ALLIVIA LORUSSO: A GIRL ON THE GO
GROWSK8LIFE has many awesome fans and a large portion of them are doing amazing things. Allivia Lorusso was introduced to us by her proud Mother, Amy. We were particularly interested in Allivia's story because she is a fellow Mainer and has the unique perspective of sharing the difficulties of being a skater girl on a fairly rural area. When she was 14 years old she was featured on Shred It Girl's website, as an "IT GIRL." Since then her skills have grown and she brings some serious intellectual thoughts to the table. Please read on and find out more about this amazing 16 year old.
GROW: So nice to meet you Allivia. You know that your Mom is quite a big fan
of yours. Family support is so important when a girl your age is trying
to accomplish big things. Do you have anything you would like to say to
your Mom?
Allivia: Hey Nicole, thanks so much for taking the time to interview me! I am aware that my mom is a big fan of my skating and I am so grateful for her support everyday. Without my parents I wouldn't be anywhere near the level I am at in my skating now.
G: Why don't you start by telling us a little about yourself and how you got into skateboarding?
A: I'm 16 years old and I live in southern Maine. I started skateboarding when I was 12 years old and to be honest, I can't picture myself doing anything else. My interest in skateboarding was sparked when I saw my cousin riding her longboard down our street. She lived with us at the time, so she was like my big sister and I wanted to do everything she did. So for my 10th birthday I got a skateboard. I didn't really give it much time for about two years, other than rolling around in the driveway and sitting on it. At the age of 12 was when my interest in skateboarding became much bigger. My little brother and his friends were going down to the tiny skatepark in our town, so I tagged along because I wanted to check out the ramps and try them out. As soon as I saw the little 3 foot halfpipe I knew I had to drop into it. My brothers friend was helping me learn how to drop in and I was absolutely determined to land it. I wouldn't leave the park until I dropped into the little ramp. Once I finally made it I knew right then that this was what I wanted to do. The feeling of conquering that tiny halfpipe was unlike any other feeling in the world. Shortly after my trip to the tiny skatepark, me and my family took a trip to Rye Airfield skatepark, in NH. I was very intimidated walking into the giant 50,000 square foot building, but I knew this was what I wanted to do. After that first day at Rye Airfield I just never stopped going and my passion for skating grew stronger every day.
G: How many times have you been to Woodward Camp? Did you get to meet some great skaters? How do you think that experience has improved your skating?
A: I have been to Camp Woodward 4 times now, in 3 years. Woodward is honestly one of the most amazing places in the world for anyone who is passionate about their sport. The staff there treat you like family and the whole entire camp always has a magical feel to it. Throughout the years I went to Woodward I have met quite a few great skateboarders and even more great people. As far as skateboarders go, I saw Lynz Adams Hawkins, Andy Macdonald, and skated Woodward's Mini ramp with the Enjoi team and Evan Smith. I also competed in a contest the Chris Cole judged. I met multiple Pro BMXers, great photographers, and just wonderful people all around. Camp Woodward has helped improve my skateboarding so much through the years I have gone. They give you opportunities to ride things there at camp that you probably couldn't ride anywhere else. For example Camp Woodward has a Mini Mega ramp and it is the only one in the world that is accessible to the campers to ride while at camp. I have had the opportunity to ride it all 4 times I went to Woodward and it is my favorite thing to ride while I'm there. I learned a lot of tricks at Woodward whenever I would go because they would always have contests. Me and my friends would practice all week for the contests learning new tricks along the way. It was in a Mini Vert contest at Woodward when I landed my first Backside Air over coping.
G: You have a contest coming up at Rye Airfield this weekend. I heard
you're the only girl competing, which unfortunately is way too common.
Are you ready for the contest? Do you have any tricks up your sleeve?
A: Yes I have a bowl contest at Rye tomorrow and I'm pretty pumped! I've been taking it easy because I have a sore throat and want it to be okay for the contest (haha). Yes I am the only girl competing as far as I know, and we do need more girls to get into the sport. I would love to have some other girls to compete with around here on the east coast! I am very ready for the contest and just can't wait to skate it with all of my friends. I've got some tricks in mind I would like to try during the best trick jam, like FS Smith Reverts and Blunt Pivot Fakies.
G: Please share with our readers how you decided to develop your clothing line XX designs? My understanding is that the profits go to sending one girl a year to Woodward? Can I just tell you that GROW supports your efforts majorly, and we are so proud of you (stop blushing).
A: So with my XX clothing line I have just started to get the website going. Its not up for the public to see yet but we are working on it! I have to get in some orders of clothing and hats to have in stock before I can open up my website and get it rolling. Our ultimate goal would be to be able to send girls to action sports camps for free and to help girls gain confidence in their sport and in their life as well. And thanks so much for your support I REALLY appreciate it! It means a lot to me.
G: So, about the elephant in the room..We are Northeastern girls and if you want to skate and be a girl at the same time, you face many challenges. First off, where do you skate in the winter? But more importantly, you spend a lot of time skating alone because girl skaters are just rare here. Believe me, I've been dealing with the same thing and that's why I started GROWSK8LIFE. We have to make all those girls out there aware of what is out there waiting for them. That is why I started the non-profit portion of GROW, so that we could find those girls, or create these girls, and get them skating. It has not been easy. I believe if Skateistan can find girls in Cambodia and Kabul to sk8, so can we. What are your feelings on this?
A: I agree that it can be a struggle for girls to get recognized here on the east coast and you do have to work hard to get your face out there in the industry. Although I actually saw my friend Nora Vasconcellos grow up skating here on the east coast and she is now one of the top Professional girl skaters in the world living out in Cali. She proved to me that it is most definitely possible for ANY girl, no matter where you live, to make it in the skateboarding world if you really want it bad enough. I skate Rye Airfield in the winter because it is the only indoor skatepark that is within a reasonable driving distance for me. I really believe that a lot of girls would fall in love with skateboarding if they gave it a try. Its something you can do to get away from the drama in school or any other problems you face. I think one of the biggest things that is holding girls back from venturing out and trying skateboarding is a lack of confidence because it is clearly a male dominated sport. Luckily I never really got any mean comments from boys or anything like that but in other areas it might happen to other girls learning to skate. We just have to teach girls and inspire them to be confident in everything they do and to be comfortable in their own skin knowing that they are perfect just the way they are.
G: As far as competitions here, that include female divisions, I think that
will only come with time and effort. If there aren't enough girls to
make a division for them then why would they do it? People like us have
to make it happen. That's what happened with vert in the X-Games, but
what can you do? There are a lot of better contests out there then the
X-Games. Female contests and divisions are being created every day. We
are on an upslide, not a downslide, so take that to heart.
A: As far as girl contests go I think that you are right, we do need more girls to skate and compete so we can have girl divisions in contests. Amelia Brodka, a professional girl skateboarder in California, actually just put on her second successful contest for girls, called Exposure. It is a bowl and vert contest for AM's and Pro's. I plan on going to compete in this next November. It seems like a very fun contest to attend and it is growing the girls skate industry a lot.
G: What do you see in your future? A move to another State? College? More competing?Pro? You are young and can do it all.
A: In my future I see a move out to California in about 3-4 years. I want to be out there with all the girls skating daily and doing all the contests. I'd say my absolute dream and goal would be to be able to move to Cali and make a living from being a professional skateboarder and by going around giving motivational speeches to kids and helping them find a passion and teaching them to be comfortable and confident in their own skin. Becoming a professional skateboarder is what I want so that I can have the freedom to help and inspire young girls to get out and try new things- skateboarding especially!
G: We look forward to good things from you and if you need help please let us know. Good luck this weekend killer.
A: Thanks so much for your support and hope to chat again soon!
Here are links for all the Sk8 Organizations mentioned:
Shred It Girl
Rye Airfield Skatepark
Woodword Skate Camp
Allivia: Hey Nicole, thanks so much for taking the time to interview me! I am aware that my mom is a big fan of my skating and I am so grateful for her support everyday. Without my parents I wouldn't be anywhere near the level I am at in my skating now.
G: Why don't you start by telling us a little about yourself and how you got into skateboarding?
A: I'm 16 years old and I live in southern Maine. I started skateboarding when I was 12 years old and to be honest, I can't picture myself doing anything else. My interest in skateboarding was sparked when I saw my cousin riding her longboard down our street. She lived with us at the time, so she was like my big sister and I wanted to do everything she did. So for my 10th birthday I got a skateboard. I didn't really give it much time for about two years, other than rolling around in the driveway and sitting on it. At the age of 12 was when my interest in skateboarding became much bigger. My little brother and his friends were going down to the tiny skatepark in our town, so I tagged along because I wanted to check out the ramps and try them out. As soon as I saw the little 3 foot halfpipe I knew I had to drop into it. My brothers friend was helping me learn how to drop in and I was absolutely determined to land it. I wouldn't leave the park until I dropped into the little ramp. Once I finally made it I knew right then that this was what I wanted to do. The feeling of conquering that tiny halfpipe was unlike any other feeling in the world. Shortly after my trip to the tiny skatepark, me and my family took a trip to Rye Airfield skatepark, in NH. I was very intimidated walking into the giant 50,000 square foot building, but I knew this was what I wanted to do. After that first day at Rye Airfield I just never stopped going and my passion for skating grew stronger every day.
G: How many times have you been to Woodward Camp? Did you get to meet some great skaters? How do you think that experience has improved your skating?
A: I have been to Camp Woodward 4 times now, in 3 years. Woodward is honestly one of the most amazing places in the world for anyone who is passionate about their sport. The staff there treat you like family and the whole entire camp always has a magical feel to it. Throughout the years I went to Woodward I have met quite a few great skateboarders and even more great people. As far as skateboarders go, I saw Lynz Adams Hawkins, Andy Macdonald, and skated Woodward's Mini ramp with the Enjoi team and Evan Smith. I also competed in a contest the Chris Cole judged. I met multiple Pro BMXers, great photographers, and just wonderful people all around. Camp Woodward has helped improve my skateboarding so much through the years I have gone. They give you opportunities to ride things there at camp that you probably couldn't ride anywhere else. For example Camp Woodward has a Mini Mega ramp and it is the only one in the world that is accessible to the campers to ride while at camp. I have had the opportunity to ride it all 4 times I went to Woodward and it is my favorite thing to ride while I'm there. I learned a lot of tricks at Woodward whenever I would go because they would always have contests. Me and my friends would practice all week for the contests learning new tricks along the way. It was in a Mini Vert contest at Woodward when I landed my first Backside Air over coping.
A: Yes I have a bowl contest at Rye tomorrow and I'm pretty pumped! I've been taking it easy because I have a sore throat and want it to be okay for the contest (haha). Yes I am the only girl competing as far as I know, and we do need more girls to get into the sport. I would love to have some other girls to compete with around here on the east coast! I am very ready for the contest and just can't wait to skate it with all of my friends. I've got some tricks in mind I would like to try during the best trick jam, like FS Smith Reverts and Blunt Pivot Fakies.
G: Please share with our readers how you decided to develop your clothing line XX designs? My understanding is that the profits go to sending one girl a year to Woodward? Can I just tell you that GROW supports your efforts majorly, and we are so proud of you (stop blushing).
A: So with my XX clothing line I have just started to get the website going. Its not up for the public to see yet but we are working on it! I have to get in some orders of clothing and hats to have in stock before I can open up my website and get it rolling. Our ultimate goal would be to be able to send girls to action sports camps for free and to help girls gain confidence in their sport and in their life as well. And thanks so much for your support I REALLY appreciate it! It means a lot to me.
G: So, about the elephant in the room..We are Northeastern girls and if you want to skate and be a girl at the same time, you face many challenges. First off, where do you skate in the winter? But more importantly, you spend a lot of time skating alone because girl skaters are just rare here. Believe me, I've been dealing with the same thing and that's why I started GROWSK8LIFE. We have to make all those girls out there aware of what is out there waiting for them. That is why I started the non-profit portion of GROW, so that we could find those girls, or create these girls, and get them skating. It has not been easy. I believe if Skateistan can find girls in Cambodia and Kabul to sk8, so can we. What are your feelings on this?
A: I agree that it can be a struggle for girls to get recognized here on the east coast and you do have to work hard to get your face out there in the industry. Although I actually saw my friend Nora Vasconcellos grow up skating here on the east coast and she is now one of the top Professional girl skaters in the world living out in Cali. She proved to me that it is most definitely possible for ANY girl, no matter where you live, to make it in the skateboarding world if you really want it bad enough. I skate Rye Airfield in the winter because it is the only indoor skatepark that is within a reasonable driving distance for me. I really believe that a lot of girls would fall in love with skateboarding if they gave it a try. Its something you can do to get away from the drama in school or any other problems you face. I think one of the biggest things that is holding girls back from venturing out and trying skateboarding is a lack of confidence because it is clearly a male dominated sport. Luckily I never really got any mean comments from boys or anything like that but in other areas it might happen to other girls learning to skate. We just have to teach girls and inspire them to be confident in everything they do and to be comfortable in their own skin knowing that they are perfect just the way they are.
A: As far as girl contests go I think that you are right, we do need more girls to skate and compete so we can have girl divisions in contests. Amelia Brodka, a professional girl skateboarder in California, actually just put on her second successful contest for girls, called Exposure. It is a bowl and vert contest for AM's and Pro's. I plan on going to compete in this next November. It seems like a very fun contest to attend and it is growing the girls skate industry a lot.
G: What do you see in your future? A move to another State? College? More competing?Pro? You are young and can do it all.
A: In my future I see a move out to California in about 3-4 years. I want to be out there with all the girls skating daily and doing all the contests. I'd say my absolute dream and goal would be to be able to move to Cali and make a living from being a professional skateboarder and by going around giving motivational speeches to kids and helping them find a passion and teaching them to be comfortable and confident in their own skin. Becoming a professional skateboarder is what I want so that I can have the freedom to help and inspire young girls to get out and try new things- skateboarding especially!
G: We look forward to good things from you and if you need help please let us know. Good luck this weekend killer.
A: Thanks so much for your support and hope to chat again soon!
Here are links for all the Sk8 Organizations mentioned:
Shred It Girl
Rye Airfield Skatepark
Woodword Skate Camp
