Nora Vasconcellos Doesn't Stop Playing

Last December the Stance crew got a chance to spend a beautiful Southern California winters day down in San Diego with Nora Vasconcellos. We came onto the scene with a couple of cameras, but zero expectations or plans, fully ready to let Nora lead the way so that we were all just passenger princesses to her day to day life.

Early morning surf ✅
Post surf sketching ✅
Afternoon lawn mowing sesh ✅
Evening skate sesh ✅

Nora said, “I feel like a little fall princess.” as she sat down in a lawn chair in front of the camera. Sweater on and adjusting her Icon socks letting us get the perfect shot while we chatted with her a bit.

First, we asked her how she usually introduces herself. Are you a skater, a surfer, an artist? Her answer was simple.

I am Nora Vasconcellos and I'm a lady who likes to skateboard and surf. I grew up on the East Coast, but this is always what I thought California was. It's just a perfect little zone.

Can you tell us a bit more about some of your early days at the skateparks out on the East Coast?

My dad used to take me to the skate park… I was 13, 14, and he would bring me on Tuesday nights. It was ‘girls skate free night’ and I think he thought I’d have some friends to skate with…but there were never any other girls. I love seeing the kids and the younger girls now at skate parks. Sometimes I have this hint of jealousy where I'm like, “I wish I was 8 or 10 now, and have that camaraderie." But at the same time to be able to be a part of it still…It's cool to see that cycle of like, "Whoa, these kids are growing up in a time where they're seeing all different types of people skateboarding versus just this guy." So it's so sick.

You’ve undoubtedly made your mark in the skateboarding world time and time again, but something that separates you from the pack even further is your drive to empower others, give a platform to those with less of a voice and fight for a better and more equal future. You’re an Everyday Icon to us and many others but we want to know what you think makes an Icon?

I think just being authentically yourself and being genuine. Being uplifting to a community. I think we get really convoluted with that because I think we idolize people who, for the greater good, aren't really helpful or even practicing basic humanity. And I think a real icon is somebody who makes their community better and is able to be their best self while bringing others up with them.

Do you find connections between your art and your skateboarding?

Skateboarding is so much more of an art than a sport. It's massively physical. It's very hard on your body. I love overcoming fear and learning the trick and getting to skate spots that you've thought about forever. I love getting lost in the process versus being stressed out and being like, oh, I've got to land this. I was recently told that anger is not a first emotion, it's just a reaction to fear or pain. And I think most of the time skateboarding, if you're pushing yourself, you're experiencing both fear and pain. And so it's just weird to have anger when you're like, "I love this" and this is supposed to be fun and fulfilling. It's just a balance though and it definitely ebbs and flows. I don't think I express fear and anger through my art or surfing like I do through skateboarding.

I joke that my skating funds my surfing. I was really into it in middle school and high school and actually my first photo in a magazine was in a surf magazine for Surfers ESA little addition thing... It's just crazy, like I changed my path because surfing wasn't super accessible. I started skating transition in parks and stuff because of surfing. When it comes to surfing, you're in this very natural place, you're in the ocean. There sometimes is this survival feeling, if the waves are big. It can be scary, but also with surfing there's this sense of like, "Oh, this is just for me." I don't have to go out here for anybody. I'm not going out here to post on Instagram. I'm not going out here to prove anything. I think we forget that we have to have some things for ourselves, and we get so lost in the performance of stuff that it's very easy, I think, to lose your relationship with things and how it's fun.

There are things like that, that you can't recreate. It's very similar and I think when I have a really good day surfing, it can be two feet and I can just feel like a little kid. I feel like I'm 11 years old and I'm playing essentially, just never giving up that form of play. That's what surfing still gives me.