Team GNDR SHREDR
GNDR SHREDR is proud to partner with these amazing LGBTQIA+ skaters! Our mission is to foster queer community and contribute to the representation of skaters of all body types, identities, styles, and levels.
As a Portland-based small business, creating a local team representative of Oregon's beautiful and diverse queer community was important. It was equally important to include skaters from all over the US (and beyond!) that can advocate for their respective queer communities and provide real-life spaces for other queer skaters.
Eileen
Name + Pronouns: Eileen or Leen, they/them
10% Off Code: fatquads
@fat_quads
I am a fat, queer, enby, puerto rican dance skater living in Atlanta, GA. I'm one of the founders and mods for @trans_sk8_club and host events monthly for trans skaters in Atlanta, and am also a part of a skate crew with @smooth_rollers_sk8. I skate both indoors at the rinks and outdoors. I began my skating journey during the pandemic in July 2020 as a way to find liberation in my body as a fat person, and found the joy of skating through dance and community. Through skating, I have been connected to a community of fat and trans skaters around the world, and it inspired me and other trans skaters to build more intentional trans skate spaces in Atlanta through @trans_sk8_club.
I wanted to be part of the GNDR SHREDR team as an opportunity to continue the mission of intentional and inclusive spaces for trans and gender diverse skaters. Representation matters, and I want to show that trans queer fat skaters can dance skate and experience joy unapologetically. I use my platform to cultivate fat positive content and break the stigma that fat people “can’t skate” by positing progress videos and being vulnerable about my journey as a fat skater. I've enjoyed cultivating queer skate community with my first skate friend @therollergay. My favorite part of the queer skate community is that there are no “rules” to skating, you can show up at any level at any time and lean on community. There is space for everyone, and we can all skate and build on our love of skating together.
Jess (Brix)
Name + Pronouns: Jess (aka Brix), she/her
10% Off Code: BrixTrix
@brix_sk8s
Local Portland Shredr!
I am 37 years old and originally from the Bay Area, California. You may know me from roller derby, which I have been playing since 2011 on various teams around California as well as last season with RCR. I am also an artist and freelance graphic designer. Over the pandemic, I had a child and the experience nearly crippled my body. Coming back to derby wasn’t looking promising in the condition I was in when it started back up. But I was determined to get back on skates, no matter in what way! Skating just brings me pure joy.
I bought a pair of park skates and it has changed my life in ways I thought were in my past! I started park skating with my derby friends, and slowly got my strength and confidence back. Now, every time I put my skates on, I get to feel free, be creative and challenge myself physically, all while meeting amazing people who have shared interests and want to empower each other! What else can I ask for in life! The queer skating community especially is so welcoming, supportive, inclusive, encouraging, and the positive energy is astounding!
My whole life I have felt that pressure to fit a physical mold, am constantly labeled in some way, or dismissed because of my size or appearance. But this community is actively demolishing those expectations and boundaries! I get to be myself in a melting pot of cultures and backgrounds and and everyone is proud of who they are! I really wanted to be part of Team GNDR SHREDR because to me it validates everything I believe in, and have been working towards in my personal journey. And now I get to share that love and growth with a greater community. I truly have found my home ❤️
Val
Name + Pronouns: Val, she/they
10% Off Code: tanukii
@tanukiival
I also am an advocate for mental health awareness. For the past 6 months I’ve been actively trying to get diagnosed and on the right brain medicine. I feel like mental health and medication isn’t talked about as openly as it should and opening these conversations can help tons of people. I’ve been diagnosed with pmdd and am battling lifelong trauma. Joining team gndr shredr at this point in my mental health journey will be a blessing ;-; as I need to do more things for myself and the community.
Nix
Name + pronouns: Nix Fisch, they/them
10% Off Code: NixTricks
@nix.tricks
I live in Atlanta, Georgia with my partners and pets. I live to play, and in addition to skating, I play kendama and fingerboard daily. I have built @nix.tricks as a platform to showcase my tricks and spread my love for skill toys and skating to new people. I’ve been an aggressive Inline skater since 12/2021 I’m also an occasional aggressive quad skater!
If there are two pillars holding up my Identity these days, they are “skater” and “queer”. The skate community and the queer community are both places I feel I belong- so the queer skate community feels like home and I look to GNDR SHREDR as a leading voice in this space and want to attach myself to all the good things they are doing.
I’ve always felt safe and seen by the queer skate community, and the skate community as a whole. My journey on skates parallels the timeline of my genderqueer journey. The skate community was the first to know me as ‘Nix’ and to use they/them pronouns for me. I’ve never felt more myself than I do on skates and with my skate family.
I want to use my platform to show that it’s okay to express yourself through play as an adult- from playing with toys to playing with your gender expression and identity- I’ve found so much joy and made so much progress in life because of my willingness to play around.
B
Name + Pronouns: B (or Bee 🐝), she/they
10% Off Code: beans
@beckaanne
Local Portland Shredr!
Hey! I’m a little ol’ queer park skater based in Portland. I bought my first pair of quad skates on a whim in 2019. Two-ish years, one pandemic, a move-to-another-country, and a lot of basement skating later, I finally started park skating regularly with my local CIB chapter. The queer skate community quickly became home and more than just a hobby. The people I met provided space and support for me to grow into my true self at a time when everything else in my life felt messy and confusing.
Skating is the love of my life - falls and all! And through celebrating every small victory, lots of happy shouting, and pure silliness, I want to share that love with others and (hopefully) make the skate park a little less intimidating and a little more accessible along the way. I’m so excited to be part of team GNDR SHREDR, and to connect with and learn from skaters outside of my bubble. I hope to use this opportunity to see skating from new perspectives and to be even louder in celebrating my amazing skate community! 🖤
Joanna
Name + Pronouns: Joanna, she/they
10% Off Code: JOJO
@joannaxjumps
Hey y'all, I'm Joanna and I'm a queer millennial quad park and street skater. I'll be 36 in June-big Gemini energy over here if you can't already tell! I am from Pittsburgh, PA and I consider the rustbelt to be my home region--but Eugene, Oregon, my current place of residence, is my chosen forever home. I already felt that way prior about Eugene prior to starting my quads journey this past summer in 2023, but the sense of welcome and mentorship I've received from fellow quad skaters, nearly all of whom are either queer themselves or genuinely queer friendly solidified that notion even further for me. I'm home. I've been home. Now I’m helping new quad skaters in the community too, which I absolutely love. I came into quads with an intense but distant aggressive rollerblading background. With the exception of a handful of injuries (broken ankles and concussions, mostly), I rollerbladed everyday from ages 11-17. I've also dabbled with skateboards here and there since I was just as young, but rollerboots of sorts have also been my preference.
The raw, unfiltered joy that I get from quad skating is unrivaled; it's unlike any other gratifying and challenging experiences I've had on wheels and that's why I love it. From a technical standpoint, I like both blades and boards, and I feel like quad skating puts the two together. Creativity wise, I feel like I get to do tricks that combine two other awesome and difficult sports/art forms. I've been gender queer forever. I feel like I just didn't have the language to call, name, or describe my queerness as a 10 year old in 1999 when they/they pronouns were unheard of in the mainstream. My queerness revolves around fashion, skating, and how I feel like I carry myself in my mind on and off of 8 wheels. Skating gives me a vessel to play with that fashion and my relationship to my own body and what I choose to do or show in public. Gender is an entirely 'man-made' social construct that has no salience or relevance in science. Gender is as real as money is real, you know? One of my idols, Patti Smith, said that 'being any gender is a drag.' That said, sticking to the societal gender role I've been assigned is something I've never had any interest in doing because it doesn’t match who I’ve ever felt like I truly am inside.. I’m a writer, organizer, and advocate and it’s my mission to educate folks and show people that nuance is real and two opposing things can be true at the same time. But real talk, I like to sag my pants and show my ass in some boxers before I do my trick because it makes me feel like a queer superhero.
Being part of the Gndrshrdr team is honestly a dream come true for me as shredding gender is part of life’s mission. I've been supporting the brand directly for a while. From a pure artistic and aesthetics standpoint I think the designs are fantastic. And I’m also a big fan of many if not all the skaters on the team for different reasons. I’m going to be starting some projects in the skate space including throwing Eugene Oregon’s first Quads contest this summer (date TBD) and I hope to involve the team and the queer community as much as I can. I’m so stoked to be here. And I love ledges, a lot.
Afton
Name + Pronouns: Afton (aka Beast), she/her
10% Off Code: Beeotch
@skatebeeotch
Hey everyone! I am 41 years old, and passionate about mental health awareness. Over the last few years I have fallen in love with skating and weight lifting which have both helped me find my own personal strength. I would say my preferred style of skating is a mix between vert and street. I love the chance to be creative while also going for those big tricks. I wanted to be a part of GNDR SHREDR because it’s so important to me to have a diverse representation. I’m so excited to have an opportunity for people to see minorities thriving and being proud of who they are. That’s honestly one of my favorite parts of the queer skate community, people from different backgrounds finding strength through a common goal. I absolutely adore when someone has that breakthrough moment where they realize they are more capable than they ever realized.
If you’ve followed me, you know that I am a major advocate for trans rights/human rights advocacy/and positive mental health. That’s what I want people that follow me to see. It’s ok to be who you are and to be proud. Your race, your gender, your social status, and your sexuality should never limit the rights that any basic human should have. I will always call out injustices I see in the world or our own skate community, but I will always welcome debates that can be done in a healthy constructive way. I’m so thankful to be a part of this amazing team and I can’t wait to see what 2023 has in store for all of us!
Charlie
Name + Pronouns: Charlie, they/them
10% Off Code: Compassion
@radicalrollerskates
I am a 28 yr old Black biracial, queer, genderqueer, AuDHD, quad skater and parent of 2. I also study Political Science and practice various arts - from sewing & crocheting, to painting & print making, & more.
I grew up skating blades & quads off and on over the years, and cruiser boards for transportation as an adult. In researching to choose a pair of quads for my oldest kid's birthday in 2020, I was drawn to the idea of park Skating and got myself a pair too! I fell in love with park skating and since then have built 2 pairs of custom skates, and am looking forward to many more years on 8 wheels.
C. Radical Compassion is my full name and where the "radical" in @RadicalRollerSkates comes from! Wherever my name reaches, Charlie wants to spread thoughtfulness - to inspire action - to perpetuate radical empathy and compassion towards ourselves, others individually, and societies systematically because capitalism conditions us in the opposite way overtly but more often subtly.
As a skater, I started posting online to track my own progress, and quickly found a beautiful community. I hope to promote radical joy, but also showing up authentically for ourselves/each other in skating and whatever we do in life. This is something I’ve witnessed so much within the queer skate community and what I love about being a part of it! That's also why I wanted to be a part of the Gndr Shredr team - Alex created this brand and team *centering* the queer skate community and our beautiful authentic selves. 💞
Cynamon
Name + Pronouns: Cynamon, she/any/all
10% Off Code: Cynamon13
@sk8tanic.panic
Yá'át'ééh Shí éí Cynamon yinishyé. Hello my name is Cynamon and I'm a queer Diné and Mescalaro Apache 2spirit person. I'm a dessert maker, skater, avid vinyl collector, activist, daughter, teacher, and friend. I use skating as a way to push my chronically ill body into doing things I thought I'd never do. I want to use my Platform as an Indigenous skater to bring light to land acknowledgment and Indigenous rights. Obsessively using the hashtag #youreskatingonnativeland I started a skate crew out of the Tampa Bay Area @gcsc.tampabay. We're a queer leftist skate crew that takes activism from the streets to the skate park. I'm always down to help people learn more about Indigenous rights, culture, etc. as well as what it means to be an Indigenous queer person. I've been featured in zines and most recently in the book 'Florida!' by A24, about my activism and the mutual aid I do for the community, on and off skates. I want to make skating as accessible as possible, and with that want to share my small skill set with people free of charge. Because in any community, we help our people :)
Charlie
Name + Pronouns: Charlie Wright, they/them
10% Off Code: deafsk8
@that.pink.skater
Hi, I'm Charlie, and I use they/them pronouns. I'm an autistic, deaf, non-binary lesbian roller skater and inliner in the Indianapolis, IN area. I primarily focus my skating in skateparks and roller derby. Skating has given me such a unique community that constantly pushes my athletic abilities while giving me the space and tools to understand who I am better than I ever have before. The queer skating community has encouraged me to explore my evolving identity and express it shamelessly. I also make non-gendered crochet clothing to showcase the beauty of slow fashion on all bodies. Skating and crafting always presents me with new ways to spread the stoke. If you're ever in Indy, let's shred!
Effie
Name + Pronouns: Effie, they/she
10% Off Code: XOXO
@xoxo_effie
Yo Yo my name is Effie loud proud non-binary queer Afro Latina skater🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷 residing in Sunshine State of Florida☀️☀️☀️. I use all the pronouns they/them/she.
I come from 9 years of roller derby skating but really been skating my whole life, believe or not inlines was my first set of skates back in high school. Loved doing hill bombs in my neighborhood. Because I was a mother at a younger age(18) skating was no longer a priority and or passion in my life. This time of my life, I had lost sight of my own interest and passions, prioritizing the family was the path at that moment. Thanks to joining roller derby it gave me something to live for again.
Now I play roller derby & park skate at a competitors level & for the passion!!! Playing for a roller derby team reignited my skating passion.
My passion for skating & inclusivity has led to to start up and build @eatmyskates. An inclusive skate posse for all minority types/groups (POC, indigenous, queer, all wheels types, and all lifestyles) this was a HUGH lack in the Orlando’s skating community. Being a part of GNDR SHREDR was important to me. I found a group of peers with the same fight: REPRESENTATION and DIVERSITY🤘🏽🤘🏽🤘🏽. The queer community is what’s up because it’s the most diverse and literally have met awesome individuals who have change my perception on different things involving skating, culture and just all-around life.
Rox
Name + Pronouns: Rox, they/she
10% Off Code: ROX
@roxskates
I've been quad skating for 2.5 years! I've been living in Washington most of my life, but my family is from Palau. I am a certified skate instructor with SkateIA and one of the admins for CIB Seattle. You can find me teaching roller skating fundamentals and aggressive skating. I love all aspects of skating whether it’s street, ramps, or flat. I wanted to be a part of team GNDR SHREDR to represent queer BIPOC skaters. I'm all about spreading the stoke for skating and so I'm very active in the local Seattle skate community. To have such a niche hobby that appeals to queer folk was serendipitous for me. Before skating, I never felt a part of a community that aligned with my beliefs. The queer skate community has always been so supportive and inclusive to me. I finally found a group where I can share my love for skating amongst like-minded peers :)
Tatiana
Name + Pronouns: Tatiana, she/they
10% Off Code: FAIRY
@fairyqueenqueen
Local Portland Shredr!
Hiya! My name is Tatiana and I’m an aggressive rollerskater living in Portland, Oregon. Best way I would describe my skate style is a little spunky, a tad gritty and a bit bold. My favorite tricks include variations of ankle breaker slides and toestop stalls. The one thing I love the most about the queer skating community is how we are always coming together to support and celebrate each other no matter what. Skating is my absolute world. I’m always looking to find ways to be involved and immersed in the betterment of the community, educating others and encouraging everyone to continue to find their own passion on wheels. I’m so excited for the opportunity to be part of the team so that together we can root for the outcasts and underdogs and create a safe place where everyone can feel appreciated and seen.
Itzel
Name + Pronouns: Itzel, she/her
10% Off Code: Itzelf
@vivalamer
Local Portland Shredr!
HELLO! My name is Itzel, I was born and raised in Mexico City but life took me to move from my hometown to the USA 8 years ago. Currently, I’m proudly located in the wonderful city of Portland. My skating love story starts when I bought my first pair of skates 5 years ago after watching the video of a girl doing backflips on skates in a ramp!!! Watching a person be able to do that blew my mind and gave me the courage to say: I wanna learn how to skate and how to do that one day (very far away) 😅
For a while I skated here and there trying to pursue my skating goals and dreams, but when the pandemic hit was when I really found my love for roller skating. I experimented with different styles (jam skating, park skating, urban skating, roller hockey, etc) but the one style of skating that has forever my heart is definitely artistic figure skating. I love the freedom and happiness that skating to your favorite songs gives you. It is in that moment when I’m flowing with the music around the court that I can totally feel free being my true self.
💖🏳️🌈 Being able to represent the queer community in Portland is truly an honor!!! I’ve been very lucky to be welcomed with open arms by them. The support, encouragement and love they have given me has everything to do with the type of skater I became and thanks to them, I rediscovered the meaning of belonging, family, and home. So happy and proud to represent them on 8 wheels.
Anneleissa
Name + Pronouns: Anneleissa, they/them
10% Off Code: BEETLEJUICE
@bergamotbeetle
Local Portland Shredr!
I started skating October 2021. My first pair of skates were a free pair of retro Riedell derby skates. Worst injury? whiplash from a head-on collision 🥴 My fav trick? box and soul grinds :) Hardest trick to land? around the world! My fav skate features are flowy bowls and waxed parking blocks. Skate role models are Moco and Megan Schaffe! Fav skatepark is West Lake Stevens Skatepark (WA). My other hobbies include hiking, climbing, bicycling, backpacking, mushroom foraging, crafting, and dancing, and my tea of choice is a nice earl grey! Through park skating I have made tons of new friends, developed greater self-confidence, and feel like I can comfortably be my queer self. Stoked to be part of the GNDR SHREDR skate team showcasing the varied lifestyles and backgrounds quad skaters come from.
Alex
Name + Pronouns: Alex, they/he
@sour_skates
Local Portland Shredr & artist/operator of GNDR SHREDR ✨🌈
Hey y'all!! I'm Alex, a trans non-binary queer artist & printmaker originally from Texas and now local to the PNW :) I started skating, like many of y'all, during the early days of the pandemic in 2020. It pretty quickly became more than a hobby as I made friends with other amazing skaters in Austin, TX (one of them being Lizzy who's also on the gndr shredr team!!!) and I realized how amazing this hobby was to bring so many queer skaters and just overall awesome people together.
I started park skating about 6 months after first lacing up, and was immediately hooked. The rush from doing something so dangerous and freeing is WILD, and I gain such a strong sense of accomplishment when I finally nail a trick. I was skating during my last year in college for my graphic design degree, and pretty soon after said goodbye to my friends in Austin to move to Portland with a corporate design job lined up at a commercial real estate agency. Spoiler alert: it was the worst job I've ever had, and the months I worked there drained every drop of creativity, energy and honestly, sanity I had 🥴
So early 2022, I decided to focus my time and energy into doing something that actually made me excited to wake up every day and work! I've always been more of an experimenter, an artist at heart that just happens to use a graphic design education and tools, and those tools helped me build a brand out of a little nugget of an idea for queer skaters to congregate, show their pride out in the open and wear silly t-shirts. It's been an incredible ride so far, and I'm so glad I pushed myself to create for a community that has been so welcoming and supportive.
My goals for GNDR SHREDR this year include organizing more queer skate events and meetups, fundraising for mutual aid groups around Portland & beyond, creating park & street edits with the amazing team skaters, doing collabs with other brands & artists, getting the shirts into some more skate shops around the country and continuing to follow the spark of passion to see where this little business goes in 2023! Thank y'all for being here and taking this journey with me 💕
