1998. That’s the last year a woman turned pro for Toy Machine. And you just might recognize her name: Elissa Steamer. If you don’t know that name, I honestly don’t know how you found this website, but welcome all the same.

I’m a huge fan of the 22-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, and I have a feeling you will be too. Scroll on down for our full interview, one where we talk about her identical triplet brothers, superpowers, coming out as gay in the South, and the newfound pressures of being a pro skater.

I heard you grew up not watching skate videos. How come? Did you not have access?
I had access, I just wasn’t hanging around the skate shop. I was a very sheltered skater growing up, not that my parents were controlling at all, that’s just how it worked out. I wasn’t hanging out with a lot of skaters, and my parents weren’t going to just drop me off at the skate shop. I guess I just missed out on that.

Funnily enough, I always watched King Of The Road. That was my skate video. I always wanted to act like I grew up on videos though. But it wasn’t until I started to figure out what sponsored skating is that I started watching videos.

Did that make filming your own videos difficult? Like you had nothing to base it off?
I had no direction with filming, and still to this day I struggle with that. In the beginning I was going out with this hometown filmer, and the stuff we were filming didn’t even make sense. Luckily, [filmer] Don [Luong] helps me out now. Sometimes he’ll pick me up and I don’t even know what spots we’re going to, what trick I’m going to try, and I just get in and he takes me to a spot and suggests some things, and we get to it.

Is it weird being named Georgia when you’re from North Carolina?
It never was weird until I started traveling, and people started getting it mixed up. I’ve been asked if I’m from Georgia, one time someone called me Charlotte. It gets mixed up a lot, but yeah, there’s no reason behind it. My parents just liked that name.

photo by: Tim Aguilar

The last woman to turn pro for Toy Machine was Elissa Steamer. Is there pressure to follow her up?
Yeah, I think Elissa is still the gnarliest female skater. I’ve always looked up to her, and following in her footsteps feels so insane. Having that realization of like, “Oh, she was the last pro,” I felt some weight on me. But hanging out with her, she’s the dopest person, and knowing her character takes some weight off.

Did she impart any wisdom on you when you turned pro?
No [laughs]. Dude, I’m so scared of her. They premiered my video part at Wheels of Fortune, the all girls contest, and Elissa and Marissa Del Santo were there. I was so scared, but both of them came up to me after like, “Oh, that was sick.” Even just hearing that meant so much to me.

“When skateboarding brings you anxiety is when it
can get bad, and I think that is why people let it go.”

Since your come up was so fast, has it been hard getting comfortable with newfound responsibility and pressure?
I went through a period of time where I went through an injury and I felt left behind. It started to bring me anxiety instead of relieving it, and when skateboarding brings you anxiety is when it can get bad, and I think that is why people let it go. I felt that for a while, with injuries, and filming, and comparing myself to others. But right now I have a good balance. It’s feeling good.

photo by: Lydia Blood

How is it having Shiloh [Catori] on the team? Have you taken on any older sister responsibilities?
Without even knowing it, which is funny because when she first started coming around I was scared of her. She’s an amazing skater, and will hop on huge rails and do all the things I wish I could do. It goes both ways. She’s influenced me a lot and I’ve pushed myself a lot just from being around her, trying to hold my own, and I think the same goes for her. Outside of skating, I feel some sort of responsibility. She’s so sweet, and has the kindest heart, and I just want to protect her.

Do you think there’s an age that is too young to hop in the van?
It all depends on who you’re surrounded by. Definitely as a young girl, I can see it being a bit hectic. That must be a weird thing for parents. But with the Toy crew, all those guys are so accepting and the van is such a safe space. Although it can get super rowdy, everyone’s taking care of each other.

With contests though, I think there should be an age limit with that. This has nothing to do with skill, but mentally, the stuff you go through as a kid skating in contests like that, especially if you have pressure from your parents, can get really scary. And you can burn out really quick with all that pressure to perform.

So I’m guessing you wouldn’t want to skate the Olympics?
No. Hell no. I’m scared of all those skaters. They’re all so good. The Olympics is sick for skating, but it’s not for me. I can’t hang with those girls. I think everyone was so scared about it affecting the “coreness” of skating, but I honestly don’t think it’s taken away from it at all. Everyone has their own lane, and some people are going that way and some aren’t. But all the young women are ripping and making good money and they’re Olympians.

You recently left home and moved to LA, how’s it going?
I feel like I’m floating through life right now. Nowhere really feels like home, but not in a bad way. I used to get super home sick as a kid, but as I travel more with skating I don’t really miss home. I’m doing long distance with my girlfriend, she’s in Florida at Flagler College, so we’re always going to see each other.

Do you have any tips for long distance dating?
If you’ve got them, tell me. No, it just takes the right people. That’s not to say if you can’t do long distance it’s not your person, but it takes the right people. We’re both doing our own thing, me skating and her school, so that helps too.

I heard you have identical triplet brothers. What is that like?
It was gnarly growing up with them. Up until late middle school they put me through hell. We loved each other, but they were so rowdy. They tried skating before I ever picked it up, but they got over it pretty fast. We were a big soccer family. My parents always wanted us to be in a sport, and I had to be like, “Mom, soccer is ruining my life because I can’t skate.”

All I wanted to do was skate and I was on a soccer team that practiced almost every day of the week with games on the weekend. My dad was pretty bummed about me leaving soccer, but I promised him I would go to the skatepark every day and make it a “sport.” So that was like 6th or 7th grade, and after that I’d go to the skatepark every day after school.

Once you started progressing, did your brothers start to get interested?
We had a halfpipe in the backyard, and if my brothers were drinking or had parties someone was always trying to drop in. People would get so messed up [laughs]. You know that fall that everyone does, the classic slip out? I’ve seen that happen so many times on our half pipe. But yeah, my brothers will step on the board sometimes but they really can’t skate at all.

photo by: Tim Aguilar

Do you think growing up with brothers prepared you to deal with the skate industry?
For sure. Accepting the fact that these guys are going to be better than you, it taught me to be ok with that environment. It doesn’t affect my skating, it actually propels me to do better. I’ll be trying a trick, and the guys already did it first try for their warm up, you know? It used to be hard seeing that, but now it just hypes me up and lets me know what’s possible.

I know a lot of girls that struggle being around guy skaters. It’s terrifying to them. Not that the guys are doing it maliciously, it’s just the way it is. Being surrounded by them, you’re only going to get better if you can channel good energy from it. If you’re bummed about it, obviously it’s not going to help you, but if you’re down for it and embrace that that’s the way it is it can be a good thing.

Who on the team has the best early Toy Machine war stories?
Knowing that all those guys are sober, you know some shit went down back in the day [laughs]. I do know that CJ [Collins] has been through it. Hearing how much they’ve put him through, hazing him from the beginning. He was like 13 when he went pro for Toy. I did hear stories about Elissa getting hazed, and I heard she used to be rowdy, but they never really gave me shit.

“Knowing that all those guys are sober,
you know some shit went down back in the day.”

Pick one: Be able to skate a kink rail like Braden Hoban, a bowl like CJ, or have Cordano Russell’s insane strength?
A bowl like CJ. There’s something about flying frontside and backside airs in bowls that are so cool for me. My home park had this crusty pool coping, 10 foot bowl. I used to skate it too, but I was never boosting airs or anything like that. Just being able to fly out like that must be life changing.

photo by: Lydia Blood

Growing up, was it tough coming out as gay in a southern state?
I’m lucky because my parents were so down for it. They had no idea, but when I told them they didn’t think twice about it. I have friends that, if they came out, it would be devastating. Parents in the South can be really old fashioned. I’m sure behind my back people in the city were like, “Damn, she’s gay?” but the people that love me, the people I’m close to, I had it good.

Were you ever pressured to present more feminine?
That’s a pretty common experience, especially in the south. I was a “tomboy” until high school, and then I started to feel pressure from everyone to change. Even my parents, my mom wanted me to be this girly girl. Since then she’s been so supportive, but growing up I definitely felt pressure to fit in, getting dressed up and going to parties and being with boys. It took me a while to even come out, like I waited until I was out of high school.

“It took me a while to even come out, like I waited until I was out of high school.”

Do you feel any sort of responsibility to represent the queer skate community?
I try not to be overbearing, but making environments safe is important to me because I didn’t have that growing up. I’m always keeping in mind that a person could be gay, so you should watch what you say around them. Those little things that can be said stick with a kid for so long and can prevent them from eventually coming out. I think that’s important for everyone.

Is it true you were at one point sponsored by the fast food spot Bojangles?
[laughs] Yeah, I don’t even remember how that happened. Me and a couple other guys in North Carolina got asked to do a skate commercial for Instagram about Bojangles. And we went in, got the whole meal paid for, and filmed an Instagram edit. It was the perfect day.

Was that your first official sell out moment?
For sure, and I was DOWN. They paid us good, and all we had to do was put it on our Instagram. What’s funny is, three months later Zaxby’s hit me up to do a commercial, and I filmed a legit commercial for them.

Nowadays I saw you have an agency backing you. What’s that like?
I was hoping we weren’t going to talk about this [laughs]. I recently was scouted by a modeling agency, and I never thought I’d do it, but then I figured I should see what it’s like and before I knew it I was signing a contract. It’s pretty new. I’m scared, not that I’m going to blow up as a model, but I’m scared about what people will think.

Skaters doing things outside of skating to make means and money, you gotta do what you gotta do. Recently I did a Travis Scott shoot for his clothing line. It’s a crazy world. It’s kinda like it’s not me. I put on this different persona, and I get it over with. But it’s been getting me out of my comfort zone, which is good for me.

“Nobody knew who I was, and still, my name’s not really out there, but that’s the beauty of skating.”

The sentiment of “Who?” seemed to be strong when you turned pro. Was that tough to fight through?
Yeah, it was gnarly. If you had asked me before I went pro, I would have told you there’s no way, like down the line maybe. That was my first video part, and if I had been asked if I wanted to go pro at that time I would have said no. I didn’t think I was ready, shit, I still don’t think I’m ready, but once again, Mike and Ed [Templeton] were down for it and I had to come to terms with the fact that I didn’t choose this. This is what it is now, I’m a pro skater, and I was freaking out for like two weeks. I was so anxious, but I’m not going to let this stunt my growth or hold me back.

But yeah, I definitely struggled. I’ve seen it, I’ve heard it, and I’ve talked to people first hand. And look, I agree with them. Nobody knew who I was, and still, my name’s not really out there, but that’s the beauty of skating. You don’t have to be the best of the best. I’m really lucky to be where I am, and I’m nowhere near being done. I always used to think that turning pro was when you made it, but I haven’t made it yet. I’m a pro, but I gotta keep going.

photo by: Tim Aguilar

In our old interview with Alexis Sablone she talks about how women used to have to compete in contests to make any money in skateboarding. Do you ever feel lucky to be skating in this generation?
Sometimes I feel like I slipped in right at the perfect moment to just be able to film. You see it nowadays, there’s only a handful of women who are truly out there filming because we still feel like we have to do the contests to get recognition or make money. Luckily brands are pushing for girls to film, and I’ve been lucky to have a good filmer and sick skaters around me to where I was able to make it work without the contests, because I would not have survived in the contest world.

This may be an impossible question to answer, but what do you think made you the right choice to go pro for Toy?
I have that same question. That’s another thing with skating, like I skate with some of the best guy skaters and some don’t even have shoe sponsors. There are people out there who deserve it more than others, and that’s not to say I’m not worthy of what I have. Skating is just so weird in the way that it all plays out.

I don’t know what goes into figuring all that out, and I think a lot of it is right place, right time. Me and Don work so well together and we were building up so fast for this video part, and I think Toy was hyped on it. But yeah, there are a lot of girls that are deserving and a lot of guys that are deserving, and they don’t have what they deserve.

photo by: Lydia Blood

If you could only ask Ed Templeton one question, what would it be and why?
I’d ask him about ideas behind his graphics, like what is his thought process? Some of them are so epic and out there, and I can’t draw for shit. I don’t have that artistic mindset, so maybe it’s a naive question to ask an artist how they come up with their ideas, but I want to know how he comes up with it all.

I’ll leave it at this. The people think you look like Spanky. Do you see it?
[laughs]. Yes, I’ve heard that one. He’s one of my favorite skaters. I don’t think I skate like him, but I can see the resemblance in the face and sometimes if I’m wearing a flannel I see it. Someone told me I look like T-Funk once, which is pretty crazy.

Interview by: Ben Komins
Photos courtesy of: Lydia Blood and Tim Aguilar
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