Elissa Steamer: Pro Woman Skateboarder

Elissa Steamer
In a male dominated sport, one with an extremely high physical injury rate, one female breaks the mold. Thirty year old Elissa Steamer is the world's greatest professional female skateboarder. Beginning at age thirteen, Steamer was as fearless as the rest of her male friends (and only male friends) when it came to mastering the art of tricky boarding. Except for a long distance pen pal she met during one of her competitions, Steamer only rides with the guys.

Speaking of competition, Steamer began competing professionally eight years ago at the age of twenty-two and just recently won the gold at the X Games. She is a part of Team Etnies, a sponsoring skater clothing brand, and every cash prize that Steamer achieves, Etnies matches. She won first place in the X Games in the women’s street competition, which consists of clearing stairs and grinding handrails and ledges; not a typical vertical ramp course known as a “vert” course. Steamer competed like one of the guys. However, Steamer’s gold won her $2,000 in prize money; the male gold winner for the same course was worth $50,000. A $48,000 difference in gender completion, which Steamer admits is a harsh discrepancy.

Not only does Steamer work hard to compete, she falls hard too. In a detailed list of destruction to her body, she has knocked out her teeth, had numerous knee surgeries, scar tissue build up on her hands and elbows and shins that have formed to noticeable lumps, and dents in her shins. During last year’s X Games in August she tore every tendon in her foot, and was off her board for two months. This woman proves to be just as priceless as the boys.

On average, Steamer competes in five to six competitions a year. Every other day she hooks up with her boys and they just skate around town all day. Steamer currently resides in San Francisco, where she comments on getting kicked out everywhere for skating on sidewalks. She is often ticketed by police for riding her board to the grocery store because, as she explains, it is such a nice downward slope ride. Steamer often hears comments from businessmen and nicely dressed citizens of her being a “scum bag kid” causing trouble in their town. Little do they know she specifically chose San Francisco for the concrete hills to improve her eight year professional career, which has earned her the honor of being the only female character in the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game.

Steamer is a very supportive participant as well as a fan of sports, and especially emphasizes support on the increased girls’ participation in skateboarding. In 2004 she attended the Gravity Games and met an eleven year old girl and her family as part of a make-a-wish program. Steamer invited them to dinner and they hung out afterwards in the athlete’s lounge playing video games. The two are now pen pals, writing postage letters back and forth. Steamer is an incredible mentor and icon for girls to follow in the journey of an aspiring dream.

Link to article: http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/Content/Articles/Athletes/About%20Athletes/E/Elissa%20Steamer%20Pro%20Skateboarder.aspx

Reference: Beyer, Rebecca. Women's Sports Foundation founded by Billie Jean King. Elissa Steamer: pro skateboarder. 2010, March 05. http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/Content/Articles/Athletes/About%20Athletes/E/Elissa%20Steamer%20Pro%20Skateboarder.aspx

Posted by: Salina Renteria Kin332I Sec02