The critically acclaimed, science-fiction Netflix drama, Stranger Things, depicting a creepy fictitious Indiana town in the 1980s starring Winona Ryder is alright. But it’s made much cooler by the inclusion of one Gabrielle Maiden, an uber-talented former pro snowboarder, ukulele player and vocalist, and of course, actress. Maiden is from a gifted family: her sister is also an actress, her father is a musician and her mother is an entertainment manager.
The Punks ⚡️#bts @Stranger_Things #strangerthings2 @netflix From left to right: #dottie #axel #funshine #mick pic.twitter.com/pLxFs0mnnm
— Gabrielle Maiden (@gabbymaiden) October 29, 2017
Maiden–who filmed a plethora of snowboarding parts with the all-girls Peepshow crew–plays Mick, part of a punk gang on Season 2 of Stranger Things. She’s also an alumnus of Black and Sexy. “I went into an industry as the only black girl snowboarder in a white-male-dominated sport and I was super shy,” she told Yobeat in this excellent interview from 2009. I went into it when I was 12, which is a very fragile age, and I got super into this whole thing and super determined on it. I dunno, snowboarding kinda helped me break out of my shell, and my dad’s musical influences sorta just rubbed off on me and helped me break out with my own style. And these days I’ve just become known as the ‘first black girl snowboarder.’”
Turns out she’s much more than just the “first black girl snowboarder.” She’s a helluva talent, too.
