Magazine proof featuring Jaime Reyes, professional skater for Rookie Skateboards. Reyes is one of the pioneering women of 90s street skating and only one of three women ever to appear on the cover of Thrasher magazine. She grew up in Hawaii skating A’Ala Park, an old roller derby rink before skateboarders showed up. Skating in the X-Games in the mid-90s she was one of three women competitors earning only a portion of what the male skaters were taking home. She turned pro in 1993 skating for Real but moved to New York City and began skating for Rookie Skateboards in the late 90s. Reyes has had her own shoe line and many different sponsors over the years but after 9/11, skating in New York City was suffering and Reyes lost many of her sponsors. She quit skating in 2009 after her father passed away although she has picked it back up in the last few years and is skating everyday.
Rookie skateboards, a company owned and operated by women was founded in New York City in 1996 by Jung Kwan, Elska Sandor and Catherine Lyons supplying skate gear and fashion specifically to women. The entrepreneurial skaters were tired of wearing clothes designed for women by men. Sandor explained, ''All the designs made for girls were being made by guys, so you either end up with something that was either porn or really cutesy.'' Skirts, form fitted pants and comfortable shirts became Rookies signature look along with the ‘no pink’ mantra. Rookie was often heralded for having both their boards and apparel manufactured in the United States but after 911 they struggled, due to their close proximity to ground zero, and began manufacturing their goods in Canada. Catering to street skaters in their urban New York City setting, Rookie sponsored some of the best pro street skaters of the era - Sean Kelling, Tino Razo and Jamie Reyes to name a few. No longer in business, Rookie left their mark on the NYC skate scene and continue to influence the skate market which has fostered its relationship with the growing number of female skaters.
