We were lucky to catch up with Cindy Whitehead recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Cindy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

When I started the movement, Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word, in 2013, it was because I could clearly see that there was still insufficient support for girls and women in skateboarding. I looked back at my pro skateboarding career and saw so many similarities from then to now and thought, “Why haven’t women in skateboarding become more visible, and why are there still so few?” So I made it a bit of a mission to create projects and situations that would shine a light on these amazing skateboarders, from demos at Randy’s Donuts in Inglewood on Go Skateboarding Day, to publishing the first hardback book on female skateboarders and placing huge billboards with these skaters on them on Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles and again in Times Square in NYC. Creating a website where every day we can highlight what is going on with these skaters is also important. All of these projects create visuals that are pushed out into the world and show people that girls skate too. Our collaboration projects with male-dominated skate companies also help bring in funding to allow us to do things like this.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I was born and raised in beautiful Hermosa Beach, a small beach town near Los Angeles. I grew up skateboarding down by the beach, creating makeshift ramps out of stolen plywood with my friends, and later we all started gravitating to the new skateparks that were opening. The half-pipe at Skateboard World in Torrance became my new home. Later Marina del Rey Skatepark became my second home – with its amazing pools, it was the perfect place to grind coping, learn inverts, and push boundaries. At age fifteen, I was featured in a skateboard magazine as the centerfold and two-page article – riding a plexiglass glasswork half-pipe. I started competing more and more with a handful of other girls from CA in contests for pool and half-pipe and loved the feeling I got when I was skating and pushing myself. I turned pro at age sixteen and, at seventeen, was sent on a skateboard tour back east to some of the best skateparks in the world – such as Apple and Cherry Hill. I was sponsored by Sims Skateboards and also Puma Tennis Shoes. Later as skateparks started being closed down (due to lawsuits) we went back to making ramps and skating in empty backyard pools. Fast forward to 2016 – I was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame for my past skateboard history and my work for girls and women in skate nowadays. My past (and current history) sits in two museums – The Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., and The Hermosa Beach Museum in my hometown. My movement, Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word, would not be here without all these people over the years who helped me when I was skateboarding – now it’s about giving back to this current generation.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When we were getting ready to publish the girls skateboarding book “It’s Not About Pretty,” I had a publishing company that was on my “dream” list. I contacted them through a good friend whose surf book they had pushed a few years back. I sent off the intro email and expected that I’d have to follow up at least a few times in the coming weeks. In reality, hours later, I received an email letting me know that they did not feel that the subject matter (a photography book on girls and womxn skateboarders) would be a big seller and they were going to “pass.” I was super stoked to get this email so quickly. While it was a “NO,” it was a fast answer, allowing me to move on quickly and figure out what to do next to get this book published. We ended up self-publishing and had the book printed in Korea – it turned out beautifully, and we made the investment back in the first thirty days, which allowed us to funnel the proceeds directly back into our female skate projects. So the lesson is that being told NO allows you to pivot and move quickly to find a YES.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

The mission of Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word is to shine a light on these skaters, to tell their stories – visually and in writing – and often via phone, and to help connect companies in and outside of skateboarding with these talented female skaters so they can continue doing what they love. It’s about finding funding for contests halfway around the world, having enough skate decks when you go through 2-4 a month, or sneakers when you burn through those quickly during skate sessions. Parents are taking time to shuttle these young girls to the skatepark daily so they can skate and do what they love. Our mission is to help ensure they are seen and supported in any way we can. We are so lucky that over the years, we have had wonderful companies step up and help and believe in these skaters. With skateboarding now part of the Olympics, it helps outside companies to see the value in stepping up. The ultimate goal is for these skateboarders to have support to get to where they want to go.      

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.girlisnota4letterword.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/girlisnota4letterword/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GirlisNotA4LetterWord
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sportsstylist/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/GirlisNOTa4LW
• Other: https://www.shopgirlisnota4letterword.com/

Image Credits
All Photos by Ian Logan. Skaters: Brooke Benton, Mazel Alegado, Klara Kermoade, Anna Reynolds-Madsen, Briel Weingartner, Maya Kenny, Katelyn West, Mayzie Feher, Evette Halitzka, Kaiya Daniels, Quinne Daniels