Skate-Stopped #3-Wheels of Fortune 9 Edition
This week I got to interview Audrey @zzzaaaaaaadude (Insta: officialaudreyy), who got to compete in Wheels of Fortune 9 last weekend! If you have ever been interested in competing in WOF, or just need to be inspired to skate, this is the interview for you!
How long have you been skating?
I’ve been skating since September of last year I would skate around when I was younger like 10 or 11 but stopped for quite a few years.
That's great that you got back into it after a while! What made you get into skating in the first place?
We’ll all those years ago, my neighbor who also went to my school had a skateboard, and when I’d see him skate I just really wanted to learn. So one year I had a birthday party and used all the money I got to go to Zumiez and put together my first complete. We’d skate around day and night. And if we weren’t outside, then we were inside playing Tony Hawk on a Playstation or Skate on the Xbox.
That's so awesome that he inspired you to go out and get your own board. You surrounded your entire life in skate culture! But now that you are back into skating, you just recently got to compete in Wheels of Fortune 9! How far did you have to travel to compete?
Yeah, it’s genuinely amazing! And I traveled from California to Seattle! About a 2-hour flight. Nothing too crazy.
True that's not bad, I know there are some women that came from all over the world though! Which part of the contest did you compete in?
Yeah, we had girls from Japan, Colombia, Sweden, Canada. All over! So, I competed in the beginner’s division. Probably one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. All of these advanced and pro skaters watching you for a 30 second solo intro run and a 3-4-minute jam session with 2 other girls, but once I started skating it was honestly the greatest feeling ever. All the support and encouragement from everyone in the crowd. At the end of my intro run I tried going for a heelflip. I didn’t land it but the roar from the crowd got me so hyped!! Like that’s what I mean by it was such a supportive environment.
It's amazing that a small contest like this is now turning into an important international contest. That had to have been nerve-wracking and exhilarating. I bet they did go crazy for you trying that! Heelflips are difficult! That's great that even though you didn't land it, everyone was just stoked that you tried! You don't see that a lot in competitions! Do you think it would've felt different if everyone wasn't so supportive?
Yeah, it’s truly amazing Everyone just supports people trying. And definitely, I think one of the most important aspects of the weekend is that it’s about more than the competition. The whole idea is to bring women together to skate no matter what their skill level. Getting on a skateboard is hard and everybody recognizes that, so the hype is real for anybody trying anything, even if it’s just pushing around.
That supportive atmosphere sounds unmatched than any I've ever heard of! I'm glad that community has banded together to keep that aspect of it alive! How was it meeting all of the different types of skaters?
Honestly the best way I can describe it is amazing. You have women who are just learning how to push, who can shred, people in between. So many different backgrounds, stories, and identities. It’s such a diverse community. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. And there’s absolutely no way that a person could ever feel like they don’t belong. Everybody belongs.
That just honestly seems like a dream come true. Everyone seems equal, and equally stoked for each other. You even got to just chill with the pros! That just doesn't happen in many sports. You said you got to be a part of the Witch Hunt as well, how were the challenges set up?
So, for the Witch Hunt you got to pick a team of up to 10. You all decided on a team name and had a captain. There’s a huge group in the middle of a skate park of all these teams and the captains go up and get a bag. Every bag has the same items and challenges. When they start the time, you have 7 hours to go through a list of challenges. They range from “kick flip body varials” to “your whole team shot gun La Croix” to “shave your head”. The challenges also take place all over the city, so the location could be specific for points. So you can’t just stay in one spot. Each challenge has a certain amount of points and whoever completes the most challenges with the most points wins the challenge part of it. But another part of it is the people’s choice. So while you’re completing the tasks you also have to be filming “horizontally” and put together a complete edit by the next morning and submit it. We still have to hear from that because it’s going to be posted on Thrasher for people to vote on the best edit.
That sounds so awesome!! So, it's basically set up like King of the Road? Which challenges did you complete? I didn't know Thrasher was going to be posting them! I'll be on the lookout for those!
Yeah that’s what someone was telling me! I’ve never heard of King of the Road, but I guess that’s what it’s like. So, I didn’t do a whole lot of challenges, but I was in the group ones like shotgun a La Croix, or teach a scooter kid how to skate. One of the challenges I tried to do was match with someone on tinder and teach them how to skate! I was sooo close to that one, but she couldn’t make it to the skate park before our time was up, so I didn’t get it.
Those challenges sound like really sweet, but also hilarious! A tinder skate date?? I love that! What was your team's name, so we can all look out for the video?
It was really fun overall. And on my team, we had the Swedes, so our team name was “Gör nått coolt” and I’m not exactly sure what that means to be honest.
That’s great that you got to befriend international skaters! I'm so glad it was fun and successful! Did you get to do any other activities while you were there?
Yeah so there was a coffee and conversations on the first day, which was just a hangout at a coffee shop, which was also the first time I saw Lacey Baker. And a welcome party that night with tons of food and an art show. But in general, it was mostly skating a lootttttt.
That's so dope that there were meet ups beforehand, sounds like you get to know everybody well before all the shredding goes down! Do you think you are going to go back next year?
Yeah you really get a chance to chill and vibe with everyone you look up to, it’s seriously such a special thing. And hell yeah! I’m already booking my flight for next year!
It's such a one of a kind experience! That's commitment, but it seems so worth it!! What advice would you give for people who are interested in going and competing in WOF?
All right, so if you’re interested in going to Wheels of Fortune, I definitely would say not to let anything stop you. This is literally an experience like no other. If you need help or accommodations everyone is so helpful, you’ll never feel like you’re on your own. There are plenty of resources that I had to make use of. If you’re scared about going alone or not knowing anybody, it’s worth noting that a lot of girls actually do go alone. But nobody leaves alone. I traveled by myself and ended up with friends all over the globe. If you’re thinking about competing I say just do it. It doesn’t matter your skill level. Whether you’re just stepping on a board, young, older, intermediate, advanced. Somewhere in between. Just do it. It’s honestly all so much fun. Might be a little scary at firs,t but if you can overcome that, it’s honestly a positive experience you’ll remember forever.
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