“The equalizer is the skateboard. That’s what brings us all together and that’s why we can all coexist.” - DGK's Coach Donald Cooley Here’s a look inside jkwonla, a place where all skaters are welcome and the only rule is the Golden one.
Skateboarding in the U.S. has been dominated by white dudes. Lately women, people of color and LGBTQ people are creating room for themselves.This new chapter in her life owes to yet another development in skating — the influence of social media and the “meet-up.”
A few shy, nervous beginners usually show up at King’s sessions and she gravitates toward them, happy to start slowly, holding their hands as they grow accustomed to standing on a board. “There are usually like 60 people minimum,” she says. “The majority feel very comfortable being around women and nonbinary or queer people.”
Many of the Aunt Skatie members are beginners, sticking to basics at first, riding flat spaces and easy obstacles. Isabelle Sherman ponders trying the perimeter, negotiating the up-and-down of ramps in each corner.“It’s just so much harder than it looks.”Aunt Skatie crew leader Maggie Bowen, left, and Ava Van Vechten check out the scene at South Pasadena Skate Park.