OLSEN Poppy

Preferred stance
Regular (theboardr.com, 01 Jun 2021)

General
GENDER GAP
She trained with male skateboarders growing up, and believes there is a lack of equality in women's skateboarding. "When I started skateboarding I was eight years old, and there were no other girl skateboarders. I was actually the only girl at my skatepark for about three years, so I just learnt how to skate with guys pretty much. I was just so used to competing against the guys, it was always fun and I just thought of it as skateboarding. The main put-down for the girls is when people say that they're 'good at skating for a girl' - that's what annoys a lot of girls. And there have been a lot of guys sometimes that have put me down when I can't land tricks or stuff and accuse me of being a girl. But every time it just motivates me to try harder and prove them wrong. I've probably given a few short angry lectures to guys who've kind of put us down and said girls can't skate. Look where it's taken us now. It's more than just the sexist people. It's the lack of inclusion, money and opportunities that girls don't get. When I won in my first pro division, I took home a check of AUD$8,000, and the winner of the men's took home AUD$25,000." (Optus Corporate Affairs YouTube channel, 09 Nov 2020; Girlfriend, 01 Jan 2020; theguardian.com, 27 Dec 2019; abc.net.au, 17 Aug 2018; TEDx Talks YouTube channel, 18 Dec 2014)

PAINT BRUSH AND SKATEBOARD
She likes to draw and make handcrafts, and designs and sells greeting cards and skate decks through her website. "For as long as I can remember, I've been drawing. When I was nine years old I started making my art into greeting cards. Soon after that I enrolled in a course called Kidpreneur that told me all about goals and basic business skills. I started selling to help fund my skateboarding trips. I also started submitting proposals to my local council, and soon I was getting paid to paint the electricity boxes in the area. When I was 12 years old I started designing skate decks. My first design is like a diary of my first skate tour to the US. It's about all the places I went, the people I met, the foods I ate, and even the things I learned. I started to see how much art and skateboarding were connected and the significance of the graphics on a skate deck. For me my paint brush and skateboard go hand in hand. These two things are my passion, purpose, and pride in life. I really don't thing I could have one without the other." (poppystarr.com, 07 May 2020; TEDx Talks YouTube channel, 18 Dec 2014; girlsskatenetwork.com, 17 Mar 2012)