British model, award-winning asexual activist, writer, and King’s College London researcher Yasmin Benoit has alleged that Zero Skateboards' professional skateboarder Dane Burman sent her sexually inappropriate messages when she was underage.
The allegations were shared in an interview conducted and published by skateboarder and writer Robert Brink, who has been releasing a series of articles examining alleged abuse and misconduct within the skateboarding industry.
Alleged Online Contact
According to Benoit, her interaction with Burman began in early 2012, when she was 15 years old.
In Brink’s article, Benoit says she came across Burman’s Facebook profile through friend suggestions and sent him a message to confirm whether the account was genuine.
She claims Burman responded and confirmed his identity, after which the two began communicating.
Benoit told Brink that the conversations initially appeared friendly and nonsexual. She alleges that much of their early communication involved skateboarding and personal topics, including her experiences with bullying and social isolation at school.
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Brink: So how did you initially come to interact with Dane Burman?
Benoit: I saw him in my Facebook suggestions one day and was like, “Is this really him?” I sent him a friend request and a message like, “Hello? Is this actually you?” Because I wasn't expecting him to accept my request to begin with.
Brink: Yeah, you’re a stoked fan … and that’s where this is sinister in the sense that you're a young girl who's so excited to interact with a pro skater.
Benoit: Yeah, and now as somebody who has fans myself, I'm very careful. There is a balance that is very easy to take advantage of, especially when you're going for people who are that young. I don't like when people take advantage of others. I was still in secondary school when this happened. You are very fresh at that age—you don't know anything.
Brink: Starting in the early 2000s, social media gave us unfathomable access to people. If I were 15 and talked to a pro skater online, I would freak the fuck out. How long were you two chatting before it turned sexual?
Benoit: We talked for seven or eight months, but it wasn't continuous every day. It started in early 2012 when I was 15 and ended later that year. By then I was 16. His approach went from innocent to sexual very quickly. That's why I was really confused.
I was getting bullied a lot at school. I didn’t have many friends. So most of the conversations with Dane was me ranting and confiding in him about how unpopular I was and how mean kids were, which, in hindsight, made me such easy pickings for someone with a predatory mindset. I’m giving every vulnerable detail and being very open about being asexual because I didn’t want him to think I was hitting on him. I felt we were talking about sexuality, like, in a learning way. I was 15, I didn’t really know much about sex. I didn't know what things were like from a straight male perspective, and as an asexual girl, I’m trying to understand something like “What is attraction like?" from his perspective.
It was a combination of me venting about school stuff, trying to learn about skateboarding from a pro skater. And then this kind of, sexuality-related conversation, but out of nowhere he went to the “You are too young to get freaky with” thing and I was like, “I thought we were being friends?”
Brink: When you told him you were asexual, he acted understanding and supportive.
Benoit: Most people weren’t at the time, so that felt nice. He wasn’t being weird like everyone else.
Claims of Escalation
Benoit alleges that over time, the tone of the conversations changed. According to her account, Burman’s messages allegedly became sexual in nature after several months of intermittent communication.
She claims the conversations lasted approximately seven to eight months and ended later in 2012, by which point she had turned 16.
Brink: But then he began testing the waters …
Benoit: I was a very naive 15. I feel like psychologically, my childhood didn’t end until I was 14. I was one of those kids who was holding on to my childhood as long as I could. I wasn’t trying to act older or do things older kids did. Fifteen was my first proper teenage year of going to the park and drinking energy drinks. Drinking energy drinks felt rebellious! And I'm literally thinking, “Oh how nice it is of him to want to be my friend,” hoping that we're going to be buddies forever. It sounds so cheesy I know.
Brink: Not at all. But my theory is he knew you were turning 16, and for whatever reason he thought 15 wasn't okay, but maybe legally, 16 was?
Benoit: Maybe he was vaguely aware of the law, but even if the age of consent is 16 in certain places, you're not of the age to be asked for, or send, nudes. And as much as guys like to be like, “You don't look 15!” I feel like I did.
Brink: You look 12 or 13 in those photos. He was about 25, saw them, and asked to see you topless. That's crazy.
Benoit: I just got my braces off. That's the only thing that made me look different in those photos to how I did when I was 13 or 14. In hindsight, even if he hadn't asked for nudes, it was still weird to befriend a 15-year-old girl at his age to begin with. Then he went and made it really weird, and I realized he wasn't trying to befriend me at all.
Alleged Requests and Fallout
According to Benoit, Burman allegedly asked her to send explicit images.
She told Brink that she did not send any photos but felt confused and pressured due to her age and emotional vulnerability at the time.
Benoit claims that after she declined to comply with the alleged requests, Burman became hostile and eventually ceased contact.
She described feeling hurt and distressed by the sudden end of the communication, which she believed had been a genuine friendship.
Brink: He also knows he constantly tours and will eventually come through your area ...
Benoit: And my dumb ass would have been there, like, “You're in my city? I’ll go to the demo!” I completely would have done that thinking he wanted to hang out and be friends.
Brink: So you never sent him photos, right? Then he got mad?
Benoit: Yeah, when he asked for them, I was disappointed because I thought he wasn’t like that. I considered it though, because I had no friends and he was trying to be friends with me. So I felt "If this is the exchange, maybe it’s worth it?" At times I feel like he detected how objectionable I was and backed off, only to randomly ask again later in the middle of a conversation, dropping hints at nudes. And in my head, I was thinking, “Are you still trying to do that?” Then he got mean and I realized that’s what it was about the whole time.
Brink: It's textbook gaslighting … after you asked if he does it with all the girls, he immediately snapped.
Benoit: He would compliment my appearance randomly, and I didn't know how to accept a compliment because I usually never got them and didn't feel attractive at all. So I was jokingly like, "I bet you all that to all the girls," you know that old saying. Then he got mad and acted really offended, saying I was calling him a womanizer. He made me feel really bad for saying that, so I was apologizing to him, thinking I had genuinely insulted him and hurt his feelings. He got meaner after that.
Brink: He went from 0 to 60 so fast.
Benoit: I didn't even mean to call him out, but now I realize I was clocking him and he knew it. He wasn’t getting what he wanted and was probably looking for a way to get out of the conversation anyway at that point. He probably would have found something to get mad about soon regardless, just to cut ties and move on to the next girl.
It bummed me out because I had this cool secret friend that I wasn’t telling people or boasting about. Nobody knew I was talking to Dane. Nobody ever asked me about my interests or even knew I liked skateboarding anyway—that’s how little attention anyone paid to me. So it was my own personal thing, it felt like having a diary—a person to share what was going on in my life with. I was about to change schools, so it was nice to have a consistent person who liked me to talk with. Then I began to wonder, “Is this the price I have to pay just to have a friend?” And part of me was also thinking, “How do I know that he's not gonna share that with all the other skateboarders?”
Brink: Well we know from the Cody Davis story that he probably would have.
Benoit: I was envisioning him in a bus full of skaters showing everybody the photo, which would have been mortifying. I didn’t have the psychological endurance to deal with that scenario. If he had pushed harder, I probably would've given in, but the whole thing fell apart.
Brink: You are 16 and lost somebody who meant something to you. That would have been devastating for me at that age too.
Benoit: As someone who is asexual and aromantic, I don't have romantic relationships. So for me, a friend is the pinnacle of a relationship—the deepest I will ever have. So I'm careful with who I call a friend. For me, there is no such thing as “We are more than just friends”. I thought Dane and I were heading towards a proper friendship. He knew so much about me. He knew about my social anxiety and the bullying, and he just ghosted.
Brink: It made me sad reading the texts. I would’ve felt tremendously rejected. At 16 those types of feelings are so amplified.
Benoit: Yes, and it’s even weirder when it's a recognizable person. Because after it happened, now I can’t watch Cold War—it’s awkward. I can't enjoy the thing the way I used to. So I distanced myself from skateboarding because I didn’t like seeing his name pop up.
Screenshots and Public Disclosure
Benoit told Brink that she retained screenshots of the alleged conversations for more than a decade. She says she decided to come forward after seeing renewed discussion and allegations involving Burman on skateboarding forums and social media platforms.
According to Benoit, she shared the screenshots anonymously to support claims that similar allegations circulating online may have merit. Brink notes that additional accusations involving Burman have been posted online by other individuals, though these claims have not been independently verified.
Brink: "The following screenshots are from Dane and Yasmin's 2012 conversation (left to right). Scrolling video of the DMs exists as proof nothing has been altered or edited."
Industry Context
In the interview, Benoit stated that her motivation for speaking publicly was to raise awareness and help protect young people, particularly teenage girls, who may interact with professional skateboarders through social media.
She told Brink that she believes the skateboarding industry has a responsibility to address allegations of misconduct seriously, especially given the sport’s young and increasingly diverse audience.
Brink reports that Benoit emphasized she is not seeking to destroy anyone’s career, but rather to educate others about potential warning signs and encourage safer online interactions.
Brink: What prompted you to post about this on Slap in September?
Benoit: It was one of those flukes. I was on Instagram looking at a post from a skateboarding friend or a skateboarding bulldog or something random—and I saw his name in the comments.
And I was like, “Well there's a name I haven’t thought about in a while”, and I click his profile and see a bio alluding to the fact that he had done something wrong. That's a wild thing to write because any casual observer is immediately gonna think, “What did you do?” Why would you broadcast that unless you think something's about to go down?
Having had my experience with him and viewing it through the lens of an adult, I Googled him. The Slap forum came up and I’m reading about all his allegations and what stood out was people saying, “Well, nothing's being done about it because no one has actual evidence. Where are the screenshots?”
And I’d been sitting on screenshots for 12 years. So I wanted to anonymously say, “If there's smoke, there's actually a fire because I had this experience and I have proof just in case this information is useful to anybody.”
I didn't know what would come of that, but I wanted people to know there might be some truth to the allegations.
Brink: His bio is interesting, and everyone notices it. There were other screenshots posted on Instagram and Slap of selfies he allegedly sent to a 14-year-old girl asking, “When are we going to hang out?” He’s wearing a bra in one.
Benoit: One time I saw him condemning Chris D’Elia like, “I know women that have been impacted by this guy, and I stand with the victims.” Dude, don't play feminist when you were trying to get nudes off me when I was a kid.
Brink: What is your response to people who say, “This happened 15 years ago. Why are we crucifying him for it now?” That’s a narrative men tend to clutch on to.
Benoit: I was watching skateboarding in the Olympics a couple years ago and the girls competing were children. Young girls are getting into skateboarding more than ever. So if I wasn't a one-off and this is a pattern of behavior among these guys, and now we're in an era where they have more access to increasingly young girls just entering the scene, it's irresponsible of me to sit on evidence, not speak up, and let them continue.
Because who is to say they aren't still doing this? I'm not trying to ruin someone’s life or career, but I want to educate young girls about the red flags. Maybe don’t answer the DM or believe that they are only looking for friendship. Maybe don’t send the photo, you know? Because if Dane had passed through town before he ghosted me, I would’ve hung out with him and that could have gone way worse. I want to prevent that from happening to others if I can.
These things have horrible effects on people. I’ve seen it happen and it can cause serious childhood trauma that sticks with someone their entire life. Especially when it's a recognizable, famous person. You see them in the media you're consuming, and you see them being praised. You see people glorifying them when they shouldn’t be glorified. If I can do anything to prevent that, then I'm going to.
Brink: I hate seeing people who have ruined other people's lives out having a great time. For example, Cody is in a rough spot and has been for a long time. Dane, Jamie and Thrasher fucking ruined him. They all had a laugh and then forgot about it.
Benoit: I'm in a position where I'm always saying that we need to stand up for people. I want to put my name and face out there to help others. Empowering and educating people and trying to stop bad things from happening is part of my work, so let’s do this.
Brink: How does it feel knowing Jamie has been hearing about all these allegations for years but still sponsors Dane?
Benoit: If you are essentially enabling people to prey on children, then you are just as bad. You need to hold yourself accountable but also hold your friends accountable.
What I'm realizing is that even though my instinct is giving people the benefit of the doubt, it's probably best to assume the worst. Like, my hypothetical worst-case scenario for Dane would have been, “This is not a one-off, he’s constantly seeking out teenagers.” And now I realize I should have assumed exactly that.
If there's any talk about a friend soliciting what is essentially child pornography from children—if there's even a question about it—then that’s a serious conversation that needs to be had. It's basic human decency to do so. And if there's no evidence that supports the claims, you might still want to be like, “Hey maybe I shouldn't market this guy to children. Maybe I should let him go from the team just to be safe,” because skateboarding's primary audience is men and young people, with more young girls getting involved than ever.
If you’re in Jamie’s position, you have a responsibility to stop supporting this kind of behavior. You have a responsibility to stop paying, promoting and enabling people who do these things. Stop the perceived power and influence these guys have because people like Jamie Thomas give it to them. That's where it comes from. That’s what made me think these guys were so cool as a kid. Like, “My God! I can't believe he's talking to me!” So if you're continuing to create that illusion, and then these men continue to prey on kids, then you're a huge part of the problem.
Brink: The Dane allegations are so well known that there are memes about how much of a pussy hound he is. It's been a running joke in the skate community forever.
Benoit: But at least be a pussy hound for girls who are over 18. He’s a professional skateboarder in California. He can get girls who are legal. Unless you're just a pedo or whatever, there's no reason to be going for teenage schoolgirls in random countries. Like no reason.
14 and 15-year-old girls look their age almost every single time. There's no way you see a girl of that age and think she’s an adult. If you even initiated that conversation, you were aware you were talking to someone that at least looks very underage. It isn’t an accident. I don't think people realize what Dane did was solicit explicit images of children. When you are under 18 you are a considered a child, so its child pornography.
Sometimes I wonder how many girls he did get the pictures from. Some girls must have said “yes”, and he probably ended up in possession of something.
Response
As of publication, Burman has publicly responded to the allegations outlined in Brink’s article. There is no public record indicating that Burman has been charged with a crime in connection with these claims.
ShreddER Team Editorial on Reporting:
This article is based on allegations made by Yasmin Benoit in an interview conducted and published by Robert Brink. All claims remain allegations. No findings of guilt have been made, and readers are encouraged to approach the information with due consideration.