"What is it that I love?" That's what Lucy Osinski asked herself before embarking on a journey that would take her around the world. In 2018, Osinski launched GRLSWIRL, a female skate collective based in Venice, CA, that has become a global community of women and non-binary people who want to skateboard, build authentic relationships, and positively impact the community.
While Osinski exudes joy for her community and for her sport, her optimistic outlook on life did not come naturally, as she candidly admits to Teen Vogue.
A classically-trained ballerina from upstate New York, Osinski attended college on a dance scholarship only to realize partway through the program she lacked the "driving obsession" she saw her peers exhibit. To tap into her passion, Osinski says she tried "all the things under the sun." Flowing with the rhythm of life's opportunities led her to various jobs in fashion, music, tech, film, and farming, as well as stints in France, New York City, and eventually Los Angeles. Whatever came her way, Osinski says, “I did it with all my heart.”
Thinking back on her ability to "keep going and keep going" despite feeling directionless, Osinski describes this period of exploration as "a hunt for connection with people." It was not until she was introduced to skateboarding by her boyfriend, Gabriel, that she finally found everything for which she had been searching. The more she skated, especially with others, the more she loved it. The sensation of finally belonging was as addictive as it was empowering. "Something just clicked in my brain," Osinski recounts, "and I went from feeling really fragile and weak…to suddenly feeling so powerful." Her deep desire to help others discover that same energy birthed what is today known as ‘GRLSWIRL.’
Five years after their official launch, the founding team of nine women has nurtured GRLSWIRL into a global force for empowerment, encouragement, and friendship for hundreds of thousands of skater members. Osinski explains that the crux of the GRLSWIRL philosophy is that "you do not have to be the best. You can be the 'okayest' and still have the most fun." Emphasizing pleasure over perfection and fearless experimentation over comparison, she identifies trying as an accomplishment worth celebrating.
What began with a group text and a slew of casual skate meet-ups has evolved into a proper business with five dedicated 'SWRL Chapters' around the world, a series of international skate retreats, a merchandise partnership with women's apparel brand ROXY, and even a forthcoming television series. In the face of such seismic and incredibly rapid growth, Osinski and her co-founders remain focused on ensuring GRLSWIRL retains its brand authenticity and intentional directionality. They approach each new venture and opportunity–and there are many–from a place of, "okay, why are we doing this?" The founding team honors GRLSWIRL's origins by ensuring "everything [they're] doing still to this day is speaking to that girl" who felt alone and lost. The result of their teamwork, she says, is a “really beautiful business and community as well as some sort of a movement around getting people on skateboards.”
A guiding tenet of GRLSWIRL is that through individual experience and community strength, it is possible to inspire people to face insecurities and unite through skateboarding. Few individuals embody this concept better than GRLSWIRL member turned Team Rider Yaya Ogun. Ogun became formally involved with the collective after attending group skates as a novice, where she forged "life-changing connections," she says. "Coming in as an outsider" whose perfectionism had typically dissuaded her from exploring beyond the familiar, she was "super scared to come by [her]self." But, to her surprise, after joining a GRLSWIRL group chat, "two weeks later, we were having barbecues; two months later we were doing birthday parties." GRLSWIRL is about so much more than skating–it breeds community, identity, trust, and fun. Bucking skateboarding's insiders-only reputation, Ogun is officially a believer that “if you think you identify as a skater, you are a skater.”
It is only fitting that the name 'GRLSWIRL' is derived from the image of "an ice cream swirl, with all different colors swirling together," very much the way different types of people swirl together in skating and in life. To underscore the sentiment, Osinski opted to remove the "i" in "girl" to welcome those who identify more broadly on the spectrum of womanhood. "They're black, they're white, they're Asian, they're queer, they're straight," Ogun says, not just of her immediate skate tribe but of the global skate community experiencing the ripple effects of GRLSWIRL's inclusive spirit. "The [skate world] is really opening up" and "becoming a safe space for everyone," and that, she declares, “is really revolutionary.”
The GRLSWIRL momentum is building. The collective recently announced details for its second-annual Swirl Fest, which will be hosted in partnership with Cariuma and Carver in Venice, CA, on August 5, 2023. The event will feature a full day of programming, including Surf and SurfSkate competitions with legendary judges and prizes, the world premiere screening of the GRLSWIRL x Carver documentary, and a 70s-themed dance party.
Osinski is not necessarily saying that you should take up skateboarding as a hobby, though she hopes you do–but that "you do not need to know what you're going to be the rest of your life today." She shares that her secret to discovering and holding onto joy is to "just do things that feel good and experiment." Try everything once and seize life's momentum because, just like Osinski, something magical might find you along the way.
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