Ellen O’Neal was born in southern California. She grew up in San Diego and was talented from a young age having known how to dance ballet and perform gymnastics. As a teenager in the 1970s, she was one of the biggest stars in skateboarding. When she first started she would wear holes in pants and would later get some knee pads to continue practicing the skill. Her passion for this sport would only grow, until she emerged as an international and commercial phenomenon. At the San Diego Union Tribune contest, she was the only girl out of the 200 competitors. However, she earned a second place trophy. This was particularly significant as she competed all over the West Coast at a time when there simply weren’t that many girls doing it. She was good too -- good enough to frequently beat the teenage boys she was competing against. O’Neal’s freestyle routines were a lot different from what you might see now: skating was still a raw, undeveloped sport. The boards themselves had yet to evolve into what they are today: they were smaller, slower, stiffer. Ellen did things like handstands. She spun around on two boards at once; she resembled a figure skater or an acrobat performing on a flat surface. Furthermore, she managed to pick up sponsorships without giving up her love of skating. She believed that the skills she developed with ballet and gymnastics helped in skating. She still hangs out with the neighborhood hot-kids. She competes in many contests and she hopes that girls who skateboard are having fun in the contest and not doing it for money or prizes like the boys. She was sponsored by Vans, Gordon & Smith, and Bennett Trucks. Moreover, she was able to star in Skateboard: The Movie, and in an episode of Wonder Woman that ends with Wonder Woman herself skating downhill to take out a couple of bad guys. She was also featured in a documentary called Skateboard Kings that tracked a lot of the original Dogtown crew where she’s introduced as “The Hobie Queen.” Unlike the other movies, in this one she’s just being herself. Overall, O’Neal has left a powerful impact on the history of skateboarding, earning the legacy of the Skate Queen. Source:https://sportsstories.substack.com/p/the-skate-queen

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