It's not an official motto, but you might say the underlying message behind Shred It Girl is something like: "You don't have to be a ballerina."
No offense to ballerinas, but co-founders Erica Tomaszewski and Alicia Baldino, both 22, prefer shredding it on the slopes to spinning in a tutu.
Tomaszewski, of Nashua, NH and Baldino of New York say their motto is actually, "Are you Shreddy?" which sort of sums up the culture of being a Shred It Girl.
The two met while students at Franklin Pierce University in NH, studying journalism. In contemplating their future, they had the feeling they were on to something with their mutual love for board sports.
"I started skiing with my family at age 3, and I hated it. I hated our family vacations to Vermont. My parents put me on a snowboard one year and that was it for me," Baldino said.
Ditto that for Tomaszewski, who discovered snow boarding while in the second grade, before it was mainstream.
They've grown up with the idea that girls are just as shred-worthy as boys, but lacked solid role models or a source that promoted the board sport culture with a feminine twist.
So they decided to create it.
In February, Shred It Girl came together, once Tomaszewsi hit on the right name. They officially launched an online magazine by the same name, www.shreditgirl.com, where they combine their love of board sports with their mad journalism skills, to chronicle their adventures and build a community targeting like-minded females.
"Shred it Girl’s mission is to create a sense of community for female board sport athletes and amateurs and break through the primarily male-dominated board sport industry," Tomaszewski said. "Shred it Girl provides a place where girls can feel comfortable and secure about progressing in their board sport without any pressure, while providing female riders of all experience levels ways to improve their skills and connect with other riders in the community."
Once they got through graduation in May, the two women hatched a plan for touring the Northeast, going coastal starting with Hampton Beach, NH where they landed on July 23 before moving onto Hampton, NH.
Now, they are traveling south through Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, and Philly. In New York, they will be stopping at Drop in Skatepark in the Hillburn Industrial Park on Wednesday, August 1 at 1:30 p.m.
Their focus is on all board sports including surfing, skateboarding, longboarding, snowboarding, paddle boarding, and wakeboarding. Their site concentrates on local events and competitors, and features tips in nutrition, exercise, and staying in shape during the off-season.
They also follow the local music scene in order to discover new and exciting music to share with their audience, to pump them up during their workouts and riding sessions. The site is updated weekly with articles, videos, photos, and surveys.
"Erica and I are doing this from a journalism standpoint – we're reporting on a culture, and while we're not experts at the sport, we love it so much, and we like to meet the experts and report back to the community on what's happening," Tomaszewski said.
The tour is designed to promote their site as well as interview female riders along the way, meet with shop owners, attend events, visit skate parks, check out beach hot spots, scope out mountains, and host meet-and-greets.
Although they had to turn down an invitation to speak at a UK skateboard camp, they have penciled it in for next year.
"We need to work toward that, but it was exciting to be asked," Tomaszewski said.
Another short-term goal is finding sponsors.
"We're financing this trip on our own. We've packed a lot of snacks, and we're on a budget," Tomaszewski said. "Ideally we'd like to find a helmet company or an energy bar or sports drink company who'd like to sponsor our site."
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