Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides

“A take-everywhere-and-read-it book that is an accomplished and accessible piece of research. Each chapter — which showcases the personal reflections, anecdotes, and backstories of remarkable women — is a banger. All thriller, no filler. Natalie Porter shreds through the grip-taped ceiling, which has often held back or obscured women’s contributions in skateboarding.” — Dr. Indigo Willing, sociologist and lead researcher of Skate, Create, Educate and Regenerate and co-author of Skateboarding, Power and Change
“With sharp research and a keen eye for the overlooked change-maker, Natalie Porter masterfully presents stories that document the fact that women have always been skateboarding, despite being routinely left out of the narrative. Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides entertains and enlightens — a must read.” — Betsy Gordon, curator of Ramp It Up: Skateboarding Culture in Native America and co-author of Four Wheels and a Board: The Smithsonian History of Skateboarding
“Reading Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides grounded me in a history I never knew I was part of. Natalie Porter has revealed just how many women came before me who built scenes, shaped culture, and pushed boundaries. This book reclaims a legacy that was always there but had been buried or erased. Thank you, Natalie, for giving us back our past and lighting the way forward.” — Annie Guglia, Olympic skateboarder
“Girl Gangs, Zines and Powerslides pulls together a vast and moving history of badass women and non-traditional skateboarders. Natalie Porter uses her librarian’s eye, skater’s resolve, and a scrappy DIY ethos to painstakingly gather and share the untold stories of these sporting icons, who span generations and continents, and are foundational to skateboarding as we know it. This book is a testament to the power of community and connection, and it shows us just how much meaning can be packed into a few sheets of Xeroxed paper.” — Cole Nowicki, author of Right, Down + Circle, Laser Quit Smoking Massage, and the newsletter Simple Magic
“In Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides, Natalie Porter embarks on a deeply personal quest to archive the marginalized history of skateboarding’s women and non-binary figures. Porter documents a thriving DIY subculture with tenderness and obvious admiration, and it’s thrilling to watch the early caution of her research yield to an obsessiveness and determination that are characteristic of her subjects. A monumentally inspiring book.” — Kyle Beachy, author of The Most Fun Thing: Dispatches from a Skateboard Life
“One could easily pick up Natalie Porter’s Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides as an encyclopedia of important underrepresented skateboarders, or as a case study for building a public archive with careful librarian skills, and in either case, be perfectly pleased. But beyond these technical achievements, a careful reader will quickly find that this is a sacred text; an elegant dance of a skateboarder, independent scholar, and concerned citizen struggling between subcultural acceptance and rejection, actively building a globally renowned online profile, all while undergoing a transformative journey of self-love.” — Portable Grey Review
“Reading this book it is evident that Porter embodies what it means to be a skateboarder—driven by passion, perseverance, and a desire to forge her own narrative. Recognizing and celebrating womxn’s contributions is something she had to actively seek out, as they are often absent from mainstream skateboarding histories. Her dedication reflects the broader reality that true community and progress in skateboarding arise from individual effort, passion, and the refusal to accept barriers as permanent.” — WithItGirl
“Porter has written a history of bad-ass women skateboarders, but more than that she has told a story of perseverance and love.” — The BC Review

Natalie Porter lives in Powell River on the traditional territory of the Tla’amin First Nation, began skateboarding in 1995, and works for the British Columbia Library Association. She is the founder of @womxnsk8history on Instagram and the online archive Womxn Skateboard History and is a subject expert for the Smithsonian’s skateboarding advisory board.

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