You’re going to fall, every day. If you don’t do something right the first time, you’re just learning, keep trying.

And if you don’t pay attention to what’s around you — like a crack in the sidewalk — you’re going to eat it.

But falling is key to learning, says Lizzie Armanto, 24, who is considered one of the best female skaters on the scene at the moment

“It’s character-building,” she said. “You try, and fall, and you do it in front of people.”

Armanto, raised in Santa Monica and now living in Oceanside, will be speaking Friday, March 9, at the Vans Skatepark in Orange for “Get on Board: Girl’s Night.”

The event will include a panel discussion with female pioneer skaters, live music, workshops and skate lessons. It’s the first in a series of female-centric skate celebrations around the world put on by the Costa Mesa action-sports brand, with 100 other stops planned as far away as London and Shanghai, following International Women’s Day on Thursday.

A group of girls in India are pushing boundaries, as seen in a new video released called “Girls Skate India.” Photo: Vans

Lizzie Armanto, 25, is seen getting air at the Vans US Open event in Huntington Beach. She will be speaking on a panel at an event at the Vans Skatepark in Orange dedicated to getting girls on board. Photo: Vans

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Lizzie Armanto, 25, is seen getting air at the Vans US Open event in Huntington Beach. She will be speaking on a panel at an event at the Vans Skatepark in Orange dedicated to getting girls on board. Photo: Vans

Lizzie Armanto visited India recent to skate with girls pushing boundaries in that country. Photo: Vans

A group of girls in India are pushing boundaries, as seen in a new video released called “Girls Skate India.” Photo: Vans



A group of girls in India are pushing boundaries, as seen in a new video released called “Girls Skate India.” Photo: Vans

Armanto — who recently became the second female to grace the cover of TransWorld Skateboarding and the first in more than two decades to land a cover on Thrasher Magazine — is paving the way on the concrete for other young girls.

Armanto was 14 when she first picked up a skateboard, only because her little brother Matt wanted to skate. But she was the one who got hooked, beating out the local competition in her first contest.

“After doing my first contest, I knew it was something I wanted to keep doing,” she said.

One of the few girls at the skate park, Armanto stood out. She credits her mom — a woman in a male-dominated career in engineering — for showing her gender doesn’t matter.

“She’s been really supportive about anything I’ve wanted to do … within reason,” Armanto said with a laugh.

A highlight in her career came last year when Tony Hawk, her mentor, unveiled the Lizzie Armanto pro model signature board, made through his skate company and another one of Armanto’s sponsors, Birdhouse. She was given the board the same day she learned of her Thrasher cover.

“I’m shocked, I didn’t know what to say,” she recalled. “I got double slammed with two amazing things. … I think it’s a big thing, a mark in the change of tides for females in skateboarding.”

Armanto recently traveled to India with a film crew from Vans to meet up with some local girl skaters who also are pushing gender boundaries. It was part of Vans’ new brand campaign “This is Off The Wall,” which will showcase videos from around the world focusing on action sports, art, music and street culture.

“In India, girls have been oppressed for so many decades,” said Atita Verghese, founder of Girls Skate India, in the video recently released by Vans. “They are expected to be girly and doing girly stuff, but when you see a girl skating for themselves and having fun, it changes the perspective of what girls can do.”

Armanto called being in India a surreal experience, with some girls ripping while wearing colorful traditional dresses. She said there was one little girl, about six years old, who would jump right into the pool with the older skaters.

“She was the epitome of a skateboarder.” Amanto said.

She thinks about how times are changing — at home and around the world.

“I think the way women have grown up in different cultures, it’s not always ‘do what you want’,” she said. “That’s why we are in such an amazing age right now.”

The Vans “Get on Board: Girls Night” event is 4 to 9 p.m. Friday at the Vans Skatepark, 20 City Blvd. West, Orange. RSVP is required. More information: vans.com/girlskateevents

On Saturday, March 10, Armanto and other female skaters will compete at the Skatepark in the Girls Combi Pool Classic, now in its seventh year. The top girl bowl skaters in the world will be competing for a prize purse of $65,000.