Vans have revealed the next chapter in its global brand campaign in This Is Off The Wall, with ‘Girls Skate India’. This Is Off The Wall was first launched in 2017 and showcases a set of diverse stories that Vans have always supported.
This year, Vans is taking a closer look at creative communities around the world and empowering them through various forms.
According to the Vans website:
Vans is taking a closer look at creative communities around the world through a comprehensive campaign of video content and activation platforms that uplift Vans’ pillars of action sports, art, music and street culture, inviting everyone to participate.
The Vans Vice President of Global Creative, Jamie Reilly, also says that:
We wanted to tell stories about the communities that grow around creative endeavors, whether it’s skateboarding, art, or music, these activities connect people with one another, Vans has been engaging with creatives around the world for more than 50 years. Whether it’s making the first shoes for skateboarders, building skateparks, hosting concerts, or putting on art shows, we love how creativity brings individuals together where they can learn from and inspire each other.
I personally was not aware of this campaign at all until a video about Girls Skate India popped up on my feed this morning, capturing the bright colours of India as well as the power skate culture can have on a community. Check it out below:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4yPvwYQVh0]
In India, like many other places in the world, girls are expected to follow societies norms. But for Atita Verghase, skateboarding has opened up a new world of opportunities and led to the foundation of her organisation: Girls Skate India. In the video above, she teams up with Lizzie Armanto, who is also an inspiration to other female skateboarders in India.
“ONCE THESE GIRLS SEE WHAT’S POSSIBLE, THEY’RE GOING TO HAVE NEW ASPIRATIONS AND DREAMS THAT SHE’S GOING TO IGNITE IN THEM”
The girls led a skate workshop in Bangalore, India that taught girls to be fearless, and not just when attempting new tricks. It shows how a non-traditional activity provides a way for girls to express themselves.
In the video above, Atita and Lizzie also take part in D.I.Y Spot building and you see Atita skateboard against a rickshaw which if you don’t know what that is, its a type of transport in India. You also see a number of young girls inspired by Atita and Lizzie, some girls as young as eight who have been skateboarding every day.
Vans will continue to mobilize around the world to teach women and girls how to skateboard through a series of workshops and clinics which began on March 8th, 2018, International Woman’s day. Vans will host more than 100 workshops in major cities such as Brooklyn, Chicago, London, Shanghai, St. Petersburg, Sao Paul and Mexico, inspiring women to learn something new as well as a new wave of women’s skateboarding.
Visit Girls Skate to learn more here!
For more girl skaters, check out this 8-year-old girl who is the youngest person to skate in the US Vans open.
