PROGRAM - 2PM TO 6PM DJ SET SKATE DEMONSTRATIONS SKATE LESSONS ART WORKSHOP SPECIAL & FREE SKATE PHOTOCALL GIVEAWAYS The skate crew was responsible for teaching how to skate (basic and intermediate tricks: rolling, Ollie, powerslide, boardslide etc…) and also teach how to set up a skateboard, how to pick wheels and decks. TOUR ATTENDEES - 11 skateboarders from the Skateboarding crew in Ghana @skatenationghana - 2 movie directors - 2 photographers - 1 journalist - 2 project managers - 2 drivers - + Guests TOUR ROUTES DECEMBER 26-27TH, 2017 Peki (Roots rebel skatepark) DECEMBER 28-29TH, 2017 Kumasi (place to be confirmed) DECEMBER 30TH, 2017 Lake Bosomtwi – Abonom Village JANUARY 1ST, 2018 Takoradi (place to be confirmed) JANUARY 2ND, 2018 Busua (Basketball playground, skate bowl) JANUARY 3RD, 2018 Nzulezu village JANUARY 4TH, 2018 Cape 3 Points (place to be confirmed) JANUARY 5TH, 2018 Cape Coast (place to be confirmed) JANUARY 6TH, 2018 Accra Trade Fair
Phillip Darko | Kumasi Traffic in Ghana, During the Skate Tour @Rodney Patrick SKATE TOUR GH THE FIRST EVER SKATEBOARDING TOUR IN WEST AFRICA! Ghana, 26 December 2017 – 6 January 2018
The Surf Ghana Collective is proud to announce the ending of bitter sweet sensations of its first ever SKATE TOUR in West Africa.
This unique and cool project which took place from the 26th of December 2017 to 6th January 2018 and took every tendency to shake all of Africa in regards to skateboarding on the continent. For a period of 10 days, The Surf Ghana Collective went into designated villages and towns and spread the good news of Skateboarding to those willing
to covert and learn to the new religion and culture learn. They plan to visit and explore their beautiful coutry, Ghana, using skateboarding as a means to share their unique passion with the current Ghanaian youths and upcoming generation. They had in their own time realized that this was bigger than them, it was more than a skate tour; and they believed this project
will be a human adventure and a real opportunity to showcase the Ghanaian culture via a new way of life that is beneficiary to youth development culture and empowerment. However way a group of people intend to live life extremely be it via skateboarding or surfing, as long as they think different, love alternative sport & art and wish to support the local talents, SURF GHANA is with them! THE SKATE TOUR GH PROGRAM (during National holidays)
ABOUT SURFGHANA: Surf Ghana is a collective of multitalented artists, who also happen to be surfers and skateboarders, and they are based in Ghana. The collective was founded by Sandy Alibo with a wish to push the concept of skateboarding far and wide the country, to other African countries and even to the world; it is an answer to a question which says:“Are there skateboarders in Ghana?” Yes, there are lots of skateboarders in Ghana!
Cameron Duncan | Busua in Ghana, During the Skate Tour @Rodney Patrick
Surf Ghana aims to support and contribute to the democratization of easy access to Board-sports and practices for all Ghanaians. Some of the ways in which we have been able to promote the skateboarding culture has been through. WHAT DO WE DO?
We collect materials from Europe, US, all year We provide free initiation and orientation to the practice of Board-sport. We create our own skateboarding ramp We produce skateboarding competitions during festivals
PAST EVENTS AND PROJECTS: ASA BAAKO Music festival (200 attendees) – Asa Baako festival featured music, surfing and skateboarding and other fun games that promoted the culture to those in attendance, it was indeed a great experience Surf Ghana will like to share with other parts of Ghana, with Ghanaians and with Foreigners. CHALE WOTE Street art festival (3 000 attendees) – The Chale Wote Street Art Festival was the grand opening of Surf Ghana. Due to the number of people who were in attendance on that very day, Surf Ghana used the opportunity to organize the first boards’ exhibition in collaboration with 23 artists from Ghana, London and Paris, and also they hosted a skating competition and awarded the winners with a prize. Surf Ghana is a family and a fraternity that fosters good growth and pushes solid narratives the youth of the country can hold on to in regard to a brighter future and a place to belong. Our long term ambition is to foster the transfer of skills and provide Skatepark, surf camp, surf and skate boards designed and made solely by Surf Ghana.
We believe in making skateboard and surfboard easy and cheap to own so that participation becomes easy. ABOUT SKATE NATION GH: We owe the collection of skateboarding and Skate Nation GH to Joshua Odamtten who founded the crew five years ago in his room. Joshua fell in love with skateboarding in 1997 when he first learned about the sport and watched videos of other skateboarders. Since then, every day, he practices skateboarding and then later shares his knowledge with Ghanaian kids willing to learn. He also shares his passion through photography and some skate video editing. Follow him on Instagram @ganyobi1
ALL THE INFOS ABOUT SKATE TOUR GH: www.skatetourgh.com Facebook event: https:// www.facebook.com/ events/142278059866765/ Explore Instagram : https://www. instagram.com/explore/tags/skatetourgh/ THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS: @vans_europe @tracenaija @ decathlonghana @theweirdcult @ thenativemag ABOUT THE ARTWORK : The amazing artwork was created by the talented @artsoulkojo and directed by SandyAlibo from the collective @surfghana. TO SUPPORT THIS PROJECT: You like this project? Make a donation to support their project and get stickers, Tshirts, pictures and Skateboards from their event. https://www.gofundme.com/thefirst-skate-trip-in-ghana
Phillip Darko | Kumasi in Ghana, During the Skate Tour @Rodney Patrick
SA Youth Entrepreneur Intersects Skateboarding and Tourism By Richaela Primus Introducing City Skate Tours Skaters have always subversively reconstructed urban spaces. Whether is it through using the diagonal surfaces of buildings as ramps or waxing random rails to perform sick grinds. Ayanda Mnyandu, 27, is doing just this by transforming the tourism industry in South Africa through his unique co-founded business, City Skate Tours. In 2017, Ayanda and his former business partner started City Skate Tours to showcase the inner city of Johannesburg (or as the cool kids say Jozi), which is sometimes considered “unsafe.” “Inner city Johannesburg doesn’t have the best reputation both amongst Joburgers and international guests who still feel it isn’t the safest place to be in and because of that they stay away from the city,” he said. In changing this perspective of inner Jozi, Ayanda and his partner decided to combine their passions of skateboarding and history, while at the same time reintroducing and educating people about the city’s history. “I really enjoy history and love the inner city of Johannesburg and what it has to offer in terms of entertainment, creativity, the people, its history, culture and buildings. I wanted more people to start engaging with the space and start seeing the possibilities and opportunities that it could provide – this is partly why the tour focuses on the early history of Johannesburg and the historical buildings in the area. Both are super fascinating and have many interesting stories about them,” Ayanda said. City Skate Tours operates mainly in the up-and-coming neighborhood of Maboneng Precinct also known as “the heart essence of the city of Joburg.” Upon arrival to Maboneng one will experience a comfortable atmosphere bursting with creativity, infectious culture and an entrepreneurial spirit. Maboneng is challenging past negative perceptions of the city and allowing both locals and foreigners the chance to engage with the inner city and it urban regeneration movement. Like Maboneng, City Skate Tours is providing a space for skaters and non-skaters to reimagine what the true essence of the inner city entails. Through providing this unique space, Ayanda faces many challenges like any business. However, his wit in business management is influenced by the skills and education he gained while completing a Bachelor of Commerce in Economics from the University of Pretoria. He admits that at first he didn’t start City Skate Tours as a tourism business though it has blossomed into one. “It’s funny, when we started we didn’t actually think that what we were doing was considered ‘tourism’ we saw it more as ‘adventure’ like how you would go ice-skating or go-karting, it wasn’t until we started getting customers that we realized that we’re actually doing tourism,” he said. Author Bio Richaela Iyanti (Richie P.) is the founder of Black Skater Chick, a project focused on telling the stories black women and women of African-descent in skateboarding and action sports. Richaela had the pleasure of attending City Skate Tours in January 2018 and highly recommends going on the tours to feel true heartbeat of the inner city of Jozi.
What to expect on City Skate Tours City Skate Tours brings skaters to the most dope historical and creative spots in the inner city in three hours.
The first hour of the tour starts in Maboneng and is spent teaching new skaters the basics of skateboarding – pushing, riding, turing and stopping. At the same time, Ayanda also introduces the history of Maboneng; its current urban development changes; and the growing art scene, including some visiting some sweet street art sculptures and graffiti. The remaining two hours of the tour is spent skating on the mostly flat surfaces of Marshalltown, Newtown and surrounding areas. On each tour stop, Ayanda shares vivid stories about notable people, social justice and anti-Apartheid movements, art and other important facts relating to Jozi’s development. Ayanda also shares his love of architecture and city structures by also introducing the history of pre- 1935 buildings in the city. A highlight of the tour is seeing the location of Nelson Mandela’s law practice and buildings were other freedom fighters started radical movements. Ayanda described building sightseeing as giving “people a better sense of what early Johannesburg was like visually and combined with the history we share, you get an all-round experience as most of your senses are being stimulated on the tour” he said. City Skate Tours is also very accommodating different levels of skating. “Most people coming on our tour have never skated before and are incredibly nervous before they start. Learning how to skate for the first time can be hard and if you’re in a space you don’t feel comfortable in, it’ll be even harder – because Maboneng is well known and seen as a “cool” place to be, I think psychologically people feel more comfortable learning how to skate in this environment as skating is not out of place in the neighborhood” he said.
Therefore, one can expect to have their limits expanded on the tour. For instance, Ayanda gave one example of a lady who was scared of skating on her first tour, but through encouragement, near the end of the tour she became more confident with her skating: “We were skating down Fox Street, a nice long road on the tour and without realizing it, she pulled out her phone and starting recording herself and the others skating around her, it was really great to see,” he said. Getting to Know Ayanda and the Skateboarding Industry in SA Before the dreams of City Skate Tours came into existence, Ayanda was an adventurous six-year-old who liked skating in his hometown of Troyeville, Johannesburg and at the Library Gardens in inner Jozi with his tight-knit group of close friends. “We had a massive hill stretching about three blocks next to where I lived, so my friends and I would always race each other down the hill on our boards but sitting down; I know that board was strong because we would do crew or team races where two to three people would sit on the board at a time and race each other down the hill too. It was a lot of fun,” he said. Skateboarding has also granted Ayanda the opportunity to learn and meet people from different backgrounds. “[Skateboarding ] it’s such an amazing sport and activity that can really open up so many opportunities for young people, whether it’s on the board or off it, you can learn a lot from doing it” he said. He anticipates the growth of skateboarding in South Africa, though nationally and through out Africa, he believes some stereotypes about skateboarding must change.
“For both Africa and South Africa, I think the attitude and perceptions of skateboarding need to change, too many people still see it as rebellious subculture filled with unruly behavior and wilding out, while part of this is true, there is the part of skateboarding that teaches you resilience, perseverance, focus and concentration,” he said. Regardless of these negative perception, youth in Jozi are continuing the rich culture of skateboarding with more of them on boards each day. Some young South African skaters on Ayanda’s radar include Chris Nderitu from Durban, Brandon Valjalo, Khule Ngubane and the Adams brothers from Cape Town, and eight-year- old Ashton Banwell. “I see a lot more younger kids on boards these days though I’m not sure how many are doing it for fun and how many are really into it. Either way, I’m just happy to see more and more people with skateboards,” he said. Ayanda also looks forward to skateboarding being included in as an Olympic sport in 2020 because he hopes it will increase the visibility and sustainability of the sport. “I think this will help raise the sport’s profile and also introduce it to the mainstream as a legitimate sport, not just a hobby that people do in their spare time. I hope this will in turn attract money into the sport, the honest truth is that a sustainable skateboarding industry needs money and the more people that are into it, irrespective of skill level, the better the chances of building a sustainable industry,” he said When Ayanda is not leading tours for experienced skaters and groms in streets of Jozi, he leads Operations at Skateistan, a non-profit organization bringing education and community development to disadvantaged youth through skateboarding. Through Skateistan, Ayanda works with youth to help them develop confidence and believe in themselves, which is all grounded in skateboarding. “It’s great to see how the students minds and worlds are opened up as they are exposed to different environments and new things,” he said. If you are lucky enough Ayanda, may also take you near the Skateistan office, which faces an awesome mural of Nelson Mandela from his days as a successful boxer. Join City Skate Tours Overall, City Skate Tours is unraveling the barriers between skateboarding and tourism in the inner city of Jozi through the entrepreneurial savviness of Ayanda Mnyandu. If you’re ever visiting the city, give Ayanda a shout out and check out one of his tours. Ayanda’s message to people who want to join City Skate Tours: “Skateboarding is for everyone and we love our city, country and continent – we want to share each of them with you all at once. If you’ve never skated before or are afraid, that’s why we’re here…we target people that have never skated before because we know you’ll like it and this is how we will grow our passion, business and market; support our business and let’s build our futures together.” Meeting point for City Skate Tour: 302 Fox Street Jeppestown Johannesburg 2094 South Africa
My name is Augustine form ASD. So what can you tell about yourself Paul? My full name is Goitsemodimo (Paul) Melato and I’m 20 year old skater from the south of Johannesburg (Sebokeng)... Well known for my dope combinations and a lot of energy when skating Aaaaw sounds funny already. So why are you being called Paul is a problem? I kept winning all the local skate competitions back to back so my buddy Ashley Mthembu started calling me that Hahahaha... Ashely it is... will surely get a comment. So how long have you been skating? About 8 years How can you define your style? Technical and smooth Hope to see them... So how is skateboarding to you? To me skateboarding is fantastic because it’s a dope escape from whatever issues u going through and the homies accept you whether your good or not So how is it being a skateboarder at your community! Uhh pretty weird because there's only 2 of us that skate near my house and nobody really understands y we enjoy doing something that makes us hit the ground that much, but we enjoy either way. In South Africa, have you been in a Skate Tour in such! Would like to understand more Nah haven't but hopefully I will soon. The most recent big mission was before the year ended, 9 of my homies and 1 took an early train to Soweto, walked for like an hour up hill to link up with more skaters from that side to show us where they rip. So we basically killed like 6 or 8 solid street spots that day! It was hella lit Let’s go back at when you started skateboarding, what was your inspiration? Why skateboarding at first place Just enjoyed doing fun things so I saw these dudes skating near my house then my buddy Terence N had a new board but didn't skate so he hooked me up with it as a birthday present But I wasn't really serious about skateboarding till I got to high school How was High School? Study, Girls maybe and skateboarding I was always the goofy funny guy in class and sucked with the ladies but met a lot a people that helped me progress so I guess it was pretty cool hahhahahaha.... so then what do you outside skateboarding/ does it gets in your way into skateboarding Not much...Took a gap year last year to avoid things getting in the way but ima start working soon so yeah hope I’ll still have enough time for skating. Suppose you are getting a onetime chance to go into skate mission, who would you choose among pros? In RSA Khule Ngubane and team mate from DC shoes and internationally I'd go with the Nike SB team, Shane O’Neill and Luan Oliveira etc... Those dudes kill! #inspiration Have you ever skated with Khule? Even once No but I've seen him shred in person when I was at the Kimberly Diamond Cup in 2015 ...his got too much steez! Is there any remarks you would like to end with? Yeah Bro my big secret for winning comps is 2 cans of sprite and eating a bunch of candy the day before, trust me it works. I'd also like to thank my mom (Rakgadi Melato) and my friend (Mo Molefe) they’ve definitely helped a lot in my progression.
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¬¬Well.. so would you brief tell us about who you are! and your skateboarding history My name is Abubakar Juma Amour, am 19 by age, a student from Feza school, form |V|. I started skateboarding when I was 15, since then ts been a part of my life, it has shown me they way not to give up things and keep trying for whatever the case is. Through your 4 years into skateboarding what is your major achievement, how does it feel to you? My major achievements are 1-learning how to concentrate on one thing in life same as concentrating on doing a trick 2-learning how to not give up on things such as studies same as not giving up while trying a new trick 3- Having different perspectives on life 4- meeting new people and seeing different type of culture It feels different whenever my feet grasp my board So last May you won first FGL stop in Tanzania, how does that feel to you It feels amazing, its like my hard work pays off So last May you won first FGL stop in Tanzania, how does that feel to you It feels amazing, its like my hard work pays off So does studies affect your skating Yes they do! Positively though Since it opens my mind on understanding of different staffs as well as giving one more infinity try to hahahah… so what dreams do you have any hard question after all I’ve learned that from One of my dream is to see skateboarding grows up in skateboarding Tanzania as well as Africa, I wanna see parks flooding with youth having best trick, I wanna see skate Talk about your fav skater shop along corners of streets, and competitions after Shane O’Neil he’s one best inspiration on my skate periods of time without forgetting I to be d best life though Thats great! so what is your perspective on skateNyja Huston is one beast that knows how to win it boarding in Africa in general all. In some countries skateboarding is growing up rapidly and some countries yet they have known idea on what skateboarding can bring about changes to the society and views of youths
If you get to choose a pro event, which one would you chose? Ooh! Am not so competent but I would like to be in African Champion League and a game of skate battle at the berrics Thats great dude! Anyway do you have any funny story to share Oh! I remember one of my worst fall, It felt like shit coming out. We were learning some quarter pipe trick with my skate buddy,I was trying a drop in for the first time, I fell down with my ribs first and I suddenly felt thirsty like haven’t drink water for the whole day and I had no idea in what direction my board was! Cool Chat with you Abuy!