THE FIRST BETTY
Born Patricia Ann McGee at the Fort Lewis army post in Washington State, her father, Jack, was an army medic.
When Jack left the military to become a pharmaceutical salesman, the family moved to the city of San Diego in southern California. This is where Patti (as she was always known), grew up.
Her parents taught her to sail at a young age.
They split up whilst Patti was still a child, and she lived with her mother, Esther Steiner, a Home Economics and PE teacher, who retrained to become an Avon saleswoman.
This meant Patti had a lot of time to herself, and she became a very keen surfer, achieving a high level of skill whilst still a teenager. Her personal motto was ‘No surf too tough’.
She captained an all-girl surf team and by the age of twelve was able to handstand on her board whilst surfing.
Her first skateboard was built as a surprise present for her, by her brother (also called Jack). It was made of balsa wood and the wheels were taken off her roller skates.
At this time, skateboarding was known as ‘Sidewalk surfing’.
Patti immediately took to skateboarding, practicing for hours by Windansea Beach. She rode with other teenagers (including her brother), calling themselves the ‘Pump House Gang’.
Her first shop-bought skateboard was a ‘Bun Buster’.
Patti joined the Bun Buster skateboarding team, along with her younger brother, Jack. They were all amateurs.
Very quickly, she learned to handstand on her board. She rode at the rink in Pasadena – “Going all the way round the rink without touching down once.”
Patti said of skateboarding, “It’s like riding a surfboard on the sidewalk – or skiing down a slope without snow. It’s excitement. It’s kicks. It’s fun.”
Patti got a temporary job during the Easter vacation, working at the Hollywood Teen Fair. One of her duties was to give away a skateboard as a prize each evening.
However, one day the skateboard instructor failed to turn up, so Patti had to do the demonstration herself.
“In front of 1500 kids, I did my first skateboard demonstration – It was just a kick turn, but skateboarding was new then and nobody else knew many tricks…”
Soon afterwards, Patti joined the Cooley Team. She broke the world record for the fastest woman on a board (going at 47mph), at the World Teen Fair held in Orange County, California.
In 1964, Patti entered the first Women’s World Championship. It was held at Santa Monica Civil Auditorium and there were eighty-four entrants.
There were two categories: slalom and freestyle. In the latter, Patti was the only competitor able to do her signature trick – a handstand on a moving board.
The following year, Patti became the US National Champion.
Then came a momentous decision. “I had two weeks to decide to go professional or not, after winning the Woman’s title at the US nationals in 1965.”
Turning professional would mean she was excluded from most competitions.
However, Patti chose to take the plunge. She was just nineteen. Her parents were furious.
To become professional, she needed to join the Hobie Team, regarded as the best in the USA.
The owner, Hobie Alter, lived close by. She went to his house and knocked on his door.
When he opened it, Hobie was in a panic. He shouted at Patti, “My wife’s just had a skiing accident. Can you babysit?” She could – and she did, and consequently joined his team.
Patti became the first female professional skateboarder in the world. “I was the only girl pro at the time…The guys that I skated with were great.” She was known as the ‘First Betty’ (Betty being a nickname for a female skateboarder).
Her professional status also meant she had to give up competitive surfing.
She appeared on the television programme, ‘What’s My Line’ and the panel successfully guessed her occupation. When quizzed about why she enjoyed skateboarding, Patti said, “Well, it’s action. You have to have action.”
This was followed by guest appearances on the Johnny Carson Show and the Mike Douglas Show.
In April 1965, Patti appeared on the front cover of ‘Life’ magazine, followed by being on the cover of Skateboarder magazine in October the same year.
“I appeared upside down on my board doing a handstand on the cover of Life magazine. I also got on the cover of Skateboard magazine. It’s also another first for girl skaters.”
Life magazine called her ‘The Poster Girl for the Craze and Menace of Skateboarding’. Her photo shoot was in a Pittsburgh park. Each shot required her to do a handstand without moving for over twenty seconds.
In the Skateboarding Magazine interview, Patti said, “The sport is one hundred percent just as much for girls as it is for boys.”
Patti was employed by Hobie / Vitapakt and travelled across the United States demonstrating the Hobie Board.
Patti did demonstrations in Pittsburgh and West Virginia and even performed in Montgomery Ward and Macy’s stores. She was paid $250 a month, plus expenses. “I practically lived on my board for a year and a half.”
Patti also did an advert for Bell Telephones.
Her job lasted for only one year and then the skateboarding craze died out. “There were lots of broken arms.”
When her employment finished, Patti married Glenn Villa and they went to live at Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada mountains, right on the California / Nevada border. They had two children.
Patti became a turquoise miner in Nevada. During her leisure time, she took up skiing.
Her marriage ended in divorce. She got remarried, to William Chase (always known as ‘Bill’) and had two more children.
Patti became a leather smith before moving to Cave Creek, Arizona – a Wild West tourist attraction. There, she ran the ‘Buffalo Bills’ Trading Post’, selling souvenirs such as Native American art, Mexican blankets, cow skulls and fake rattlesnake eggs. She even helped visitors pan for gold. It was all very successful.
Whilst there, Patti temporarily abandoned skateboarding. “We didn’t any pavement out in the desert.”
The skateboarding craze returned. Too old to compete at the highest level, Patti became an ambassador for the sport, encouraging youth participation.
She became a popular speaker at events and in shops – always willing to give advice. “Be aggressive when you skate. Be nice when you’re out in the world and wear your helmet – so you can live to skate another day.”
Her favourite event was the ‘Mighty Mama Skate-O-Rama’, held in southern California. It was an annual charity fundraising event for women only.
Patti’s daughter, Hailey Villa, became a professional skateboarder.
Mother and daughter loved to ride together.
They opened a screen-printing business known as ‘First Betty’ which promoted girls’ skateboarding wear. It was so successful they renamed it ‘The Original Betty Skateboarding Company’, selling all kinds of equipment for the sport.
They also created their own all-female skateboarding team.
In 2004, Patti was inducted into the Malibu Surf Legends – followed by the Skateboard Hall of Fame in 2010.
Patti’s husband, Bill, predeceased her.
Even in older age, Patti continued skateboarding in her local park.
In an interview, Patti said, “A fifty-three-year span in skating, and so many think it is new for the girls. Who would have thought it would grow to what it is today?”
Reflecting on the early days of the sport, she said, “No helmets, no pads, no Olympics – almost Stone Age.”
In 2021, author Tootie Nienow, wrote an illustrated children’s book about Patti’s life. It is called ‘There Goes Patti McGee’.
A charming and humble lady, Patti died following a stroke at her home in Brea, California.
Hailey was asked if her mother fitted the tough-guy image of skateboarding. “Oh my gosh, yes! But she was very sweet. She didn’t really curse. She was a badass and a goody two-shoes at the same time.”
At her death, the great skateboarder, Tony Hawks, said, “She helped pave the way for all of us, when skateboarding was simply considered a menace in the 1960s. We were lucky to have her.”
RIP – Riding’s Initial Professional
