Age: 17
From: Groton, Connecticut, USA
How did you get into skating?
The show Rocket Power on Nickelodeon. I’m a bit of a loser and I thought the show was sick! It featured a really good girl skater named Reggie, even though it was a cartoon, it showed some insane tricks.
Did you find it pretty hard to break into a male-dominated sport?
Yes – very. It took me a while to get everyone’s respect, and there are still some people who don’t respect me, but I guess you have to learn to accept that. They’re the ones drinking hatorade!
How did the sponsorship with Nikita come about?
I went on to their MySpace page and asked them to check out some clips of me skating, and they thought it was pretty good, so they kept me in mind for a while… Then my latest vid must have caught their attention, and I’m super glad it did!
Are you excited to be on the team?
YESYESYES!!! It’s so sweet in a million different ways. I’m so, so, so super stoked to join the Nikita team. It’s such an awesome opportunity for me and I’m excited to represent and ride for the company to the fullest!
Can you give us a run down of your average day?
Wake up, text my boyfriend because I’m a text fiend, then go skate, literally, just wake up and go skate.
And if you could have the perfect day, what would it include?
Learning a new trick, and just feeling good, having candy and Starbucks or maybe a Red Bull. Ha ha!
What are your plans for this summer?
Skate skate skate, hang with my boyfriend, skate skate skate, boyfriend, skate, eat, skate, boyfriend, breathe? Oh and did I mention skate?
I’ve recently been teaching skate lessons to youngsters and hope to instruct at an all-girl’s skate camp this summer too.
What’s your favourite place to skate?
G-town skatepark!! Always. Over four years I have somehow never gotten sick of skating it.
Do you still get nervous before a big contest?
Yes, I don’t talk to anyone! I’m a super-anxious person to begin with, so a contest usually freaks me out, but once I start skating I shake it away and shred my best and my personality comes right out.
What is the atmosphere like behind the scenes?
If I’m not skating, I’m either eating, listening to music or with my boyfriend so it’s a nice relaxing life behind the scenes for me.
You must be looking forward to travelling a lot?
I honestly hardly travel at all as I get motion sickness really bad – I’m such a dork! But once I have my licence (very soon), I’m planning to travel as far as possible, hopefully to Europe to see some family in Ireland!
What have your greatest achievements been so far?
Getting sponsored by Nikita definitely is a huge achievement, and doing a tre flip up a ramp was preeety sick 🙂
Who or what are your inspirations?
Bryan Herman was my favorite skater when I first started and he still is, but also Donny Barley who’s a local and always comes down to the park and skates like a regular guy. And I can’t forget my boyfriend, he skates flow for DVS and Zoo York and has pretty much kept me trying new things.
What affect does your career have on your personal life?
My skating is my personal life believe it or not!
How do you relax when you get the chance?
When I’m not skating I love wailing on my drums and I have an obsession with collecting anything to do with the Beatles. I like listening to my iPod and taking pictures a lot too.
What’s up next for you?
The top of the world hopefully – ha ha! Actually just whatever comes next, I’m up for anything.
Images by: Josh D’lizarraga
