No one said it better than Beyonce, girls certainly run the world! With stunning performances, women are certainly an underestimated force in the skate community. Names like Sky Brown, Lizzie Armanto and Elissa Steamer have become very popular in the skateboarding scene as some of the top girl skaters of our generation.
Sky Brown has countless achievements and is only 18 years old. Here's a little bit about her:
Olympics
- Tokyo 2020: Won bronze in women's park skateboarding at age 13, becoming the youngest individual Olympic medalist in 85 years and Team GB's youngest-ever Olympic medalist, finishing behind Japan's Sakura Yosozumi and Kokona Hiraki.
- Paris 2024: Won a second consecutive Olympic bronze medal in the women's park event.
World Championships
- Won bronze at the 2019 world championships, then became a two-time park world champion at the World Skateboarding Championships in 2023 and 2025.
- Won the World Skate São Paulo Park World Championship title again in March 2026.
- In 2023, she became the first skater from Great Britain to win a skateboarding world championship.
The second skater is going to be Lizzie Armanto:
Background
Elizabeth "Lizzie" Marika Armanto, born January 26, 1993, is a Finnish-American professional skateboarder specializing in park and transition, born in Santa Monica, California. She discovered skateboarding at 14 after following her younger brother to a skate park — he chipped a tooth and turned away from the ramps, but she couldn't stop.
World Cup dominance
She placed first in the Overall World Cup ranking (points race) for three consecutive years, from 2010 to 2012.
X Games
Won gold in the inagural women's skateboard park event at X games Barcelona in 2013, followed by a silver in 2016, and a bronze in 2019 in Minneapolis.
Another big name in the skate community is Elissa Steamer. She had a major impact on women in the sport, making her way into the major field in the early-2000s.
Background
Elissa Steamer was born July 31, 1975, in Fort Myers, Florida, and discovered skateboarding as a teenager in the late 1980s after initially being drawn to BMX.
Breaking into a male-dominated industry
Her first major sponsorship came from Toy Machine Skateboards in 1996, making her one of the first female skateboarders to join a major skateboarding team, and her groundbreaking video part in Toy Machine's "Welcome to Hell" (1996) cemented her reputation as a fearless, talented skater. She also became the first female skateboarder to compete in the X Games.
Impact on the female skate community specifically
- She was the first female skateboarder many young skaters had ever seen, and her presence in iconic skate videos and widespread media coverage played a crucial role in changing how society perceived women in skateboarding.
- Her career paved the way for greater representation of women in the sport, demonstrating that women could excel at the same level as men.
- She's continued to champion gender equality and greater representation across action sports, collaborating with brands and mentoring aspiring skateboarders worldwide.
- Before her rise, female skaters often struggled for basic recognition - her achievements helped open doors for the generations that followed.
The Next Skater is Poppy Starr Olsen. She is known for her innovative tricks, and her presentations about bridging the gap between skateboarding and art. Here is a little more about her:
Background
Poppy was born in Newcastle, Australia, in 2000, and was first handed a skateboard at age eight. She won her first skating contest just a year later, and became a familiar face at Bondi skate park after moving there. Despite initially thinking skateboarding was "just for guys," she never looked back once she picked up a board.
Rapid rise
- Became world champion in the over-14 age group in 2014 and the over-15 age group in 2015.
- Was recognized as one of the top 12 most influential female skaters in the world at age 13, and turned professional at 16.
- Won the Women's Vertical World Championships in 2017.
X Games
- Won the professional division of the Vans Combi Classic in 2016 and became the first female Australian to compete in the Summer X Games.
- Won bronze in women's park at X Games Minneapolis 2017.
Olympics
- Named to Australia's inaugural Olympic skateboarding team for the Tokyo 2020 Games. She became the first Australian to make an Olympic skateboarding final, finishing 5th in the women's park final.
- Reached a career-high world ranking of 4th in June 2021.
The final skater we will be featuring is Leticia Bufoni. She is a skater out of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and quickly gained the nickname "Princess of Skateboarding". Here is a little about her:
Background
- Born: April 13, 1993, São Paulo, Brazil
- Started skating: Age 9–10, self-taught, trained largely alone; father initially disapproved (once broke her board), later became a supporter
- Big break: Traveled to LA at 14 to compete in the 2007 X Games
X Games
- Six-time X Games gold medalist
- Five-time Guinness World Record holder
- Most decorated female Summer X Games athlete of all time (12 total medals)
- Set two world records at the 2021 X Games in one event
Street League Skateboarding (SLS)
- First female skater to sign with Nike SB (2015)
- Won the inaugural SLS Women's Super Crown World Championship (2015)
Recognition
- Forbes "Most Powerful Women in International Sports" (2018)
- Forbes Brazil Under 30 list
- Starred in Nike SB's first women's-focused video, "GIZMO" (2019)
- Widely regarded as skateboarding's "first female superstar"
Although this list is influential, it is not a complete list of all the female skaters out there. With the focus these girls, and many others bring to females in the skate community, more and more girls are becoming inspired to pick up a board and hit the park. It is becoming more common to see women in local skate scenes, which is a much needed thing! Even here, on Oak Island NC, we have several women at the park consistently.