Are Meow Skateboards Good? An Honest Review for Every Skater

Ask around at a skatepark about Meow Skateboards and you’ll get two different reactions. Some skaters will tell you the decks are of great quality and they don’t care what logo is on the bottom. Others will pause, unsure what to make of a brand built around supporting women in skateboarding. Both reactions make sense. But if you’re asking whether Meow skateboards are good, the honest answer is yes, and the reasons are more interesting than most reviews bother to explain.

This article covers deck construction and quality, the team, sizing, who Meow is genuinely best for, and the one question every review dances around but never quite answers.

• Meow decks are made by PS Stix from 7-ply maple the same manufacturer that presses boards for Element, Toy Machine, and Plan B.
• The brand was founded in 2012 by Lisa Whitaker to support women’s skateboarding, but the decks are for any skater who wants one.
• Meow team rider Coco Yoshizawa won the women’s street gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which is the brand’s biggest credibility moment to date.
• Deck quality is consistently praised for its strong pop and comfortable concave.
• The main practical downsides are limited availability (popular sizes sell out fast) and lower mainstream visibility compared to bigger brands.

Are Meow Skateboards Good Quality?

Meow skateboard decks are genuinely good quality. They’re constructed from 7-ply North American maple and manufactured by PS Stix, a well-regarded wood shop that also presses boards for Element, Toy Machine, and Plan B. If those brand names mean anything to you, that’s already a meaningful quality signal.

Pop is consistently described as lively and responsive. The concave is medium comfortable for a wide range of skating styles without being so aggressive that you’re fighting the board on every flip trick. For a brand of Meow’s size, the consistency is impressive.

What you’re getting with a Meow deck is a properly made wooden skateboard that can hold its own next to Baker, Enjoi, or Girl. It’s not a toy, it’s not a novelty item, and it’s not of lesser quality because it started as a women’s brand. The wood is good, the pressing is solid, and the performance reflects that.

Who Founded Meow Skateboards and Why Does It Matter?

Lisa Whitaker founded Meow Skateboards in 2012 after spending years watching talented female skaters struggle to get sponsorships from brands that weren’t paying attention to women in the sport. She’d already founded Girls Skate Network in 2003 as an online community for female skaters, and Meow became the logical next step a proper skate brand with an all-female team, quality products, and a community focus.

The origin story matters for two reasons. First, it explains the aesthetic the cat graphics, the bold colours, the playful energy. This isn’t random branding. It’s a deliberate visual identity built for riders who weren’t being represented in skate culture’s traditional imagery.

Second, it explains the mission. Whitaker built Meow to be sustainable and team-first. The focus on quality manufacturing isn’t separate from the mission it’s central to it. You can’t build a brand that genuinely supports women in competitive skateboarding if the decks are mediocre.

Is Meow Skateboards Only for Girls?

No. Meow decks are made of the same 7-ply maple as every other quality street deck on the market, and a board doesn’t know who’s riding it. The brand was founded to support women in skateboarding, but the decks work the same regardless of who stands on them.

This is the question that’s clearly driving a lot of searches for this brand, and the fact that every other review dances around it is frustrating. So here it is, plainly: if you like the graphics, the pop feels right, and the concave suits your style, there’s no reason not to skate Meow.

A few things worth thinking through. The brand identity is unmistakably tied to women’s skateboarding the cat graphics, the team roster, the community focus. If that’s not something you connect with aesthetically, that’s a fair personal call. But from a pure performance standpoint, the question answers itself: it’s a good deck made by a respected manufacturer, ridden by athletes who compete at the highest level.

The “is this board for me?” question in skateboarding almost always comes down to two things: does the shape feel right under your feet, and do you like what the brand stands for? Meow gives you both quality wood and a clear, genuine ethos. That’s more than a lot of brands can honestly say.

The Meow Team: Who Actually Rides for This Brand?

The team is the most underappreciated part of the Meow story. When a brand’s rider wins an Olympic gold medal, that’s not a footnote that’s the headline.

Coco Yoshizawa won the women’s street skateboarding gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics at just 14 years old, competing for Japan. She was a Meow Skateboards team rider at the time of that win. According to the Olympics coverage, she was described as having no major corporate backing  just genuine sponsors who believed in her skating. That includes Meow. A brand that backs a 14-year-old to the Olympic podium before she becomes a household name is doing something right.

Mariah Duran turned pro for Meow in 2016 and has been one of the most respected women in competitive street skating since. She won gold at X Games Minneapolis in 2018 and competed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as part of the inaugural US Skateboarding National Team. Her skating is technical, powerful, and genuinely impressive.

Leo Baker (formerly Lacey Baker) won the Street League Super Crown in the Women’s Street division and is one of the most respected skaters in the world, not just in women’s skating, full stop.

Samarria Brevard is another recent addition to the team, a consistent contest performer and one of the more stylish skaters in women’s street.

Nanaka Fujisawa rounds out a team that regularly competes at the international level.

That’s not a token roster. That’s a legitimate competitive team.

Where Are Meow Skateboards Made?

PS Stix, a respected skateboard wood shop with facilities in the US and Mexico, manufactures meow skateboard decks. PS Stix is run by Paul Schmitt, a well-known figure in skateboard manufacturing who has pressed boards for some of the industry’s biggest brands.

According to Warehouse Skateboards, the decks are “handcrafted by PS Stix”, the same description used for Element decks from the same manufacturer. This is not mass-produced overseas, no-name plywood. It’s the same production pipeline that serious skaters trust from other brands they ride without question.

The 7-ply North American maple construction is the industry standard for street and park skateboarding. Nothing exotic, nothing gimmicky just properly made wooden decks.

What Size Are Meow Skateboard Decks?

Meow decks are available in widths ranging from 7.5″ to 8.25″, covering the full range of standard street and park sizing.

Here’s how to think about which width suits you:

• 7.5″ to 7.75″: Best for younger skaters, smaller feet, and anyone who prefers a more responsive, flick-friendly feel for technical flip tricks.
• 8.0″: The most popular middle-ground size for most adult street skaters. Works well for both trick skating and general skating.
• 8.25″: Better for skaters with larger feet, transition skating, or anyone who prefers a more stable platform underfoot.

Specific pro models follow standard deck dimensions. Mariah Duran’s pro model runs at 7.75″ x 31.625″. Leo Baker’s pro boards are available at 8.0″ x 31.75″ and 8.25″ x 32.125″.

The honest caveat on sizing: Meow is a smaller independent brand. Popular sizes and specific pro models can sell out faster than you’d experience with a brand like Element or Santa Cruz that has wider distribution. If you see the model and size you want, don’t wait around.

How Do Meow Decks Compare to Other Brands?

Brand	Deck Construction	Manufacturer	Team Credibility	Availability	Best For
Meow	7-ply North American maple	PS Stix	Very high (Olympic gold 2024)	Limited, sells out	Any skater; especially those supporting women’s skating
Girl	7-ply maple, Pop Secret tech	Girl Dist. Co.	Very high (professional street)	Wide	Intermediate to advanced street skaters
Enjoi	7-ply maple	Various	Strong (fun, accessible brand)	Wide	All levels
Chocolate	Hard Canadian maple	Crailtape Dist.	Very high (tech street)	Moderate	Intermediate to advanced
Element	7-ply maple, Featherweight/Thriftwood	PS Stix	Strong, 30+ year history	Wide	Beginners to intermediate
Baker	7-ply North American maple	Various	Very high (street core)	Wide	Intermediate to advanced

Meow sits in the same quality tier as Girl, Enjoi, and Baker. The differences are cultural positioning and distribution scale, not deck quality. The PS Stix manufacturing connection actually puts Meow and Element in the same camp from a pure construction standpoint.

Are Meow Complete Skateboards Good?

Meow offers complete setups through select retailers, including the Meow Big Cat complete which runs around $100. Complete setups are a reasonable choice for beginners who want a quality deck with functional components in a single purchase.

The honest reality of any complete skateboard Meow included is that the stock components (trucks, wheels, bearings) are functional but not exceptional. That’s true of almost every complete on the market below $150. The deck is the part worth paying for. The trucks and bearings are good enough to learn on and worth upgrading as you progress.

For a first complete, a Meow setup beats anything from a department store by a significant margin, and the deck underneath is legitimately good quality. Pair it with Bones Reds bearings once you’re skating regularly and you’ll feel the difference immediately.

Are Meow Skateboard Decks Worth It?

Yes. At $55–75 for a standalone deck, Meow decks are priced in line with other quality street brands. You’re paying for properly manufactured wood, a considered graphic program, and a brand that uses its platform to push women’s skateboarding forward in a way the industry still needs.

There’s no premium markup for the mission. You’re just paying the same price as a Girl or Enjoi deck and getting the same level of quality, which is to say, good.

The potential frustration is availability. If you’re used to being able to order a Baker or Real deck in your size whenever you want, Meow’s smaller production runs can be mildly annoying. That’s the tradeoff for buying independent.

What Are the Pros and Cons of Meow Skateboards?

Reasons to buy Meow:

• High-quality 7-ply maple construction from PS Stix
• Competitive pop and comfortable medium concave
• A legitimate pro team that competes at the Olympic level
• Real brand mission with genuine community impact
• Priced in line with comparable quality brands
• Available in a full range of street skating widths

Things to know before buying:

• Popular sizes and models can sell out; availability is less predictable than with big brands
• Mainstream visibility is lower, so you won’t see these decks at every shop
• The brand identity is specifically tied to women’s skateboarding, which is the point, but worth knowing before you buy

Who Should Buy Meow Skateboards?

Skaters who want to support women’s skateboarding: The most obvious answer. Buying Meow is one of the most direct ways to put money behind a brand that’s actively investing in female skaters from amateur to Olympic level.

Anyone who likes the graphics: Meow’s cat-themed, colour-forward graphic program is genuinely fun. If you’ve been staring at the same skull-and-crossbones decks for years and want something with a different energy under your board, this is a legitimate reason to pick one up.

Intermediate skaters who want a quality deck without the hype tax: Some brands charge a premium that’s more about cultural cachet than deck quality. Meow charges a fair price for genuinely good wood. That’s a straightforward deal.

Female and non-binary skaters who want a brand that was built for them: This is ultimately what the brand was built for. A brand where representation isn’t an afterthought but the entire point.

Parents buying for a child who is inspired by women’s skateboarding: Coco Yoshizawa won an Olympic gold medal at 14 on a Meow board. If that doesn’t make for an inspiring first deck, nothing does.

Final Thoughts

Meow Skateboards are good. The decks are made by a manufacturer that the rest of the industry trusts, the pop is real, and the team just put one of their riders on an Olympic gold medal podium. That’s not smoke and mirrors that’s a brand that’s been doing the right things quietly for over a decade.

The gender question has a simple answer: the brand was built for women in skateboarding, and that matters. But nothing about a Meow deck stops anyone from skating it well.

If you’ve been on the fence, here’s your next move: check the current stock at your local shop or a retailer like Warehouse Skateboards, find the size that suits your feet, and go skate it. The board will sort itself out from there.

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