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00:00And does the chickens inspire you to do some tricks?
00:03They inspire me to do big airs as they can fly, you know?
00:11I'm Matterzaps, and I'm on a mission to explore skateboarding outside Edge.
00:16Hop in as we travel the world meeting skateboarding mavericks
00:19to find out what skating means to them.
00:40Hi! Good to see you!
00:43Here we are for Skate Tales in Mukono, Uganda.
00:47The Pearl of Africa.
00:49And in this episode, we're going to see
00:51Jose Gerral and the Uganda Skateboard Society.
00:55Those guys are starting a scene from scratch.
01:10Come on!
01:46This is it, I've seen this place so many times online, crazy looking skate park, wow, it
01:55looks even better in real life.
02:02Gerald Gosset discovered skateboarding purely by chance back in 2005.
02:07As a matter of fact, he'd never seen one up until then, not even on TV.
02:11A Canadian NGO worker cruised down the street past him on a skateboard and Gerald was dumbstruck.
02:17Shortly after, the Canadian guy headed back home and left his board for Gerald.
02:22Six years later, Gerald founded the Uganda Skateboard Society, who decided to build their own skate park
02:29with the help of foreign donors.
02:31With plans ripped from the internet, they set off to build themselves their dream skate park,
02:36complete with its own mini mega.
02:39The park has flourished since, and the Ugandan skate scene has grown exponentially.
02:43For many of them, the skate park and the Uganda Skate Society is home.
02:47Not many foreign skaters have ever visited Uganda, but that doesn't mean that the skaters of
02:53Uganda are not making waves around the world.
02:55I met up with Tyler Suri in the capital Kampala to discover the story of a skateboarding grassroots
03:00movement fueled and propelled by locals and locals alone in one of the world's most deprived regions.
03:10Yeah, I'm called Subuga Gerard, but I'm known as Gose Gerard in the skateboarding community.
03:16I first saw skateboarding in 2005 from a Canadian guy who was called Brian, Brian Lai.
03:26He had come from Canada to Uganda to do some voluntary work.
03:31So this guy came with his skateboard, and that's how I got to know about skateboarding.
03:45We were living in ghettos, but through skateboarding, it really changed my life, and I think it
03:52didn't change only my life, but my entire family.
03:57In 2010, skateboarding was just within our hood.
04:03So to me, I was like, we have to make skateboarding grow in Uganda.
04:11So we teamed up and had to shift all the way from Kampala to Mukono.
04:22Mukono is a district in Uganda, and we are like 25 kilometers away from the capital in Kampala.
04:30And it's always crazy like this with motorcycles.
04:33Mukono is a word in our mother tongue called the hand.
04:38Hand is Mukono.
04:39The hand of God.
04:41I don't know, maybe we're going to change it to the hand of skateboarding.
04:46The hand of skateboarding is here in Mukono in Uganda.
04:56My mom is a pastor, and this school had offered him a class where I used to do his preaching,
05:03his church.
05:04On this property?
05:05On this property.
05:06The skate park was being constructed in school premises.
05:10The school donated that piece of land for skateboarding.
05:15It's a community school.
05:18We bring in different kids to do their sport.
05:22As you see, here's football, here's skating.
05:25I mean, this is a very big opportunity for them.
05:27So for the world to see all the different platforms.
05:31I mean, because we've seen people skate.
05:33Skaters from the US, France, Spain, you know, they're doing it.
05:38So that's what brought us to open up, to give in this place for the project.
05:45Zaya.
05:46Zaya.
05:47How long have you been skating?
05:50I've been skating for three years.
05:52Three years?
05:53So we had a friend from France.
05:56He was into the street art stuff.
05:58And they'd be like, okay, we're painting this stuff.
06:01They collected the funds and they sent these funds to us.
06:07How about when we go on YouTube, we get some short skate park construction course.
06:16We had to go a DI, do it yourself way.
06:21The whole design is from the locals.
06:28It's pretty amazing, man.
06:30I was tripping when Gerald told me that he had no previous experience and they had no one
06:34help them with it.
06:35When we went there, it's actually, I mean, it's gnarly for sure.
06:39They built some gnarly tranny and gnarly banks.
06:43But as far as the materials go and the finish, it's like really good.
06:52It looks like people are liking skate shoes out here.
06:56Skate shoes, there's no skate shop.
06:58So we got a bunch of stuff from Europe.
07:02Yeah, gonna hook the homies up.
07:19Even in their own hands, we're very good.
07:24Let's go.
07:29Let's do it.
07:31Let's do it.
07:33I don't know.
07:34Let's go.
07:34Oh.
07:34Oh.
07:35Let's go.
08:31All the way up, turn around again.
08:44I grew up watching Danny Way. Bob Banquist, Tony, these guys were killing the mega ramps.
08:51So we loved mega ramps a lot. As of now, you can see all those kids, but not even a
08:59mini mega,
09:00but the locals call it a mega ramp. It's our mega ramp.
09:05What did they get?
09:10Whoop.
09:16Woo!
09:19Woo!
09:20Woo!
09:21Woo!
09:22Woo!
09:23Woo!
09:33Big shout out to the airline company employees that let us carry all this stuff on board.
09:40There's 120 kilos of skateboard gear in total.
09:47We're on our way to Gerald's house because you can't just go to the skate park and be
09:52like there you go that's all for you that would be chaos so we're just gonna give
09:57it to Gerald and he will gradually disperse the goods to the people that
10:01need it the most. Hey Gerald we brought some stuff can you give me a hand please?
10:17Uganda Skateboard Society headquarters Gerald's house it's my home I stay here with my kid and my
10:26girlfriend as well but it still acts as a Uganda Skateboard Society office because all this stuff
10:33the skate gears are being kept from here. This is this is my award I won in Uganda in the
10:41community
10:42builder award in the sports category. The donations which I really receive they don't come from companies
10:49they don't come from pro skateboarders you're one of the a few people who do donate like for example
10:56Chad Muska he donates like he's always down on any campaign we come up with dude is always down to
11:04support.
11:05Everybody was down to donate give product because they know how hard it is in Africa you know so
11:12thanks to all the sponsors yeah thank you everybody for supporting these guys and
11:17Gerald is truly worthy of his award for the local community builder.
11:25My main goal is growing skateboarding that's that's what I stand for. Growing skateboarding in
11:31Uganda in Africa as well. It's locally made handmade. So if you want to donate to Uganda Skateboard Society
11:40you can get a t-shirt with the donation and it's going to cover administration costs, skate park repair,
11:48new shoes for the kids. So thank you for this one I'm going to be repping.
12:09So guys do you want to grab a Rolex? A Rolex? A Rolex yeah. It's kind of expensive but let's
12:15check it out check them out. There's a point right here Rolex point let's go find out. This is Rolex?
12:22Yeah.
12:22Let me see what you got. So Rolex is not no watch here Rolex is actually a rolled pancake with
12:37egg chapati chapati with egg.
12:40Yeah add some cabbage to it. Thank you so much.
12:46Thank you so much.
12:47You're welcome.
12:48Ah smell of happiness.
12:54One problem.
12:55Chapati brothers.
13:01Whoa bro.
13:02Whoa.
13:05This is Moses.
13:07Gerald's brother.
13:08And the thing they need most is pads.
13:14There's yeah there's no there's no basis for what they're doing.
13:17It's like grassroots skateboarding even though it exists in other parts of the world.
13:21Here it's there's no skateboarding culture.
13:24No precedent to base anything off of.
13:26They're learning pretty much from scratch like this is like ground zero for skateboarding out here.
13:35We told them that skateboarding is all about being creative.
13:40So every time they come up with their own style.
13:44These kids in Uganda they coming up with their own skateboarding.
13:48They come up with everybody.
13:50No there's no Western influence here.
13:52I mean they're just doing as much as they can with it.
13:55It's crazy how much they've learned like with no with no previous knowledge or anything.
14:00They're doing at that skate park.
14:01The way they learn is very unorthodox and it's really sick to see.
14:05Someone comes up with a trick.
14:07And for them when they do these tricks they be like oh that's my trick.
14:12So I have to go on YouTube show them someone doing it and be like oh he did this long
14:18time ago.
14:19So you're inventing what was being invented before.
14:25They don't know the names of the tricks.
14:27They probably don't even know the names of what they're doing.
14:31What's the name of that trick?
14:34He doesn't know.
14:35I mean I think they just go up and they base it off feeling.
14:37Whatever feels natural to them they make it happen.
14:46That's how you come up with these crazy early grab errors.
14:48Like even one guy was trying a 540.
14:50That was insane man.
14:52Where are they getting this from?
15:08Where are they getting this from?
15:25These kids who do come from poor families.
15:29These kids who do live on streets.
15:31They only have skateboarding.
15:33They don't even have homes where they stay.
15:36They take care of themselves.
15:38Most of them come skate and then go back home hungry.
15:42Yeah those are some of the challenges they face.
15:44When they come at the skate park they forget all that.
15:48They don't feel like they are abandoned.
15:50Because we are always one.
15:52It's like we are a family here.
15:55So if a child or a fellow skater gets a problem.
15:59We are all concerned to help that fellow.
16:03Yes.
16:03Many of them are coming here without even having what to eat.
16:07Yesterday we said.
16:08No accommodation, nowhere to sleep.
16:10But then again when they come here they are looking for hope.
16:14In the skating fraternity.
16:16They are looking for.
16:17Actually Gerald has done a very big work.
16:20He has been hosting some of them at his home.
16:22Gerald is doing wonders out here.
16:24I mean without that these kids don't have much to do everyday.
16:28And they don't have much prospects.
16:29So obviously giving them a place like that.
16:32Just gives them a safe place.
16:34So like a sense of community.
16:35And a nice little safe zone.
16:37And something to aspire towards.
16:40And something to have.
16:42Because obviously if not they might turn to the streets.
16:44Pretty much all the positive aspects of skateboarding.
16:47Gerald is promoting that through his.
16:49He gone to skateboard society.
16:53This guy is ripping.
16:55And he is ripping on this crack.
16:58And if you can tell the shape of the tail.
17:01It's been skated.
17:02This is your new board.
17:05Thank you for skateboarding.
17:10So how long have you been a farmer?
17:14I've been doing this for like three years.
17:18Three years.
17:20So how old are you?
17:22I'm 18.
17:24And that's a family car.
17:27I like to know my father.
17:28Okay.
17:29And this is your property?
17:31Your family property?
17:32It's a family property.
17:33Cool, cool, cool.
17:34And is that the homie?
17:36That's my bro.
17:37Oh, that's your brother?
17:38The one I work with.
17:43So how much time do you spend on this?
17:45Every day I have to come and look after my chicken.
17:50Every day?
17:50Every day, every morning.
17:52For us we sell our chickens.
17:56We sell the eggs we get from the chickens.
17:58After our chickens are fed, then we sell them off and we bring another one.
18:05And does the chickens inspire you to do some tricks?
18:08Yes, they're awesome.
18:10They inspire me to do big eggs as they can fly, you know?
18:14And so I also want to become like them when I fly.
18:17I go to America, then I jump.
18:20And that's it.
18:22Well, thank you for showing us your farm.
18:24It's been awesome to see some animals.
18:27It's a great honor you to be here.
18:32Today we're going to build some portable obstacles with the locals.
18:36Looking for a welder.
18:39And yeah, so the guys can go around the country, skate wherever they want.
18:45Let's see if they got some metal.
18:47Yeah, so we figured we'd try to like round out their knowledge a little bit.
18:50And we were like, oh, let's build a box, let's build a flat bar.
18:53I mean, some of them didn't even know what we were talking about when we were like,
18:56yeah, we're going to build a box, like have a flat bar.
18:58And this is how you start learning these tricks, like with the Ollie on flat.
19:02And they have their park knowledge.
19:04Now we got to bring in the street knowledge for them.
19:06All right, we just got the metals.
19:10Now let's go to the skate park and look for a welder.
19:16See you later.
19:18Don't forget my board.
19:20Got the materials for the flat bar.
19:21Found a welder where obviously he had no idea what we were trying to do,
19:25but we showed him our little diagrams and he actually made the flat bar like perfect.
19:29He made a pole jam.
19:30I mean, for not knowing anything about skating and they're like welding gates and doors,
19:34this guy made a pole jam for us.
19:36That was pretty epic.
19:38We just got in a cab and we're looking for some more passengers,
19:44more wood for our obstacles.
19:46We already went to three different shops and couldn't find any wood.
19:49So here we go.
19:50Hopped in a cab.
19:51Got to go a little bit further.
19:53It's been already a couple of hours trying to find materials, you know.
19:58So we finally found some two by fours.
20:01Had to go to like five shops to get this wood.
20:06And it's been there.
20:07Our friend right here was nice enough and he's helping us with the box.
20:11And it's all done by hand.
20:12So it takes a little while longer.
20:16But it's better, you know, with love, made with love.
20:23This is a Buda Buda, which is a local type of taxi, and somehow they're bringing everything
20:31on a motorcycle on this narrow road.
21:00Yeah, we built the box, it was all just blank wood, and obviously with all the colors and
21:05everything here, we figured like, oh, we had the crayons for the kids.
21:09It's going to look cooler now, it's not going to look like I'm straight from the hospital.
21:15So it just kind of happened naturally, like obviously give them the crayons, have them
21:18decorate the box.
21:19Like, let's give this thing some color, you know, let's have it fit in better.
21:29The box looks just like my cast.
21:32We see all the kids that were trying to meet us there come walking down the hill, and so
21:36we just had them hop in as many as could fit.
21:59We found a road with good background.
22:03It's not perfect, but it's rollable.
22:19This is the fucking most rude session I've ever witnessed.
22:29So we'll go.
22:36We'll be right back in the next video.
22:36That was a good one for the next video.
22:45We'll be right back in the next video.
22:45And then, we'll be right back in the next video.
22:46Hello, hello!
22:47Hey, what are you guys?
22:48I'm playing a little bit for the general idea?
22:50I'll be right back, I'm watching you.
22:51I'll be right back, and I'll just make sure that some people are better.
23:51You know, that's the first thing that comes to their mind.
23:54Our family members, most of them do not like skating.
23:57They're like, ah, you're going to break your bone.
24:00We fear what we don't know.
24:02Naturally, human beings fear what they don't understand, right?
24:04So now when it comes in, people are skeptical about this.
24:10For me, I just love it because I used to see it on TV, you know?
24:14Now when I see it here, when I'm the one skating, I feel good, you know?
24:18I don't know actually how I can say it, but I feel so happy.
24:21Because skateboarding is my life actually.
24:24No skateboarding, no me, you know?
24:26Skateboarding, it's fun.
24:28To ask girls, I think it's a little bit hard, but I will manage.
24:36After skateboarding, I've got a new thing from skateboarding.
24:41Skateboarding, I like it for my heart.
24:44I'm able to know my heart.
24:45I feel a lot of joy, yeah.
24:49I feel like the whole country is in my hands, yeah.
24:53Yeah.
24:57Yeah, I like it to continue in the future and bring more kids, especially the girls, you know?
25:03Most of the people come and ask our mom,
25:05why did you allow those girls to join skateboarding?
25:08But she only says that it's fun.
25:11That I enjoy because it's my hobby.
25:14Okay, for me, I think it's for both, male and female, yeah?
25:20But people think that it's for that game, it's for boys, what, yeah?
25:26Yeah.
25:26But when I joined, I learned that skateboarding is for all genders.
25:33I'm very proud actually.
25:35I feel so happy because this is my dream.
25:38I want to be like him because he's a pro and I want to be a pro skateboarder.
25:44Yeah, I really have a dream in skateboarding.
25:47I really hope I get some opportunities.
25:50I want to be an ambassador.
25:53They have a lot of dreams.
25:55And for them, they know that skateboarding will take them somewhere.
26:01So, we did bring a bunch of skateboard gear, but the priorities here are different.
26:07Thank you so much.
26:08Yeah, Dom.
26:21Woo!
26:23Woo!
26:24Woo!
26:25Woo!
26:25Woo!
26:41I call it Rwadi Ayers from Uganda.
27:14I call it Rwadi Ayers from Uganda.
27:27I call it Rwadi Ayers from Uganda.
27:59So what does skateboarding mean to you?
28:02Having fun, meeting new people, making friends, and teaming up with the entire international
28:10skateboarding community.
28:11I have more than 10,000 friends through skateboarding.
28:27I call it Rwadi Ayers.
28:32I call it Rwadi Ayers.
28:32I call it Rwadi Ayers.
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