Claudia O’Niell

One Foot Foward

By Claudia Thyrone O’Neill

Natalie Krishna Das dropping into the deep bowl at Eureka’s Cooper’s Gulch skatepark.

Humboldt County is home to a prominent skating community, not only because of the great dudes at the local skate shops, but also largely due to women and queer skaters. Community means diff erent things to diff erent people, and to the local skaters, this means deep purple bruises, falling on your ass and cheering each other on through the ups and the downs. Local skateboarder and Cal Poly Humboldt student Fabiyani Santos described the local skate scene fondly. “I love the skateboarding community,” Santos said. “You can be of any age, any gender, come from anywhere, and you all have something in common.” Although the skate community exists on a global scale, Humboldt County is unique in many ways. Carolina Amezola, a skater of six years, has lived in Humboldt for more than 10 years. She shared the experience she had while visiting a skatepark in Southern California. “When I fi rst went to a skatepark, I was on a skateboard and I couldn’t even drop in and I kept falling trying to drop in. These two older dudes kept laughing at me and making fun of me… but this really cool guy, a good skateboarder, comes up to me and was like ‘Your friends aren’t very nice!’” She told him that she didn’t even know those men, and after some time talking, her confi dence was back up. The most amazing part is that the man she talked to was from Humboldt! Stereotypically, women and queer Fabiyani Santos in that perfect moment right before a frontside disaster at Cooper’s Gulch skatepark.

skaters must “prove themselves” at the park. There is an expectation of tricks in the skater world, and this is just another situation where women are supposed to perform for the typically male audience. Similarly, femme-presenting skaters also have to deal with male “I love the skateboarding community. You can be of any age, any gender, come from anywhere and you all have something in common.” attention. Although many of the male skaters within Humboldt are accepting, it can be hard to approach people you don’t know. Local roller skater and Cal Poly Humboldt art student Bee Langholz described their experience skating around some men, even here in Humboldt. “I’m a stinky gal and I like to wear a tank top, and then it’s just like, ‘oh boobs woah,’ you know what I mean — I don’t like the attention. I just want to skate,” said Langholz. Nevertheless, the local skate scene is a breath of fresh air and that’s because of the people within the community. Everyone is accepting of almost all, as long as you follow skate etiquette. Many local women and queer skaters skate diff erently from one another but still support each other. From derby girls to skatepark rats, everyone is on some form of wheels. Santos started skating six years ago while living in Santa Cruz. After moving up here for school, she was pleasantly surprised by the warm welcome from the skating community as a whole. She described the local parks as inclusive and motivating. “Sometimes when I’m sad, I’ll just go to the park and I know there will be people there I can talk to and feel better,” Santos said. “Everybody here is really nice.” The femme and queer community within the overarching skate scene is incredibly encouraging and everyone hypes each other up. Another inspiring and inclusive

said that “There’s a sneaky corner with ledges where I can go fl op around and no one will see me.”

The Garberville halfpipe comes in at a close second, and there is a fun DIY park some odd miles away from here. The Garberville ramp was a community funded project started by Adam Neil and Dave Grant. The ramp, constructed in 2000, was built in only three days and has stayed a popular spot for 22 years.

set of local skaters is the Humboldt Roller Derby team. They were founded by Jennifer McHadon in 2007 and offi cially became part of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association in 2010. This allowed their team to be nationally ranked. It has grown to be a popular community-run non-profi t that encourages women ages 18 and up to join their training camps and try out for the team. Jessica Smith, known to her derby teammates as Sass-A-Thrash, started skating as a little girl. She joined derby in 2016 after being inspired by a cohort in graduate school and has found it an extremely rewarding experience. “Derby is one of the few places I can be having the worst fucking day, I can be so angry, so sad, all up in my feelings, but the minute I step on that track, ready to practice with my people, it’s all gone,” Smith said. An important part of derby is the community aspect. Whether skaters were on a board or two skates, this was a repeated sentiment. Krishna Das said that everyone should “...fi nd a crew of friends to skate with. You guys just push each other and inspire each other and that’s what makes it fun.” Langholz agreed wholeheartedly, “Call me to skate, skate with me, go with a pal.” Krishna Das and Langholz also encourage folks to learn the rules of the park, which is generally sharing and awareness of the space. Rollerkskaters and skateboarders alike talked about how Eureka’s Cooper Gulch skatepark is the most popular local park. Langholz describes Cooper Gulch to have a “smooth transition, the mini quarter is really fun to learn a trick and then you can take it to the bigger bowl.” This park is suitable for both seasoned and newer skaters. Langolz

The DIY park is being built from the ground up by skaters within Bee Langholz airs out at Eureka’s Cooper’s Gulch skatepark. the community, pouring concrete to create skate elements such as ramps, planting herbs, and painting artistic graffi ti. “Call me to Derby skater Jessica Smith says that skate, skate “We build community with me, go through skating, but we also do stuff with a pal.” outside of skating, and I think we all push each other to be better.” Humboldt Skatepark Collective, founded by Charlie Caldwell and

Trey Cartier rallies the team at the end of their practice.

Pat Henson in the 1990’s, has been working on installing a skatepark in Pearson Park, Mckinleyville for over 20 years. This location was chosen as it’s the center of town, making it extremely accessible for all McKinleyville residents.

Humboldt Skatepark Collective is a non profit organization that helps skate projects establish support and funding before they become their own independent initiative. They have helped to get

Carolina Amezola lands a fakie cartwheel at Eureka’s Cooper’s Gulch skatepark.

many notable parks off the ground, some recent ones being Rampart and Blue Lake. Laughing, Caldwell said, “We figured out how to allow people to take their dream and make it reality, and I don’t have to run it when it’s done.”

The McKinleyville skatepark will also be built from the ground up by those within the community. Caldwell said, “We’re hoping to community build this… the goal is to use volunteer help. Volunteer equipment, volunteer help. The more volunteer equipment and help we use, the more skatepark can be built.”

Notably, in November 2019, the Tony Hawk Foundation awarded a $10,000 grant towards the construction of the park.

Finally, on June 24, 2021, the McKinleyville skatepark construction permit was approved. Caldwell said that they should start

construction by mid 2023, adding, “We’re just trying to get something in that’s skate-able for the kids.” This is only the fi rst phase of construction.

The skateparks in the area stay popular year round, and it’s easy to see how another skatepark would be welcome here in Humboldt. Hopefully, the two-decadelong project will soon become the fourth successful local skatepark. In addition to these community-organized spaces, there are local skate nonprofi ts that partner with larger nonprofi ts. Natalie Krishna Das, a local pro skater, has been working closely with Skate Rising for over fi ve years. Skate Rising, founded in 2016 By Calli Kelsay, is a free skate clinic for girls ages 4-18. She was backed by the umbrella company Exposure, which founded The Exposure Annual Skate Competition. This was created in 2012 by Olympian Amelia Brodka after it became clear to her that women, queer and transgender skaters did not have the same opportunities as their male counterparts. The competition, held in Encinitas, California, has grown from just 32 participants to over 230 participants in the eight years since it began.

Krishna Das was fi rst hired as the social media intern for Skate Rising and worked her way up to becoming an event coordinator while living in Arizona. When she moved to Humboldt two years ago she brought the event with her. Thanks to Natalie, Skate Rising Eureka was recently able to partner with the city of Eureka to host free clinics designed to empower girls through skateboarding, teach them hands-on service activities and how to give back to their community through service work.

“She’s great, she’s done so much in the short time she’s been here.

Fabiyani Santos ies out of the quarter transition at Eureka’s Cooper’s Gulch skatepark.

She’s done skate lessons for kids.,S she’s organized all sorts of skate events and fundraising,” Santos said.

Krishna Das’s mission is to inspire and empower girls to have fun and to push their limits. “It’s really positive and empowering and epic to be a part of,” Krishna Das said. The incredible impression she’s had on the community is made possible because of the inclusive and friendly skate community that Humboldt has fostered over the years.

There has been a conscious group eff ort to make the Humboldt skate scene what it is today. Local skate shops hold non-skating events to connect both those who skate and those who don’t. The skate clinics are made to be inclusive and support young girls just getting into skating. The community has worked together for years on end to set up accessible skateparks. Most everyone at the skatepark is a welcoming, familiar face who just wants to shred.

Must Eat Food Trucks

LoCo Fish Co:

LoCo Fish Co. serves Humboldt as a pub-style fi sh restaurant. Their most popular dish is their fi sh and chips, which is a large platter of fried fi sh and fries with a delicious tartar sauce to compliment everything. They also serve fi sh tacos, seafood dishes like calamari strips and a Korean rice bowl and fi sh sandwiches, as well as a small selection of land based food if you’re not feeling fi shy. The fried fi sh is always moist on the inside and crispy on the outside, the fries are a perfect consistency and well seasoned and the extra tangy tartar sauce is to die for. If you’ve got a craving for some fi sh, this place is sure to give you a delicious meal. They are located in McKinleyville at 1980 Central Avenue, by the 76 gas station.

Big Island Kine:

Big Island Kine brings poké to the people! ey have been serving up fresh Hawaiian-style ahi tuna bowls to the ne folks of Humboldt County, and their Sweet Heat tuna avor has melted its way into our hearts as the fan favorite. ey also serve other avors of ahi tuna and sides of seaweed or crab salad, kimchi cucumber, and mac salad. Everything is fresh and the avors blend together very nicely to make a superb and pretty healthy meal. Although a bit pricey, the extra expense is de nitely worth it. ey have one truck that you can nd in Eureka at 1648 Myrtle avenue, Arcata by 10th street and N street and McKinleyville at 1300 Central avenue, depending on the day. eir schedule can be found on their Facebook page.

Romanʻs Kitchen:

Roman’s Kitchen specializes in burgers, sandwiches and fried food. Their large variety of items leads to many popular dishes, including (but not limited to) the Mexican guey, the barbecue western sandwich and the mushroom provolone burger. All of their food has rich and diverse fl avors that complement each other. They also serve an array of Mexican items like jarritos and tres leches cheesecake. The excellent food and the range of diversity in their selection make this food truck a must-go. Their truck is located in Arcata on D street.