The second season of Thrasher’s King of the Road on Viceland had three women skaters as special guests with each of the skate teams. Leigh got to talk with skateboarder Samarria Brevard about her accomplishments, being a King of the Road mystery guest on team enjoi, and creating possibilities for the next generation of women in skateboarding.
“If you don’t like how things are or you wish something existed that doesn’t, you really just have to take things into your own hands and make it happen on your own terms. That’s the attitude that everyone who has accomplished something meaningful has had.”- Kim Woozy, Mahfia.tv
Samarria is a powerhouse with quite a resume. She handily won the Women’s division at Kimberly Diamond Cup in 2014. She has placed in the top ten in the Women’s Super Crown Championship at the Nike SB Street League Series Skateboarding in 2015 and at X Games 2016. She has a pro model board for hoopla, a classic brand co-created by ladies’ skateboarding torch-bearer, and legend Mimi Knoop.
Samarria, you can nail big tricks and skate with so much power. How do you feel being a trailblazer? Do you realize that you are a trailblazer in the current era of skating?
SB: I don’t think about myself that way, but I just hope I can do something in skating and open doors for us (ladies).
You were in Quit Your Day Job, the first all women full-length skate video in over a decade. Your part is rad; you’re ridiculously good. You’re such a dynamic and forceful skater! Aw, thanks so much. It was just really fun to film and skate with everyone. It was an awesome project and gave us all good exposure.
Girls Skate Network recently put up a Stoked to Skate video featuring Samarria skating in San Francisco with a whole bunch of other ladies at a fundraiser for Skate Like a Girl .
Where are you right now? At home in Riverside (California).
What’s your favorite spot around home to skate? Hunt Park. I like to go there or just chill at home.
You were in the first SLS Super Crown Championship in 2015. That was huge for women’s skateboarding to have that stage. Do you think that contest changed women’s skateboarding? Sure. I would hope it brings more opportunities for everyone and girl skaters coming up. It’s crazy, for me it was painful. I had hurt my back, and it was challenging to skate, but it’s a great course, great set up. and of course amazing contest.
(Samarria was being way too humble. She was the only skater to clear the largest obstacles on the course)
And more visibility can close that gap in opportunities for women skaters professionally. How do you find out if you’ll skate SLS this year? Invitations get sent out later in the summer.
How about X Games? You placed in the top 10 in 2016. Do you feel nervous before a contest like that? I’m not nervous until it starts. Overall going into a contest, I feel confident and just see what happens. I wait to see if I get an invite for that, too.
What’s the place you’ve gotten to travel to go skate that was amazing for you? Definitely Hawaii. That was the best part of the whole King of the Road trip. We were on the main island-we hit tons of street spots. We had to get the last items we needed, get in our last tricks.
I was so stoked when I found out about you ladies (Brevard, Lacey Baker, and Nora Vasconcellos) being the Mystery Guests this time on King of the Road. How did you get the word you were going to be part of King of the Road? Michael Burnett texted me one day, asking if I wanted to be part of it and I said, ‘yes’. I would definitely do it again.
What was the funniest thing that happened on KOTR? The whole experience was hilarious! My mom got in the van with us. That was a challenge: get a relative to ride in the team van and keep them there for eight hours. Well, not keep them in there, you know. My mom had to clean (skate) spots for us, pick up trash. It was hilarious and she was a good sport and had a lot of fun. The whole experience was awesome- we all ( the whole team) got along really well.
What was the most unexpected thing about KOTR? I wasn’t expecting the first challenge to start out so heavy. I had to eat a worm. Mine was crawling —it was moving.
What’s coming up for you? Skating of course, filming. Maybe X Games, I’m winging it, we’ll have to see.
(Samarria is indeed an invited athlete at X Games Minneapolis)
Tell me a situation in your life where you know that being a skater, skateboarding helped you navigate that challenge. How that correlates in my life is probably the universal one--you fall, you gotta get back up and try again.
Catch Samarria, team enjoi, and all the skaters on King of the Road Season 2 on Viceland, 9:30 p.m. ET.