issue 76
Free
©2017 Vans, Inc.
F E AT URING V A N S W A F F L E C U P ™
VAN S . C O M
GILBERT CROCKETT
CONTENTS
Justin Leslie bonelesses off of the top platform and gaps into a potential pit of death, in a construction site at the CTICC in Cape Town. Look closely and you’ll notice that what looks like a bank leading into dirt is actually a sloping concrete corregation, which means he’s basically doing a firecracker into that dirt. Gnarly! Photo - Sam Clark
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Redial 08 fieldwork 10 JuaN SMIT 18 OCCUPATION: FIREFIGHTER
DYLAN VAUGHAN 26 - WHERE IS MY MIND?
MIDDLE EARTH 38
I Am Thalente 48 December Duel 52 Closet Envy 58 Contributor Pics 62 Cover: Justus Kotze noseblunts a crusty bank in Woodstock, Cape Town. Photo - Jansen van Staden.
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I NTRODU CI NG
GAP TO BACK SM ITH IN T HE MATCHCOU RT /// N E W YORK CIT Y
Photography: Jonathon Mehring. Š 2017 adidas AG
Redial
Longevity
Words – Luke Jackson
How long can you keep doing it for? We all go through phases with peaks and troughs, motivation and frustration, inspiration and depression. Some people go hard and fast, but then burn out pretty soon. Others go slow and steady but perhaps never make all that great of an impact. There is no right or wrong way in the universe, so all you can do is you. Find the inspiration you need to be able to make it happen for you. Is age a factor? Sure! But does it need to be a deciding factor, well only if you let it. I could be talking about skateboarding here, but in actual fact this could apply to anything in life. Sometimes your daily struggle to keep everything afloat is all you have in you, and sometimes you just can’t anymore and you need to make a change. As Pontus Alv says, “When life is on repeat, it’s time to move on”.
But in the context of skateboarding that doesn’t necessarily mean to stop doing it altogether. But perhaps rather to look at it differently and reinterpret what you get out of it. A slappy on a curb or a 16-stair handrail, it doesn’t matter because at the end of the day as long as you feel stoked by the feeling you get out of it then that’s all that really counts. It’s all skateboarding at the end of the day, no interpretation has to be less meaningful than the other. Pravesh Manga (or Po as many refer to him) has been rolling in downtown Johannesburg since forever. You can still find him roaming the streets every weekend at Library Gardens. He’s seen many generations come and go, but he’s still out there finding that feeling from skateboarding in his own way.
Pravesh Manga (or ‘Po’ as he’s known by most) flips to fakie on a steep bank under a bridge in downtown Johannesburg. Photo - Carel Steenkamp
Editor Luke Jackson info@sessionmag.co.za ADVERTISING Ockie Fourie info@sessionmag.co.za Founder Brendan Body brendan@sessionmag.co.za
Photo EDITOR Clint van der Schyf
CONTRIBUTORS 76 Brett Shaw, Ballie Bruce
Photographers 76 Sam Clark, Jansen van Staden, Joubert van Staden, Wynand Herholdt, Dave De Witt, Samuel McGuire, Blair Alley, Werner Lamprecht, Daniel Theron, Grant Mclachlan, Mike Chinner, Taun Visser, Alessandro Galassi, Rynardt van der Merwe. Jon Coulthard, Justin Kosman, Tammy Smith, Pieter Retief
Physical Address: 2nd Floor, Earlgo Building, cnr. Kloof & Park Rd, Gardens, Cape Town, 8001. PRINTERS: Novus Print Solutions
skateboarder owned and operated since 2002.
mail us - info@sessionmag.co.za @sessionskatemag
www.SessionMag.co.za
Session Skateboarding Magazine is published independently 6 times a year. Session will welcome all letters, e-mails and photos. We will review the contribution and assess whether or not it can be used as print or online content. The opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the magazine, its owners or its management. Session Skateboarding Magazine is the copyright of Session Magazine cc. Any duplication of this magazine, for any media or sale activity, will result in legal action and a wedgie! 8 | sessionmag.co.za
BUILT BY SKATEBOARDING JULIAN DAVIDSON SKATING THE JAMESON XT
Kickflip | Photo: Sam McGuire
See the Jameson Bloodline on etnies.com | @etniesskateboarding
Fiel d w or k
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Chappies boardslides a beast in Cape Town and his homie Wade gets the clip. Chappies just got an ‘I AM’ photo in the last issue, prepare yourself for the onslaught that’s coming. Photo - Jansen van Staden. 11 | sessionmag.co.za
Justus Kotze is a master of awkward spots, frontside 50-50 in a tight spot. Photo - Pieter Retief
Anton Roux goes the distance with a big boost off the bump and over the rail. Check out the footage in his Vans Parallel ‘Extended edit’ up on our site. Photo - Jansen van Staden.
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Mark Stoutjesdyk with precarious crailslide at the iconic old King’s Beach tranny spot in Port Elizabeth. Photo - Blair Alley
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Fiel d w or k
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Sebo Walker switch flips to flat off of a playground bump in the suburbs of Cape Town. Photo - Samuel McGuire
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Fiel d w or k
Do the saving with SA paving. Trae Rice wall jam. Photo - Jansen van Staden
Mike Chinner recently moved back to the USA after a long hard stint in Kimberley. He spent a few of his last SA days cruising in Cape Town, where he did this pivot fakie in the run down old Rondebosch snake run. Photo - Joubert van Staden
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Wynandt Herholdt frontside bluntside transfers into a bank, somewhere up north there in Werner’s local land around Centurion and Pretoria, he knows all the spots. Photo - Werner Lamprecht
Field work is the process of observing and collecting data about people, cultures, and natural environments. Field work is conducted in the wild of our everyday surroundings rather than in the semi-controlled environments of a lab or classroom.
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Juan frontside nosegrinds and pops out in Paarden Eiland, on a ledge he made skate-able with a lick of paint. 18 | sessionmag.co.za
Juan Smit Occupation: Firefighter Interview - Luke Jackson Photos - Jansen van Staden
A firefighter is a rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten property and civilian or natural populations, and to rescue people from dangerous situations, like collapsed or burning buildings or crashed vehicles. In some areas, they are also trained in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and operate ambulances in addition to being a firefighter. How did you decide to become a firefighter? Well like all little boys, who doesn’t want to be a firefighter and ride in the big red truck? I guess just like
all firefighters would tell you, it’s not a job, it’s more of a calling. By nature it’s in me to help people out. My dad was a big influence as he was in the Ysterplaat Airforce for 25 years. Thanks Dad, I hope I make you proud. How long have you been in the job and which station are you based at? I started my career in 2008 as a seasonal firefighter. However, I’ve been at Salt River fire station for the past 3 years and I’m now a qualified firefighter for the City of Cape Town. What
was
the
training
like
to
become qualified and how long does the whole process take? Training is around about 9 to 11 months, with no holiday breaks. No jokes, it’s pretty intense! 5 days a week, and every day there is a class test, it’s like boot camp. They test you mentality and physically, and put you through your paces. They train and teach you to solve and treat any situation you can be involved in, like a building collapse, finding people, medicals, all kinds of fires, car crashes and water rescue. If you name it, we can do it. City of Cape Town firefighters are the best!
“We experience and see a lot that some people only dream about in nightmares.” sessionmag.co.za | 19
Can you tell us a bit about what you’re ranking is in the department and what that entails on a daily basis? I’m a ‘learner firefighter’, soon to be notched up to ‘firefighter’ after my advancement. I’m basically the rookie on shift haha. “Climb up there, go and fetch this!” We all work hard on fire calls. When these big fires flare up on the mountain slopes around Cape Town every summer, are you usually one of the guys in the mix, or how does it work, are there separate forces for city vs mountain fires? I’m in there for sure! There are a lot of private fire companies in the Western Cape as well, but we all work together side by side to extinguish the runaway mountain fires. But yeah I’m usually up there in the mix. You told me once that most of what you do usually revolves around being more of a medic and you have seen some pretty crazy stuff on the job. Does it just become normal after a while or does seeing gruesome stuff affect you mentally at all? Yes it does have an effect on me. All of us have those demons that you lock away far inside your head. It’s known that firefighters or any emergency services people develop PTSD, it’s a stress disorder that can lead to depression, suicide and overdose. You can learn a lot from the old hands in the brigade and the best medicine for it is to talk about it. We experience and see a lot that some people only dream about in nightmares.
“we all work together side by side to extinguish the runaway mountain fires.” 20 | sessionmag.co.za
Perfect form on a chunky backside lipslide.
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Noseblunt transfer at this well-known Stellenbosch ‘wheelchair ramp-to-wall’ setup.
Can you tell us about any of the crazy stuff you’ve experienced?
compared to the average person. What are the shifts like?
That my friend is a story I’ll tell you next to a campfire. I think when you experience death, sadness and demolishment it’s hard to talk to ‘normal’ people about it. I heard over the radio once of a firefighter they asked that same question and he answered back, ‘’What do you think of on the way to work, deadlines or clients’ orders? With us, it’s do not get killed when we get to where we are going”. Have you ever told a family member, “We did all that we could, sorry…”
Our shifts are 24 hours long. I work more or less 9 or 10 days a month for 24 hours at a time.
You work some pretty odd hours
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So you’re usually off at random times. What do you get up to during your time off while everyone else is at work, tell us a bit about your hiking missions for example? Well, it’s good to know friends that freelance or skate for a living haha. That helps for sure. I keep myself busy by exercising, going for runs with my dogs in the mountains or finding awesome places to swim
with them. I still do craftwork with broken skateboards and I love working/fixing around the house, in the garden and my cactus collection. Jip I sound old, but who cares? You also recently built some new DIY at Edgemead (Cape Town DIY park), can you tell us about that? The Edgemead spot is a little place I like to call home, so when I feel like it I go and build there on my off days, I remember to ask Jamie first though haha. But I like it, it’s a place where everybody hangs out and catches a skate after their 8-to-5 jobs, and there’s nothing better than building
Stepping up to a 180 switch crook at Lagoon Beach in Milnerton, Cape Town.
an obstacle and then seeing people killing tricks on it. Thanks to Jamie for letting me do what I do in your space. You have a motorcycle and you’ve been going on a few rides. Do you ride with guys from work and are the guys in your station a pretty tightknit crew? Yes I ride a motorcycle and it’s the best! The guys in the brigade usually go on mad off-road adventures on dirt paths, over mountain passes and on farms. I’ve been on a couple and it’s amazing. But I’m a massive petrol head, I love all kinds of racing and I’d like to start racing
soon if I can afford it. Come on Lotto Plus, make my day! Do you ever get nervous or scared about going into a potentially dangerous situation or does training just kick-in during those moments, and have you ever been in a life threatening situation where you felt like you were somewhat lucky to walk away? Plenty of times, too many actually and it’s good to be nervous if it makes you more aware of your surroundings and potential dangers. Like I said, the training they give you prepares you for that day that will come. I guess all firefighters
feed off each other, they look out for each other and amp each other up. That’s why they call it a brotherhood. Do you see yourself having a lifelong career in the Fire Department? Yes! Touch wood haha. I’ll let the man above decide on that. But for now I love my calling. Maybe after I start getting a pension I’ll consider opening up a coffee shop, or perhaps a workshop.
“They train and teach you to solve and treat any situation you can be involved in.” sessionmag.co.za | 23
Sometimes Juan has to put out fires on the slopes of Table Mountain, at other times he gets to do frontside feebles, like this one in District 6.
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“It’s good to be nervous if it makes you more aware of your surroundings and potential dangers.” You guys also do a few community support days, can you tell us a bit more about that? Yeah that’s more in the education department of the brigade though, but we do a lot for hospitals, fun runs, collecting money for homeless people, fire safety awareness and the list goes on. They actually brought out a fire brigade calendar, but I didn’t make the cut. Damn, I skipped bench day at gym haha. Have you got any advice for anyone out there who is considering getting into your line of work? It’s the best Job in the world. Got any final words to end this off?
Thanks to my family, friends and dogs that made me the person I am today, without you I’ll be nothing. Thanks to Salt River Fire Station - Platoon 3, I love all you fuckers. Thanks to Session Mag, Clay at Revolution, Converse, Jamie and Biscuit at The Shred, Baseline, Daggers crew and the Streets Life crew for the mad nights and trips, it’s been a wild ride but we made it. Thanks to Joubert and Jansen, your warm hospitality, good coffee and the kak Afrikaans jokes you tell haha. Thanks to Craig the ‘’unit’’ man, I don’t think I could ask for a better wingman on a board. Thanks to all the people I forgot to mention, you all played a roll sometime in my life and I hope to run into you soon for a high five and a catch up. Peace out and don’t let me see you playing with matches.
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D y lan V a u ghan
W here
is
M y
M ind ?
According to Wikipedia sloths are named after the capital sin of sloth, because they seem slow and lazy at first glance; however, their usual idleness is due to metabolic adaptations for conserving energy. Aside from their surprising speed during emergency flights from predators, other notable traits of sloths include their strong body and their ability to host symbiotic algae on their fur. Like the sloth, Dylan has quite a lazy style. But that doesn’t mean he’s lazy, he just makes it look like he’s not really trying. That’s the thing about Dylan, he is a super chilled guy, but he’ll catch you off guard with a sudden burst of energy that can propel him over anything in his path.
Interview - Luke Jackson Photos - Sam Clark
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Clearing the long setup with a banging bump flip in Muizenberg, Cape Town.
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Ok so let’s start off with how old you are, where you grew up and your origins basically? I was born in 93, so I’m 23, turning 24 this year. I was born in Ceres in the Western Cape, my Dad was a technician for Tetra Pak and he worked for the Ceres juice company. We lived there for 5 years and then moved to Plumstead. My folks came from JHB originally, but then we moved around quite a bit due to my Dad’s work. When did you start skating? In Grade 6 when I moved to Paarl, I went to primary and high school at Paarl Boys. It’s Afrikaans as fuck and I had bilingual classes. My folks are predominantly English and that’s what we spoke at home, but I was surrounded by Afrikaans at school. I had to know my enemy well haha. I had to learn it. But yeah I started skating in late primary school. Who was in your first skate crew in Paarl? Well first it was Alessandro and then Tino. Paarl is divided by the Berg river with my hood on one side and Tino’s on the other. As the stereotype goes we’re literally from opposite sides of the river, but we hung out and rolled together all the time. Paarl can be fucking sketchy, I’m glad I got out haha. The only time I ever got robbed in my life was in Paarl, house break-ins and mugged. Alessandro and I were kids rolling through town and knives got pulled on us. It was pretty scary. Our crew was called the APS (Anti Pig Society).
“ T ino , A lessandro and u p
I
grew
skating
street , cr u st y spots . ”
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Backside nosegrind on the ledge he and Sam built.
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Dylan fastplants the most famous bump-to-bar in downtown Cape Town. Photo - Sam Clark
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360 flip fakie into the rough, on a ditch mission in the Cape countryside.
Was anyone else in the crew? Alwyn Koorts joined late, he moved to Paarl for work, but he doesn’t really skate anymore, which is sad. I’d never actually seen talent like that before, he killed it! Did you guys have a park or a ramp in Paarl growing up? Once I left Paarl they built a park, some ramps got donated and they are at this sports club, but last time I checked it’s closed on weekends and public holidays. People try to jump the fence but they have guard dogs I heard. So Tino, Alessandro and I grew up skating street, crusty spots. The first proper tranny I ever got to skate regularly was probably at The Shred. But you still lived in Paarl while you were studying? Yeah I studied journalism and I took the damn train every bloody day. I always
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left lectures early to make the 16:30 train home, because if you take the 17:30 or 18:30 then there is nobody on it and then it can be super sketchy. I’ve been in such close calls. I used to carry all kinds of weapons. Some random person comes and sits next you in an empty train and you feel like you’re maybe about to get robbed. It was a 1-year course and I was really over that commute by the end. It could be anywhere from 1 hour to 4 hours on the train each way, into Cape Town in the morning and back to Paarl in the evening. It all depended on if the trains were all working properly or if there were delays. I worked out that in a month I could spend 60-80 hours on the train. Delays would happen often, like one time in Kraaifontein the train stops and everyone is walking out. One Woman says she wanted to eat her lunch but then she lost her appetite, after she saw a head there and fingers over there. Some dude committed suicide and got cut up. Then I find out later that he was standing there with his wife and they were going to jump together, she got cold feet but
he jumped. So that delayed my day by like 5 hours, but it was a regular thing to have all these delays. Public transport pisses me off and I don’t have a car yet. So how long ago did you leave Paarl and where did you move? I left about 3 years ago. My folks still lived there but only just left recently. I lived for a year at this rad beach house in Blouberg with really low rent, a hook up through a friend. But the house got sold or whatever so we had to move out. So now you work for The Shred and live there. How did that come about? I first started in the coffee shop before it was even a proper shop. I was selling snacks and doing entries. It was like once a week, the place wasn’t fully open yet at that stage, only on weekends. This was like 2 years ago. I’ve known Jamie for years and he knew I was looking for something to do. Then it slowly developed over time with the park, shop, offic-
Full speed pole jam over the gap and into the road.
es, etc. They sent me for coffee training at Deluxe, so now I’m a qualified barista haha, it was pretty interesting actually. I worked the front for a while and then went to Holland, since I came back I now run the skate shop, the online store, I do media stuff like filming edits, I send out mail orders and all that. You used to film stuff for AV with Joubert in the past, so are you comfortable with that sort of stuff and is it something you want to maybe pursue more of in the future? Yeah Jamie gives me his camera and I film stuff in the park all the time. Jamie
“ S he
saw
there .
a
S ome
taught me a lot. I don’t know how far you can get with skate filming in SA but filming is definitely something that interests me. I’ve helped Jamie out with film jobs, like assisting, etc. If you do full-time in the film industry then there is definitely money to be made.
land visiting my girl. I skated a bunch with some locals there too. I pretty much just partied, skated and chilled. My girl and I are still together, we are doing the long distance thing. She’s visiting Cape Town right now actually. She’s from Germany, but she lives in Holland. Utrecht is cool, I prefer it to Amsterdam.
How did you end up going to Holland?
What’s it like living in a skatepark in a warehouse, what’s your setup like?
I went to Utrecht to visit my girl, we met here in Cape Town.
I’m like any other security guard, with the same setup. I’ve got my fishing knife and I’m the caretaker here. I share a room with Dewald, I have a bunk bed with no bottom and he has a double bed.
So have you travelled anywhere else? I spent 3 months in Germany in 2013, in Berlin. Last year I spent 2 months in Hol-
head
there
d u de got
and
fingers
committed c u t
over
s u icide
and
u p. ”
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Taildrop into the drink!
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Dylan walks the tightrope on this roll-in 50-50 on a round rail, grinding up to the kink and successfully avoiding the drop of death.
We have our own kitchen and bathroom. I take the bus to go grocery shopping every now and then or I buy from a lady who sells homemade stuff on the street nearby. Sometimes when my brother is coming past then I grab a lift with him to the store. I don’t eat 3 meals a day but I fill up when I need. I got myself a mini hotplate and oven combo haha.
Haha!
Have you ever brought a girl home to the park?
Tell us about the mission?
So is your girl staying in the same room as you and Dewald? Yeah it’s like 2 and half men haha. Yeah I have two mattresses but I popped one the other day on the ditch mission while shooting with Sam.
Let’s just leave that one quiet…
I went for the night with Sam Clark, Pieter Retief, Alessandro and Dyllan Wright. We slept in the ditch overnight, nobody else skated except me haha. It wasn’t a mission to go and get something specific for the feature, we just went out to skate and to see what might happen.
So you know the spots that the security cameras can’t see?
You and Sam also built a ledge in one of your photos, can tell us about that?
Yes I have, my girl is staying with me here right now. So have you ever hooked up in the park?
“ I ’ m
like
the
same and
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an y
other
set u p . I ’ m
We built up the brick part on a day mission. The security wasn’t even there. When we went back to do the top they were there and we told them we were going to build. They said ok, but it was a shitstorm, the wind was howling like crazy. There was cement and water splashing about, it was a mess! We left it to settle for two days to dry afterwards, and when we came back security watched for cars while I was skating, it was so mellow.
I ’ ve
the
Who hooks you up right now? Plankie, Etnies and Dope. So apparently Joubert says you got on Plankie after winning a bet? Yeah haha, we had a bet about a game of SKATE, I beat him and then he put me on the team.
sec u rit y got
m y
caretaker
g u ard ,
fishing here . ”
with knife
Hop a fence, climb on a roof and then do a perfect backside flip. Don’t get caught.
Which of your video parts has been your favourite thus far?
skateboarding the last thing you feel like doing when you’re off?
skateboarding. Jamie has taught me a shitload and it all adds to my experience.
I think maybe my AV Debut part. The two Plankie videos were cool too, but the Debut was like a mission to go out and film, and you get hyped on doing your first part. The last Plankie video wasn’t a mission at all, we just went skating a bunch of times and filmed some clips, after some time we thought we should just make a video with the stuff we had.
I work all week and get weekends off. People say to me, “so you’re living the dream”, but I’m not really. I skate the park once or twice a week, maybe to like warm up before I go out and skate street. You don’t skate all day just because you live at a park. I’m about as motivated as any other skateboarder, but it’s not like I skate every single day. I am surprised by what gets me hyped nowadays, it could be some random thing on instagram, but if I show it to a kid at the park, they don’t get it.
So you have quite a relaxed style on a skateboard, you kind of remind me of a Sloth, does anyone ever call you a Sloth?
You also had good coverage on the Etnies Big Five SA Tour, did that motivate you to push more? Those guys motivated me for sure! I liked their approach and mindset; they put it down while they were here. For us it’s something rare and special to experience, but for those guys international travel to skate spots in different countries is just their job. Silvester Eduardo who comes from the east coast of the US for example, he loved the crusty spots out here. Every spot we went to, someone would try and skate it. So living at a park and working at a park, how often do you get time off and is
So where do you see yourself in the long term, are you going to stick around skateboarding? Well the skate industry seems a bit dismal in SA right now, is it even plausible to pursue skateboarding in South Africa? I’ve sort of made my own position at the moment, doing stuff with Jamie, freelance stuff, etc. There are no positions available that are just waiting for CVs to be sent in. You have to hustle and you make it work in order to be around
Well AD Henderson made a meme once, comparing me to a Sloth, I guess I did look pretty similar in the image haha. How long have you known Sam Clark, you guys seem to have shot a lot of skate images together over the years? When I was living in Paarl and partying in Stellenbosch I met him, he was from Somerset West side and would also go to parties in Stellenbosch. We’ve known each other for many years. Sam is one of the few guys in SA that makes real missions to find spots, to build stuff and make DIY spots happen. We’ve built a bunch of stuff together. Ok to end this thing off, can you tell us where your mind is right now? Where is my mind? It’s in a warehouse in Paarden Eiland.
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Stuart Walker back disasters on his new DIY creation in Bloem. Photo - Joubert van Staden 38 | sessionmag.co.za
middle earth
A Roadtrip to De Aar, Bloemfontein and Thaba Nchu. Story - Luke Jackson / Brett Shaw
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Photo - Joubert van Staden
D
e Aar, Northern Cape and Thaba Nchu, Free State are not the first towns that spring to mind when thinking of places to go skateboarding. But they both have pretty good concrete facilities standing out there in the sun, waiting for you to show up and shred. Not to mention a little bit of DIY that Stuart Walker and his fellow Bloemfontein bros have cooked up in the Free State capital. Middle Earth is not just the vast barren land you drive through on the way to the coast anymore, some of the small towns you’ve taken for granted all these years are now packing some heat.
The most recent voyage to Middle Earth took place in early January when Dallas Oberholzer, Dave de Witt, Mike Sparrow, Trent Sloan and Bruce ventured south from Durban while Joubert van Staden, Brett Shaw and Wynand Herholdt headed north from Cape Town, with a plan to all meet up with Stuart Walker in the middle. Now if you read Session regularly then you’re no stranger to the De Aar park that Dallas built a few years back. It even graced our cover once, courtesy of Ronnie Sandoval. A quick Google search places De Aar just over 3 hours drive southwest of Bloem. The park is way out there, but we usually get a couple
banger pics every time somebody rolls through the old Northern Cape town. Thaba Nchu is situated about an hour east of Bloem, on the road to Maseru, the Lesotho capital. We can’t really tell you anything else about the place, other than that a pretty epic looking park now exists there. Stuart Walker helped to make the thing a reality. Looks like it has a fair bit of good tranny and a decent street style section. The lads drew first blood by being the first tour to document the new facility in Session. I’m sure many of you will now be looking to head there in time. I’m pretty keen to check it out myself.
“Thaba Nchu is situated about an hour east of Bloem, on the road to Maseru, the Lesotho capital. We can’t really tell you anything else about the place, other than that a pretty epic looking park now exists there.” 40 | sessionmag.co.za
Dallas backtails on his old creation in dusty De Aar, Northern Cape. Photo Dave de Witt 41 | sessionmag.co.za
Durban tranny slayer Mike Sparrow backsmiths some fresh Thaba Nchu coping. Photo - Dave de Witt
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Photo - Wynand Herholdt
Photo - Wynand Herholdt
29 Degrees South skatepark or DIY spot, whatever it is exactly, seems to be the home of skateboarding in Bloemfontein nowadays. With every Bloem clip having at least a couple lines at the spot. The touring crew also visited this Bloem TF on their January adventure. Stuart has recently added a bit of DIY tranny to the spot and it’s looking prime. Not to mention Stuart’s private DIY ramp, but you’ll have to make friends with him first if you want to skate that too. Maybe try and make a skate stop or two the next time you’re navigating through Middle Earth on the way to the coast, or hell maybe Middle Earth could even be your final destination. But just remember to watch out for rowdy locals whenever you pull-in to a small town bar with a large group of guys. There’s often a hometown hero that wants to show you that he thinks he owns the place. On that note, Bruce has a list of things you should try and avoid during a skate trip with your mates.
Stuart’s backyard ramp in Bloem. Photo - Wynand Herholdt
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Photo - Wynand Herholdt
Brett Shaw has hurricaned every corner of just about every tranny spot in SA over the years, De Aar included. Photo - Wynand Herholdt
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Photo - Wynand Herholdt
Mike crailslides in Thaba Nchu. Photo - Joubert van Staden.
“Maybe try and make a skate stop or two the next time you’re navigating through Middle Earth on the way to the coast, or hell maybe Middle Earth could even be your final destination.”
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Photo - Joubert van Staden
Bruce has a list of things you should try and avoid during a skate trip with your mates: • Miss the turnoff for you’re desired route despite prior planning. • Get inflicted with gout before first session even goes down. • Get vehicle stuck in the mud at a skate spot. • Only have 80s music available to rock/chill in the car. • Alien abduction experience while homies are chilling in the same room. • Not making it to Panty Hill to blaze the night away. • Eat vrot pie. • Make eye contact with dodgy car guards at local supermarket. • Get dodgy pin drop for skate park in township. • Get directions from locals.
Mike Sparrow with a nosegrind tailgrab in Bloem. Photo - Joubert van Staden
Spontaneous trips are the best ones. We decided the day before to drive 2500KM from Cape Town to De Aar, and then through Bloemfontein and onto the new Thaba Nchu park which is rad, it’s definitely worth hitting up. We did it over 4 days. Our honorary guest was the world famous Studawg666. Some of us were filming for parts and others just soaked up the vibe. Dallas had a box of vrot litchis that stunk like ass, we slept on the floor, got flooded out in De Aar, ate melons on the side of the road, celebrated lands and swore at near misses. We hung with the locals, got hustled by dirt bags outside the Checkers and burnt a lot of tar. I guess you could say that we are addicted to the road so on the way home we planned another 10 trips. I can’t wait to do it all again. Thank you skateboarding and Stu for being a killer host. - Brett Shaw
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No this is not SoCal but in fact Thaba Nchu in the Free State. Dave de Witt with a layback smith. Photo - Joubert van Staden
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I AM Thalente
Frontside flip finesse. Photo - Justin Kosman
T
halente Biyela was about to turn 18 and needed to decide what to be when he ‘grows up’. Homeless since age nine, he was illiterate and his opportunities were limited. At age eight, his first skateboard became his escape from turmoil at home, giving him a way to express himself, and access to a community of friends who became family. Skateboarding soon became the driving force in his life, providing him sanctity as he lived on the streets of Durban. An internet video of Thalente skating reached US pro Kenny Anderson who offered to take him under his wing if he made it to America. Thalente put his heart and soul to the test, to rise above circumstance and shape his future.
I AM Thalente is a documentary film feature about Thalente’s life, directed by Zimbabwean born Natalie Johns, who grew up in SA. But the SA connection runs deep in this one, one of the executive producers is Sal Masekela, who was a well-known ESPN skateboarding commentator for many years, and who also happens to be the son of South African Jazz legend Hugh Masekela. The film was also edited by local SA skate legend Brett Shaw.
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Not forgetting that it also features skateboarding icons such as Tony Hawk, Guy Mariano, Lance Mountain and Marc Johnson. Screenings took place at several major film festivals all over the US and Canada and it won the Audience Award at the LA Film Festival, as well as Best Skate Doc at the Paris Surf and Skate Film Festival. The film will soon be available on iTunes in South Africa. Look out for more details very soon!
Switch flip. Photo - Jon Coulthard
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Thalente has always had amazing tranny ability, if you ever skated Durban beachfront with him then you know. Good to see he’s now doing Madonnas in America. Photo - Justin Kosman
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A
ptly named, Thalente Biyela (meaning Talent in Zulu) fled to the streets of Durban to escape the abusive hand of his stepfather. He was given his first skateboard in 2002 by a friend and Durban local Braxton Haine and was hooked. From that moment his time and energy has been directed away from the streets and onto the board. With his skateboard as his pillow and the Durban beach park as home for eight years, Thalente’s passion for skateboarding runs deep. What began as an escape has become Thalente’s livelihood. His extensive bag of tricks and effortless style make Thalente one to watch at any session, be it at a concrete park or street skating on the local urban terrain.
“Off his board, Thalente’s charisma and charm have a way of drawing people towards him.” Off his board, Thalente’s charisma and charm have a way of drawing people towards him. Skating is his life and he puts his heart and soul into it. Becoming one of the first kids from South Africa to go on to earn a living from skating is no small undertaking and the future challenges on and off of his board are huge. No doubt that the tenacity and drive he needed to survive on the streets will see him well equipped to make a big statement on the next leg of his journey. Since moving to Los Angeles he has continued to grow and his love of skateboarding is stronger than ever. He worked as a skateboarding coach and counselor at Element Skate Camp in 2014 and continues to coach skateboarding to young people in and around LA. He has made public speaker appearances at schools and conferences where he shares his experience, encouraging strength and hope. He visited Shanghai for the Laureus World Sports Awards where he was acknowledged by the foundation for his achievements in skateboarding. His sponsors include Element Skateboards, LRG, Rastaclat, Spitfire Wheels, Thunder Trucks, Kingswell Skateshop, Flowers for the Dead Clothing and Maintain Griptape. He currently resides in Los Angeles. More info at www.iamthalentefilm.com
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The December Duel The definition of a duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules. Well that pretty much sums up what a skate contest is.
Dlamini frontside heelflips over the hydrant at The Shred Xmas party. Photo - Grant Mclachlan
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The pop required to get over this picnic bench is no joke, Allan Adams makes it look all too easy with a lofty kickflip. Photo - Grant Mclahlan
In December 2016 we had a weekend of duels, from the west coast to the east. Friday December 16th, Reconciliation Day, a national day of unity that brought skateboarders from across Cape Town together for The Shred skatepark’s annual Xmas party. The following day we were on a plane to Durban in time to make it to Sunday December 18th’s Red Bull Unlocked event at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. Two duels in one weekend and a lot of good skateboarding. I often think that South Africa can be a bit slack on the skate front over the summer holidays, if you compare what goes on here in contrast to Europe for example. When summer hits in the northern hemisphere a whole event series and a host of tours kick-off across the region.
In SA we’ve been lacking something like that, sure a few events go on from timeto-time throughout the year but summer should be bigger, considering that schools, universities and a lot of working folk are all on holiday. It was dope to see a December where large holiday skate events took place on both sides of the country. The West Coast Duel - The Shred Xmas Party in Cape Town The Shred did an Xmas party the way it should be done. Stacks of prizes, best trick jams, good vibes and yes Steak was the DJ. After a juniors contest for all the young groms and plenty of gifts given out by Tino in a Santa suit, the main
event came down to 10 best trick jams for R1000 each, that went on throughout the afternoon and into the night. Highest air, longest grind, best trick on or over the picnic table, the fire hydrant, the china bank, the pump hump, the death wall and more! It all went down. A really grueling task was to see who could gap over the whole manny pad from a kicker. Plenty tried but only Moses managed the feat, leading to the loudest eruption of applause on the day. Allan Adams walked away with the most loot after dominating many of the challenges, but similarly Yann Horowitz, Ryan Naidoo, Moses and Dlamini Dlamini were all there in the mix throughout most challenges. Thanks to the whole Shred crew and Monster Energy for a dope day.
“Allan Adams walked away with the most loot after dominating many of the challenges.” 54 | sessionmag.co.za
Toufeeq Raubenheimer 360 flip noseslides. Photo - Grant Mclachlan
Moses Adams going the distance. Photo - Grant Mclachlan
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Simon Stipcich frontside flips from a kicker over the Moses Mabhida water feature, on Bod’s board. Photo - Daniel Theron
The East Coast Duel - Red Bull Unlocked in Durban Red Bull Unlocked returned for its fourth installment in 2016. This time it went back to where it started in 2013 at Moses Mabhida Stadium, before going to Johannesburg in 2014 and Cape Town in 2015. Dave de Witt worked a good few late nights to build a setup that included rails, ledges, kickers, a planter gap, a wallride and even a little tranny. All tucking nicely into the existing infrastructure of the stadium’s multiple stair sets. The heavy hitters Moses and Dlamini flew up from Cape Town and many JHB rippers also made the trip down to the coast to join the Durban locals. The chom with the longest journey was our good old mate Rynardt van der Merwe who took a long bus trip all the way down from Polokwane so that he wouldn’t miss the action. Skaters from across the country
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descended on the iconic stadium to battle it out for the prize money in the baking hot Durban sun. In the end Dlamini finally came right at one of these Unlocked events and walked away with the title after consistently doing insane lines all day. 3-time winner Moses just missed out in the final and grabbed a well-deserved second place with JHB’s Brandon Valjalo completing the podium in 3rd. One onlooker pointed out humorously that it seemed like Dlamini was the only one who really knew his way around a bottle of Champagne up on the podium though haha. Special mention needs to go out to young Jeremy Stone who consistently killed it all day, he’s going to be a beast one day. Best trick was certainly a highlight of the day, with a kicker being placed
up against the water fountain. It came down to who could do the best trick over the water, with the large crowd gathered around to get everyone hyped. Plenty tried and most ended up going for a swim, or at least their boards did. Anton Roux was trying a potential finger-amputating cannon ball that came ever so close, Kyle Kheswa slipped out on an insane backside 360 that could have easily cleaned up and Brendan Dyamond came short trying to fastplant in the middle of the water, blowing out his knee and splashing so much water on the landing area that we had to shift the contest further along the fountain. In the end, Dlamini banged a kickflip and Moses a 360 flip, but there was one clear winner. Simon Stipcich initially showed up in non-skate trainers to just be a spectator for the day. He discovered Bod’s board at the judge’s table and decided to have a little roll around. Come best
Moses lipslides. Photo - Daniel Theron
Jeremy Stone 5-0s. Photo - Daniel Theron
trick he frontside flips over the water on the thing and walks away with the prize money. Classic Simon for you, his natural ability never subsides. Thanks to Red Bull for a fun one. Special shout out to Rynardt for filming lines the whole damn day in the sun, earning that brutal sunburn, bringing the hype at the after party and still going on to roll the beachfront park at about 3 in the morning. That guy is skateboarding to the core. Special thanks to Daniel Theron for supplying us with photos of Red Bull Unlocked. The only skate photographer in attendance who could shoot a decent skate photo. Skate events need proper skate photographers to get the right shots. If you don’t want your event to look like a joke then remember that!
Dlamini backlips. Photo - Daniel Theron
“Simon Stipcich initially showed up in non-skate trainers to just be a spectator for the day.” sessionmag.co.za | 57
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Wynand Herholdt and TK Modise are the newest additions to the Vans SA skate team. If you look to the right, Wynand just got on Baseline too! 58 | sessionmag.co.za
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Contributor Pics Send us your pics
info@sessionmag.co.za
So we get a lot of emails from around the country with guys trying to get their photos in the mag. We can’t run everything we get, but we know there are a lot of young rippers out there who are waiting for their first opportunity to get a photo in print. Here are a few we’ve received. Send us yours to info@sessionmag.co.za and we might just select a few to go in the mag.
Trent Sloan from Durban is always on a tranny mission somewhere in the O31. Frontside ollie in Bruce’s pool. Photo - Alessandro Galassi
When you live in a town without any good street spots, you ride whatever you can find. Siphiwe Kheswa wallies in Kimberley. Photo - Mike Chinner
Sean Feldman can sit on a front crook for longer than most. Photo - Taun Visser
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Casey Ramoshaba is the future of skating in Polokwane. We’ve been trying to get some photos of him for a while. This natural bump ollie is all we could get so far. Photo - Rynardt van der Merwe
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