Vanguards: Four
Skateboarders Lead
the Way with
Creativity and Style
Play Movie
This is Off The Wall
“Everyone can be doing the same thing but we're all doing our own thing.”
- LIZZIE ARMANTO

For the Vanguards, it’s simple: Style matters. To that end, Vans team riders, Brighton Zeuner, Lizzie Armanto, Yndiara Asp and newcomer, Mami Tezuka, are putting their signatures on a new movement in skate culture – where individuality, creativity, and self-expression win.

Heavily influenced by their hometown parks, local environments, and travels, we recently spent some time catching up with these four originals to hear what “style” means to them.

Explore as we take you to Japan, Brazil, and back to Southern California to meet the girls on their home turf where they talk skating, creative inspirations, and the elements that have come together to shape their unique, one-of-a-kind styles.

For the Vanguards, it’s simple: Style matters. To that end, Vans team riders, Brighton Zeuner, Lizzie Armanto, Yndiara Asp and newcomer, Mami Tezuka, are putting their signatures on a new movement in skate culture – where individuality, creativity, and self-expression win.
Read More

Heavily influenced by their hometown parks, local environments, and travels, we recently spent some time catching up with these four originals to hear what “style” means to them.

Explore as we take you to Japan, Brazil, and back to Southern California to meet the girls on their home turf where they talk skating, creative inspirations, and the elements that have come together to shape their unique, one-of-a-kind styles.
Read Less

Lizzie Armanto

Coming up in Santa Monica, California, Lizzie Armanto’s smooth and flowy style is closely connected to the surf-skating roots of the city. When you see her carving, pumping, and laying down tricks at The Cove – it’s clear she’s a direct style descendant of Dogtown.

For Lizzie, having style is about more than just doing the trick - it’s about the way you do it and the feeling you get when landing it. She describes it like this: “When you do a trick perfectly, it just works. Your feet are in the right spot, your board goes the right way, and you just roll away… that’s the feeling I’m trying to chase after.”

That point-of-view on style translates to contests as well - for Lizzie, competition skateboarding is about more than about racking up points. It’s about doing a run that she can be proud of. She’s chasing the feeling of landing a trick perfectly, her own way. She understands how important style is in skateboarding - how a group of people can be doing the same thing, but still be doing their own thing.

As Lizzie charges into 2019, we know she’ll continue to add on to her list of credentials, which include groundbreaking Transworld and Thrasher Magazine covers, and being the first woman to ever complete Tony Hawk’s daunting “Loop of Death.”

Lizzie Armanto

Coming up in Santa Monica, California, Lizzie Armanto’s smooth and flowy style is closely connected to the surf-skating roots of the city. When you see her carving, pumping, and laying down tricks at The Cove – it’s clear she’s a direct style descendant of Dogtown.
Read More

For Lizzie, having style is about more than just doing the trick - it’s about the way you do it and the feeling you get when landing it. She describes it like this: “When you do a trick perfectly, it just works. Your feet are in the right spot, your board goes the right way, and you just roll away… that’s the feeling I’m trying to chase after.”

That point-of-view on style translates to contests as well - for Lizzie, competition skateboarding is about more than about racking up points. It’s about doing a run that she can be proud of. She’s chasing the feeling of landing a trick perfectly, her own way. She understands how important style is in skateboarding - how a group of people can be doing the same thing, but still be doing their own thing.

As Lizzie charges into 2019, we know she’ll continue to add on to her list of credentials, which include groundbreaking Transworld and Thrasher Magazine covers, and being the first woman to ever complete Tony Hawk’s daunting “Loop of Death.”
Read Less

“you have to learn the process, to like know what feels right and what doesn’t.”
“Style matters and the way you do it is just as important as doing the trick in the first place.”

Brighton Zeuner

Brighton Zeuner sits on the deck of her local skatepark in her hometown of Encinitas, Calif., legs dangling over the side. She’s trying to think of ways to put her style into words, but can’t exactly put her finger on it. Style is a hard thing to define - but when you see it, you know.

At only 14, Brighton has already been on a skateboard for more than half of her life. Early on, she recognized that every individual can look completely different on a board - and so she started carving out her own style quickly. The result is a blend of influences from all of her methods of creative expression.

For Brighton, fashion and skateboarding are two of those methods of creative expression. When it comes to her fashion sense, she says, “Sometimes I like to dress like a kid’s toy - like Spice Girl, mixed with baggy clothes.” She blends that same colorful street style to her transition skateboarding for a style that’s unique to her.

When not at home or at her favorite local spots, Brighton is a mainstay on the competition circuit. At the inaugural Vans Park Series World Championships in 2016, she locked in a strong victory.. And if that wasn’t enough– in 2018, Brighton repeated the feat, once again becoming the VPS Women’s Champion.

Brighton Zeuner

Brighton Zeuner sits on the deck of her local skatepark in her hometown of Encinitas, Calif., legs dangling over the side. She’s trying to think of ways to put her style into words, but can’t exactly put her finger on it. Style is a hard thing to define - but when you see it, you know.
Read More

At only 14, Brighton has already been on a skateboard for more than half of her life. Early on, she recognized that every individual can look completely different on a board - and so she started carving out her own style quickly. The result is a blend of influences from all of her methods of creative expression.

For Brighton, fashion and skateboarding are two of those methods of creative expression. When it comes to her fashion sense, she says, “Sometimes I like to dress like a kid’s toy - like Spice Girl, mixed with baggy clothes.” She blends that same colorful street style to her transition skateboarding for a style that’s unique to her.

When not at home or at her favorite local spots, Brighton is a mainstay on the competition circuit. At the inaugural Vans Park Series World Championships in 2016, she locked in a strong victory.. And if that wasn’t enough– in 2018, Brighton repeated the feat, once again becoming the VPS Women’s Champion.
Read Less

“The things I love about skating is the creativity and how you can look so different from anyone else.”
“I probably wouldn’t be this like colorful mess if it weren’t for skateboarding.”

Yndiara Asp

In the heart of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Yndiara Asp stands on top of a quarter-pipe in a run-down skatepark. As she approaches the coping to drop in, it’s clear this isn’t the smoothest surface around. Visible chunks of concrete are missing, layers of paint have chipped away.

None of this bothers Yndi, though. Her hard-charging style is all about skating fast, hitting obstacles head on, and just going for it, despite rough conditions. If we had to choose one word to describe the skateboarding of the Florianopolis native, it would be “gnarly”.

Back at the top of the quarter-pipe - Yndi slams her front foot on the board, dropping in without a ounce of fear. Before she can enjoy the momentum, she smashes head-first into a badly placed lamppost. It’s a slam that would knock the sense out of any skateboarder - but in two minutes, she’s back on her feet and ready to drop in again. Yndi makes it this time.

This is just one example of Yndiara’s tenacious, never-stay-down attitude –a quality that has served her well on the international scene. In 2018, she took home the title at the Red Bull Bowl Rippers contest, grabbed second during the Women's Pro Tour final in Sao Paulo – and in 2019, you can believe there’s much more to come.

Yndiara Asp

In the heart of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Yndiara Asp stands on top of a quarter-pipe in a run-down skatepark. As she approaches the coping to drop in, it’s clear this isn’t the smoothest surface around. Visible chunks of concrete are missing, layers of paint have chipped away.
Read More

None of this bothers Yndi, though. Her hard-charging style is all about skating fast, hitting obstacles head on, and just going for it, despite rough conditions. If we had to choose one word to describe the skateboarding of the Florianopolis native, it would be “gnarly”.

Back at the top of the quarter-pipe - Yndi slams her front foot on the board, dropping in without a ounce of fear. Before she can enjoy the momentum, she smashes head-first into a badly placed lamppost. It’s a slam that would knock the sense out of any skateboarder - but in two minutes, she’s back on her feet and ready to drop in again. Yndi makes it this time.

This is just one example of Yndiara’s tenacious, never-stay-down attitude –a quality that has served her well on the international scene. In 2018, she took home the title at the Red Bull Bowl Rippers contest, grabbed second during the Women's Pro Tour final in Sao Paulo – and in 2019, you can believe there’s much more to come.
Read Less

“I know I’m going to try to land a trick, you know. I’m going for it. That’s my style.”
“I have my style of skating, my style of tricks. I don’t know if it's better or worse of anyone. It’s just my way of skating.”

Mami Tezuka

Hundreds of miles east of Tokyo is the small city of Hikone, Japan. It’s a quiet place, surrounded by natural landscapes, calm lakes, and a historic castle. This is where we meet Mami Tezuka for the first time.

There’s a precision and musicality to Mami’s skateboarding style. She pumps around the bowl at her favorite local skatepark, locks into a Smith grind, and rolls away clean - for every move, she’s got a sharp sense of timing. It’s only when she lets us in on her first love of music that it all begins to make sense.

Coming from a skateboarding family, Mami already had a solid learning foundation - her living room is an actual quarter pipe. But as a sixteen-year old Japanese girl still locked in her school studies and other hobbies, she’s confident that her years spent learning how to play the piano – and mastering the precise timing of the instrument – have had a direct effect on her skating.

As part of the Vans flow team, Mami has been traveling the globe competing on the Vans Park Series Tour. And with the support of her family, she continues to sharpen her style–while having tons of fun doing it. We’ve got our eye out for more big things from Mami in 2019 and beyond.

Mami Tezuka

Hundreds of miles east of Tokyo is the small city of Hikone, Japan. It’s a quiet place, surrounded by natural landscapes, calm lakes, and a historic castle. This is where we meet Mami Tezuka for the first time.
Read More

There’s a precision and musicality to Mami’s skateboarding style. She pumps around the bowl at her favorite local skatepark, locks into a Smith grind, and rolls away clean - for every move, she’s got a sharp sense of timing. It’s only when she lets us in on her first love of music that it all begins to make sense.

Coming from a skateboarding family, Mami already had a solid learning foundation - her living room is an actual quarter pipe. But as a sixteen-year old Japanese girl still locked in her school studies and other hobbies, she’s confident that her years spent learning how to play the piano – and mastering the precise timing of the instrument – have had a direct effect on her skating.

As part of the Vans flow team, Mami has been traveling the globe competing on the Vans Park Series Tour. And with the support of her family, she continues to sharpen her style–while having tons of fun doing it. We’ve got our eye out for more big things from Mami in 2019 and beyond.
Read Less

“I started playing the piano much earlier than I started skateboarding. Because I play the piano I understand things like timing.”
“if I am skating, I want to skate while having fun. That’s my goal.”