etnies

SKATE

Lauren Perkins is one of the top up-and-coming female skaters in the world. The Huntington Beach, Calif., native started skating in 1998 after a skatepark was built near her home. She thought skating looked like fun, so her parents gave her a skateboard for her birthday and the rest, as they say, is history.

A self-proclaimed tomboy, Lauren taught herself how to skate. By the age of 12, she had become so skilled that she won first place at a Gravity Games amateur contest, beating 45 boys. A year later in 2002, then two months shy of her 14th birthday, Lauren took first place at the All Girls Skate Jam in Huntington Beach, Calif., competing against some of skateboardings top female pros. That same year, she finished in the top three in Women's Street at the Slam City Jam in Vancouver, British Columbia, the World Cup Australia in Melbourne, Australia, and the Triple Crown Finals in Oceanside, Calif. She rounded out her phenomenal year by placing first in Women's Street at the West 49 Canadian Open in Toronto.

Lauren's accomplishments continued to multiply in 2003, as she finished second in Women's Street at both the Slam City Jam and the West 49 Canadian Open. She also found the time to stunt double for the Jamie character played by Jennifer Morrison in the Warner Bros. feature film, Grind, and became the first female skateboarder to grace the cover of SG Magazine. In 2004, she placed third in the Women's Street competition at the Slam City Jam.

Lauren is living proof that her advice to aspiring skaters to never give up on your goals and dreams are true words to live by. She attends Huntington Beach High, and in her free time, she likes to ride her Yamaha YZ80 motorcycle, surf and snowboard.