Meet Alyssa Angulo, a surf-skatin’ (and snowboarding) hippie from San Diego, California best known for her eye-catching colorful outfits, retro vibes, and love of skateboarding. Involved in girl-centric skate groups like GrlSwirl or Babes n’ Boards based in and around Southern California, Alyssa has grown her platform across Instagram and Tiktok with playful footage of her skating bowls or carving up local neighborhood streets! Withitgirl spotted her out in Isla Vista, California where she recently graduated from UC Santa Barbara, and couldn’t wait to reach out and learn more about her involvement in the surf-skate community!
Where are you from originally? What was the surf-skate scene like there?
I am originally from sunny San Diego where the surf-skate community is well known. There are endless amounts of skateparks and fun surf spots!
Who or what inspired you to start skating? Why did you pick up the sport?
My biggest inspiration that pushed me to start skating was Lords of Dogtown "Z Boys" and GrlSwirl! Lords of Dogtown is a film about the famous Z Boys who were a group of skateboarders in the mid-1970s from Venice, California. The Z Boys style of skating has inspired my own style of skating today. I admire the Z Boys for inventing the surfing-based style of skateboarding and pool skateboarding. Meanwhile, I first started skateboarding in 6th grade when I begged my dad to buy me my first longboard. I've always been interested and fascinated by skateboarding growing up. I've also always been a tomboy growing up too. Years later, I found myself always skateboarding alone in my neighborhood because female skateboarding wasn't very popular. Then I found an all-female non-profit organization called GrlSwirl in high school that would skate a specific board called Carver Skateboards. They inspired me to get my first Carver Skateboard which leads me to now. I mostly use surf-skate boards like Carver skateboards and YOW. GrlSwirl made me realize there are other females who like to skate too and it pushed me to keep skating and looking for friends who had common interests.
What are some of your favorite skate parks or spots? Tell me a little bit about them!
My top three favorite skateparks are Venice skatepark, Prince skatepark in Oceanside, and Linda Vista skatepark. I also really enjoy flat ground skating along a beach. Venice skatepark has so much history behind it. It is one of the most famous skateparks. My favorite part of that skatepark is the community behind it and all of the tourists who stand around the skatepark watching you skate. Prince skatepark is my local park closest to home and it has one of the most fun bowls to ride. I am not a street skater so I like to go to skateparks with really fun bowls to drop into. The prince skatepark is also one of the most welcoming communities of skaters I have ever met. Everyone is super friendly and encouraging toward beginner skaters. Lastly, Linda Vista skatepark was funded by the Tony Hawk Foundation. The layout of this skatepark is insane! One of the largest parks I've ever seen! There are a total of 4 different bowls that I get to enjoy riding there.
How have you defined your own skate style and sense of fashion as an influencer in the surf-skate community?
I believe the 70s and 80s skate style plus the surf-skate community has played a major role in defining my own skate style. I adore the surfing style of skating that was created in the 70s along with bowl skating in the 80s. Then I fell in love with surf-skate boards that are designed to make you feel as if you're surfing. These boards are different than your typical regular skateboard because the front truck has insane flexibility to allow you to maneuver differently than a regular skateboard. I believe I combined all three of these different factors to create my own skating style. My sense of fashion is a way for me to express my artistic side. I've always loved clothing and creating outfits that really express who I am as a person. I don't just follow what is trending in clothing but instead, I create my own surf, skate, and hippie style. I also know that female skateboarders for the longest time had a reputation to dress like boys with baggy pants and oversized t-shirts. However, I want to show that girly girls can also shred too! I want to normalize girls wearing girly clothing to skateparks. Whenever I go to skateparks, first off there aren't that many females, sometimes I'm the only one so when I pull up to a bowl wearing a bikini top and shorts I feel like most guys look at me like she has no idea what she is doing. Then I drop into a bowl and surprise all of them.
What is Babes n’ Boards? What is your involvement with the organization like?
Babes n Boards is an organization similar to GrlSwirl. It is an organization with the intentions of connecting womxn with other womxn who have a passion for skateboarding, surfing, and snowboarding. I was lucky enough to be asked to start a chapter in Santa Barbara where I hosted group skates. Now that I have graduated from UCSB and live back at home I help with the San Diego Babes n Boards by doing shoots with companies they collab with and helping host group skates at Prince Skatepark.
Do you have a message you’d like to share with girls (and other folks) looking to get into skating?
I never intended for my social media to revolve around skateboarding and blow up. However, it truly makes me happy to see that I am inspiring females to hop on a board and learn how to skateboard. I want to use my platforms as an influencer to encourage females to break gender boundaries and normalize female skateboarders at skateparks especially. If you're looking to get into skateboarding my biggest suggestion would be to find your own community of females that will do it with you! It's not easy showing up to a skatepark by yourself trust me I've been there but having a group of female friends by your side makes things so much easier and more fun to get into the sport. I found a lot of my female skate friends through social media and organizations like Babes n’ Boards and Grlswirl.
Marian Walker is an environmentalist, artist, and fan of all things with boards, wheels, or both! As a part of the Withitgirl team, she hopes to channel her creative energy into fun pieces for the collaborative!
If you dig Alyssa’s style and story, be sure to check out her Etsy where you’ll find some super sick retro-inspired surf-skate stickers and art!
Alyssa Instagram
Alyssa's TikTok
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