THUNDER BAY – Vanessa Bowles was a skateboarding pioneer, one of the first females to take up the sport in Thunder Bay.
That was back in the 1990s.
As it almost always happens, life got in the way of her passion.
Her kids became her main focus and she put her board away, at the time thinking it might be for good.
But earlier this year a friend mentioned there was a group of girls who were tinkering with the sport and were in desperate need of a mentor.
Bowles didn’t hesitate.
She grabbed her board, scooped up her helmet and pads and hit the skate park at Prince Arthur’s Landing, quickly becoming a leader and inspiration for a growing group of girls who, unlike two decades ago, have felt welcomed by the sport and its male dominated population from the start.
Bowles couldn’t be happier.
“I started in the late ‘90s in skateboarding and maybe there were two or three of us in town, if that, riding around on our boards. Now, to see the little girls and the older women out here skating, feeling more comfortable, it’s such a community here in Thunder Bay,” said Bowles, who hosts an all-girls session on Sunday mornings at Marina Park.
She said social media has helped, along with skateboarding being included in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
“It’s definitely made a huge impact in the world of female skating,” Bowles said. “You see so many girls now just killing it and riding so strong. Even back in the ‘90s we had girls that were just as good on their boards, but we weren’t getting the media that we are now.
“That makes a huge difference.”
Sara Smith, who joined Bowles the past couple of days for a photo shoot for an upcoming Kings Skateboard magazine feature on the growing female skateboard scene in the city, said it great to get more exposure.
The more it’s out there, the more women and girls will take up the sport, she said.
“As a girl, for me, I would never show up to the park. I was so scared to come because all the guys were so intimidating,” Smith said. “But once you shed some light on the girls, you realize the guys are just as hyped as you are trying to skate.
“It’s so welcoming and other girls will see you and want to come out.”
Bowles said when she was first starting out it was simply a matter of letting go and focusing on being the best skateboarder she could be, blocking out the outside noise.
It’s a lesson she’s trying to pass on.
“Now I don’t really care what people think about what I’m doing and those types of things, because I couldn’t. When I was in Toronto skateboarding and doing stairs and ledges, guys would snake me and not let me ride.
“You just had to tough it out and keeping doing what you love,” she said.
Things are different these days.
“It’s definitely super inclusive,” Bowles said. “We’ve got about seven or eight girls that are here, usually most of the week. We’re willing to jump in and help anybody trying to figure out the sport. It’s not the easiest thing to learn. And a lot of the guys will come out and give you pointers, show you what’s what. Everyone’s just got such good etiquette at the park.”
