A few months ago, Louisa Menke and Raisa Abal were given the opportunity to design a skateboard graphic.
Roland DG gave them their trust to create our graphic under the concept ‘what skateboarding means to you’, surrounded by their personal points of view and experiences.
Raisa Abal watching her board - Pic by Aida Bowman
Skateboarding gives you everything you want to achieve in life: happiness, freedom, good memories and new adventures, and the most important thing for me: a family that you choose - your friends and your community.
Women’s skateboarding has been on the rise for the last decade, but the sport’s Olympic debut and increased time spent outdoors due to lockdowns has led to a global renaissance. From young kids to teenagers and women of all ages, skateboarding culture has built an influential community of inclusivity and empowerment, driven by creativity and individuality.
Raisa's board
Roland DG partnered with Louisa Menke and Raisa, as two skateboarders paving the way for the next generation of female skaters. Creating two limited designs, the Roland-wrapped skateboards gave us a voice – in a very different way.
Taking their personalised artwork - including collage art and hand painted acrylic canvases - each design was expertly printed using the new Roland DG TrueVIS VG3-640 printer. The high-end graphics were then hand wrapped onto individual skateboards at Roland DG’s newest Creative Centre in Barcelona. It was amazing to see the prints being made. Roland DG really can print anything you want and make it completely personalised – from boards to bikes, clothing and apparel and even sportscars.
Louisa Menke with her board - Pic by Raisa Abal
Creativity and art have always gone hand in hand with skateboarding, letting people creatively express the things that matter most to them in life. Skateboarding’s close ties to creativity is no secret, and the art on a skateboard is very personal to its owner, providing a visual outlet for skaters to creatively express themselves through both design and style.
It is wonderful to see how brands outside of skateboarding are getting directly involved in supporting and growing non-traditional female communities within skateboarding.
Louisa Menke - Bs Flip - Pic Raisa Abal
Projects such as the creation of the personalised boards, and the support with which Roland has collaborated in the printing of Dolores Magazine #7, make the boundaries of our community grow and favor the expansion of printed projects like ours to all corners of the world.
The rise in more young women joining the sport is only set to increase, with powerful female influencers inspiring others to join the global skate community.
Passionate advocates and activists create change, challenging stereotypes and crushing barriers to see more female representation in skateboarding communities across the globe.
To find out more about the print possibilities with Roland DG, visit rolanddg.eu.
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