MAVERICK LIFE
SA skater culture
The sound of a skateboard’s wheels on concrete is oddly therapeutic. The wheels, which are made of polyurethane, allow the skater to move as swiftly as possible. They also give those watching a skateboarder passing by, the feeling that the board, and the person on it, are hovering over the pavement, in slight levitation.
The remarkable sight of a skater in full flow and dressed in the clothing that’s popular in streetwear, adds to the appeal of the sport. The athleticism of putting your body on the line by skating a rail at high speed or nailing tricks on a halfpipe might look easy to us viewers, but it takes hours of practice and years of persistence, patience and pain to execute smoothly, like the pros.
A UCLA study, “About surfing and skateboarding youth subculture”, explains that the sport’s roots are directly linked to surfing; indeed, skateboarding was originally called “sidewalk surfing”. “Those who outline the history of skateboarding suggest that it first appeared in the 1950s when surfers in California brought surfing to the streets,” the study says. “As a subculture, it has been described as a fusion of surfing, punk, street, hip hop, and hard rock. So, it is not surprising that skateboarders use many surfing slang terms but have adopted the rebel and hard edge image and clothing style from its other influences.”
And indeed, music, fashion and skateboarding often make for an inspiring creative trio; from Supreme – the American brand which was created in 1994 and moved from a niche underground label that catered for hip hop musicians and skateboarders to luxury – to American singer Pharrell Williams’s collaboration with IceCream skate team, to Tyler, The Creator, who spearheaded the Odd Future group and worked with the international skate brand, Vans.
Vans South Africa marketing manager Warren Talbot talks about the rebellious or at times misunderstood nature of the sport. “Skateboarding was always something that was frowned upon. People turned their noses up at it and maybe for these very reasons, mainstream culture has been drawn to the outsider nature of it, realising how the creativity and the culture of skateboarding can be used to create something new,” he says.
The sport was meant to make its Olympic Games debut this year in Tokyo. A skater who was eager to represent South Africa in the postponed Games is Cape Town’s JeanMarc Johannes. Johannes started skating at the age of 10 and recalls how difficult it was to access the sport: “Growing up in the Cape Flats, there weren’t many skate spots, but my favourite was a skatepark I would go to on the weekends in Claremont, Cape
Town.”
Johannes also explains that he isn’t feeling discouraged about the postponement of the Games. “I was not disheartened by it. The decision that was made was for the health and safety of the world. I am forever grateful that skateboarding is part of the Olympic Games,” he says, adding that he is now preparing for next year’s event, albeit mainly from home.
Durban professional skateboarder and rap artist Khule Ngubane grew up in Chesterville, an area where skateboarding isn’t the most popular sport. His first skateboard was bought by his grandfather at a local Toys R Us. Ngubane explains that skateboarding also plays a major role in his creativity as a musician. “Being a professional skateboarder, I travel all over, which exposes me to different cultures and people from all walks of life. Then I get to write about what I see or the experiences in that country or city. It also gives me a broader sense of understanding humanity. Then catering as a musician to their vibe,” he says.
Skateboarding has not only given him the opportunity to travel and earn sponsorship deals with DC and Monster energy, it’s allowed him to give back to his community. Last year, Ngubane hosted a skateboarding outreach event called Back2theroots, in his hometown, with the aim of boosting the sport’s presence in townships.
Talking about outreach, Skateistan was launched in 2008 by Oliver Percovich. Skateistan’s Jessica Faulkner says that the idea behind the organisation was sparked after Percovich travelled to Kabul, Afghanistan. “He skated the streets of Kabul and noticed that there were many streetworking children who were interested in his skateboard, so he started to run informal sessions in a disused fountain in the Makroyan area of the city. This attracted a wide range of people, from different ethnicities, genders and economic backgrounds.
“Skateboarding was new in Afghanistan, everyone was a beginner and this meant that no one had a head start. It helped to break down barriers. It also allowed girls to participate, which they were not allowed to do in other sports.
“This sparked an idea and (Oliver) registered Skateistan as an NGO in Afghanistan in 2008. In 2009, Skateistan opened its first indoor skate school in Kabul, a safe space where children could learn through a combination of skateboarding and creative education,” she says.
In 2016, they launched the programme in South Africa, running outreach sessions in Johannesburg.
“There are lots of awesome skateboarding outreach programmes out there and we work with many of them through our programme, The Goodpush Alliance. Skateistan was the first NGO to combine skateboarding with creative education. Children come to the skate school for both, not just to skate… We don’t just build a skatepark and then leave,” says Faulkner.
In the words of American professional skateboarder Stevie Williams, skateboarding
is indeed, “a poetry of motion”.