54-year-old 'skater chick' using photography to imagine a world of equality

Marlene Hielema dabbled with skateboarding at a very young age, but then dropped it for decades.

"I skated as a kid for a couple of years, way before skateparks," the 54-year-old told The Homestretch.

"I quitskateboarding and then when I turned 50, the neighbour kid got a longboard. Another neighbour said, 'I think Marlene skateboards. Why don't you ask her to teach you how to ride it?'"

"So I took out my 35-year-old skateboard and I started riding it and I am like, 'Whoa, this feels great. I think I'd like to get back into skateboarding.'"

She says she then bought herself a longboard and started skating again along bike paths.

Hielema, also an accomplished photographer, now loves her time at skateparks.

"I am a 54-year-old skater chick. That is probably the coolest thing about me."

A couple of years ago, she even joined a skate club for women.

"There were eight of us and it was snowing," Hielema says with a laugh.

"I had so much fun. You got the energy of hanging out with a bunch of women skateboarders. Some people were better than others but it doesn't really matter, your ability when you are skateboarding and you are with a bunch of girls, because we all celebrate the small wins."

Hielema has now married two of her passions: skateboarding and photography. Sherecently puton a photography workshop just for the ladies.

'Identify with the women in the photos'

"As women, we need to create the images of women and girls that we want to see," she said.

"We don't want to see what is in more typical skateboard magazines which is 200 pages of men skateboarding and the pictures of women skateboarding are women posing in clothing or women, seriously, with bananas in their mouth," she said.

"This is what the young men of our world are seeing as skateboard photos. We need to create the media of women and girls that we want to see. We need to be able to identify with the women in the photos. They need to be real, who come in all shapes and sizes and they need to be showing women and community."

A.J. Watt was part of that recent workshop.

"I am a mom of two skateboard girls," Watt said.

She says she learned a lot.

"It's composition and timing. Timing is key and knowing the lines and when to actually get a shot. Just that, take-your-breath away action shot. I just want to take great shots," she said.

"That's my goal for today anyway."

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With files from The Homestretch