Thrasher Magazine

Skate Like a Girl’s annual Wheels of Fortune contest weekend brings out a lot of different characters. This year we cornered a few unsuspecting skaters, allies and friends to find out who they are and why WOF is the greatest skateboarding event of all time. –Alex White

Photos by Zorah Olivia

Name: Una Farrar
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Victoria, BC

Why did you come to Wheels of Fortune?
I go to WOF to see all my wonderful friends for a good time and skate with new people

What was the best moment of WOF?
Winning the fingerboard contest was the best day of my life—and being included on an insanely inspirational panel of people I’ve looked up to my whole life and learning so much from them

Who was your favorite skater of the event?
My favorite skaters are always Breana and Fabiana, but Clara also stole the show this year



Name: Stella Reynolds
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: North Hollywood, CA

Why did you come to Wheels of Fortune?
Because I went last year and it was really fun and my friends were going

What was the best moment of WOF?
My favorite moment was when me and Jenn Soto got our cowboy hats

Who was your favorite skater of the event?
Everyone was so sick but my favorites were Fabiana, Jenn and Mariah



Name: Ryan Lay
Pronouns: he/him
Hometown: Tempe, AZ

Why did you come to Wheels of Fortune?
Kristin Ebeling invited me and I thought it’d be the best place to get a good perspective on what’s happening in women’s skating

What was the best moment of WOF?
Sweat-drenched karaoke at 35th North was a truly breathtaking moment. Highlights included Lacey doing Fall Out Boy and Pris covering No Doubt

Who was your favorite skater of the event?
Una Farrar dominated the fingerboard contest, offered some really good insight on the current state of women’s skating at the panel conversation and did a perfect back heel. There’s too many to name, but she was a standout



Name: Vanessa Torres
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Long Beach, CA

Why did you come to Wheels of Fortune?
There is something incredibly life enriching about WOF, unlike any other event I have ever experienced. I look forward to this gathering every year. It welcomes and unites so many wonderful humans for three days of pure unapologetic self-expression filled with warmth, love, friendship, appreciation and support for one another. It’s a community I am so deeply invested in. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?

What was the best moment of WOF?
There were so many incredible moments—the love that filled the room when we did our athlete panel and got to share our most authentic selves with the folks that really matter, hanging out with Jaime Reyes—who I hadn’t seen in years—4 Non Blondes blasting during our 30-and-up division and every single person in the park singing from the top of their lungs! I just wanted to fucking cry from pure joy!

Who was your favorite skater of the event?
Poppy Starr! She’s just an all-around rad human and ripper—infectiously good energy. The highlight was when she literally ran during her entire run. We were all dying!



Name: Yasmeen “Yaz” Wikerson
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Bed Stuy, Brooklyn, NY

Why did you come to Wheels of Fortune?
I came to Wheels of Fortune because of an online scholarship—Skate for Sage—the Sage Williams Memorial Fund. They passed away recently due to cancer. There were scholarships being raffled off and I just so happened to be one of the chosen ones and I got a paid flight and hostel to stay at. I couldn’t believe it. Before I knew it, I was on my way to Seattle with no clue of what I was in for!

What was the best moment of WOF?
The best moment at WOF was honestly going to the Garfield High School spot. It has so many angles and spaces. I got to skate with the new skaters I met and push myself past my limits. I never skated anything like that. it was an experience I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

Who was your favorite skater of the event?
When I think of my favorite skater for the event I think of my friend Jessyka Bailey who wouldn’t stop busting out trick after trick. I admire her consistency and she won best trick! Una, @lil_tubsy on Instagram, was killing it as well. She has so much style and flow, it’s hard not to take notice of her skating in a crowd. Even the little children trying their best to learn were cute and inspiring.



Name: Nora Vasconcellos
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Pembroke, MA

Why did you come to Wheels of Fortune?
Because it’s the best weekend of the year!

What was the best moment of WOF?
judging the 30-plus heat with Kristin, Alex, Jaime and Vanessa skating. The whole crowd joined in singing “Whats Up?”

Who was your favorite skater of the event?
Jeffrey, hands down.



Name: Jeffrey
Pronouns: he/him/his
Hometown: Eagle Rock, CA

Why did you come to Wheels of Fortune?
Kristin reached out to me after seeing some of my videos online and said, “You should come to this and be an ally!” And as an ally, I saw this as an opportunity to really show the ladies and folx what I’m about. I think the BMX and skate communities could learn so much from each other, like, new tricks and flips, ways to organize, how to find ramps and such. Every time I was on the mic I made sure people knew I was not going to take up too much space. Side note: I’m also seeking sponsorship as a BMXer. I hear Thrasher magazine has special sponsorships for men so I think this might be a fruitful partnership, if y’all catch my drift.

What was the best moment of WOF?
The best moment for me was the Witch Hunt because I got to witness the greatness of folx on the board, riding for one another and the greater good. I love a good goof around and the Witch Hunt was full of goof arounds.

Who was your favorite skater of the event?
How do I choose? There’s so many incredible people on their boards doing so much work for the community. I love the lavender woman and the Olympic judge—the Alex White. Kristin is a true inspiration as a freestyle dancer. You should see how those folx cut a rug. They brought a mannequin onto the dance floor and I was, like, “Y’all are crazy and I love the vibe!”



Name: Soph Elden
Pronouns: they/them
Hometown: Hopewell, NJ

Why did you come to Wheels of Fortune?
I’m lucky enough to work for Skate Like A Girl. this was my first WOF and I got to do the audio visuals for the weekend and run the live stream on Girls Skate Network

What was the best moment of WOF?
At the welcome party, I looked up and Kristin was doing a stalefish, crowd surfing with her skateboard—best moment hands down. Also, giving Nora the aux cord to DJ the dance party was a great decision

Who was your favorite skater of the event?
My favorite skaters were Louisa Williams and Lucy Templeton. They put in so much work preparing for the competition and are the raddest 13 year olds around



Name: Angie Crum
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Akron, Ohio, but currently living in Seattle

Why did you come to Wheels of Fortune?
To watch my friend Courtney get "Sheckler" tattooed on her back and to mosh without getting my boobs grabbed by a dude.

What was the best moment of WOF?
Anytime “What’s up?” by 4 Non Blondes played.

Who was your favorite skater of the event?
Kay Sy for her run in Wheels of Fingers. That performance will go down in fingering-sports history.



Name: Terence Stilin-Rooney
Pronouns: he/him
Hometown: Bethlehem, PA

Why did you come to Wheels of Fortune?
Primarily to support all the skaters/SLAG but also to be inspired by all of the people and their energy.

What was the best moment of WOF?
Hard to narrow down but the Queer Trans Skate Jam at Cal Anderson was a huge highlight.

Who was your favorite skater of the event?
I’m going to cheat and say Lacey for her performance at Punk Rock Karaoke, Vanessa for her style—on and off her board—and Nora for her antics all weekend. RIP to the Bad Jimmy’s mannequin.



Name: Meagan Guy
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Palm Bay, FL

Why did you come to Wheels of Fortune?
To hang with the homies, meet new people and be in an environment that just loves skateboarding for what it is.

What was the best moment of WOF?
There was a certain energy when the whole park started singing along to “Whats Up?” while people were skating the contest. It felt like the whole room was on the same page—everyone was just in the moment and happy. It was sick!

Who was your favorite skater of the event?
Poppy Starr Olsen. The unicorn face paint and her death-defying mini-ramp jam were definitely a highlight!



Name: Poppy Starr
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Newcastle, Australia

Why did you come to Wheels of Fortune?
I came to Wheels of Fortune because I saw how much fun everyone was having last year and I knew I had to make it out!

What was the best moment of WOF?
My best moment was the first party when I rolled my ankle dancing. I love that

Who was your favorite skater of the event?
Fabiana Delfino—always. She’s just a straight-up savage that sends it or slams



Name: Fabiana Delfino
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Boca Raton, FL

Why did you come to Wheels of Fortune?
For the homies, Witch Hunt, needle needle and Rainier.

What was the best moment of WOF?
People moshing at any given moment.

Who was your favorite skater of the event?
Dayana Young, @tweakermom on Instagram, because her slams fired me up!



Name: Louise. People generally call me Beez, though
Pronouns: they/them
Hometown: Yucaipa, CA, but currently residing in SF

Why did you come to Wheels of Fortune?
Because the last two years I went it was epic and inspiring. I met just about all my closest skate homies there and this year I got the opportunity to film for the Witch Hunt and put a little edit together

What was the best moment of WOF?
Definitely the Alex White tattoos, but also the fingerboard contest!

Who was your favorite skater of the event?
Dana Jeck! She took the meanest slam on the first trick into their run at the contest—on ‘shrooms with the biggest smile on her face. She probably felt nothing. She danced at every lull while waiting to hit the course and then sent some beautiful back 5-0s up the hubba. Also, just before their run, they were hustling their art around at the event and sold everything they had. That’s my kind of skater!



Name: Adelaide Norris
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Melbourne, AUS

Why did you come to Wheels of Fortune?
I came to film for the Witch Hunt with the media program skate witches did in partnership with Nike.

What was the best moment of WOF?
Being able to film and skate with the team of Swedes.

Who was your favorite skater of the event?
My favorite skater was Ariana Spencer with a fastplant fingerflip—so insane!



Name: Abi Teixeira
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Maplewood, NJ

Why did you come to Wheels of Fortune?
Because Shari and Kristin sponsored my trip along with some other girls for a Nike film/photo program. It’s cool because all the filmers used VXs. I’ve always wanted to come out here so I’m super hyped and blessed that it finally happened.

What was the best moment of WOF?
Had to have been meeting all my new friends and just skating with each other and having fun. It’s also always sick to meet and skate with people I’ve seen in videos and stuff.

Who was your favorite skater of the event?
Kristin! It was amazing to watch her shred in person and be able to just have great conversations with her. She’s a great human!



Name: Jenn Soto
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Jersey City, NJ

Why did you come to Wheels of Fortune?
For the love and hype!

What was the best moment of WOF?
Definitely when everyone sang “Whats Up?” while the 30-plus division was killing it. That was a beautiful moment!

Who was your favorite skater of the event?
Can’t really pick because everyone was killing, but I always love seeing the younger kids shredding! It’s always crazy to see the kids you can tell are going to be around for a long time.