Lau Willems showcases her effortless steeze down the thinnest handrail she could find. Crooked grind.

 

You know those people you instantly hit it off with upon meeting for the first time? Lau Willems is one of them. She’s 29, comes from Ghent, Belgium, rides for Adidas, and, in her free time, she likes to get full on Belgian fries.

We bonded over girl power and a passion for skating, though we both agree that gender should have nothing to do with it. The truth is, when you see her on a board, busting out technical tricks with effortless steeze, you won’t doubt for a second that Lau is an amazing skateboarder first and foremost, who blows your mind with how gnarly she skates and the elegance with which she does it; but she’s also a badass trans woman, yes, and she’s ready to be celebrated and honored like all trans women should be.

In her words, like a phoenix she burned first, then rose again, feeling fresher and better than ever. We got to talk about her favorite skate videos, good friends, rebirth, womanhood, and how important it is to openly show up as oneself in the world; thus demonstrating, loud and clear, that, no matter what, you can always be who the f*ck you want to be.

 

Photos: Norma Ibarra & Raisa Abal

Words: Letícia Nogueira

 

"Like a phoenix, I kind of burned first, and then I rose again; fresher, newer, feeling better than ever."

Kickflip to fakie.

What’s up Lau? So stoked to finally have you in our mag! How are you doing?

Hi Leti, I’m doing good! Really hyped on getting to be on the mag too. I’ve just been doing physio, not skating so much, because I had some smaller injuries. I hurt my shoulder a little bit, twisted my ankle… I’m trying to get all of that back in good shape.

You twisted your ankle in Barcelona, right? 

 Yes, I did. First day, first spot, first hour… I was happy I managed to skate after a couple of days, I taped up my ankle and I could skate a little bit. We just had a couple of chill days when we just hung out, went to the beach, enjoyed the good weather, had some good food… Then, after some days, we looked for spots that weren’t too hard on my ankle, and everything worked out. It was really fun, the weather was so good.

And then you went to Stuttgart for SKTWK, how was that?

That was really fun, really exhausting too. We had some premieres of the Adidas Heimspiel Tour. I skated a little, had to be a bit careful, but I’m doing better now. I’m supposed to leave to San Francisco on Wednesday, going to Unity Fest.

"I always looked up to Youness Amrani's skating, and I think that’s where a lot of my trick choices come from."

How’s the skate scene in Ghent, Belgium, where you live?

Ghent is a really nice city. The skate scene is good, skater wise. The city has always had good skateboarders. But the street spots are super crusty, no smooth pavements at all. Brussels is only a one-hour drive, though, and there you have a lot of spots.

So where did you get your style and the way you skate from?

I think it’s a mix of different things. I grew up on the East side of Belgium and skated a lot with Youness Amrani. I always looked up to his skating, and I think that’s where a lot of my trick choices come from. On the other hand, I think it’s also watching skate videos. I keep watching the same era of skate videos, like 2000 to 2007-ish. To me, those will always be the best videos. 

What’s your favorite one?

It’s hard to put down a favorite one… But definitely the classics: Flip - Sorry, Transworld - First Love, Girl - Yeah Right!... Those are always on top of my list, the videos I grew up with and the type of skating I like. I think there’s a huge difference to the HD, newer kind of videos… I just like the fact that you used to have to wait for it, then a full-length video came out and you got together with your friends to watch it. I still watch newer videos, though, but they don’t stick with me as much as the older ones did.

"I need the fun, the smiles and the energy in order to be good."

So, are you working on a part of your own at the moment?

I am working on a video part, I think it’s almost done. There’s still one or two tricks that I want to go and film, so I think it should be done by the end of this year at least. It’s my full part that I’ve been working on for a while, so I’m excited about it, and super nervous about it too. 

What gets you the most stoked in skating?

I think it’s having fun with other people. As long as it’s fun, I will be hyped. Or, like, getting to skate new things, discovering new spots, trying new tricks, or doing something that goes outside my personal boundaries. But it has to be fun. When there’s pressure or stress, then I think that reflects in my skating too. So, as long as there are people hanging around and we all get to smile and have fun doing what we do, that’s what gives me the most hype. I need the fun, the smiles and the energy in order to be good.

Did you ever get that phoenix tattoo? What’s the meaning behind it?

I did! I can show you… I guess it’s a rebirth kind of thing, because a phoenix burns and rises from its ashes. And I feel like that’s kind of what I’ve been through. I kind of burned first, and then I rose again; fresher, newer, feeling better than ever.

"The expectations of women, and how you get treated, took a little getting used to."

Backside tailside.

That’s awesome. That reminds me that you just turned 29 this year and, when I wished you a happy birthday, you told me you were also turning 2, as Lau. How is life different as a girl?

Personally, I feel better. I feel a lot better about myself, a lot more confident. Life in general in my eyes is better. But then there’s also been some rough times, stuff you have to learn to deal with as a woman. The way you get treated in certain social environments, it doesn’t matter if you’re a trans woman or a cis woman, or the fact that, now, when I walk home alone, I’m much more unsafe. I used to not have to worry about it… Every time you go out at night, every time, you get that scared feeling. You see people, and you have to make a detour just to take the streets that have lights or are more crowded, just to feel safer. The expectations of women, and how you get treated, that took a little getting used to. You go from this white male privileged position, to a little less privileged one, where people just talk over you. I used to have a full-time job as an engineer, and I noticed that, in meetings, people used to really listen to me; after I transitioned, as soon as I said something, somebody else would talk a little louder, and no one would even look at me or listen to me. 

Was there anyone who really helped and supported you through your transition?

I have a lot of friends who were there for me through the good and bad times. I’m really grateful for that. I owe them a lot, I’m super happy that I’m surrounded with good friends. I won’t forget that they’ve always been there for me.

"There will always be people who love you for who you are and who you want to be."

Going through transition and everything it entails seems like something very hard to go through, mentally. What’s a life lesson you have learned from it?

It was definitely, sometimes, really mentally hard. Not only the part where you get treated negatively, there’s other negative and positive things and lots of ups and downs... But, for me, personally, the thing I learned most is to not care about somebody else’s opinion. I still do care about other people’s opinions, but I’ll choose my own happiness over someone’s uneducated opinion. Also, perseverance, and learning how to deal with negative thoughts and bad mental states, like… when you feel bad, it’s always a temporary feeling. The week after, you will feel completely different, look back and be like: why was I feeling so bad about this? That’s something I had to learn. I started putting a lot of trust in my friends, and I’ve gotten a lot closer with them too, because I was more open. So my life lesson would be: be more honest and open with your friends, listen and talk to them. 

What would you say to anyone reading this, who might be going through the same thing?

You have to know that you are loved and you are appreciated. There will always be people who love you for who you are and who you want to be. I get that it might be hard to hear opinions from people who don’t respect you, but don’t give up, because the love is a lot stronger and present than the hate will ever be. It’s such a relieving feeling, to be able to be yourself, that the little negative side gets overshadowed by the relief and love you get from your friends. Don’t doubt yourself. If you know who you are, just be who you want to be. There’s other people like you, there’s people who appreciate you and love you, and you will never be alone.

"You can be yourself. We are all just skateboarders, first and foremost."

That’s exactly why I always wanna talk about this, so that people can pick up a magazine and be like: oh, okay, there’s other people like me. 

I knew that trans people existed, but I never met or talked to anybody who was trans. The first person I actually saw who was openly trans was Arin Lester. She blew up on Instagram, and then she made a post like: Yes, I’m trans, but why the fuck does gender even matter in skateboarding? She was a big eye-opener, and that really got the ball rolling for me. I was super closeted and really scared. I went to a therapist, but was too scared to even talk about it, I couldn’t get it over my lips. And then, I saw Arin, and so many other skateboarders on social media… from seeing them skate and have fun and just be themselves, that triggered something in me. If other people can go through this, and they look happy, and they are still alive, why would it not be possible for me? Seeing others do it, and still be skateboarders, really made me believe that I could do it. So it’s really helpful to have role models, people who show you that it is possible, that you can be yourself. We are all just skateboarders, first and foremost. We are not man, woman, non-binary, whatever… We are skateboarders, and it shouldn’t really matter who you are, what you look like or even what type of skateboarder you are. 

High voltage nosegrind.