[Interview] Work in Skateboarding | Kim Woozy

Work in Skateboarding was created in 2012 to promote skateboarding and its career opportunities to potential future generations. They recently interviewed MAHFIA’s founder Kim Woozy, check out the full article on www.workinskateboarding.com and follow them for updates as they are working on an internship program for the future.

Photos by Suziie Wang & Nam-Chi Van

What inspired you to create MAHFIA and why was it needed?
I wanted to create MAHFIA.TV because there wasn’t any media that spoke to me personally. The main core skate/snow/surf mags rarely featured any girls content at all and other media outlets/magazines “for girls” were mainly focused on beauty and fashion. I created MAHFIA.TV as a way for my friends (female pro riders who I was working with at my old job) to get more exposure and develop their careers and also because I wanted a media outlet that I was personally stoked on – something that was an authentic representation of girls who ride. Once we got going, I found out that there were tons of other girls who were stoked on what we were doing too.

How is all the content produced?
I do a majority of the filming/shooting of video and photo content and work with our video producer and my right hand man, Johnny Varsity, on post-production. I met Johnny in college where we were both media majors and worked on films together so when it comes to producing content we work together pretty seamlessly. We recently started working more with freelance filmers and photogs such as Hayley Gordon (surf) and Nam-Chi Van (skate) and Nico Ricoy (lifestyle/fashion) which has been great. They are insanely talented and I am always inspired by their work.

What’s your work history relating to video and action sports?
In college I interned at a video production company and also worked at the outdoor gear shop on campus at UC San Diego – we sold and rented surfboards, snowboards, camping gear, etc. That was my first taste of the action sports industry — I remember going to ASR Tradeshow for the first time and being like oh shit this is awesome! Senior year I landed an internship at Osiris Shoes. They were just starting up a girls brand and needed someone to manage their MySpace page. Eventually I became a full time graphic designer there and got my hands in marketing naturally since I skated/snowboarded etc. I spent 3 years there total and when I left I was in charge of Girls Brand Marketing and was also the Girls Team Manager where I helped foster the careers of young skaters including Leticia Bufoni and Allysha Bergado who were just starting out as groms then.

In your opinion how do women approach skateboarding differently to men?
I think women are eager to learn new things but generally want some instruction and basic knowledge first where as guys just go for it without thinking too much about it. I remember wanting to learn how to skate when I was younger but hit a wall because I had no resources to learn. I had a subscription to SG Magazine where I could see photos of pros like Vanessa Torres and Amy Caron and got stoked so I went out and bought a board. There were no skateparks around me and I didn’t know anyone who skated that could teach me. Now there are youtube trick tips online, public skateparks popping up everywhere, and female specific clinics and camps from orgs such as Skate Like A Girl as well as brands that specifically support women in skateboarding such as Hoopla and Meow Skateboards.

What are some of your favourite companies/media outlets in skateboarding made for women?
I work closely with Mimi Knoop (founder of The Alliance and hoopla skateboards) as well as Lisa Whitaker (founder of Girls Skate Network and Meow Skateboards) and of course Skate Like A Girl. I’m a huge fan of these organizations and the women behind it. In addition to being my friends, they are super passionate, talented, hardworking, good people who are truly invested in the growth of the girls skate scene – and that’s why I support them. At the end of the day I’m a huge fan of anyone who pursues their passion and helps others along the way.

What is your advice for women who would like to pursue a career in the skate industry?
I fully support women who are interested in getting into the skate industry. We need more women in our industry in order to grow it in the right direction. For a long time, it’s only been dudes at the table and the skate industry could really use some diversity. Find other like-minded women (and men) to support you and give you encouragement – that’s major. One of the most important pieces of advice I can give is to support other women along the way — you’ll find success much quicker this way and quickly see how valuable it is to have a strong network. Plus, it’s way more fun to have a bunch of friends as opposed to enemies. There is no way I would have even thought about doing half the things I’ve done if I didn’t have the support of other women in the industry – the same women who have become my lifelong bffs.

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE

www.workinskateboarding.com

www.workinskateboarding.com

www.workinskateboarding.com

www.workinskateboarding.com

www.workinskateboarding.com