so just skating and doing her thing.

Lauren is busy with schoolwork and even more important things, like figuring out what she’s going to be for Halloween! Hopefully we’ll get some photos—you’ll just have to check back to find out.

Evelien flew back to Belgium on Sunday night, while the GvR contest was finishing up. It was a quick trip (three nights only) because she had to return home for school.

Jessie will be in the Southern California area for a couple of weeks skating and trying to plan out an art show she has been working on for awhile.

Kenna also headed back up to San Francisco after the weekend. Like Lauren and Evelien, she had to get back to her schoolwork (the only difference is that Kenna is in college, not high school).

Stefanie is back at home in Long Beach, Calif., skating everyday to accumulate footage and photos.

That’s it for now…check back soon for more team updates.