Meet Jennifer Yonda | Owner of LA Skate Hunnies

I started the LA Skate Hunnies back in July 2020. I wanted to find other girls that skated, particularly that rollerbladed. I set up an event on Facebook, and 4 people showed up. I remember being so nervous that no one was going to show, so when those few came out it felt like such a victory. For months our meetups only pulled a handful of people, but I stayed consistent and did my best to make everyone feel welcome. A few of the girls said I should start an Instagram to advertise for the meetup. The few that were showing up told their friends to join, and we started promoting more consistently on Facebook AND Instagram.

In a few months, we had an explosion of interest– our numbers for weekly meetups jumped from 20, to 30, to 40, then 50 people every week. This burst of growth was not easy, but incredibly exciting. It felt like all of a sudden, we had something people wanted to be a part of. I wasn’t accustomed to managing such a large group, and felt the growing pains. For example, I’d lose my voice from leading the group and making announcements at the start of the night, since all of a sudden, I was trying to project my volume to 5x the amount of people I was used to!Eventually, I ordered myself a hot pink megaphone on Amazon for $12– one of the best purchases I’ve made.

Over the past two years, I’ve learned so much about how to improve and how to manage the community. Challenges have always come up— after all, I didn’t have much formal planning for the role I ended up in. But, with every challenge came a new opportunity.
For example, we’ve been kicked out of spaces that our skate community loved. That hurt, but it drove us to scout out new spaces and expand our minds to consider new places we wanted to adventure. We’ve also needed to adjust to an ever-growing community, with skaters of all different levels and skill sets. This challenge was a bit more difficult to solve, but in response we were able to start hosting events with more variety, so that there was something for everyone. We also started offering skate lessons and rentals to help encourage those who’ve never skated before to give it a try in a safe environment.

Another grow moment for us was learning branding and merchandising.After ~1 year of running the Hunnies, people started clamoring for t-shirts, stickers, and other accessories. That was a totally new challenge for me– I wasn’t a graphic designer or brand developer! But sure enough, that opportunity helped me grow into someone that could handle those things. Now we sell shirts, hats, stickers, & pins.

As we grew, the desire for unique events that blended skating with other hobbies also became apparent. People would suggest things like, “We should do a “goth night,” or, “Let’s do a hiking & skating meetup.” The more I listened, I learned that so many of our community members shared hobbies outside of skating– things like hiking, yoga, similar music tastes, or flow art. I wasn’t sure how to proceed, but just started reaching out to other community leaders to help guide our process of blending skating with these other activities. Since then, we now host events monthly that cater to multiple hobbies, so that our community can mingle with others, and so the Hunnies can find their tribe outside of our skate fam. In all of these cases, I felt both intimidated and excited by what the future could look like. I feel grateful for the challenges that have led to the growth and evolution of the Skate Hunnies today.

I’d take them skating! Anybody who’s my friend has to at least have tried skating, hahaha. For a chill day, I’d take them to Venice beach to skate the boardwalk, hangout near the Skate Plaza & Venice Skate Park, then grab empanadas (from Empanadas Venice) or tacos (from Tacos Por Favor).

If they like hiking, I’d take them to Malibu Creek State Park on an adventure to the Rock Pools. I absolutely love it there. When you step out into the parking lot, it looks like you’ve landed in New Zealand. The mountain views are stunning, and once you make it to the pools there’s something for everyone. Many people rock jump into the pools, some bask on the banks to take in the scenery, and others spend the day climbing on the edges of the pools– the state park is a popular spot for outdoor climbers and outdoor enthuasiasts alike.

Like I was saying, there are countless people that have contributed to the success we have now, almost two years after the start of the LA Skate Hunnies. Firstly, I’d like to thank everyone who shows up week after week with a smile and open arms– all the love and support keeps us going! Thank you to everyone who’s carried the Bumpboxx (our portable large speaker that we take blasting through the streets with us)! Thank you to all my fellow organizers who’ve helped make special events happen, and beautiful collaborations possible! Thank you to my route scouters! Thank you to my traffic safety volunteers! Thank you to our DJs, and teachers, and photographers! Thank you to the small businesses that have supported us!

Special shout-out to Alan at Nickel & Dime LA for sponsoring many of our events and giveaways! Nickel & Dime LA is an inclusive skate shop in East LA that designs street wear, sells skates, and hosts monthly community events– if you haven’t been by the shop already, stop by and say the Hunnies sent you! Alan has supported us from the beginning, and has always been so generous with getting us whatever we need. His shop has designed our t-shirts and stickers, and provided prizes for competitions and special events. Alan, you’re the best!

I want to give another shout-out for Pigeon at Pigeon’s Skate Shop in Long Beach. Pigeon has also sponsored some of our events, and her community and skate shop are huge inspirations to the our community culture. Pigeon has made leaps and bounds for inclusivity and community building in roller-skating, we can’t wait to see what she comes up with next! We are so grateful for the space she holds at Pigeon’s Roller Rink for the skate community to congregate and connect. We love the themed nights they do, like Goth Night & ASL Day!