Nora Baker first stepped on a skateboard when she was just 5 years old. Now going on 17 in December, Baker has made strides in the Fort Collins skateboarding community. Most recently, on Oct. 1, she became the first female skateboarder to join Name In Blood Skateboards, a Colorado skateboard company.

“It was just in the family,” Baker said. “And I wasn’t good at softball.”

Baker’s dad, Orlando Baker, and brother, Tsedeq Baker, were both semi-professional skateboarders with a similar style to the one Nora picked up.

 “I just want to inspire other girls, just to show that anybody can do it … Even though it’s scary (and) intimidating, you can do it, you just got to keep pushing.” -Nora Baker, local skateboarder

“Well, my older brother influences me a lot,” Baker said. “He pushes me really hard and wants me to succeed. But my dad, he treated me like his little prodigy, so I didn’t really like that.”

Now, Baker is making a name for herself at Name In Blood Skateboards.

“It’s weird (getting on a board company),” Baker said. “I’m happy, but I’m the only girl on it, so it’s a lot of pressure. I’m not really good at anything else — this is all I do; I don’t have a life.” 

Baker said her favorite skate park in Fort Collins is Northside DIY – Aztlan Skatepark, next to the Northside Aztlan Community Center located at 112 E. Willow St. Because Baker  spends so much time at the skatepark, she’s well-known in the area.

“Baker is a legend, a young legend,” local skateboarder Isaac McKinley said. “I’ve known her for five years now, (and) she’s really good at skating, better than me — better than most people here, actually.”

Baker rode an 8.5 inch skateboard, but said she now prefers an 8.75 inch because she has “baby feet.” Before she began skating for Name in Blood Skateboards, Baker said she liked Creature Skateboards because of their concave, and 303 Boards, a Colorado-owned and operated skateboard and skating attire store with locations in Denver and Boulder.

“There are big-name girl pro-skaters, but what they’re doing always seems out of reach. Nora getting on a board company shows it’s actually possible and will inspire other girl skaters to push for that.” -Jillian Vargas, local skateboarder

Baker said she enjoys vert skating the most, and at Northside Skatepark, she likes skating the bowl or the 5-foot quarter pipe. Baker said her favorite female skateboarder is Nicole Hause, a mostly vert, semi-professional skateboarder sponsored by Nike Skateboarding, Anti-Hero and several others.

Baker isn’t alone in being the only girl on a skateboard team. Girl Skateboards recently added Breana Geering to their team, where she’s the first female skateboarder since the company’s founding in 1993. Like in other sports, female skaters are underrepresented in the community and aren’t offered the same opportunities that men receive. 

Baker said that not many girls skateboard in Fort Collins, adding that many of her friends instead skate in Denver. 

“It’s just intimidating, especially when you go to a new park,” Baker said. “In the cities, when you go to a new park, everybody just assumes so much out of you so fast, so it’s scary.”  

There are several women in skateboarding, such as Elissa Steamer, Fabiana Delfino and Una Farrar, but there are less in Colorado. When a girl like Nora gets on a board company, it has a huge impact on girls who skate in the community.  

“I think it’ll help influence other girls because it’s representation,” said Jillian Vargas, a local skateboarder. “There are big-name girl pro-skaters, but what they’re doing always seems out of reach. Nora getting on a board company shows it’s actually possible and will inspire other girl skaters to push for that.”

Vargas said she looks up to Baker as an inspiration and that Baker has helped her grow as a skateboarder.

“Sometimes the skate park can be intimidating, especially as a girl, but she always shows up and owns it,” Vargas said. “She’s also helped me so many times with tricks I’m trying to learn, and not a lot of people take the time to do that. Nora is probably the most bad*ss skater I know, and I’m stoked to see her out there killing it.” 

“I just want to inspire other girls, just to show that anybody can do it,” Baker said. “Even though it’s scary (and) intimidating, you can do it. You just got to keep pushing.”