Val

Name + Pronouns: Val, she/they

10% Off Code: tanukii

@tanukiival

Hi! My name is Val- on insta I’m @tanukiival :>. I’m a 33 yr old mom of a 12 year old, partner to my best friend, tattoo artist, skater, crafter and aspiring writer/mangaka :>. I identify as pansexual! I believe that gender is a social construct and that every person deserves to live a life of their choosing and identity so long that it is consensual and doesn’t harm anyone :> I started skating in 2018 and have been skating in and off since then. I had a really traumatic spinal injury (my vertebra was a squished marshmallow ;-;) and received surgery for it. I still live with complications/disability due to the injury but I’ve been doing my best to overcome my fears and skate better than before (but in a new and diff way)!

Because of my back injury, I’ve started ‘wizard skating’ as my primary skate mode. I use an inline skate (4x90) to do lots of flat ground swively moves. I also want to bring wizard skating into the park without grind blocks/soul plates as I love being creative with what I have! I feel like skating is magical and the skater makes the skate 💛

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.

I hope that being part of this team will show folkx that a mom with mental and physical disabilities can go out there and take care of their body! That everyone deserves time to themselves to just roll around and feel the wind on their face 💛 feeling free is what skating is all about ❤️‍🔥