Natalie Porter
July 23rd, 2025
A lifelong skater and librarian, Natalie Porter has been pushing against boundaries both cultural and literal since 1995. In 2003, she wrote what is believed to be the first academic thesis on women in skateboarding. Now a columnist for Closer Skateboarding Magazine and an advisor to the Smithsonian Museum’s skateboarding board, she also founded the Womxn Skateboard History archive to honour the overlooked stories of women and non-binary skaters. In Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides: A History of Badass Women Skateboarders (ECW Press $26.95), Porter documents the grassroots resistance that shaped skateboarding’s inclusive evolution. Through interviews, zines and personal reflection, she celebrates the global communities who refused to stay invisible, despite an industry that rarely made space for them. Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides rewrites the narrative—one photocopied flyer and powerslide at a time. 9781770417922
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