Shredded knee pads. Worn-out rainbow Vans. Oversized hoodies. Multiple competition awards. Dazzled audiences. A sponsor. And, most important, a “Mission Girls” beanie.
The San Francisco Skater Sisters are taking the Mission, and the world, by storm, one 360 spin at a time. From the stairs of Dolores Park to the ramps of Potrero Skatepark to the sidewalks of Valencia Street, Mariah and Jasmine Marksman are turning heads.
“People will cheer them on when they skate down the sidewalks. It’s amazing,” their dad, Calvin Marksman, who works as an electrician, said.
The 7- and 9-year-old sisters picked up their first skateboard a year and a half ago, after watching their friend Richard skate in Dolores Park.
“He gave us his board for us to try,” Jasmine explained. Two days later, the sisters found a skateboard at a garage sale while walking home. It was destiny.
Just like a pair of their Vans, their first skateboard didn’t last very long. “The wheels on that board moved soooooo slow,” Mariah said. The San Francisco Skater Sisters wanted something faster, a board that could handle their head-turning tricks.
The sisters credit their dad for their quick ascendency. The best teacher “who never learned how to skate,” said Jasmine.
“It started with me riding my electric scooter and them holding onto my finger,” Marksman explained. Now, the sisters are doing handstands as they skate down the hills of Dolores Park.
“I also started looking at skateboarding videos on YouTube,” said their dad. “And then I would try to teach them tricks like ‘monster walks.’ And then they just kept getting better and better. People will now crowd around them when they skate.”
The San Francisco Skater Sisters put their skills to the test when they entered their first competition in Venice Beach, California. The sisters went into the competition with no expectations, but Jasmine, the oldest, placed third. At their next competition, at Playland Skatepark, both sisters placed second.
“Our favorite place we traveled to was Venice Beach,” Jasmine said.
The beach has a history stretching back to the ‘70s, and was instrumental in turning skateboarding into both a cultural phenomenon and an olympic sport.
But when asked which neighborhood they preferred, the sisters unequivocally agreed: Mission District.
“This is where we grew up,” Jasmine said. “Dolores Park is basically where we live. SF is just so us.”
