sPACYcLOUd's Fighter: Morgan Menzies

Morgan Menzies, sPACYCLOUd’s official Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter, recently grappled her way to third place  in the blue belt medium heavy division at the Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship in New York, and the 29-year-old marketing professional has an aspiration to be a world champion in her sport. Her attitude is what attracted sPACYcLOUd, and she proudly wears our gear at public events 

Here, the D.C. fighter took a few moments in her training schedule to talk about life since she started fighting three years ago. 

sPACYcLOUd: Did you wish you’d found Jiu-Jitsu when you were younger?

Morgan: I was actually a cheerleader and a dancer growing up, and then my sister introduced me to it. It’s a shame that I didn’t get into it sooner, because I love it so much and has influenced my life so much.

sPACYcLOUd: What do you love about the sport?

Morgan: I think its extremely empowering. As a woman, I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve been messed with on the street, followed home, harassed on the Metro so much that you don’t even notice it anymore. It feels good to know that I can defend myself against such situations, and I carry myself differently.

sPACYcLOUd: Do people look at you strangely if you walk around with bruises?

Morgan: People always assume that I’ve gotten beat by my boyfriends. I’ve had clients and people try to talk to me about it. They don’t expect women to be doing what I’m doing.

Morgan Menzies, sPACYcLOUd's official Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter. She earned 3rd place in the blue belt medium heavy division at the IBJJF No Gi Pan Ams in New York . (Courtesy photo)

sPACYcLOUd: What about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is addicting?

Morgan: The winning. There’s striving to be your best, to be the alpha. One of the guys on my fight team tells me that I’m an alpha female. Right now I’m losing more than I win with the people on my team, and you do that so that you get better. It’s good to train with people who are better. So, I think the addiction is not getting hurt, but in the adrenaline of winning.

sPACYcLOUd: How has the sport changed your everyday life?

Morgan: It’s changed my life hugely. It’s changed my physical health, my confidence, my dedication. If you looked at me at 21, I was a party girl in college. Now I never go out. I’m a vegetarian, and I don’t want to go drinking on Friday night because I don’t want to get my ass kicked at the gym on Saturday. 

It’s taught me a lot, especially how to deal with loss and how that motivates me and doesn’t discourage me. It made me a more mentally strong person, to go to these tournaments, win or lose. It took a lot of perseverance, training discipline, being able to train when you’re tired from work or tired from getting beat up. I remembered when I started I would just get beat up, and I would get in the car and would cry all the way home, but eventually things just started to click… It’s not fun to get taken out with a bow and arrow choke in an auditorium full of people. People with a big ego can’t stick with this sport, because there is always somebody better than you.

“Breaking Down Walls” Was A Success! ~By Pia Saclauso

On August 5th, sPACYcLOUd hosted a fundraiser to raise money for Skate Girls Tribe’s trip to Cuba.  It was definitely a success – thanks to everyone who showed their love and support for the team! The contributors included family and friends but also local businesses such as Get Hemp Butter, Mellow Mushrooms, La Tasca, Cuba Cuba, Smash!, Bourbon, LSTN, Tenley Pop Dance Studio, Hemp Kettle Tea, and Embassy Suites.  Team sPACYcLOUd was stoked!

 

The event kicked off with the ragga jungle mixes from DJ Gogo Craig and DJ Blaze One from Tribalistix. They sure know how to get the party started! 

                                       

Visitors were already making their silent auction bids as they jammed to the music.

                                       

The event also included “Hermanas en Ruedas” documentary screening by Amberly Alene Ellis.  The film depicts struggles of female skaters in Cuba, their personal stories on how they discovered the sport and unique challenges facing women skaters as their numbers grow.

                                       

The film helped us to connect to women in Cuba on many different levels. In DC or Havana, we see similarities in our struggles. Skateboarding inspires us to take action and make positive changes in the daily lives and keep our passion alive. It also helps to break down walls and barriers and allow us to understand one another.

                                        

As the auction came to an end, participants were hyped about receiving their items and everyone was impatient for the final outcome. The results? Everyone was a winner! We made new friends, got inspired by female shredders in Cuba, raised money for our trip, learned about Cuba, danced, and grooved. Every person benefited in their own way from sharing love and support for Skate Girls Tribe and sPACYcLOUd! 

                                     

Team Elephant is thankful!

Big “Thank You” to Local 16 for hosting our event! It would not have happened without them.

Skate Girls Tribe Rolling Into Cuba

Photo credit to Amberly Alene Ellis

Skate Girls Tribe Rolling into Cuba for first-of-its-kind Hermana Skate Competition

Cuba is about to receive a shipment of all female skateboarders, hobbyists and professionals alike. We are the DC based Skate Girls Tribe, a group that invites girls of all ages and skill levels to skate together and forge a stronger female presence in skateboarding culture. We're heading to Cuba to help organizing the Hermana Skate Competition, and we need your help to get there! 

“Skateboarding in Cuba isn’t easy, and female skateboarders face challenges on an everyday basis”, says Tatiana Kolina, founder of Skate Girls Tribe and action sports and street wear brand sPACYcLOUd. In Cuba, skateboarding is still an unrecognized sport by the government, and the girls search to find their paths in a subculture that is not only male dominated but also completely underground.

Photo credit to Amberly Alene Ellis

This is all examined in Hermanas en Ruedas (Sisters on Wheels), a documentary that follows the stories of young women in the underground skate culture in Havana, Cuba. What makes the young women of Hermanas en Ruedas so special is that Cuba, unlike other countries where skateboarding has emerged, has no official or professional skateboard industry. Additionally, Cuba has yet to see the opening of an official skate park since the emergence of the sport on the island. “As skate collectives emerge around the world, the young women of Havana's skate scene seek to be recognized as a contending force” touts Amberly Arlene Ellis, director of Hermanas en Ruedas.

The Hermana Skate Competition has arisen out of a partnership between Hermanas en Ruedas, Skate Girls Tribe, and sPACYcLOUd, an action sports and street wear brand owned by Tatiana Kolina, who also founded the Skate Girls Tribe . It will be the very first-of-its-kind female-only competition. sPACYcLOUd is bringing the Skate Girls Tribe, as well as a professional skateboarder, Natalie Krishna Das, to show support and camaraderie to Cuban skaters participating in street-skating course  in the Hermana Skate Competition. 

The partners are running a fundraiser to help them cover the costs of getting all of the girls to Cuba. You can help them by contributing to their fundraiser here.

Photo credit to Amberly Alene Ellis

Skate Girls Tribe Rolling Into Cuba

Photo credit to Amberly Alene Ellis

Skate Girls Tribe Rolling into Cuba for first-of-its-kind Hermana Skate Competition

Cuba is about to receive a shipment of all female skateboarders, hobbyists and professionals alike. We are the DC based Skate Girls Tribe, a group that invites girls of all ages and skill levels to skate together and forge a stronger female presence in skateboarding culture. We're heading to Cuba to help organizing the Hermana Skate Competition, and we need your help to get there! 

“Skateboarding in Cuba isn’t easy, and female skateboarders face challenges on an everyday basis”, says Tatiana Kolina, founder of Skate Girls Tribe and action sports and street wear brand sPACYcLOUd. In Cuba, skateboarding is still an unrecognized sport by the government, and the girls search to find their paths in a subculture that is not only male dominated but also completely underground.

Photo credit to Amberly Alene Ellis

This is all examined in Hermanas en Ruedas (Sisters on Wheels), a documentary that follows the stories of young women in the underground skate culture in Havana, Cuba. What makes the young women of Hermanas en Ruedas so special is that Cuba, unlike other countries where skateboarding has emerged, has no official or professional skateboard industry. Additionally, Cuba has yet to see the opening of an official skate park since the emergence of the sport on the island. “As skate collectives emerge around the world, the young women of Havana's skate scene seek to be recognized as a contending force” touts Amberly Arlene Ellis, director of Hermanas en Ruedas.

The Hermana Skate Competition has arisen out of a partnership between Hermanas en Ruedas, Skate Girls Tribe, and sPACYcLOUd, an action sports and street wear brand owned by Tatiana Kolina, who also founded the Skate Girls Tribe. It will be the very first-of-its-kind female-only competition. sPACYcLOUd is bringing the Skate Girls Tribe, as well as a professional skateboarder, Natalie Krishna Das, to show support and camaraderie to Cuban skaters participating in street-skating course in the Hermana Skate Competition. 

Photo credit to Amberly Alene Ellis

The partners are running a fundraiser to help them cover the costs of getting all of the girls to Cuba. You can help them by contributing to their fundraiser here.

The Skateistan Story - By Tati Kolina

In  2014, I accidentally stumbled onto Skateistan: Four Wheels and a Board in Kabul documentary and it changed my life. The narrative begins in 2009, when Australians Oliver Percovich and Sharna Nolan brought a couple of old boards to an empty city fountain in Kabul, Afganistan. The film tells Skateistan’s story and how a group of skaters bridge ethnic-, religious and socio-economic barriers to bring hope to the children of a war-torn country – with the help of four wheels and a board. 

Afghan Girls Skateboarding

As I watched the documentary, I realized that skateboarding can be used anywhere as a medium for breaking the barriers and building communities. I decided to to start our own local organization for girls called Skate Girls Tribe  (SGT). 

Skate Girls Tribe at Go Skateboarding Day 2014 in Washington DC

SGT is an informal not-for-profit organization which supports a network of female athletes, artists, and influencers in action sports culture. SGT provides girls with an open environment for skateboarding and a community as a forum for sharing social and personal issues that they face; what it’s like being girls in the skating community to challenges they may face in school and at home.

Skateboarding at Roll Skate Shop in Olney, MD

I also wanted to show support for Skateistan and organized a series of fundraisers and film screenings of Skateistan: Four Wheels and a Board in Kabul documentary in the Washington Metropolitan area.

Mini cruisers painted by DC artists at silent auction in Tropicalia, DC

First fundraiser and film screening took place at Roll Skate Shop in Olney, MD. It did not bring very many people but we enjoyed watching the film, meeting new people, and skating at an old warehouse surrounded by amazing works of local artists including murals by Alex Merritt. 

Art work by Alex Merritt at silent auction in Tropicalia, DC

Second fundraiser was at Tropicalia in Washington DC. Several local artists donated their art and time and we had a great turn out. We watched the documentary, had Q&A session about Skateistan which was followed by live music, dancing, and silent auction. 

Watching Skateistan at Tropicalia, DC

We were able to raise $945 which was donated to Skateistan.

Bryan Ridgeway, Tati Kolina, Patti McGee, Di Dootson Rose, Darren Harper at Old City Farm, Washington DC 

Final film screening took place at Old City Farm in Washington DC. We had surprise visitors including Skateistan's Global Skateboarding Adviser, Bryan Ridgeway, and action sports female legends Patti McGee and Di Dootson Rose who later became my mentor.

Tati Kolina and Bryan Ridgeway

Bryan Ridgeway presented me with a signed copy of Skateistan: The Tale of Skateboarding in Afghanistan book. It was one of the most memorable days in my life.

Thank you letter from Oliver Petrovitch

Several months later I got a letter from Oliver Petrovitch, the founder and executive director of Skateistan, thanking us for the donation.

Finding A Line: Skateboarding, Music, and Media at the Kennedy Center hosted by sPACYcLOUd and Skate Girls Tribe

Since 2014, Skate Girls Tribe participated at many local skateboarding events and organized our own surf and snowboard camps for girls. In 2015 SGT was honored to host a day at Finding a Line: Skateboarding, Music, and Media festival at The Kennedy Center dedicated to female skateboarders. Several hundreds female shredders from all over USA made it to our event and we made it into the history of skateboarding.

Female leaders from Afghanistan visited Skate Girls Tribe in Rockville, MD

In 2016, we we were visited by a group of female leaders from Afghanistan. We greeted our guests at Rockville skatepark in Maryland. We skateboarded, made Peace bracelets for each other, sang Beatles songs, and embraced each other's energies. We had language barriers but, at the end of the day, words were not necessary. We spoke with our hearts.

Exchanging Peace bracelets with our friends from Afghanistan 

As Skate Girls Tribe grows, we continue providing female shredders with new opportunities in our area. On March 26, we are having girls only skateboarding session at Bethesda Boards in Maryland. We will have a mini skateboarding jam and watch Skateistan: Four Wheels and a Board in Kabul. In July, we are organizing Skate Girls Tribe annual surf camp at Cape May, New Jersey. We are also planning wearable technology classes for our young female engineers and glass blowing classes for these with artistic inclinations. There is nothing in the world that girls can't do and we are here to help make it happen.

And it all started with four wheels and a board. Thanks Skateistan!

Thank you to everyone who helped us along the way:

Oliver Percovich
Sharna Nolan
Skateistan
Aleksey Nazarov
Alex Merritt
Jim Thomson & Tropicalia
Evvie, Roll Skate Shop
Di Dootson Rose
Patti McGee
Bryan Ridgeway
Yoshi Tanenbaum
Claudia Olivos & OlivosARTstudio.com
Amy Lauriano
Ekaterina Nekrasova
Angelina Lauriano
Old City Farm 
Kia Green
Darren Harper

East Coast Female Skateboarders and Entrepreneurs Are Taking Matters Into Their Own Hands - by Mike Boiler

In the male-dominated sport, female skaters on East Coast and beyond are creating their own cultures, challenging stereotypes, and inspiring others along the way.

This is due, in large part, to the efforts of a handful of radical female skaters and entrepreneurs who, instead of waiting for the sports industry to change, decided to take matters into their own hands and create their own brands, networks, and outlets to gain visibility.

Lexy is a 13 years old skater and singer from New York who enjoys just being herself. Anyone watching her can see her passion for skateboarding. Despite several injuries Lexy's resilience keeps her moving forward. She has competed at several charity events in the community. One of her favorite things is to teach younger kids the basics and pass on her enthusiasm about the sport. Lexy rides for sPACYcLOUd and Skate Girls Tribe.

Matty is a 17 years old skateboarder from Maryland. She started skateboarding at 5 years old and is not planning to stop any time soon! Despite being born with several disabilities, Matty pushes through and shreds every day she can. She is always ready to stand up for herself, her beliefs, her teammates and all the lady skateboarders. Matty loves art, animals, activism, and is part of sPACYcLOUd and Skate Girls Tribe! 

Mia Charles is Maryland native. She has been skateboarding since a very young age. Mia is very active in DC skateboarding scene. She loves to help other girls learn new tricks. Mia is hard working, determined, passionate, and a great role model to other girls. Mia rides for sPACYcLOUd and Skate Girls Tribe.

DC-based Tati Kolina started Skate Girls Tribe, an informal not-for-profit organization supporting a network of female athletes, artists, and influencers in action sports culture. Tati was inspired by Skateistan and decided to build a similar community locally. She organized three film screenings of Skateistan The Movie in DC area in 2014. That is where she met Skateistan's Global Skateboarding Adviser, Bryan Ridgeway, and action sports female legends Patti McGee and Di Dootson Rose who later became her mentor.

Tati is also the founder of sPACYcLOUd, a clothing brand created for these who choose to maneuver their own way through life with a “Skate or Die” attitude.

Bethesda Boards was established in March of 2012 by Kaare Wieneke and Tyson Plumbtree in Maryland with goal to supply the local community with "Cutting Edge Mobility". The idea was to bring all of the fastest and coolest outdoor sports and combine them in one shop while keeping the prices reasonable and competitive with local and online retailers. Bethesda Boards organizes many events throughout the year and supports skateboarding community in many different ways. 

On March 25th, Bethesda Boards will be hosting Skate Girls Tribe skateboarding session. All female riders are invited to participate. Come out, watch Skateistan the Movie, skateboard, meet other female riders, eat pizza, and be part of the movement!  

Welcome to the sPACYcLOUd Team - Hip Hop/All-Styles Dancer Misfxt Mikeyy!

We are extremely honored that Misfxt Mikeyy will be joining our team. Misfxt Mikeyy has an amazing life journey and has been an inspiration to many people. We look forward to our future adventures but, for now, please "meet" Mikeyy and welcome him to the team.

"So what's up? I'm Mikeyy with two y's. I'm a 21 year old dancer born on June 16 1995. I was born and raised in Harrisburg, PA. I never really thought that dancing was where I'd end up. I was never really good at many things. I never liked school. I never really fit in. I was kind of an outcast. I believe that dancing helped me break out of the shyness. Dancing is very powerful because it allows me to become whomever I want to be while all eyes are on me. It is something I'm not used to.

I started bboying when I was fourteen and at sixteen I switched to freestyle popping. I became a serious dancer at eighteen. I have to say that dancing has taken me far. It's taken me up and down the East Coast. It has even taken me as far as Las Vegas and LA!

In addition to dancing, I have several other hobbies. I like to write rhymes. I have not shared my craft with anyone because I am not ready yet. I also like to express myself through fashion and always had passion for modeling. I love anything that has to do with arts because it clings to me. Arts allow me to express my feelings and be myself.

I'm just like a sPACYcLOUd elephant . I am basically going with the flow of things and taking it one day at a time. Oh yes, I changed my name to Misfit Mikeyy because through my journey I realized that I am a Misfit or an outcast. My original name, iDanceMikey, was more like me trying to establish who I was but now I've found who I am." - Misfxt Mikeyy

Welcome to the sPACYcLOUd team, Mikeyy!  

Follow Misfxt Mikeyy on IG at @misfxt.mikeyy