Natalie and her zine collection. Photo by Scott Malin.
Natalie Porter (MLIS’09) has had a whirlwind year, including publishing her debut book Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides: A History of Badass Women Skateboarders in September with ECW Press.
We chatted with Natalie about her career, love for skateboarding, and how her book came to be.
What has your life and career been like since graduating from the iSchool in 2009?
I was fortunate to work for VPL as a Library Assistant while studying, which meant transitioning into on-call librarian work. I enjoyed being a Community Librarian and then Branch Head of the Carnegie (2014-2018), which has been the highlight of my library career. I moved to Powell River for greater access to nature, affordable housing, and a job as Assistant Chief Librarian at the local library. In 2023, I joined the amazing team at the British Columbia Library Association working remotely to curate professional development opportunities, including the annual BC Library Conference.
My debut book, Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides: A History of Badass Women Skateboarders (September 2025) with ECW Press is based on my lifelong passion of skateboarding and over twenty years of research.
How did you get into skateboarding?
In 1995, as a teenager, I loved to snowboard and chose skateboarding as something to pursue during the summer. I met some awesome young women who also skated and was part of two “girl gangs” in Vancouver and Montreal, where I wrote the first academic thesis on the topic of women in skateboarding back in 2003. My career eventually took priority, but I returned to skateboarding after a 12-year gap in my forties, as part of a movement of older women reclaiming joy and fun through skateboarding.
Can you give us a brief synopsis Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides? What prompted you to write this book?
With the growing popularity of skateboarding in the Olympics (Tokyo and Paris), I noticed that there was celebration of the very young competitive girls but with minimal historical context. I wanted to demonstrate that women have always participated and explore how and why they were often ignored or dismissed by this male-dominated industry. I find the stories of older women fascinating, and I’ve used my librarian research skills to build the ultimate online archive as proof of our activity all the way back to 1959, which was the foundation of this book. I’ve now written over 350 bios for the archive, organized into decades.
Do you have any takeaways/advice after writing your first book?
As a librarian, I’ve ordered thousands of books but have a new respect for authors who have endured the long battle of pitching to literary agents and publishers before the work even begins, and an appreciation for the editorial process, which takes a minimum of two years. My advice is for authors to find ways to involve your community and stay creative throughout, which for me was to expand my online archive as a central research hub, and share out my discoveries via Instagram.
Do you have any advice for current or recently graduated iSchool students?
In our industry, there can be pressure to be a generalist with broad skills and knowledge, but I encourage students to maintain whatever weird and wonderful niche passion you might have because you never know what opportunities might result. For example, I never would’ve imagined being recruited by the Smithsonian Museum as a skater librarian “subject expert” or interviewed for Thrasher magazine in my forties. It’s so hilarious and unexpected and helps make life interesting.
