Cher Strauberry, left and Jeff Grosso on Love Letters to Skateboarding. Image courtesy Vans
MANUFACTURING
Vans Celebrates LGBTQ+ Community with Love Letters to Skateboarding
The LGBTQ+ community is celebrated during Pride Month in June. A new season for the Vans brand’s video series on the diverse groups of people involved in skateboarding, "Love Letters to Skateboarding," made a debut June 11. With this season, LGBTQ+ skateboarders are interviewed about skateboarding and their lives.
Those interviewed include Cher Strauberry, a musician and skateboarder who is transitioning to being a woman. There’s also Brian Anderson a professional skateboarder who came out as gay in 2016, and Unity, a queer skateboarding collective based in Oakland, Calif. The 11th season of "Love Letters to Skateboarding" can be viewed on Vans YouTube channel.
On a sad note, "Love Letters’" Host Jeff Grosso died in April at age 51. The cause of death for the popular skateboarder and personality was not released. The 11th season was produced before Grosso died. Vans also announced that it is making a donation of $50,000 to the GSA Network, an organization working to unite trans and queer youth for racial and gender justice.
