Thrasher Magazine

WARNING: This photo story will give you a solid dose of FOMO. Skate Like a Girl’s epic 12th edition of Wheels of Fortune was a sensational hit. This May, skaters from the majority of Earth’s continents gathered in Rain City, also known as Seattle, Washington. Hungry for fun with their favorite pros, Instagram acquaintances and long-distance homies, the astrology-themed menu didn’t disappoint: moshing, crowd surfing, Witch Hunting, broken-voice karaoke and, of course, good ol’ skating. Get a glimpse of what you might have missed or can’t remember. —Emanuele Barbier

Photos Raisa Abal, Norma Ibarra and Nam-Chi Van

After a year-plus hiatus, Wheels of Fortune 12 was back with a legendary session at the Seattle Center Skate Plaza, known by locals as “SeaSk8”

Icons all around, so you know it’s about to go down!

Abi Teixeira, Shag and friends were all smiles as they checked out the terrain

Storming into Seattle to get it started, Bay Area baddie Neeks busted out a hurricane, perhaps an omen for the following day’s weather

Fellow traveler Yurin Fujii flew in from Japan to flow through the crowd and steal a steezy crooked grind

In more international news, Belgian royalty Maité Steenhoudt showed how it's done with a back lip over the hole

OZ legend Sheezy followed suit, dipping deep with this Smith grind over the hip

Brazil’s Vitória Mendonça brought her world-renowned heelflip, as seen here flicking out of a front tail

As the out-of-towners continued to cover the park, a solid squad broke away for a media panel moderated by Kim Woozy featuring the likes of Alex White, Pipa Souza, Raisa Abal and Norma Ibarra

Hailing from São Paolo, Pipa Souza brought a fresh perspective from her journey through skateboarding, photography, publishing and broadcasting

Industry veteran Alex White then shared a long list of Ws and Ls from her illustrious career

Present and future game-changing filmers, photographers, writers, broadcasters, artists and publishers, you name ’em—they were in that room

You know WOF had the coolest woman-owned independent mags in the building. Seen here: Pipa Souza  from Into the Mirror and Raisa Abal from Dolores

After the opening events, it was time for the welcome party. We got it going with a screening of the new documentary A Mobile Community about the social skate project Free Movement, and of course a few skate vids

Fuck it. Cornhole at the skateboarding event

Shining bright like diamonds, Montreal’s Bedazzled crew came dripped up

WOF would not be possible without the tireless work of its 70-plus volunteers. We salute you

Audge, Shari, Jessie, Lisa and Annie took a break from scheming their next big move in the industry to pose for this nice group shot

Anyone else blushing just looking at these beautiful faces?

After the Free Movement documentary, the skate video premieres popped off with a local edit Heels on Wheels by Eva Schneider

The reports are in: The cheers and screams during the Bedazzled premiere were heard all the way in Montreal

Then the crowd was blessed with an exclusive screening of Georgia Martin’s pro part in Toy Machine’s latest video REAL LIFE SUCKS

The screenings capped off with me and my fellow Canada-based filmer Daria Dayle premiering our respective videos Bedazzled and We Just Got Here

Watch out, world, you’re not ready for the Tallman/Martin takeover

Where would we be without these three?

The California contingent is always strong at Wheels of Fortune

All the way from the East Coast, DJ Code Abi came to get the crowd movin’

Last Friday night, yeah, we danced on table tops, and then Norma got the shot… 

…and she crowd-surfed for the first time

Dropping! Even the snowboarders hopped off the chairlift in time for WOF this year

Bronx Girls Skate’s Kava displays the skater’s sacred mantra, backed up by her co-conspirator Mel, of course

Everyone’s step count and swag meter shot up thanks to the dance floor and CHPO stunner shades

Maité Steenhoudt, the number-one fan of hot new rapper Ryanislit got her time to shine

Heads were bopping, booties were shaking and voices were screaming: “Outta My Way”

Hold on, what? Wait. Is that who I think it is? It’s MARISA! Even she had to leave the woodwork for WOF12

Free product? You know it

POV: You’re in the pit

Name a more iconic power couple. I’ll wait

Nations Skate Youth x Skate Like a Girl solidarity for life

Romina of Tuti Frutti ended her Friday with an epic win!

Day two and you know what that hat means; it’s Witch Hunting time! Let’s check the teams

Rollin’ deep, the Bronx Girl Skate team was ready to take action

The Goofy Goobers look equipped to goof, and probably goob as well

Fabi and Elisa peeped the challenge sheet, strategizing for maximum gains for Team Air Signs

Meanwhile, the fire team was already heating up. Elissa Steamer sparked us with this smooth noseslide

WOF essential: a Sharpie for your favorite pro’s autograph

Sharing is caring. Check out this gorgeous beaded medallion gifted to Jim Thiebaud

Marisa Dal Santo in the flesh!

Marbie making bluntslides look so easy

Eunice took a dip to complete the Water Sign challenge, scoring some crucial points for Team We Dem Boyz

Georgia Martin made some marks on her new pro deck thanks to the iconic Garfield High School—boardslide on exposed-aggregate

Dutchy displays her singular back tail at the Seattle Center fountain under admiring eyes

Fabi goes full commit for the Ariana Spencer footplant challenge, Texas plant

Breezy, is that you?! Drink chug mid manny challenge complete via Vitória

After the wild goose chase of Witch Hunt, the festivities led everyone to 35th North for a few more video screenings and art exhibitions with works by Nora Vasconcellos, Marbie Miller, Norma Ibarra and Hannah Eddy

Nora’s pieces mixing warm and cool tones, paint and markers, and added texture from sewn-in fabric were truly a treat for the eyes

If you love skateboarding and bright colors, Hannah Eddy’s art is for you!

Photographer Norma Ibarra shared a few powerful photos from her volunteer trip with SkatePal in Ramallah, Palestine

35th North cleared the shop to drop the new Skate Like a Girl collection, featuring original art from Hannah Eddy

Big up to these two gents, Deluxe’s Jim Thiebaud and 35th North’s Tony Croghan

It was a big night for Hannah! Stoked to have the homies Ashley Rehfeld, Nora Vasconcellos and Jill Perkins there to celebrate

Time to head for the Sage Williams Memorial Queer, Women and/or Trans skate jam led by THERE Skateboards pro Jessyka Bailey

The hottest people in skateboarding right now

As a symbol of remembrance and celebration, sage plants were distributed to friends like Kat and Natalie, in honor of the late Seattle legend Sage Williams. Thanks to Sage’s mom Connie!

It’s off to the races and Cass opens the session with a badass backside 5-0

Sienna ‘Squink’ Matcha got grabby off the kicker

Samiya lays down a steezy back Smith

Every session, all weekend, Yurin Fujii went off. Wallie just before the torrential rain shut the session down

Prizes were tossed out as the wet weather wrapped up day two

Day three and we got the sun making a comeback. Chilling, sunscreen and hydration were just what the doctor ordered before the contest and parking-lot party at All Together Skatepark

Skate Like a Girl staff, volunteers and board members made sure all the first timers and top talent alike made it into the heats for the contest

Navajo Nation gnarhunters Karylyle, Jeremy, Cecely and Chantel were squadded up at the parking-lot party, enjoying everything from the vendor booths to the basketball hoop 

Crowd-hype extraordinaire Kim Woozy showing off the limited-edition Spitfire WOF wheels! You had to be there

Your judges: Michelle Pezel, Jaime Reyes, Nora Vasconcellos, Marisa Dal Santo, Alex White and Leo Baker behind some beautiful Natalie Dupille art. Name a sexier sextet. I’ll wait

SF Bay Area Chapter Director Ashley Masters and Bay Area avant-garde skateboarding icon Kat got the crowd HYPED

Skate Like a Girl Portland Director Tori hucked this boardslide down the rail

The crowd went absolutely wild after her competitive debut

Addie Brigham busted this sick blunt

Alex White reminded us that she is in her pole-jam era

Having to throw on a new one in a matter of minutes after snapping her board mid run, Kebs slides into a classic frontside boardslide

Fresh pro skater Georgia feebled the bump to bar with ease

Shiloh ate! Noseslide on a round rail party of one

The crowd loved it!

Guest judge Samarria showed off a total of $30 prior to the Yeti Cash for Tricks jam. Friendly reminder: this event is run by a non-profit

Maité snagged a few of Samarria’s fives to replenish the beer budget

Colorado’s Nora Baker came to the Northwest and floated a cooler one foot than anyone else

Vitória Mendonça hits it with a chill front tail

We interrupt this skate jam for a surprise announcement!! P is pro for Baby Skateboards

Starting off the podium announcements, the 12-and-under division rippers smiled ear to ear as they received their MapleXO medals made of recycled skateboards

Northwest skaters swept the 13–19 division, with Skate Like a Girl new hire Kelsey Nitta in the top spot

And the top-five shredders in the 20–29 division had a taste of glory as well

The 30+ division included mothers, adaptive athletes, Olympians and folks who haven’t skated a contest since they were a child. Big love to Celina Meehan for making it out with her daughter Waylon

Hip, hip, hooray for the open skate winners Georgia Martin, Kristin Ebeling and Fabiana Delfino

Honey, we shrunk the skatepark! With the indoor contest complete, everyone corralled around a miniature version of ATS, for Wheels of Fingers fingerboarding event hosted by Marbie Miller

And that’s a wrap of WOF 12! A cosmic thank you to Skate Like a Girl, all the stellar volunteers and staff, countless generous sponsors and every shining star who made this celestial event possible. Until the planets align again!