Santa Cruz skateboarding pioneer Judi Oyama aims for second Guinness World Record with San Jose museum exhibit

Judi Oyama is going for a second Guinness World Record.

Oyama already holds the title of oldest competitive female skateboarder. Now, the Santa Cruz native is aiming to set the record for the largest collection of skateboarding memorabilia.

The idea took shape as she gathered memorabilia for a new museum exhibit celebrating her decadeslong career as a skateboarder, graphic designer and artist. The retrospective, titled “Judi Oyama: To Be Seen / Not Heard,” will open at the Japanese American Museum of San Jose on Saturday, Oct. 31. 

Much — but not nearly all — of Oyama’s personal memorabilia will be on display, featuring everything from skateboards and trophies to family photos and merchandise from her company, Badass Skatemom. She sees the exhibit as an opportunity to share a history of skating and art that she helped shape, even when she rarely saw herself represented. 

The exhibit’s title comes from something Oyama’s mother would tell her while she was growing up in Santa Cruz: “Be seen and not heard. Don’t be loud. Be quiet, and don’t bring attention to yourself,” Oyama recalled.

Her parents, who were incarcerated during World War II, tried to assimilate to protect themselves and their children, she said. She remembers being one of two Asian families at Aptos High School in the 1970s. 

“When they came back from the internment camps, they were trying to blend in, and they Americanized us,” Oyama said. “My mom never cooked Asian food. She made tacos and sloppy Joes.”

For Chisa Matsunaga, who manages collections and exhibit curation at JAMSJ, Oyama’s story offered an opportunity to explore the diversity of third-generation Japanese Americans, known as the sansei generation.

“My friend first showed me Judi’s Instagram, saying, ‘Look at this sansei badass lady doing CrossFit,’” Matsunaga laughed. “We’re hoping a lot of people see themselves in the exhibit, starting from the title. I want people to think about what it actually means to be fully heard and seen.”

As Matsunaga connected with Oyama, the title of the exhibit revealed a second meaning: “She was seen in the skateboarding industry, but not fully heard as a whole person,” Matsunaga explained. 

The exhibit aims to fill in the gaps, going beyond just skateboarding. Visitors will see her graphic design work (Oyama created the iconic Beckmann’s bread logo), original art and family heirlooms. 

Oyama started skateboarding in 1973 and began competing two years later. Her career was often overlooked, both as one of few women and few Asian Americans in the sport.

“I remember photographers would go in, take pictures of all the girls that were really pretty blonde from Southern Cal, and then I’d go in, and they’d walk away,” Oyama said. “I brought my camera that my dad gave me to one of my sessions, and I asked my friend, ‘Can you take a few pictures?’ Those are some of the best and rare pictures I have of myself. I had to bring my own camera and ask someone to take a picture.”

Her dad was a photographer, giving Oyama a record of a career that might otherwise have been difficult to document. She also carefully saved stickers exchanged at competitions, skateboarding magazines and plenty of her old wheels. 

Her dad also encouraged her to stay on top of emerging technology, which she said helped improve her graphic design skills. She went to San Jose State University for graphic design, airbrushing surfboards on the side to pay for school.

Oyama also plans to showcase her original art at the exhibit, including a painting of swimming sardines to memorialize her family’s work at Cannery Row in Monterey. Her grandfather fished, and her father and many of her relatives packed and cut the sardines.

Among the family objects on display is a trunk her grandmother brought when she immigrated from Japan, along with a blueprint of the house her grandfather built for their family in Monterey. 

The objects contribute to a bigger story that goes beyond skateboarding. Oyama and her family worked to preserve their cultural identity and find their place on the Central Coast. Matsunaga hopes the exhibit resonates with anyone who has felt out of place or unheard.

“Everybody has a little bit of, ‘Oh yeah, I wasn’t fully heard in this situation,’” Matsunaga said. “What’s inspiring about Judi is she rebelled and kept going with her passion.”

Oyama has continued to skate and mentor younger athletes, recently traveling to Paraguay to compete and support her mentee, Leiola Kahaku, who is setting her own records in slalom skateboarding. Another skateboarder, Nina Nóbrega, recently told Oyama, “I got into slalom because of you.” Even as she continues to set records and inspire the next generation, Oyama is quick to downplay her own influence.

“I don’t consider myself, like, a trailblazer,” Oyama said, “but as far as skateboarding, I could take some credit for pushing the limits.”

“Judi Oyama: To Be Seen / Not Heard” opens Saturday, Oct. 31, at the Japanese American Museum of San Jose, 535 N. 5th St., San Jose, with a free admission day. For museum hours and more visitor information, click here.

Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here.