Meet The Young Woman Breaking Barriers For a New Generation of Female Skaters
Updated: Jul. 12, 2018
Professional skateboarder Annie Guglia has achieved a couple of major goals in her day, but here she fills us in on another one she has in mind.
Annie Guglia is living her very best life — doing exactly what she loves to do — skateboarding. At the age of 27, the Montréal-based athlete is making her mark in the male-populated action sport and becoming a role model for the newest generation of female skaters.
Although Guglia has years of professional skateboarding under her belt, it was an invite to skate in the X-Games Minneapolis and her debut in a full-length female skate video, Quit Your Day Job, that made her wildest childhood goals come true. Her #BHmoment? Proving that no matter how much your goal seems to fade as you grow older, nothing is ever out of reach. “It’s never too late to start doing what you really want to do,” says Guglia. “You might not end up being the best or achieving everything you dreamt of, but you will have the satisfaction to have accomplished something great in that sense while having no regrets.” Don’t miss these five steps on how to achieve your goals.
Now a rep for Vans Get On Board (a worldwide program that offers skateboarding lessons and workshops for girls), Guglia is proud to stand alongside a company that is helping break barriers and redefine gender norms in the industry one inspiring female skateboarder at a time. “Skateboard companies like Vans are starting to invest time, money and energy to encourage women and show that they’re welcome in skateboarding. These actions send a strong message that it’s possible for girls not only to skateboard, but also to make it in skateboarding,” she says. “Now, it’s our job to bring skateboarding to another level and encourage young girls to push it even further.”
What she wants young girls and women to know
“I want to tell all women and girls that want to skate but are too scared: give it a shot. It’s less dangerous than you think, you just have to stay really focused and balanced every second you’re on your board. I also want them to know that if you fall 100 times and succeed one time, it’s still a success in skateboarding. There’s no shame in falling, and once you overcome that fear, skateboarding will bring you so much happiness, new friends and good times!”
Her best advice
“Work hard and stay focused,” she says. “The people that we admire are not doing 100 different things, they’re doing one thing right!”
As for her next goal?
To skate in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. “I’m trying to become even better so I can better my chances in two years,” she says. “There’s really no end to how far you can push yourself on a skateboard.” (Related: Find out how this 18-year-old Olympian handles the pressure of success.)
