Grlswirl Builds an Inclusive Skate Community in Orange County
- Lauren Harvey
- Aug 27, 2025
- 4 min read
Women-founded skate collective Grlswirl launched its Orange County chapter in October 2024, creating a welcoming space for skateboarders of all backgrounds and skill levels.
When Natalie Urrego was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2019, surfing with her family and friends was suddenly off the table. Despite attempting to find a new land-based activity – which included jumping on the pandemic-era roller skating trend – nothing really stuck. Then she found Grlswirl.
The now 25-year-old, who grew up in Orange County, discovered the women-founded skateboarding collective on Instagram and was inspired to take up the sport herself. She first taught herself on a longboard – “a piece of plywood and trucks, truthfully,” she said – and saved up all her waitressing money to buy a Carver at a surf shop in Laguna Beach.
It wasn’t until Urrego moved to Los Angeles to study English and film at UCLA that she began skating with Grlswirl’s Venice chapter in 2021. She was immediately hooked, and soon began joining the group to mentor youth in Compton and South Central.
“I wasn’t very good at skateboarding at all, but I instantly had so many friends,” Urrego said. “I fell in love with what they were doing.”
When Urrego moved back to Orange County after graduation, she knew she had to bring Grlswirl with her. Along with Sutton Loughran, Trinidee Stewart and Cali Gumpel, she launched Swirl Orange County – one of nine Grlswirl chapters around the world – in October 2024. Together, the girls aim to make everyone feel welcome in the skateboarding world, regardless of their age, gender or skill level.
“The biggest Grlswirl message is that it’s OK to just be OK at something, and that hasn’t really been the message in skateboarding for a long time,” Urrego said. “It has created a much more positive environment, and that’s globally.”
Grlswirl began in 2018 when former ballerina Lucy Osinski started connecting with female skateboarders she met around Venice, hoping to create a sense of community. One night in February, about 10 of them gathered for their first group skate session, and soon realized they were onto something special. Osinski decided to name their group Grlswirl because she envisioned “a bunch of girls swirling together like an ice cream cone,” according to the 2023 documentary “Swirl Effect.”
“I was so scared to skate by myself. I felt so nervous and vulnerable,” Oskinski said in the documentary. “When I was with a group, I went from getting cat-called to people cheering us on.”
Grlswirl has since expanded across the globe, with chapters in Copenhagen, Lisbon, Mexico City, New York City, Paris and San Diego. In May, the group wrapped up the “World’s Okayest Skater Tour,” hosting groups skates and mentorship sessions in 16 cities around the world.
“Bringing skateboarding to underserved youth everywhere is really powerful and breaks down that barrier of access and entry,” said Urrego, who valued the opportunity to connect with her Colombian roots during the stop in Medellín. “We leave skateboards for them, and we tell them that once you’ve learned, it’s your job to go and teach another person. We really encourage them that they have to teach one girl eventually, whether it be a sister, a cousin, a friend, anybody. But they need to continue the work that we do there.”
When Swirl Orange County officially launched at Hobie Surf Shop in Dana Point, Urrego and Loughran were surprised by how many people attended.
“A lot of girls showed up and they would tell us, ‘Oh, I’m not here to skate. I don’t know how,’” Urrego said. “Within the hour, they were skating back and forth and having so much fun.”
The chapter has since gone on to host events like a pride skate, a Valentine’s Day skate and a “skate n’ paint,” where they decorated their own boards. Attendees range from 4 to 70 years old, Urrego said, with about 20 people showing up to each event. One of Loughran’s favorite Grlswirl moments occurred when a 6-year-old and 25-year-old partnered up to finish a skate course together.
“Seeing everybody at the end, cheering them on and celebrating this huge thing that they were able to skate all the way and back with everybody was really powerful,” Loughran said.
On Nov. 19, 2023, Urrego spoke in front of San Clemente City Council to petition for a new skate pump track in the city. Subsequently, Orange County’s first asphalt pump track opened at Richard T. Steed Memorial Park in April. Even though it was pouring rain, the Grlswirl community gathered to celebrate its unveiling.
“Seeing our own community come who had pretty much just learned how to skateboard, seeing them all in this shared space, in a physical space that we helped create was so surreal,” Urrego said.
This fall, Swirl Orange County plans to start a mentorship program with the Boys and Girls Club of San Clemente to teach underserved youth how to skate. And on Oct. 17, the group will host its one-year anniversary party at Knuckleheads Sports Bar in San Clemente, one of many places Loughran works. The theme is “Grlswirl prom,” so attendees are encouraged to dress to the nines, bring a date and show up to their local dive bar.
In addition to running Swirl Orange County, Urrego teaches English at Woodbridge High School in Irvine. Meanwhile, Loughran keeps busy coaching skateboarding at Sandlot Training Center, walking dogs and helping out in the Surf Locos warehouse. Still, they make time every Wednesday to meet up for “skate dates,” during which they try out new tricks and cheer each other on.
“As an adult, it becomes increasingly hard to find friends and community, even though we all live so close in such an amazing place,” Urrego said. “(Grlswirl) really is just a place where people of all ages, from everywhere, can come and play together, talk to each other, meet new people, make friends and hopefully have a fun time skateboarding.”
