Cindy Whitehead

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“When I started in the ’70s, female skateboarding was still taboo and I was the only girl at the skatepark. I had to block out negative comments and stand my ground. I got sick of hearing, ‘She’s pretty good for a girl.”’
Cindy Whitehead

Cindy Whitehead turned pro in her teens and became a top-ranked skater. After retiring from competition, she reinvented herself as a sports stylist. In 2013, she created her brand of skateboards and apparel for girls and women, “Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word.” Proceeds from GN4LW support micro-grants and nonprofits that encourage girls in skateboarding.

Listen to a podcast with Cindy Whitehead and Robin Logan >>

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Skate card, Marina Del Ray Skatepark, used by Cindy Whitehead, around 1981. Gift of Cindy Whitehead. © Smithsonian Institution; photo AHB2016q007339

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Skateboard helmet has a black matte finish with "Girl [/] is [/] NOT [/] A 4 letter [/] Word" in gold with a gold heart and a pink skull on the left side of the helmet. "XS" is printed in gold on the front of the helmet. The helmet consists of a black styrofoam core with pink foam inserts and a black nylon chin strap with a black plastic buckle.

Skateboard helmet designed by pro skateboarder Cindy Whitehead, from the first manufacturer's run by XS Helmets, 2015. Whitehead was one of a few female vert skaters in the late 1970s and ’80s and was the only woman on the Sims Skateboards team at the time. Whitehead used her skate background to create the “Girl Is Not a 4 Letter Word” brand, which supports women in action sports. © Smithsonian Institution; photo by Hugh Talman, et2016-04864

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A watercolor painting on white Bristol board, drawn by Cindy Whitehead while designing her "Girl Is Not a 4 Letter Word" skateboard. The painting depicts a royal blue stylized outline of a skull, with red oval eyes, a red triangular nose, and diagonal short red lines for teeth, with a horizontal red line crossing the teeth.

This watercolor painting on white Bristol board was drawn by Cindy Whitehead while designing her "Girl Is Not a 4 Letter Word" skateboard, 2013. The drawings were an important part of her inventive process and demonstrate Whitehead’s creativity as well as her distinctive style. © Smithsonian Institution; AHB2013q105489

Source for quote above: Tracy Ramsden, “Female Skateboarding Might Just Be the Coolest Thing Ever.” Marie Claire, May 15, 2017, https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/entertainment/people/female-skateboarding-506580.