Skate Girls: Jenn Soto - Urban Outfitters - Blog

Join us as we go inside the lives of 13 young skateboarders on the West Coast and learn about their favorite spots, personal memories, and friendships formed through a love of skating. Watch the Skate Girls trailer  here and read interviews with each of the girls  here! As someone who first picked up a skateboard in 6th grade, Jenn Soto knows a thing or two about skating. We chat with Jenn about who she loves to watch skate, the music she keeps blasting, and how much fun she's having along the way. Hey, Jenn. Can you introduce yourself? How long have you been skating? JS: Hi my name is Jenn Soto and I've been skating for 10 years now. When did you get started? How old were you? JS: When I first started, I think I was about 11... sixth grade. Do you remember what that felt like? JS: Yeah, it was really sick because everything was so fresh and brand new. When you start off doing anything it's just so exciting because there's no limit. You don't even know what the limit is so it's hard to even set yourself one. Just go out with your friends like mad men and go do stuff. It's really fun.  Who were you watching skate? JS: Vanessa Torres and Lacy Baker and all of them, they were the only women in X Games competing a lot and in the streets as far as women go. I mean, I have favorite men skaters too but they definitely stuck out the most to me. And it's cool that now we're all friends casually. I feel blessed! Why is it important, as a young 11-year old girl, to be able to look up to other female skaters? JS: It gives you a sense of possibility. As a kid, it just is an assurance kind of thing. There are girls out here doing it. They are in the streets. They are in these contests. They have people, a large fan base that loves them so much, and it's just a whole different world that it's exciting to be a part of, even now. I still feel like a kid being a part of it.  It’s come full circle because now young skaters are looking up to you.  JS: Yeah, it's kind of crazy 'cause it's very humbling to have a kid or someone come up to you, talking about skating and what you're doing. When you're doing it you're just like, 'Ah, this would be a cool clip for people to see, let me put it out on the internet' and then people are really backing it. It's cool and I really hope that all the girls here can be a part of setting it up for the next generation. We're still far from getting where we need to be in female skateboarding but we are the stepping stones. Someone's got to do it. So even if we don't get to where we want, we can see the next couple generations do it. It’s really cool to be a part of that.  You all seem to have such a strong sense of community in the skateboarding world. Can you tell us more about that? JS: It’s beyond gender barriers—if that is a barrier at all—all the relationships in skateboarding, it brings back an innocent feeling because there's no one saying, 'Oh my god, did you hear about this?' It's more like, 'Yo, you got a trick!' It’s more so positivity all the time, you really step out of the drama zone and just keep it skateboarding. It's just about camaraderie. But the females, we all stick together even stronger, because there's not that many of us compared to the guys. Especially at X Games. We're all dancing and stuff, having a great time together. So you’re having more fun than the guys? JS: (Laughs) Yeah. It's probably because we're nervous but it's cool to have each other when we're nervous. It's not like, 'Oh, I'm scared of her, she might win.' It's like, 'Oh, she might win! Cool!' That’s important. So, what else? Are you listening to music when you skate? JS: Yeah. I'm the headphone kid in the skate park.  What are you listening to? JS: I really like old school hip hop, like Nas and Biggie, and Wu-Tang, and all that. Then I have my moments where I listen to corny radio music or Flume, a lot of electronic stuff. It's cool. There's a lot of different vibes for different styles of skating. If I'm just cruising around the park, something mellow to keep my nerves chill. It works. What would you say to your 11-year old self, just getting on a board, now that you’ve come this far? JS: I'd say, 'Good job, kiddo'. As I said earlier, when everything is so fresh, it's cool, because there are no obligations. There's no pressure and over the time when you realize, okay, maybe this is what I want to do with my life, no one pressures you. You create your own pressures. You can be skateboarding every day and that alone you should be proud of. Instead, sometimes I'm thinking, 'Dang, I'm not getting a new trick every day' or 'I didn't film anything today'. You can really get hard on yourself over little things like that, that don't even matter. In the bigger picture, you're still out there having fun. You're on your board. As long as the love doesn't leave, it should be like that. So I'd definitely tell my younger self, 'Chill, just skate. It's gonna be good'. Just chill. JS: Yeah. Honestly, that's my life motto. Wing it. It works... in a good way. I mean, don't just blindly live life but you can just also choose not to pay attention to stuff that doesn't matter. Half of the problems that I thought were problems as a kid, now I'm laughing at those situations because I'm so far gone about it. And it's good to have known that back then. Just chill, it's cool. Just chill. What does it feel like to be at the X Games? JS: (Sigh) It's amazing. I don't know, 'cause I'm still so fresh to it. The park itself is built perfectly, so that's a dream. And we all kind of like putting on a show. No matter how nervous we get, that's our time to shine. We eat it up. We're always dancing or messing with each other out there. Not everyone lives in California. That's the coolest part about X games—that’s the one time of year people get together. It's exciting. It's an overwhelming amount of feelings because everyone is very excited but nervous. Calm, but hyper. It's electric, honestly. You really feel the vibes.  What would say to the young girls out there who want to be there with you someday? JS: To all the young girls out there, don't ever feel discouraged, or feel like you can't make anything happen just because somebody else said so. It's better to try and have to work on some things to make it happen than not try at all and regret it and just think about it forever. It's not worth it. Read interviews with each cast member  here! Watch the Skate Girls Trailer Shop Skate Girls