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Cindy Whitehead began skateboarding at age 15, and by 17, she had turned pro and become one of the top-ranked female skateboarders for vertical terrain nationwide in the 1970s. She did so at a time when it was nearly unheard of for girls to take up the “dangerous” new activity, and even less likely that they would choose pools and vert over freestyle or slalom. Retiring from her pro skating career at the young age of 22, Cindy remains the only woman to ride for Puma. After searching for a new career—one that would fuse the athletic excitement of pro skating with her love for adventure—Cindy essentially created her own job description, reinventing herself and coining the term sports stylist.
In the years since, she has worked with athletes such as Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, Mia Hamm, and Peyton Manning and developed a reputation as one of the world’s leaders in her trade. Still finding time to hop on her skateboard, in 2012 Cindy generated headlines by skating down the closed off 405 freeway in Los Angeles. In 2013, she collaborated with Dwindle’s Dusters California Skateboards for the brand she created, “Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word” aimed at the female market. The GN4LW brand gives back to women in action sports with every collab that they do. And in 2014, she gave a TED talk detailing her journey through skateboarding. Cindy currently resides in Hermosa Beach, California with her husband, Ian Logan.
I’m Cindy Whitehead, and I was one of the first handful of girls that was skateboarding pools and half-pipes back in the mid 1970s. We were paving the way and had no idea where skateboarding would be today.
I grew up in Hermosa Beach, CA and skated all the parks throughout California. But my home parks were Skateboard World in Torrance and Marina Skatepark.
I was the first girl (at age 15) to have a centerfold (skating a plexiglass glass ramp) and two-page interview in a skateboard magazine. Where I spoke out about women’s equality in skateboarding. The iconic photos were shot by photographer Bruce Hazelton.
I turned pro at 16 years old and was sent on tour to skate some of the best skateparks (Cherry Hill, Apple, Florida) in the USA. And then there was a little adventure that involved trespassing to skate the holy grail, the Ameron Pipes in Arizona.
I was inducted into The Skateboarding Hall of Fame in 2016. I published 2 coffee table books on girls skateboarding, I’ve done a TEDx talk, spoke at espnW and The Smithsonian and have written numerous articles highlighting women in skateboarding. Pieces of my 70s skate history sit in The Smithsonian Museum as well as the Hermosa Beach Museum.
Enough about me. You get the gist. Because now it’s really all about THIS …
Now I run a movement to help and highlight girls and women in skateboarding, GIrl is NOT a 4 Letter Word. We have a website, social channels, and a team of rad skater girls. We highlight skateboarders from all of the world on this page – because you know what? It’s not just a handful of us anymore – and that’s what I’ve always hoped to see.
I hope you’ll follow us here and cheer on the future generation – because the girls are badass and deserve to hear it.
Stay Rad and welcome to our movement!
- Cindy Whitehead – October 4, 2024
