INNOVATO RS, I N F LU E N C E R S & C H AR AC TERS
Storyteller Extraordinaire Selema Masekela opens new worlds to all who will listen
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SELEMA MASEKELA
PHOTO CREDIT: DASHAUNAE MARISA
By Bridgette M. Redman portscaster, surfer, entrepreneur and musician Selema Masekela loves Venice in part because there is a conversation he never has to have there. Unlike the rest of car-obsessed Los Angeles, Masekela can walk to the beach with his surfboard and no one will stop and ask him what’s wrong that he has to set out on foot. “Venice is one of the last places in LA where it isn’t weird if you’re seen walking around on foot,” Masekela said. “I love my proximity to the beach and ocean, and that I can hop on my bike in the morning, throw my surfboard on my racks and go ride on the beach. I love my outside open gym at Deuce on Lincoln Avenue, which is really unique and the next generation of what the ‘70s and ‘80s of Venice outdoor fitness used to look like.” It’s just the start of a list of things he loves about having landed in Venice and spent the past 20 years of his career there. At least, that is, when he’s not globetrotting the world having spectacular adventures and covering historic sporting events. For 13 years, Masekela hosted ESPN’s Summer and Winter X Games. He was standing on the vert ramp when Tony Hawk did his infamous 900 at the X Games V in 1999 that changed how the mainstream perceived skateboarding and action sports. He covered the Olympics in Russia and Japan—and was present when his favorite sport, surfing, had its first showing on the Olympic stage. In 2010, he got to cover the FIFA World Cup in South Africa in what was a particularly meaningful event for him. His father, jazz great Hugh Masekela (1939-2018), dubbed the father of South African jazz, was a political exile who was only able to go home after apartheid was lifted. Together, they made a documentary that was shown in 10 parts during the World Cup games. “My father and I drove and took viewers on a journey through South Africa to show people the place and its peoples,” Masekela said. “We got to show the where and why of the country and its people. My dad and I got to take three weeks and go on a father-son road trip of South Africa. It was extremely special.” Masekela has experienced stories with considerably less fanfare but that still resonated strongly with him—such as his coverage of the Lakota Sioux people in South Dakota and how basketball literally saves lives. “To see the passion around a game of basketball on a Native American reservation was truly special and heartbreaking at the same time,” Masekela said. “To learn about the suicide rates, but to also be able to tell a story and provide some context about what that looks like—it’s very special.” As part of his work, Masekela has traveled the planet. He said he doesn’t know where he would be without travel. “Travel has been my lens into the world,” Masekela said. “It’s been the way that I’ve been able to see, listen to, taste, feel and move through the world. It allows for an immense amount of actual discovery of people and culture. It is the difference between being a tourist and being a traveler. When you are a traveler, you have to be of and amongst the people. You have to try your best to move to the magical rhythms of that place and to listen and learn.” In March, Masekela opened the Venice store for Mami Wata, a brand committed to sharing African surf culture, particularly South African surf culture. He’s the co-founder along with a group of surfers in Cape Town: Andy Davis, Nick Dutton and Peet Pienaar. During the pandemic, they published a coffee table book called “AFROSURF” which features pictures and stories of African surfers from 18 coastal African countries. “So many people have told me they sit with the book with their kids and it’s like they’re discovering surfing for the first time through this African lens,” Masekela said. “It is a bit of a Trojan horse in getting people to discover modern-day Africa and its relationship to the world. People assume they know everything there is to know about surfing culture. The story and narrative that has been driven by this Southern California idea is very limiting.” Like travel, surfing has helped to shape who Masekela is. He described it as the way he got to learn about himself as a kid when his family moved to California. “Surfing is a place of real personal expression whilst interacting with nature,” Masekela said. “It’s a balance between having the best time of your life and also trying not to die. You’re in battle with the ocean.” Whatever he undertakes, Masekela hopes that within his career, the things that he is
able to do and be a part of will spark people’s curiosity, encourage them to step out of their box and be open to new interactions with the world. He hopes that he can make people want to engage with others and to have empathy for the rich diversity of the billions of people on the planet. “I hope people see in me someone who is relentlessly curious about the human experience, the many shapes and forms that it comes in, and the infinite nature in which life can be lived and expressed,” Masekela said. “That’s how I would like to be remembered—as someone who told those stories and hopefully was able to bring people together.” Selema Masekela mamiwatasurf.com MARCH 24, 2022 THE ARGONAUT PAGE 13
