Check Out Eileen Pagán’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eileen Pagán.

Hi Eileen, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Trans Sk8 Club was founded by me, Eileen, and two other skaters, one of them is still a mod today (AJ). Our group was created out of truly a love for our community and skating, but also in recognition that there weren’t any trans spaces for skating and that we ourselves had been victims of transphobia in the skate scene. We wanted to create a group and a space where skaters feel welcomed and seen, and free to learn a new skill together.

As a group, our mission is to create a safe space for trans skaters of all wheels and skill levels to come together and share the love of skating. We host workshops, clothing swaps, potlucks, and fundraisers for different members of the community. We make time to teach and skill-share what we know about skating to our community.

I have been rollerskating for three years now and began to document my journey as a fat enby skater under the handle @fat_quads. When I was learning it was hard to find people who looked like me skating, and I wanted to make sure to provide representation and the honest process to learning something new. It’s been incredible to build trans-skate community here in Atlanta. I feel really lucky and proud of the love and community we’ve built together with AJ and Adrianna. Skating is magic, and it’s powerful to share this love for wheels with others.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I would say for the most part, yes, it’s been pretty seamless! We work collaboratively and as a team on everything the group plans. We have meetings twice a month to check in on each other and our mental health/capacity and also scheme on fun new ideas to bring to our community. At the end of the day, we are all close friends and queer family.

Some of the struggles we’ve faced of course have been from transphobic people and skaters. We try our best to build a safer space or brave space, but we can’t control how others choose to treat us. Those experiences are what solidify for us how important a trans space is for our skate community.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
All of us are creative in some capacity. I am a therapist and have my own practice called Awareness Rising, LLC. I specialize and work with individuals and youth who are ready and want to heal from trauma and are in the intersections of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ identities.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I hope we have more people coming to our events! I would love to also have different chapters around the country where other trans skaters can create events in their community. We have some great events coming up, summer is almost here which really opens up some outdoor skate events. Make sure to follow us!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @trans_sk8_club @fat_quads @killerxtofu @cryptidaj

Image Credits
The photo of me (Eileen) skating with the shirt that says “skating is for everybody” was taken by Cherise from Vibrant Life Studios