Arianne Phillips

Arianne Phillips Instagram – My amazing cousin ♥️♥️
………:
#Repost @womxnsk8history
Michelle Kolar-Scott @shellyg61 from Hermosa Beach was a freestyle skater, taking up skateboarding in 1973. She was interviewed in 2016 by Lorrie Palmos in a fantastic feature for ‘Girls Who Ride’ which included photos of Michelle ripping up the curbs and throwing down kickflips! Michelle’s twin brother, Michael also skated and surfed. The siblings received a “Black Knight from Arnold’s hardware store in downtown Hermosa. It had clay wheels… Then my bro made me a homemade board in his woodshop class at Pier Avenue Jr. High in 1974.”
The twins skated for Juicy Lucy’s (who sold slurpees on the Strand), then Tai Stiks, E.T. Surfboards, and “Cindy [Whitehead] got me sponsored by Puma and then Shreddi Repas got me sponsored on Sunspot Wheels.” While her skateboarding buddies were mostly guys, Michelle was relieved when she met Cindy @sportsstylist around Hermosa Pier. She also skated with @dede_calkins , @vicki_vickers_sk8r and @laurathornhillcaswell and Debi Eldridge of the Unity team was an inspiration.
In 1979, Michelle placed 2nd at the Oceanside freestyle event for “Independent Girls” but the highlight was winning her division in San Diego. “I beat the best, freestyle amateur girl at the time. I can’t remember the year… I remember @perwelinder saying to me on the way home, ‘You just won the nationals.’ That stuck in my head…” In an interview with Cindy in 1980, Michelle expressed frustration about not receiving any press for her win – “they didn’t even print my name or anything. They blew it!” To go to contests, Michelle would work full-time and pay for the travel herself.
Michelle chose to focus on surfing and slowly left the skate scene. It’s too bad because street skating took over in the 80s and Michelle certainly had those skills. At the time of her 2016 interview, Michelle was the Team Manager for Hotline Wetsuits, taking nature and surf / skate photography. In regard to women’s skateboarding: “I love where it’s going now and seeing that it’s evolved and that it will keep evolving!! Super Stoked. It puts a big smile on my face.”
#MichelleKolar #skateboardhistory #freestyleskater #skateboardlegend | Posted on 10/Apr/2024 00:29:08