6 Must-Know LGBTQIA Skaters Who Are Changing The Game
If you try to Google “LGBTQIA skateboarders,” you’ll only find a slim picking of articles that highlight the LGBTQIA skateboarding community, so we thought we’d change that. We scoured the internet and rounded up a list of badass skaters so that you wouldn’t have to. So if you’ve been searching for some cool queer skateboarders to look up to, look no further.
Here’s a list of 6 LGBTQIA skaters and skate collectives who we think are changing the game:
1. Kane Caples @kaneacaples
Los Angeles-based non-binary skateboarder Kane Caples is making waves both online and off. Their TikToks quickly took off a couple of years ago, and Caples has since then been featured in Vanity Fair and Thrasher Magazine. Through their TikTok videos and involvement as a rider in the queer, POC-owned skate collective There Skateboards, Caples hopes to amplify the voices and stories of queer skaters who often go unheard.
You can watch Caples do their thing here.
2. Briana King @brianaking_
“Queer skateboarding created a space where it’s okay to be yourself,” said model and skateboarder Briana King. Her social media makes it clear that she lives and breathes skateboarding and that she’s all about helping other queer women learn to skate and feel liberated in a traditionally male-dominated space.
The LA-born skater credits the support she’s found at her queer skate meetups for giving her the courage to help empower other queer, femme-presenting skaters. Helping other girls find their authentic selves through skating is at the core of King’s movement. She said it best when she said, “I’m there for their first ollies and kickflips.”
Follow Briana’s Instagram to stay up to date on her moves and meetups.
3. Jeane @jeanesfeels
Jeane is a trans, nonbinary skater who uses TikTok to showcase their tricks and share how skateboarding has helped pull them out of depressive episodes. Jeane is changing the game by creating a space online for other LGBTQIA skaters to gain inspiration and be reminded that doing what you love is an act of resistance in and of itself. So follow along Jeane’s come up and tap into their happy place here.
4. Jeffrey Cheung
Jeffrey Cheung is the founder of Unity, a printing press and skateboard company. Cheung is a queer skater, yes, but he’s also an artist who started his company to celebrate other queer, trans people, and people of color’s contributions to music, art, skateboarding, and more. Unity was birthed out of Cheung’s want to establish a safe space for himself and his queer friends, and now more and more people are joining the collective.
“When queer, trans, and people of color simply exist visibly, are active in their communities, and take up public space, they can change the narrative both in and outside of skateboarding,” stated Cheung. This multitalented LGBTQIA advocate and skateboarder is definitely one to watch.
5. Baltimore Queer Skate @queerskatebmore
This queer skate group is run by a young group of LGBTQ+ skaters who founded the group to create a safe space centered around trans and queer BIPOC skaters. This queer group does more than just your average meet-ups, too. They’ve also hosted free educational trans ally training for their fellow skaters, and they’re also regularly posting tips and videos to help beginner skaters.
Baltimore Queer Skate is definitely out here changing the game as a community of queer BIPOC skaters, so if you’re in Maryland, you should get connected with the group here.
6. Sam Bolton @samanthabolton
Sam’s green hair isn’t the only thing that makes her stand out. Scroll through her Instagram for a few minutes, and you’ll find video after video of her doing a cool trick. Bolton is also a rider for There Skateboards, a queer, POC skate collective. Be wowed by Sam’s moves by following her here and keeping up with There Skateboards here.
Conclusion
Being an LGBTQIA skateboarder comes with an all-too-familiar and normalized set of challenges. Still, these skaters and skate collectives mentioned above are all inspiring, supporting, and bringing together queer skaters from all around. If you’re ever in need of a safe space or in need of a reminder of your right to participate in skateboarding culture as your authentic self, look to these individuals and skate crews as a beacon of hope. They’re changing the game by opening the doors for more LGBTQIA skaters to feel empowered to thrive and be themselves in their own community.