Each year the world's best skaters are inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame in Simi Valley, California.
Among those who will join the ranks this year is Cindy Whitehead. She was one of the first young women on L.A.'s skate scene in the 1970s.
She's skated pools. She's skated on the 405 Freeway. She even skated inside KPCC's newsroom on Friday.
And now, she will be inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame in May.
Cindy Whitehead joined host Alex Cohen to talk more about the honor.
Interview Highlights
On her reaction to being chosen for the Skateboarding Hall of Fame:
"I found out last Saturday. I literally got off a plane and I got a phone call saying, 'You've been inducted.' It was really exciting, and it was from one of my fellow nominees, and it was really nice to get that phone call and have a very supportive female call me and do that."
On the very first time she ever picked up a skateboard:
"The very first time I was 8 years old in my driveway on a Black Knight skateboard. And then I didn't really pick it up again until I was 14 1/2, and it was my brother, in Hermosa Beach, California, and it was just all my friends supporting me and skating."
How California's drought of the 1970s fueled the rise of pool skating:
"We had a drought, people were draining pools, and people were skating. People like Greg Weaver were carving tile below the pool light, and we thought that was amazing. We couldn't believe people could do that. That's how it all started for vert."
On the state of young women in skating today:
"There's so many girls skating. We promote them daily on our Instagram, and I can't even keep up with how many girls are skating. But, what we do need more is more media coverage so that the public knows that these girls are out there, and that they're ripping. They're amazing."
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above.