Riding High

Santa Barbara chef Edie Robertson has been inducted into the Skateboard Hall of Fame.

Edie, 57, is one of the most accomplished skateboarders of the ‘70s with a world championship in slalom and a lengthy list of competition first places.

She started the sport in 1975 as the first female skater on the locally based Sims skateboard team, and a year later had a world championship under her belt. That same year she appeared on the Merv Griffin Show, becoming the first woman to complete a hands-free aerial known as the “ollie” on national television.

Former Montecito Union student Edie, who does private catering, used Montecito and Santa Barbara as her training ground.

“The sport was still influenced by the mellow vibe of the surfing community where style and flow were paramount,” says Edie, who picked up her new award during a red carpet ceremony at the historic Globe Theater in Los Angeles.

Appearing in the movie Skateboard with then teen idol Leif Garrett led to a successful commercial career, skateboarding in Skippy Peanut Butter ads, Vivitar Zoom Lens commercials, and many others.

She “retired” from competitive skateboarding to pursue a music career, which led to being lead vocalist for The Crayons, The Generics, and the all-girl band Sherock, which was the first American rock band to tour and record in mainland China in 1986.

Edie still plays in her band Jayne Wayne on lead vocals, guitar, trumpet, and percussion.

She graduated from Western Culinary-Cordon Bleu in Portland, Oregon, top of her class, and became executive chef and co-owner of the iconic Sojourner Café for ten years until 2008.

Clearly a woman of many talents…