In 1996, skateboarding twins Tiffany Morgan (Campbell) and Nicole Morgan (Younger) from Santa Cruz determined to not use a school fund that their mother and father had put aside for schooling, however moderately to make use of the cash to start out a female-focused skateboard and attire firm. Lisa Whitaker of Meow Skateboards recalled that the sisters tried to pitch their concept to native skateshops however have been informed that “there are not any women who skate round right here,” and that there was no marketplace for their merchandise (Lima). In response, their new tactic was to make feminine skaters extra seen and encourage their participation one good friend at a time.
Photograph: Tiffany and Nicole by Sam Jones (1999)
Nicole credited witnessing Jaime Reyes on a video that was being performed in her native skate store (Superior Sports activities Skates) to opening her eyes of what the way forward for skateboarding may entail. In an article for Skateboarder (February 2005), she stated, “I had actually seen a whole lot of movies with guys skating. However for some cause they by no means fairly affected me this manner.” Tiffany shared that, “We wished to encourage extra women to skateboard by instance. We got down to discover women who have been already absorbed in it and in addition those who had by no means been launched to our good friend, the skateboard.”
The Morgans then launched a skateboarding collective in 1997 known as Villa Villa Cola (VVC) in San Diego. The title was a tip of the hat to Villa Villekula, the fictional residence of untamed baby Pippi Longstocking concocted by Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren. In an interview for TransWorld Enterprise (Might 2005), Nicole stated that the title emerged as a result of Villa Villekula symbolized freedom, “[Pippi] would have her mates over, they usually had loopy adventures. There have been no guidelines, and you possibly can be inventive there. That was what we wished our skateboarding to be all about.”
Images: Nicole and Tiffany within the Nineties with Lori D. recording Van Nguyen
VVC was additionally the title of their zine, which grew to become a inventive outlet to share their adventures. The duvet of the primary zine featured Nicole, Tiffany, and their good friend, Jamie Sinift rocking silver capes and moving into some kind of mischief.
Lori Damiano, an artist, skateboarder and VVC member, stated, “We didn’t see ourselves mirrored within the media of our skateboarding group so collectively we made zines and skate movies that includes the women and girls we knew that skated. Different frequent collaborators within the early days have been Van Nguyen, Faye Jaime, Lisa Whitaker, Michelle Pezel, Jamie Sinift, Andria Lessler, and Rebecca Burnquist.” And lots of of those early recruits took place due to the All Woman Skate Jam, which Patty Segovia launched on the Graffix Warehouse in Chula Vista in September 1997, together with Whitaker and Nguyen.
To construct their scene, the twins traveled around the nation sharing their zines and movies, which have been positively acquired and created a loyal following even when folks within the skate trade insisted that there was no feminine market. Lori Damiano described their first tour in 1997 in Skateboarder. “No one might imagine their eyes when this little mini-van pulled as much as the skateparks of America with an enormous life-sized Barbie doll strapped ruthlessly to the highest, and 7 women hopped out and began skating. It was one of the crucial enjoyable adventures I’ve ever had.”
Images: zine scans that includes Michelle Pezel, Faye Jaime, and Van Nguyen
The Villa Villa Cola zines have been filled with pictures, tales, rants, drawings, recipes, and hilarity. Memorable options included a collection of pictures of Faye trying to skate a ledge with a purse, then taking out her wrath on her skateboard for “getting in the way in which of my purse,” experiences on the All Woman Skate Jam contest collection, street journeys to Canada and abroad to Australia, and horoscopes that may predict “intercourse with an alien.” Tiffany wrote an account of skating Burnside in Portland for the primary time, coping with hostile motorbike mechanics, fronting as an all-girl rock band for a photograph shoot, amongst many different random anecdotes.
Photograph: Nonetheless from Defeating Projections by Lori D.
VVC expanded their efforts, producing skateboarding movies like Hanging Concern into the Hearts of Teenage Women (1997) produced by Nicole Morgan, which was briefly shared on the web site GirlShred.com and Lori Damiano’s college undertaking Defeating Projections (1999), a 16mm documentary about VVC for a category she was taking at UCSD.
Faye Lynn Richards reviewed a VHS tape that contained each movies in her zine, Second Wind (No. 3, Spring 2004). Richards appreciated the ability of the skaters, the antics, the dialogue, and acknowledged the scene from Defeating Projections that confirmed the crew placing their zine collectively. “There are some phrases of knowledge about feeling intimidated by being the one feminine at a skate park and the way inspiring it’s to lastly see one other chick skating… Throughout, this can be a good video. I’m so glad that these women are creating issues like this.”
One other reader, who would go on to turn out to be a revered sponsored skater (and continues to be extremely energetic within the skateboard group) was Alex White. In TransWorld Enterprise, Alex stated, “I keep in mind after I was like fifteen I wrote to the Villa Villa Cola ‘zine and received the video Hanging Concern, and I used to be like, ‘Wow!’ I used to be so stoked on it. It was one of many causes I received actually into skating. I had this dream that I might be in a video.” This dream of a correct all-girls skateboarding video was a part of the VVC collective’s imaginative and prescient, nevertheless it was momentarily stalled.
Photograph: Van Nguyen and Tiffany Morgan in 1998 rocking NYC Rookie gear
Within the early 2000s, the VVC members began to pursue their very own impartial pursuits like school and jobs. And but, of their interview for TransWorld Enterprise, Van Nguyen defined that she persevered together with her skating, moved to San Francisco as a sort of “VVC Mascot,” and related with “rising teen powerhouse skaters, Amy Caron and Vanessa Torres.” Concurrently, Lisa Whitaker, who had launched The Facet Challenge web site (which advanced into the Women Skate Community) was additionally protecting the love for VVC alive and made a breakthrough with 411 Video Journal. The sport-changing video Getting Nowhere Sooner (2004), sponsored by Component skateboards and 411VM was the product of their reunion and labour.
Within the TransWorld Enterprise interview, it was famous that, after an ASR present in early 2003, there had been a reunion at Lisa’s home the place she pulled out a number of the footage she had been accumulating, together with Alex White, who was 18 and killing it!
“Not solely was White a completely superb skater, however Whitaker had managed to get a wonderful shot of a safety guard pinning White to the bottom, wrench her arm behind her again, and threatening to beat her up if she tried to run. This was the sort of factor you noticed within the guys’ movies. It was priceless. The Villa Villa Cola women have been mesmerized.” Lori Damiano additionally confirmed the conviction of the group. “As quickly as all of us put our minds collectively and determined we have been going to make it occur, all of it fell into place… It got here collectively so simply it was virtually spooky. We had wished to do that for ten years, and out of the blue there it was.”
Initially, Getting Nowhere Sooner was simply going to be a bonus characteristic on a difficulty of 411VM. Fortuitously, when Whitaker dropped off the footage to Josh Friedberg, producer of 411VM, “Johnny Schillereff, the proprietor of Component, was there when he watched it they usually have been fully blown away. They’d no concept that there have been that many ladies skating or at that degree. They have been like ‘overlook the DVD bonus, we’ll aid you make a full video’” (Lima).
In making the video, Lisa shared that the VVC crew “had labored on movies collectively prior to now and it appeared like all of us had the identical views on the necessity for a video which is able to expose these women to the remainder of the world and make one thing they are often happy with” (Sq.).
Images: Lori D’s art work was featured within the zines, VVC swag, and lots of collages together with these two with Van Nguyen and Alex White launching off some stairs. And beneath, she designed a commemorative Getting Nowhere Sooner skateboard with Component.
Getting Nowhere Sooner was refreshing as a result of, whereas there had been a number of documentaries about what it was like being a feminine skateboarder mixed with footage, for instance, Reside and Let Experience (1999, dir. Tara Cooper) and AKA: Woman Skater (2002, dir. Mike Hill) that includes the Gallaz professional group, this video emphasised skating and good occasions. Nicole defined that, “A number of the issues we noticed on the market with women in skate movies was how they have been all the time requested what it’s like skating with guys or being the one woman… Additionally there’s this want to make the women extra marketable. We determined we’d keep away from all of that as a result of it will get outdated. We simply wished to make it a skateboard video that was only a good video” (TransWorld Enterprise).
The movie premiered in Vancouver, BC with a VVC artwork exhibit and cake stroll / dance occasion at Delinquent skateshop gallery, due to co-owner Michelle Pezel after which a movie screening on the Emily Carr Artwork Institute Theatre in October 16, 2004. Tiffany stated that the video was launched throughout “a pivotal time earlier than social media. VVC and GNF [Getting Nowhere Faster] have been the way in which we related to one another in a world of just about zero illustration and hardly any means to search out one another. Epic, enjoyable occasions with simply the weirdest group of mates making the magic” (McGuire). In 2004, premiere events would additionally happen in Portland on the Dept. of Skateboarding, the Olympia Movie Competition in Washington, in Seattle alongside a choice of bands on the Vera Challenge, and in San Francisco at The Roxie Theatre with Debbie Escalante in tow, ultimately on to New York Metropolis and past! The premieres have been typically aligned with skateboard clinics due to the OP Women Study to Experience program.
And one of the best half was that Getting Nowhere Sooner was filled with Villa Villa Cola magic with comedy, antics, random storylines revolving round “Tiffanyland Skatepark,” and weird characters just like the child-sized Barbie doll Debbie Escalante, her cowboy side-kick and devious cupcake. It was a hilarious storyline that solely VVC might concoct, and it additionally features a laundry record of a number of the finest feminine skaters of the period:
Alex White, Alison Matasi, Amanda Kitt, Amy Caron, Cara-beth Burnside, Connie Hartsock, Elissa Steamer, Elizabeth Nitu, Esther Godoy, Faye Jaime, Holly Lyons, Jaime Reyes, Jayme Erickson, Jen O’Brien, Jessica Krause, Jessie Van Roechoudt, Jordyn Erickson, Kea Duarte, Kenna Gallagher, Kristin Ebeling, Lauren Mollica, Lauren Perkins, Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins, Megan Black, Mimi Knoop, Monica Shaw, Patiane Freitas, Stefanie Thomas, Van Nguyen, Vanessa Torres, Violet Kimble.
Watch the complete Getting Nowhere Sooner video by way of The Facet Challenge YouTube channel.
Dr. Neftalie Williams wrote a bit for TransWorld on-line concerning the movie premiere (February 3, 2005) and to evoke the importance of Getting Nowhere Sooner he requested, “Effectively, what in case your video half stood for one thing greater than a way to achieve product? What for those who have been carrying the load of the world in your shoulders? What if each transfer you made was going to be the figuring out issue on how historical past was going to be written? Rattling. Scary proper? That’s precisely the load the women of the Villa Villa Cola crew had resting on their shoulders.” Williams confirmed that “After the opening montage, we have been instantly slapped with the truth that this video was going to rock.”
Williams additionally acknowledged that Lisa Whitaker and VVC had prolonged their attain to past simply their core crew, to incorporate footage of women excelling from throughout, and he concluded that the video “confirmed skating in its truest kind, unadulterated, unbiased, and unbridled.” It was additionally famous that, since his evaluate aligned with Martin Luther King’s birthday, Williams felt that the video was an important reminder for everybody to be handled with equity and equality.
Take a look at Amy Caron’s restricted version PopWar skateboard from 2005 with Lori D. graphics and an important picture of surprise baby Elizabeth Nitu and Caron in the course of the filming of Getting Nowhere Sooner:
TransWorld skateboarding journal was a supporter of VVC and briefly allowed them to publish two pages of female-centric content material buried inside a half dozen points beginning in October 2004, celebrating the eight years between the launch of the zine and the video. The pages have been wedged in behind the journal however have been wonderful, vibrant collages created by Lori D. with a wild story, typical of VVC, accompanied by skateboarding pictures. Equivalent to, the “memorial” for Debbie Escalante in July 2005 known as, “Villa Villa Cola – Making of a Masterpiece” for her “stuntwork” over time, which advanced right into a miraculous talking position in GNF.
Photograph: TWS characteristic October 2004
Sadly, the TWS protection was short-lived. Lori stated their characteristic was cancelled “as a result of the journal stated it wanted to promote the two pages for advertisements.” On the time, TransWorld points have been over 300 pages in size, which is important for a skateboarding journal. I wrestle to see how excluding VVC was associated to enterprise. It was a poor excuse and the dearth of any devoted pages to feminine skate boarders was manifestly apparent. I additionally suspect that the content material, such because the story about an outdated man calling them “dykes” in a Costco and punching a lady named Amanda, from the December 2004 difficulty, wasn’t content material that they have been used to dealing with or prioritizing.
Photograph: TWC characteristic December 2004 with Amy Caron (by Tiffany Morgan)
Photograph: TWS characteristic February 2005 with Amy Caron, Faye Jaime and Vanessa Torres (by Tiffany Morgan)
Photograph: TWS characteristic July 2005 with Vanessa Torres (by A. Acosta)
I might wager that, for those who ask any lady who pursued skateboarding within the late Nineties and early 2000s, they are going to reference Getting Nowhere Sooner as the one most inspiring and influential video for our technology. There was nothing else in the marketplace with this sort of distribution or breadth of skateboarding ability. Plus, the video dropped at life our heroes, Vanessa Torres and Amy Caron, motivating us to rally our like-minded mates in our personal communities, and skate with pleasure and dedication.
An ideal instance of the impression of Villa Villa Cola was a report by Denise Williams, Editor of Push journal and Frontside Betty web site in jap Canada. Within the Spring 2003 difficulty she reported being so excited to obtain the complete bundle of outdated VVC zines, a video, and a blended tape with collaged cowl. She wrote, “Having spent most of my skate life in isolation from different women, it was superb to see that there had been women on the market who skated collectively and travelled collectively and understood one another.” Denise famous how, “The zines contained pictures of women skating, however they have been additionally a testomony to a life-style… [VVC] have been motivated by the idea that group was essential and will construct the women’ skate scene.”
We’ve got the Villa Villa Cola crew to thank for this evolution, and people skateshop house owners who knowledgeable Tiffany and Nicole that there was no market of feminine skate boarders. And, due to their friendships with skate boarders in Vancouver, these zines made their solution to Canada and have been the primary that I ever encountered, when the idea of do-it-yourself was a revelation to me.
There’s a rising record of zines created for and by feminine skate boarders all through the many years (try the Zine web page!), and the Villa Villa Cola zine is slowly being celebrated and acknowledged extra broadly for being a life-line for a lot of, and a strong inventive outlet for feminine skate boarders within the late Nineties. Lately, the 2024 exhibit at SF MOMA organized by Jeff Cheung known as “Unity By means of Skateboarding” acknowledged VVC, and a mini reunion ensued!
VVC members knew that they needed to create visibility themselves, their very own approach and we’re all grateful for it. In Push journal, there’s an important quote by Nicole the place she stated that her hope was that, “Villa Villa Cola might be an inspiration to anybody expressing themselves in a inventive approach… That’s the great thing about the ladies I met by way of skateboarding, as a result of not solely have been they not receiving reward for what they have been doing, they have been judged for it typically. However they have been doing it anyway, as a result of they honestly cherished it, and all of us supported one another in that.”
Comply with VVC @villa.villa.cola on Instagram to remain knowledgeable!
References:
- Damiano, Lori. “Villa Villa Cola,” LoriDamiano.com (2023).
- Harrison, Sharon. “Villa Villa Cola: working collectively to assist feminine skateboarding,” Skateboarder (February 2005), 34-35.
- Lima, Maria. “Creating an archive of womxn’s skateboarding historical past: a dialog with Lisa Whitaker,” Skateism (June 1, 2020).
- McGuire, Meghan. “Revisiting Villa Villa Cola’s ‘Getting Nowhere Sooner,’ – the phrases of Tiffany Campbell,” Bigfoot Skateboarding Journal 1, no. 1, (Might 26, 2022).
- Sq., Douglass. “Lisa Whitaker: Outtapocket and underpaid,” Test it Out: skateboarding 4 women 16 (2004) 41-43.
- TransWorld Enterprise. “Villa Villa Cola: getting someplace quick” TransWorld Enterprise (Might 2005).
- Whitaker, Lisa. Private interview, September 19, 2024.
- Williams, Denise. “Villa Villa Cola,” Push journal 1, no. 2 (Spring 2003): 20-21.
- Williams, Neftalie. “Villa Villa Cola Premiere,” TransWorld (February 2005).