MInna Stess - Women's Park
Photo: Taylor Ballard
Birthday: 4/4/2006Birthplace: Greenbrae, CA
Current hometown: Petaluma, CA
Stance: Regular
Instagram: @minnastess
Facebook: @minnastess
Twitter: @minnastess
Tik Tok: @minnastess
Sponsors: Santa Cruz Skateboards, Independent Truck Co., Vans, MOB Grip, Bronson, 187 Killer Pads, Bones Wheels, Girl Is Not a 4 Letter Word, Merge4, XSET
Born and raised in Petaluma, California, Minna Stess began skating while she was still in diapers. She started competing in local contests in Northern California when she was 5 with her older brother, Finnley. Minna was usually the only girl amongst the boys, and she skated in street and park contests.
She found a love for skating big bowls when her family discovered the Exposure Skate contest and the Vans Girls Combi Classic when she was 7. She began earning spots on the podiums at 8, and won the “ATV” Award in the world’s largest women’s only contest, Exposure Skate, taking 1st in Bowl, 3rd in Vert, and 4th in Street when she was 10. That same year, she earned herself 1st place in the World Cup Contest Series for 14 and under amateurs.
Minna’s been on a constant and steady rise to the top of women’s park skateboarding ever since.
She competed in her first pro contests at the age of 11, and took 1st place at the Mystic Skate Cup Ladies Bowl in Prague, Czech Republic, and 2nd at La Kantera Bowl contest in Spain.
Minna has also competed in X Games and Dew Tour, and took 3rd at the USA Skateboarding National Championships in 2019 at 13 years old. She followed that up with 1st place in 2021 to become the National Champion at age 15.
Minna is the youngest member of the USA Skateboarding Women’s Park National Team, earning her spot for the second year in a row. Minna has been covered in The New York Times, ESPN, VOGUE, Sports Illustrated, Forbes, The Players’ Tribune, CNN, Access Hollywood, The Washington Post, Business Insider, and PEOPLE, among many other media and news outlets. Minna was also featured in Disney’s “Dream Big, Princess–Be a Champion” campaign.
Off her skateboard, Minna is the fun, humble, responsible but relaxed, always authentic sort of kid we all love. She’s consistently appreciative of every opportunity to push her skateboarding, connect with her friends and fans, and have fun doing what she loves more than anything else—skating anything and everything.
