Rollin’ With the Homies: Creating Community with UO Girls Skate
The rhythmic sound of skateboard wheels has followed me for my entire life, from playgrounds to shopping mall parking lots and finally to my college campus. It's a comfort to me, like a familiar friend. It’s a steady cadence only broken momentarily by the silence before a trick, followed by a crash of sneakers, elbows, wood, and metal. To me, the tune of plastic wheels grazing against the pavement is emblematic of the complexities of adolescence. It’s controversial, it's iconic, and it fills my ears as I watch the University of Oregon Girls Skate Club glide across the concrete and blue metal ramps of Trainsong Skate Park.
It's five-thirty on Thursday evening, and the clouds are hanging low above suburban Eugene. Despite the lengthy commute from campus and the looming threat of rain, girls arrive in groups of two and three, skateboards in hand and baggy jeans on deck. They waste no time setting up a small speaker, and soon 90s R&B and indie rock fill the humid air. They don their plastic helmets and quickly hop on their boards, but not before first offering me a board of my own. I decline because I’m not here to skate. I’m here to listen and learn from the group making waves in the UO skating community and all over campus.
How It All Started:
The heart and soul of the club radiates from its founder and president, freshman Lulu Bond. Her magnetic energy and ferociously supportive attitude are famous among the growing number of members. Her arms and legs are covered in bruises, which she smiles upon proudly like a soldier touting her battle scars. When asked about her skating origins, she reveals to me that despite growing up around the sport via her older brother, she only began skating seriously in the last year. This surprised me, as her confidence and level of skill seem to hail from a much longer career. Despite describing herself as “Not a joiner,” her practice soon turned into a passion, one that she wanted to share with her community. And thus, UOGS was born, with Bond at the front.
Things started slowly, as roommates and friends trickled in. But it all changed when a “fit check” Instagram Reel from the official UOGS account went viral, now tracking over 24,000 likes and nearly half a million views. Overnight, the club went from underground to mainstream, kickstarting a rapid growth in both membership and structure. According to Bond, “It gave us a lot of outreach that I wasn’t expecting to have, and so it ended up growing super fast. I’ve had a ton of people come up to me and say, ‘I came because I saw that reel.’ They’d seen the edits and thought it looked fun. And that’s what brought them in.” The club quickly grew to two sessions a week at multiple skate parks around Eugene. Now, they’re at over 30 members, with 15-20 skaters attending every session, rain or shine.
Breaking Down The Barriers:
Skating isn't just a hobby or a sport, it’s the basis for entire music genres, fashion styles, and hotbeds of culture in almost every corner of the United States. Its embrace of all things young and laidback resonates with people of all ages, races, and identities. But for such a widespread phenomenon, skating can be highly exclusive. Not only is it a male-dominant lifestyle, but those who are not immediately supernaturally talented are often criticized for their lack of skills, or called “posers.” This toxic skate culture is often what deters people from picking up the hobby, especially women and girls. UO Girls Skate serves as the antidote, a haven for those who simply want to try it out without pressure or criticism. The club welcomes beginners and experienced skaters alike. They also give out loaner boards and helmets to those without their own, a practice that empowers inclusion and breaks down the barriers commonly associated with starting to skate. Even those who do not identify as female are welcome, as long as they support the overall message of empowering women in skating.
Between interviews, I’m given the chance to watch the club in action as they drop in one by one. I watch as their apprehensive faces push forward at the encouragement of their peers, dip down off the ledge and into the bowl, and pour their souls into their trick. Some execute them flawlessly, flying through the air and making it look as easy as breathing. Some end up in a heap of braceleted arms and scuff-marked legs on the concrete. Still, they show no signs of discouragement, only relieved smiles and laughter. I quickly learn that it doesn’t matter whether they were perfect or not. Fly or fall,They were still met with loud cries of celebration from their peers. Their joyful voices fill the empty space and wrap each other in support, like emotional bubble wrap. This was exactly the vision Bond had for the club. She says to me:
“What I wanted was an environment where we have this community of girls who all are learning and either have a lot of skill or had never really been on a board before. And everyone supports everyone's wins, and everyone is excited to show up and be there for everyone else.”
It’s raw, it’s real, and it’s beautiful to watch.
Grace “Precious” Miller and Alexa Reynolds, members and roommates of Bond, have found a community in UO Girls Skate. Both are new to the hobby, and they started within the month and a half that the club has been in action. When asked why they show up every week, each girl had an impactful answer. To Miller, skating has been a helpful reprieve for her mental health. She explains to me: “When I first started skating, I was in a pretty dark place. I stopped for a long time because skating reminded me of that. But Lulu told me, “F**k that, we’re going to make new memories. She helped me find a healthy way to reconnect with skating.” This captures the very essence of the club, as well as the powerful kindness of Bond as a president. Reynolds echoes this sentiment, saying, “Lulu taught me how to snowboard this year, and she was such a great teacher that I knew skating would be another fun thing to try. It’s something I’d always thought looked cool but never had the opportunity or courage to start. This club gave me that chance.”
What’s Next:
What they have built is beautiful, but it’s far from over. Bond has big dreams for the club. She stresses that their immense progress is not the end of the road, but a foundation upon which to build a future. She plans to expand the leadership of the club and bring more like-minded girls on board. Furthermore, she hopes to use the club's emerging status to fundraise for a field trip to Portland, on which they could visit skateparks around the city. Bond also mentioned that a larger goal of hers would be to work with the Portland Chapter of Skate Like A Girl, a nonprofit organization that empowers young female and trans skaters through workshops and camps in Portland, Seattle, and the Bay Area. Their mission aligns with the values upheld by UO Girls Skate, and this could be a powerful and meaningful collaboration.
What I remember most about my evening with the UO Girls Skate Club is not the precision of their tricks, their stylish outfits, or their social media presence. It was the palpable sense of community that beamed from their supportive smiles and constant words of affirmation for one another. It was the kindness they showed not only to me and Align Magazine photographer Eliot Correll but to every person who crosses their path. And when someone did fall down, there was no doubt that a community of strong, bruised-armed girls with hands outstretched were there to pick them back up, and try again.
For information regarding seshes, policies, and updates, visit the UOGS Instagram account @uogirlsskate.
Resources:
Photos by Eliot Correll - instagram: @elucyblue
UOGS Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uogirlsskate/
Skate Like a Girl Website: https://www.skatelikeagirl.com/pdx.html.