When we were kids, we all envisioned ourselves to grow up to be creative, smart, artistic, the list is endless. We looked up to our idols and always wanted to be just like them. We’ve had idols that came in all shapes, sizes, colors and gender. From singers and actors to artists and skaters.
As kids, many of us wanted to be like Tony Hawke and Andrew Mullen because they were two of the greatest skateboarders to ever bless our planet. Things change, idols change. What happens when a young girl wants to look up to a skateboarder? She can look up to these male skating figures but what if she wants to look up to a skilled skater girl?
Salma Atef, a passionate skater girl, created an all-girl skating community last year. She’s been skating since a young age, mostly alone. Ironically she’s a people person and had always wanted to form a skating community, specifically an all-girl skating community.
What inspired Salma to start a skating community was a movie called ‘Skate Kitchen’ where the main character makes friends with girl skateboarders in New York, and her life changes throughout this movie.
Salma was inspired by the movie and went online to look for girl skaters who are interested in joining a skater community solely based around girls. At first, she wanted to document the process of building the community by filming girls skating in the heart of Zamalek and Downtown Cairo where most skaters can be found.
The documentation wasn’t completed due to her wanting to have a deeper connection with the girls rather than just film footage for social media. Salma took the time to get to know the skaters; where they come from and how their passion for skating was formed. Mariam Koota was one of the first girls Salma reached out to and they both started looking for skater girls through Facebook groups and other social media platforms.
As the female skating community was formed, some of the girls started skating regularly together and others came every other week in Downtown Cairo. The community brought together a bunch of girls that didn’t necessarily fit in together to form a comfort zone. It helped them build their confidence and face their fears.
Whether you look a certain way, have a different mindset or come from a completely different background, it doesn’t really matter. There will always be that one common thing that will unite those who are different from each other. The skating girl community is a great example for the younger generations, especially younger girls.
You don’t have to look the part to follow your dreams, it’s all about how much you want to dedicate yourself to achieving your goals.
