With the passing of International Women’s Day some of our favorite brands are still keeping the spotlight on women. Vans’ House of Vans has been hosting skate clinics across the US that sheds light on their mini documentary Girls Skate India. India is a place where girls are expected to follow a social norm but skateboarding has opened up a world of possibilities for these ladies to fearless.

I had the opportunity to be fearless by creating my own skateboard during their workshop and actually taking the first step of learning how to skate like the amazing young girls in the film.

I went into thinking putting a skateboard together would be a breeze but I was sadly mistaken. This is not an easy process and it really makes you appreciate the finished product more! Besides sanding the board and cutting off the access with a razor blade the hardest part was getting wheels placed on properly. That was a team effort but just being able to make this myself made it feel just that much more special.

After creating our custom boards, we had the opportunity grab a beverage and watch the short film Girls Skate India followed by a panel discussion with Vans pro skaters Lizzie Armanto, Jordyn Barratt, Brighton Zenuer, Nina Moran, designer Robin Eisenberg and music artist Bully. Each woman on the panel shared their stories and gave insight to their careers and left words of encouragement as we began our finally test, the skate lesson.

This was super challening for me, if anyone knows me, knows that I can skate, ride a bike, and even jump a little double dutch but riding a skateboard wasn't something your girl had experience in one bit. So I grabbed some kneepads and got ready to "get on board."

The instructor was very helpful in helping me overcome the first step, just getting my foot on the board. There were kids as small as 5 years old zooming past me and I just stared in amazement at how skilled they were, how fearless they were. Eventually, after several failed attempts I was able to glide on the skateboard, everything else we will need to talk about later.

I would say this was one of the most challenging yet inspiring events that I have had the opportunity to attend. It was special because I was able to look around the room and see girls of all ages doing what they love, which was skate.

It's amazing how the love for something can bring people together. I was able to actually get on a skatebaord, something I would of never thought I would of done in a million years. Will I get back on in the future? Maybe. But, now I have a new found respect for skaters and the fearless women who are killing it, every single day.

Images by Jackie Robertson

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Ticara is a Style Editor at CNK who has written other publications such as Sway’s Universe, Big Boy’s Neighborhood and even ran her own entertainment site Vita 10|17. Her motto is “From Chicago For Chicago”, you can connect with her on Twitter and Instagram.