Alumna Breaking Barriers in Male-Dominated Sport

Mimi Knoop ‘00 used to ride her skateboard across sidewalks and parking lots, zipping through pedestrians while on her way to class at Radford University.

“There weren't many other skaters at RU then, but hopefully there are now,” said Knoop, who now skateboards professionally and competes in major events such as the ESPN X-Games. She has five medals from X-Games events and has won such major events as the Protec Pool Party in 2008 and the Soul Bowl in 2007 and 2008.

Knoop has always been a skateboarder. She played soccer for two years at RU and used to ride her board down the hill to practice. “Our coach, Coach Ben Sohrabi, would always get mad and say, ‘What are you doing? Don't ride that thing. You're going to hurt yourself,’” Knoop recalled. “But eventually, I got him on my skateboard and found out he used to skate too. He was a cool guy. I am glad to see what he’s been able to do with the RU women's soccer program since I was at RU.”

Knoop, a Chesapeake native who majored in visual arts at RU, said she didn’t know other females skated until she moved to California in 2001. “In high school and college I always skated with the guys,” Knoop said. “I finally met some female pro skaters in 2002 and I definitely learned a lot from them.”

Breaking into the male-dominated professional skating circuit was a challenge for Knoop, as it is for many other females. That challenge led her, along with a group of other female skaters, to found Alliance, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to helping develop and promote female skateboarding “by empowering and encouraging young women's participation as well as increasing professional opportunities,” Knoop said. She said Alliance has helped make substantial strides in creating prize purse parity at the X-Games, as well as other big skating events.

Knoop’s status as a professional female skater has positioned her as a role model to young female skaters, and it’s a role she cherishes.

“I definitely consider myself a role model for the girls coming up; I have to,” she said. “It is so important to project the right attitude and to be professional with everyone you encounter and to set a positive example for girl's skateboarding and skateboarding in general.”

Knoop says that some of her fondest skating memories are of those riding with friends, listening to music and learning new tricks. “Those times are priceless, and that’s why I love skating,” she said. However, perhaps the monumental moment of her skating life came when “ESPN announced prize purse equality for all women's events at the X-Games from our hard work with the Alliance,” she said

“It was such a major accomplishment for us to have affected all those girls in such a positive way, not only skateboarders, but female skiers, snowboarders, motocross and others will now be able to win decent money at their events.”

Knoop, along with Alliance, has generated increased exposure and equality for female skaters, but she says there is much more work to be done.

“Girls need to see other girls skateboarding so they know they can do it too, so they aren't intimidated,” Knoop said. “We need to take girls skateboarding out of the underground and make it more visible and accessible like the boys. It's getting there, but it still has more to go.”

Tons of work goes into being among the top professional female skaters, but the job also has many rewards, such as freedom to make your own schedule, providing a creative outlet and meeting new people while traveling to numerous locations across the world.

“The challenging part about this job is also the fun part, to be honest,” Knoop said.

“I chose to first try skating professionally because I love skateboarding, but I also knew it would be a challenge just to survive financially. I knew I wouldn't have it figured out over night. Luckily, my hard work has slowly paid off, but in it's place are new challenges. We need more visibility for girl skateboarders. It's getting so much better, but there's still more that can be done to get the girls out there. I feel like it's my responsibility to do what I can to make things better for the younger girls coming up."