Annie Guglia | “Skateboarding is for everyone”

“It’s hard to be what you can’t see. Annie Guglia takes diversity to heart. A little tour on her social networks, and we quickly understand the importance of this issue for the professional snowboarder.

Jean-Francois Teotonio
The Press

It goes far beyond his virtual conversation with The Press on this subject. Or the current context of Pride month. Her Instagram posts are filled with testimonials and rainbow-colored emojis. She also proudly displays her great love with her spouse, Luisa Fernanda.

What’s more, the Montrealer works in the Vans marketing team to promote, precisely, inclusion and diversity.

“My job with Vans, among other things, is to support events for queer people, for women, for young aboriginal people, for the neuro-diverse community, for the visually impaired, lists Annie Guglia. We help a lot of groups like that. And I find it so beautiful to see [cette facette du skate], which is often perceived in such a limited way. »

Guglia, who competed in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, is pleased with recent advances in this regard within the global skateboarding community.

“Five years ago, you opened a skate magazine, and it was just dudes,” she says. Sometimes they will put a girl. Maybe. It’s rare. And yet, of the girls, there is more than one on earth who skates.

“Right now there’s a big queer skate scene forming. We see the first queer skate films. These are skate companies that will sponsor trans women and men. It’s cool to see that it creates a new scene. »

A “beautiful community”, despite a few hiccups

It’s all about “visibility”, according to Annie Guglia.

She cites the meteoric rise in popularity of Arin, a “super good” young black trans woman.

“She started posting on social media and then companies promoted her. It created quite the buzz and inspired a lot of queer people from all over the world to start skateboarding. That’s how it should work. »

But all is not perfect yet.

“I told myself that in skateboarding, we are good, launches Annie Guglia. We are inclusive. We’ve been talking about it for a long time. And finally, we had our scandal, the rest of us too. »

Notably, 27-year-old snowboarder Taylor Silverman from Michigan came out. She denounced on Instagram in May that trans women had won competitions and prizes “aimed at female athletes”.

“I participated in three different competitions with trans women, she wrote. I got second place in two of those events. […] I deserved to finish first. I deserved to have my victory recognized. And get paid. »

The many comments at the bottom of his post go to both sides.

“There are always people who will not agree with your values, no matter,” puts Annie Guglia into perspective.

The 31-year-old Montrealer wants to “use her platform” to show that “skating is for everyone”.

“It feels like you have to be a daredevil to skate. Or be a guy, a teenager full of testosterone who is going to throw himself down the stairs. »

“I go back to basics”

Annie Guglia will not compete in the next Olympic cycle, she who had traveled to Tokyo at the very last minute after injuries and cases of COVID-19 opened the door for her. But that doesn’t mean she’s retiring. She will also be at the next Jackalope festival on the Olympic Park esplanade in August.

“I’ve been skateboarding for 20 years,” she recalls. The Olympics, it’s been 4 years [que la discipline existe]. I will continue to do so. »

She even believes that she practices her sport “as much, if not more”, than when she was training.

“It does not change anything for my daily life. The only difference is that I don’t manage to be at my peak at certain times. It’s much less structured. […] If one day, it tempts me to push myself, it tempts me. Otherwise it does not matter. »

She will squeal her wheels on the asphalt “just for fun” now.

“I’m going back to basics. »