![]() Many say that for women, a career in the action sports industry after competition can be especially tricky to navigate. X Games is the only event we have equal prize money, and there is way less support from sponsors." We struggle to even get a women's division in most competitions. "The opportunities are much less for women compared to men," Adams Hawkins says about skaters. Her legacy secure but her future uncertain, Burnside's career arc serves as a sort of case study for the status of women in action sports, where despite significant progress many cite a persistent gender gap. With her status as a top competitor in skateboarding waning, she will part ways with Vans, her main sponsor for more than 20 years. She has paved the way for all of us, and as the sport has grown she has been pushing harder every year to get things going for us and to continue to help the sport itself grow."īut now at 42, Burnside, of Encinitas, Calif., feels unwanted again. "There wouldn't really be women's skating without CB," she says via email. Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins, 21, has won eight X Games medals in vert. She's an ultimate icon for a generation." "It's OK to be progressive it's OK to do multiple sports," she says about the values Burnside embodies. Susan Izzo is an agent who represents snowboarder Ellery Hollingsworth, and surfers Kassia Meador and Sofia Mulanovich. And in a sit-down with ESPN executives in 2006, she and other members of the Action Sports Alliance, an association of professional women's skateboarders, secured a prize purse for women to match that of the men across all X Games sports. She won gold medals at the X Games in skateboarding and snowboarding. In 1998, she competed for the United States' snowboarding team when the sport made its Olympic debut at the Nagano Games. While Burnside points out that some of the biggest skaters of the day - Tony Hawk, Christian Hosoi and Danny Way - were always supportive, Hawk himself admits, "She was an outcast in an outcast sport."Īs action sports went mainstream and opportunities expanded for women, Burnside continued to play a pioneering role. Certain guys would look at you like you were an alien or something, like, 'What are you doing here?'" ![]() "There was definitely a vibe of feeling out of place. ![]() "It was really hard and intimidating as the only girl out there," Burnside recalls. ![]() WIDTH="203" HEIGHT="114" BORDER="0" ALT="">īurnside is one of a growing number of women who are certifiable action sports icons. ![]()
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