You’ve more than likely seen the long-lasting Powell Peralta advert that includes Anita Tessensohn and Leaf Treinen which declared that “Some Ladies Play With Dolls. Actual Girls Skate.” The advert got here out within the December 1987 difficulty of Thrasher and February 1988 difficulty of Transworld Journal and had been promptly cut-out and pasted to the partitions of remoted ladies skaters all over the world – as seen within the 1990 film Grinding to Win (the primary movie to revolve round a feminine skater).
Within the Eighties, the mainstream magazines by no means bothered to follow-up with interviews of those thriller skaters, so thank goodness for Lynn Kramer’s ‘zine Equal Time. Kramer and photographer, George Medlock interviewed Anita for Vol. 1 No. 3 in 1989 in Anita’s house in Torrance, CA (she was additionally given the quilt!) when she was 19 years outdated.
Anita was raised in Eugene, Oregon however was born in Los Angeles, and has Indonesian heritage. She first took up skateboarding in Eugene at age 15 in 1985 after seeing a skater out within the streets. She saved up and acquired her first skateboard, which was a Santa Cruz “Jammer” at an area bike retailer. It’s price noting that Anita was an elite stage gymnast from ages 9 – 15.
Skating road was Anita’s desire with mini-ramp an in depth second, though she did strive vert and freestyle. She was additionally lucky to have a crew of 5 to 10 feminine skaters to terrorize the streets with, together with Leaf and Circe Wallace, who would go on to be a widely-recognized skilled snowboarder. They might usually meet at Eugene’s “Cage Ramp.”
Circe acknowledged their previous in a Fb publish (December 19, 2014) saying, “Anita was such an excellent skater. She was a gymnast and did actually good at school. Her and I turned quick buddies. We traveled on the Inexperienced Tortoise to Seattle and skated all over the place, we went to Portland and even to SF all once we had been 14 and 15. She is now a mom and superb dancer/trainer She may do kick flips and ho-ho’s and obtained sponsored by Powell Peralta. Evidently I used to be soo envious. However at the moment all grown up I’m simply so grateful we had the adventures we had collectively and for her friendship! Love you Anita.”
When requested by Kramer how she obtained sponsored by Powell-Peralta, Anita stated, “I don’t know. I simply went to a professional contest in Eugene, and I talked to Stacy [Peralta] after somebody stated, ‘Hey, try these women.’ He took a couple of photos, and gave me a board.” Anita later confirmed that it was the “Willamette Dammit Skate” contest, which she had attended the earlier years, being impressed by Mark Gonzales ripping it up within the rain in 1986, and Tommy Guerrero who gained in 1987.
The well-known Powell-Peralta advert with Leaf was taken in Eugene, actually a day after Stacy requested if Anita wished to obtain skateboards and the boards that they had been holding, weren’t even their very own. Anita shared that she had no thought concerning the advert prematurely. “They didn’t even inform me ‘til it was out within the journal. He goes, ‘Oh yeah, Anita, I forgot to inform you. I did an advert with you.’ Somebody at Enterprise advised me about it. I used to be like, ‘What?! I certain am glad I knew of it.” Anita additionally confirmed that the reception was nice “Folks appeared fairly stoked and we obtained numerous encouragement” (2023).
Anita ended up transferring to Southern California in 1987, after ending highschool. She can be noticed throughout the mob scene of “Camp Bones” in 1987 (carrying crimson pants), when the whole Powell Peralta crew got here collectively on the Santa Barbara warehouse and had been documented by Jim Knight. An archival video of the weekend is shared on the Powell Peralta archives through Youtube right here.
The next 12 months, the game-changing video Public Area (1988) was launched and Anita was included, touchdown flip tips and board slides, in addition to Sophie Bourgeois performing freestyle, and Lori Rigsbee, who was killing it on the mini-ramp and backbone. Anita loved skating Hermosa Pier the place Sophie’s half was filmed, and bumped into Lori only a few instances. Anita reported that, “I had numerous enjoyable filming for the Public Area video. It was filmed in in the future at some banks in Gardena, CA. My buddy Dee Dee Devine was there with me. She’s handed away; listening to her chortle within the video at all times fills my coronary heart!” (2023).
For a lot of skaters of that era, Public Area was their first publicity to ladies skateboarding and at such a reliable stage. Anita is filmed saying, “I encourage women to skate – certain. Anyone who desires to skate ought to skate.”
In California, Anita was having fun with skating banks with parking boundaries and whereas she wasn’t one to intently practise a trick, she was engaged on kickflips over hips and having enjoyable messing round. In Equal Time she stated, “In case you’re taking it too critically, you’re clearly too critical. You get too concerned with it, and also you get actually annoyed with it.”
Anita liked assembly individuals and touring with skateboarding. Her mother and father met in Venice, which meant that Anita usually visited and have become snug skating there. She met Jesse Martinez early on and witnessed Christian Hosoi in motion on the streets in Venice. In San Francisco, Anita met the legendary skater KZ Zapata, who wrote the zine Push, Push then Go! and in Huntington Seashore, she met Saecha Clarke and Christy Jordahl.
As soon as she was a part of Powell Peralta, Anita was despatched to a few CASL contests and carried out a demo with the crew. Anita didn’t thoughts competing, contemplating it a change of tempo, and wasn’t phased by competing in opposition to guys. “However a women division is a bit more enjoyable. There’s no snaking. You don’t have to fret about some six foot tall man knocking you in your butt” (Kramer).
When requested about negotiating her identification as a feminine skater, Anita was fairly able to being snug as herself in any setting. “I’m a woman. I simply occur to skate. If I didn’t skate, I don’t assume I’d be very a lot completely different… I dress up each day. I don’t separate them. If I really feel like carrying a gown, I’ll put on a gown” (Kramer). Anita additionally recalled in 2023 that her greatest pet peeve “was being requested to ‘do tips’ to show I used to be really a skater.”
Anita nonetheless needed to cope with the standard harassment by the general public as a skateboarder. “Folks hate skate boarders. It’s outlawed all over the place round right here. And the skaters damage it by being obnoxious to individuals who ask you to not skateboard. These individuals damage it for others. In case you respect different individuals, they’re going to respect you. I hate it, as a result of I can respect different individuals, however individuals damage it.” Her mother and father had been additionally a combined combo, with mother being supportive and pa mocking her as a “silly tomboy”!
Anita persevered, usually skating solo, making an attempt to keep away from aggressive trade varieties and other people with unfavorable attitudes. She merely wished to get along with good individuals and have enjoyable. One time she went to Brooklyn, NY driving the subway solo to go skateboard and was acknowledged for her half, and when requested for her autograph, Anita would flip to determine who was being spoken to!
Maybe the particular person had seen her instructing LeVar Burton the best way to skateboard on The Studying Rainbow! How cool is that this?:
In the identical difficulty of Equal Time, a contest in Tempe, Arizona was featured which hosted each road and mini-ramp competitions. Anita and Saecha Clarke battled it out in road. It was reported that, “They each skated actually laborious. Saecha pulled a stale fish launch, ollie kickflips, and ramp to wall rides. Anita had a extremely good, constant second run nevertheless, placing her excessive. She pulled all types of flatland stuff that’s over earlier than you see it, and a crail seize wall journey. Nice skating was completed by each.”
In Saecha’s interview for Test it Out Journal in 2004 she stated, “I solely knew two women that skated road, Christy [Jordahl] and Anita Tessensohn. I feel Anita was just about the primary lady road skateboarder.” And whereas Saecha and Christy had been sponsored by Steve Rocco and World Industries, in line with Marc McKee, Anita briefly labored within the warehouse. McKee speculated that George Powell most likely wasn’t too loopy concerning the association, however apparently Rocco was eager on hiring ladies. Anita began out packing bins, drove the stake-bed truck, oversaw distribution, turned Supervisor and Buyer Service, however the gig was short-lived.
Poweredge journal additionally included a photograph of Anita of their March 1989 difficulty inside an article known as “Equal Time,” (pp 36 – 39) which included a two-page dialogue on ladies in skateboarding by the legendary Stephanie Individual, the primary African-American feminine professional, in addition to a two-page interview with Cara-beth Burnside by Lisa Campbell.
Extra not too long ago, there’s a fast glimpse of Anita inside an incredible 2009 trailer known as “A Ladies Skateboarding Documentary” by P.M. and M.A.P. that seems to by no means have been produced (somebody inform me the place I can see all of the footage!!). Anita acknowledged that “we used to journey round in a pack – terrorize the city…” and I’m assuming she’s speaking about her time in Eugene. There’s one other clip the place she’s speaking about practising tips with different women, and “if one in all us obtained it, all of us needed to strive it, all of us needed to get it. However we had been all actually completely different ladies.” In her ultimate clip, Anita stated, “Every time I consider who I’m and what I’m, I at all times consider skateboarding.”
In 1988, Anita had the unlucky expertise of getting hit by a automotive whereas skating, which occurred between the filming of the video and premiere of Public Area. A woman was backing out of her driveway and didn’t see Anita passing by. “It wasn’t my fault. I may have been strolling. I broke my leg. That was in October. So I simply began skating three or 4 months after that. It was actually laborious to get again into it. It hurts, and also you at all times need to cope with that ache” (Kramer). Anita was in traction for every week and attended the premiere on crutches together with her pushing leg in a solid.
Picture above is from Transworld June 1988 (p. 174) across the time of Anita’s harm.
Throughout her restoration, Anita moved again to Eugene however stored re-injuring her leg. Anita recalled that, “I found dance randomly making an attempt to get vary of movement again in my knee after the accident. I immediately fell in love with dance and finally had to select. I’ll at all times marvel what would life be like had I chosen skating. Then I have a look at my husband and youngsters and might solely imagine it was the best one” (2023). It’s additionally price noting that after two months of dance faculty Anita acquired a scholarship in 1990, which modified her life’s course.
For skateboarding, Anita was sponsored by Powell Peralta, Enterprise vehicles, and Airwalk footwear. As of late, she goes by Anita Sanford, and she or he is knowledgeable dancer and teacher with the Dance Northwest firm in Eugene. Anita acknowledged that “gymnastics was pet love” and gave her a mindset of coaching that she delivered to skateboarding. “Skating was my first LOVE” because it made her be at liberty and she or he carried that fearlessness to bop. Anita concluded that “Dance is my soulmate. It provided me a protracted profession and an outlet for expression” (2023).
[Update – February 5th, 2023, Anita was interviewed for the podcast: The Bones Brigade Audioshow! Tune in here. Photos from Anita’s collection are below]
Updates: In December 2023, Anita was inducted into the Skateboarding Corridor of Fame! Congratulations! Right here’s a stunning photograph by Kevin Marks of the LookBack Library of Anita holding the problem of Equal Time zine together with her on the quilt, taken in the course of the SHOF celebrations in 2024:
And now… Strangelove Skateboards has launched a signature board for Anita as of June 2024. Wonderful!!!:
Images: George Medlock, Jim Knight, Kline
References:
- Kramer, Lynn. “Anita Tessensohn.” Equal Time. Vol. 1 No. 3, 1989.
- Sanford, Anita. E-mail correspondence. February 15, 2023.