Karen Jonz is the history and voice of female skateboarding in Brazil

When Karen Jonz went viral on the internet for her comments during the broadcast of women’s skateboarding at the Olympics, she already had a consolidated career in skateboarding, being a four-time world champion. Despite being cited by a journalist as the wife of Lucas Silveira, she held the title of first Brazilian woman medalist at the X-Games. In addition to skateboarding, Karen is Sky’s mother, singer, youtuber and artist:

From the first shape to the highest place on the podium

Karen Jonz was born in Santos on September 29, 1983, being raised in Santo André, a city known for the great popularity of skateboarding in the interior of São Paulo. Her involvement with the sport began at age 17, when she decided to sell cake at school to buy a shape.

At the beginning of her career, Karen competed with men due to the still non-existent presence of women in a predominantly male sport. She even told in interviews that there was often no women’s bathroom for her to use. This masculinization of the sport was also part of the skater’s life, who felt this “need” to wear looser clothes, behave like track partners and even reproduce the sexist lines they had, such as “she walks so well, looks like a woman.”

This need to always be the best, to have great results, is a very common pattern in environments where the male presence prevails. This self-imposed pressure can have very negative results in women’s lives. Jonz has already reported having suffered from depression and panic syndrome, due to this period of her career in which she repressed her femininity and several other characteristics to fit in that environment.

career and competitions

Karen Jonz opted, or rather found herself, in the vertical mode of skateboarding. Vert skate is practiced on a vertical, U-shaped rink. Competing since the early 2000s, she achieved her first big feat in 2005 by being runner-up in the women’s vertical category. The following year, she became the first Brazilian to be a world champion in skateboarding and even won bronze at the X-Games in Los Angeles.

In 2007, he moved to the United States in order to improve his training and reached fourth place in the X-Games. She conquers an unprecedented title in her career: European champion. The following year, she would raise her level even further in the sport by becoming a two-time world champion. She would still go back to being the best in skateboarding in the world in 2013 and 2014. She was also a gold medal in 2008, silver in 2009 and bronze in 2010 at the X-Games. She was Brazilian champion in two categories in 2012: vertical and bowl.

Attempts and Olympic Commentator

After taking a break from her career to take care of her daughter, Sky, Karen returned to compete in 2019 and tried to be among the three best Brazilians in the skate park category, as the vert did not enter the Olympic category. To get a spot in the Olympics, you need to be on the list of the top three skaters in your country. At 33 years old, she tried, but chose to give up. The oldest woman to compete in skateboarding in Tokyo was American Alexis Sablone, aged 34.

She was invited by the Globo group to be a commentator on the debut of skateboarding, especially for women, at the Olympic Games. Alongside narrator Sergio Arenillas and skateboarder Rony Gomes, she went viral on the internet for her fun and spontaneous comments. In one of the tricks, a skater ends up hitting her private parts and Karen amusingly comments that she “snooped”. In addition to the funny lines, she recalled how it was even more difficult for women and how the sport’s lack of visibility continues to this day.

Artist

In addition to the tracks, Karen Jonz is also a singer, musician, producer and youtuber. She started posting videos on her account in 2014, teaching how to do tricks, how to clean the board and even about her daily life in the United States. With the birth of her daughter Sky, the videos began to report the family’s routine, the conciliation of skateboarding with motherhood, even her compositions as a singer.

After becoming the first Brazilian skateboarding world champion, she bought a computer and learned to record and produce. In 2020, she released her solo work with the mixtape “The Little Excess”. Alongside her husband and musician, Lucas Silveira, Karen produced her first album in 2022, called “Papel de Carta”. With guest appearances by Gab Ferreira and XAN, the tracks feature heavy lyrics, careful melodies and light tracks, showcasing Jonz’s many facets.

Maternity, music and maneuvers

Sky’s birth changed her routine a lot and how Karen saw the world. After her daughter was born, the skater imagined that in a few months she would walk again and the baby would accompany her. But, as not everything went as planned, the postpartum period was difficult and the return to the slopes was postponed. When she managed to return, she was constantly questioned about her ability, if she could “make it” after becoming a mother and also because of her age. For her, stopping was never an option: “If I stopped walking, it would be my choice, not because I was a mother or because of age. A person can be a mother, be an athlete and win. Stop doubting,” she told Yahoo.

During one of the broadcasts in which he was a commentator, narrator Sergio Arenillas commented that little is said about fatherhood and sport, compared to motherhood. Karen, in turn, explained that one of the reasons could be that fathers leave their children at home in the care of mothers. In a simple way, the skater brings messages that speak a lot: it’s not because an athlete was a mother, that her career is over. There is no need for a debate about fatherhood in sport, as most male athletes who become fathers do not put their careers aside. There should not be a difference between the roles, as both are responsible for the children. Gender equity in sport must encompass the discourse of motherhood and fatherhood.

10 facts about Karen’s multi-career career

Skateboarder, mother, singer, songwriter, musician, commentator, influencer and a thousand other assignments that are part of Karen Jonz’s routine. Find out a little more:

1. First Brazilian woman to have her own tennis line

In partnership with the Mary Jane brand, Karen Jonz was the first Brazilian sportswoman to have her own line of sneakers. With models aimed at pre-teens and teenagers, they are extremely resistant and the Mary Jane Karen Jonz line was designed for girls who practice skateboarding.

2. Was part of several bands

Before her solo career, Karen was part of bands like Violeta Ping-Pong alongside friends. Later, with her husband, she created the pop punk bands Vaconaut and the Apple Monster and the alternative pop-oriented Kyber Krystals. Moving away from the stereotype of skater music, in the solo phase, Jonz’s songs are more introspective and confessional.

3. Food awareness

The arrival of Sky in Karen’s life brought a new and at the same time an old concept to the singer’s habits. Her husband Lucas is a vegetarian and she was already introduced to veganism by a friend at age 18. Due to the routine of training and competitions, it was difficult to have a regular diet and without meat consumption. This is all in line with eating disorders that have accompanied her for a long time, such as bulimia. Due to Sky’s allergy to milk protein, she had to change her entire diet and became a food researcher. “After becoming aware of the importance of food, I started researching the qualities of each food. How can we heal through food? Which food is favorable for one season of the year and which others are not. I understand food cycles. I became a researcher on food and started to use it to my advantage”, told Revista Quem.

4. She is one of the founders of the Associação Brasileira do Skate Feminino

The Associação Brasileira do Skate Feminino was founded in 2009 and its mission is: “To promote quality of life and social inclusion for women using the radical sport of skateboarding.” Alongside great figures in women’s skateboarding, such as Christie Aleixo, Letícia Gonçalves, Débora Badel and Karen Feitosa, Jonz is part of the council of athletes that promotes events and works to promote women’s skateboarding across the country. Currently, the organization is affiliated with the Brazilian Skate Confederation and the Paulista Skate Federation.

5. “I was my own reference. It was very difficult, but at the same time exhilarating.”

During the Olympic broadcasts in which she took part, Karen Jonz told how different the environment in which female athletes lived in skateboarding was compared to the period in which she competed. With the emotion of seeing Rayssa Leal win a medal and become an inspiration to dozens of Brazilian girls, she told Universa about having no references to identify herself with. She needed to be her own reference, but she believes that the new generation is much more than she imagined. “What is happening now is the bare minimum. In my dreams, we would live in a world where women exist in the same way as men, and celebrate the medal and period. Not being a woman winning a medal or being there.”

6. Launched an exclusive and incredible collection of shapes

To combine her two loves, music and skateboarding, she launched a line of shapes inspired by her album “Papel de Carta”. With 20 exclusive models, the brand responsible for the collaboration was Ratus Skate Shop and can be purchased on the store’s website.

7. It deals with real motherhood on social networks

With the arrival of motherhood in 2016, she shared the challenges faced in her videos on Youtube and currently shares with her followers on Instagram how she and her husband raise their daughter. With photos and videos of little Sky skateboarding, she shows that her daughter took after her mother’s passion, even though she always made it clear that she is free to make her own choices.

8. Has two degrees

Away from the tracks and the studios, Karen graduated from two courses: Radio and TV and Multimedia Design. She was also a presenter of the sports program Jam on Mix TV in 2011 and a content producer for the website Garotas no Comando to publicize women’s achievements in skateboarding.

9. She makes her own knitting garments

Knitting was supposed to be just a hobby of the pandemic, the ones we discovered during the cloister, for the singer. After finishing the first piece, a pink scarf, Karen posted a thoughtful text about the skeins she had inherited from her late grandmother.