Aimée
GILLINGWATER
Firstly, introduce yourself and tell us what you do.
My name is Aimée, I’m a 24-year-old singer and jack of a few trades. These include skateboarding, modelling & music composition.
Describe your experiences of being a female in the male dominated space of skateboarding and how did you first get into the sport?
In the past, I often used to sugar coat my experiences in skateboarding. This was because although there were positive and negative experiences, the good always outweighed the bad. Truth be told, myself and the majority of the women I know personally in skateboarding were subject to outrageous levels of what I call ‘subconscious misogyny.’ The most difficult part being the ‘subconscious’ aspect. I first started skating at around 15 and I was so unaware of skate culture but very eager to learn. What I didn’t understand at the time was that due to a lack of women skating at a younger age many of our fellow male skaters were used to
Photography by Munirah Al Mehri.
Click HERE to be taken to Munirah's Instagram.
an exclusively masculine world and i think they found it uncomfortable trying to navigate the unchartered waters of femininity in the sport. This led to bizarre behaviour towards girls at parks including being rude, derogatory comments, straight up blanking people or snaking girls when it was their turn to drop in, unwarranted mansplaining about tricks, and an all rounded lack of respect. That being said, not all guys would act this way and many were overwhelmingly supportive. And now that girls are becoming involved from younger ages that gap of discomfort is starting to close which is amazing. I think myself and the other girls around me experienced skateboarding during a time that will most likely never be repeated, the women who came before me pioneered the way for the rest of us. I have so much to say about this subject that I could go on forever but I’ll be forever thankful to them and all the men who went out of their way to be supportive and help everyone - regardless of gender - thrive.
Not only an athlete and model, but a musician too! Tell us about your band ‘Cherry’ and your experiences of navigating the music industry thus far.
So, Cherry was just a little passion project last year as I wanted to experiment with the 60s ‘French pop’ femme fatale imagery and sound while also gaining some more experience gigging and organising a band. It was such a fun experience and Ava Rogers (keys) and Layla Jennifer (bass) were so amazing to work with. At the moment I’m focusing on my solo stuff again, but it was an amazing experience. Cherry forever!!!
What have been some of your career highlights? Whether that’s skating, modelling or creating music.
I’ve been extremely blessed with my career and it’s still technically early days for me! But one of the best parts for me is travelling. I’ve been lucky enough to travel to LA, New York, Paris, Portugal, and more just for work. I love to travel solo and without skating and modelling I would have never been able to do it as much as I have. Another highlight has been working with Beanie Stolper, my personal manager, stylist, and CD. She’s helped me elevate my vision and bring it to life. I also LOVE working in female or queer environments as it has helped me to relax, find myself, and flourish.
What do you have coming up that you could tell us about?
At the moment I’m prepping to release my next single during the end of the Summer! I’m so excited for people to hear it but unfortunately that’s all I can reveal now!
