Passion is the best company. The moments I store in my mental treasure chest are those in which dreams are shared. You know, goals and aspirations. For many, it’s difficult to figure out what they are, because it can take time to stumble upon what you honestly love and then commit to it. It is a process, a humbled timeline of desire and those who are lucky live in it now.

 Ms. Marisa Nuñez is definitely one of them!

 Meeting Marisa was quite a treat, like walking in a dream. Previous to learning about our LGC this past summer, I never watched female skaters and longboarders. It wasn’t that I made the decision not to, it was just difficult to find our stage. The men have always dominated the television screens, the store ads, and the magazines. Now, I hear talk of, and physically see, the female longboarding population growing rapidly in cities around the world. All thanks to a group of girls who were not afraid to experiment and fall in love with the unknown.

Photo by Mia Legg

When you hop on a longboard you have no idea what’s going to happen, but you do it anyway. So thanks to Marisa and thanks to you for continuing the dream train. Even if you can’t power slide or do any grody tricks yet, just standing on a longboard as a female can inspire the little girl you skate by, who sits in a stroller with curious eyes. And the dream begins…

 Here’s how Marisa’s dream got started. I hope one day you have the pleasure of meeting her so she can tell you in person:

 How did you get into longboarding?

I’ve been longboarding for about six years now and I’ve been down hilling for about three and competing for two.
I got started through a boyfriend of mine who was into skateboarding. He had a shortboard and a longboard. Whenever he went out skating I would follow him around on his longboard and I fell in love with it. Eventually I got my own and hung out with more people who did it. I started meeting people through Silverfish Longboarding and through Facebook. We would get together and skate different parking garages in downtown Miami and a bunch of different places. Then eventually I started competing. Ever since then my life has completely changed radically. It’s been an incredible ride. I’ve been given so many opportunities with my sponsors and I’m so grateful for everything they do for me. They’ve opened these doors in my life that have just brought me to a place that I never thought I would be able to see.

Photo by Ra

 I’m absolutely in love. I’m in love with longboarding. I’m in love with the people, the culture, the community and I want to do it for as long as I can. I’m going to keep doing it.

 How does it feel to be a female skater?

 As a female, longboarding with a bunch of dudes skating around me, it’s really cool. You’re definitely one in a few, but it’s really cool because the guys are really supportive.

 When they see a girl longboarder they get stoked. Generally people like to see that, because there aren’t that many. There are a lot more girl skaters now, but it’s not as common as a guy skating so people just get stoked. They encourage and they support. So it feels good to be a girl and be a skater.

What’s your advice for girls who are into longboarding?

Keep it going. Keep progressing. Get in contact with each other through Facebook. Get together. There’s the Longboard Girls Crew page in every country pretty much now.

 So get in contact with each other and share the passion with other girls. It’s really fun to skate with other girls, it’s good and it’s really different. Girls are generally more caring, they feel everything more. They have so much stoke. They have so much emotion. They have love and it’s amazing to share that with another girl. It connects you on this friendly level and it’s just amazing.

What’s your advice for females who want to skate?
Do it at your own pace if you want to progress. Always be safe, wear the protection that you need to.  Have fun while you’re doing it. Do it because you love it, don’t do it for any other reason.

Mia Legg