Durban – Much heralded South African skateboarder Khule Ngubane was host to a Back To The Roots Skate Event on the weekend. Taking place at Durban’s beachfront skate park, it was very well attended, and a fun event for all. Khule’s reasons for holding the event was to simply have a good day at the park and to get skaters involved. He succeeded in doing all of these things, and more.
"I started the Back To The Roots events in 2018 as a means to uplift my skateboarding community," said Khule. "It also serves to expose skateboarding to underprivileged communities. I ran an event in Chesterville township in Durban and in Alexander township in Johannesburg last year."
Khule is a popular and well-known skater and personality, with a large following on both social media and at events like this. He displayed his skills on the board during the event, and handled the mic with equal talent, cheering competitors on while having as much fun as everyone who was there.
"Pursuing skateboarding as a career was a hard and challenging experience for me," said Khule. "I had to hide my skateboard from my family and deal with kids teasing me for choosing a predominantly white sport. So I wanted to create a safe haven, to make it easier for the next generation that's interested in skateboarding by sharing my story."
The sport of skateboarding, much like all sports in South Africa, has suffered under lockdown. This was Khule’s way of giving back to the sport and thanking all of those who have supported him. Our country’s skaters can finally get back out there and spend time in the park, and Khule brought them together. "I was impressed by everybody at the event,' said Khule.
The weather was superb, and the skating was insane. Khule handed out 8 complete decks to deserving entrants and had numerous other giveaways and prizes throughout this core skateboarding day. "When it comes to the talent we have the potential in South Africa," said Khule. "but due to the lack of support we don't have the facilities to nurture our kids."
There were girls in the event, and they were unafraid and charging. A full contingent of groms was in attendance and having a go, as well as the hardcore skaters emerging from the woodwork. After the long winter, the riders were all keen to showcase their skills and get a call-out from Khule on the mic.
This grassroots event, and skateboarding in general, surpasses age, race and gender. It’s all about skateboarders having fun and pushing their limits. "We really want to spread more awareness at a government level, to have a budget to build more skateparks and do skate clinics in the future," said Khule. "Skateboarding is an Olympic sport. People need to understand that the kids aren't just playing with a skateboard. They could be representing our country on the highest athlete platform in the world."
Durban – In these tumultuous and baffling times, there have been so many restrictions on sports and on sportspeople, be they professional or amateur. Skateboarding has also felt the restrictions. Skateboarders have also experienced the frustrations and the anxiety that so many of us have dealt with.
One of the country's top skateboarders is Durban-born Khule Ngubane. Khule, who spends much of his time overseas or in Cape Town, made it back to his home town of Durban before hard lockdown. He has dealt with the lockdown and the restrictions with surprisingly good spirit. Although he is just as ready as the rest of us to see some more easing of Level 3 and the related constraints, life's not too bad for the young professional skateboarder.
With so many people looking up to him, Khule is well aware that he has to carry himself with a certain level of strength and aplomb, no matter what the circumstances. The Monster Energy athlete has done just that and is an inspiring ambassador for skateboarding in South Africa and the world.
For most of the lockdown, Khule has been in Durban.
I've been staying in Durban during the lockdown period as it is my hometown. Usually, I'd be in Cape Town because there's more happening with skateboarding down in the Cape, but due to COVID, it was just safer to be at home. Being on home turf is just that much easier than being in a suitcase life.
The lockdown, as mentioned, has been challenging for everyone. Khule's life was also turned around.
It was hard mentally not being able to travel and not being able to do what I'm used to doing during the lockdown. During the last few months, I have worked hard on creating new habits and new thought processes, and that helped me a lot to stay sane. There's a lot of uncertainty in the world right now. A lot of people have lost their jobs, and some have passed on due to the pandemic. You can feel this different energy in the world. It's different energy on the whole planet. We're going through this thing as a race, as the human species.
Khule has taken a different approach to deal with the situation.
I've taken this time to focus on self-care. I've not done that in years, because I'm so used to a busy schedule. I'm always travelling, attending contests, have media events to do, or community work, that I'm doing that I never get the time for myself. It has been good to be still, to meditate, and to read a lot, just working on myself. Getting to know me and not having too many distractions and not watching too much TV and worrying about the rest of the world. For me, to be the best athlete that I can be, I also need to be in a solid headspace, body space and a good spiritual space.
Health is always essential, and Khule has maintained that level of awareness throughout this time.
I'm an athlete and have no choice but to be fit, first of all. During the lockdown, I also focused on my health. I'm very conscious of what I eat. It's mainly vegetarian food with a bit of chicken and fish. At the start of the year, I also decided that I didn't want to drink anymore, and I have stayed that way, even after alcohol sales opened up. Not just consuming and partying and that sort of lifestyle, so I'm happy with that.
The future looks bright for a person like Khule.
I see a lot of positive things in the future, as we emerge from the lockdown and the pandemic, through skateboarding, because I will always be a skateboarder first. I see myself launching towards an independent type of standpoint, where I'm skateboarding because I'm an athlete, and that's where my passion lies. Still, I'll also be doing community work, with the Back To The Roots project - https://youtu.be/JSd_NiXWybs that was unfortunately cancelled this year due to COVID. I hope to get back to the States and finish off a lot of skate projects, and there are a lot of influential people there who want to help me expand the Khule Ngubane brand.
I also see myself doing more global work representing Africa, because I am an African child who had a journey to get him where he is through skateboarding, and a lot of African kids can relate to that. I also have other friends, white friends and mixed-race people who can also connect to this life. Skateboarding saved my life, and I would love to repay that to other kids and other communities worldwide.
Ballito’s own Thalente Biyela (26) will be competing against the world’s best skateboarders at the 2019 Vans Park Series (VPS) World Championship taking place in Salt Lake City, USA this September. Biyela sealed his spot for this all-expenses paid trip when he took first place at the recent 2019 Vans Park Series Africa Regional Championship held at Cape Town’s Shred Skate Park – the country’s only World Championship bowl skateboarding qualifier.
Durban -After a week of skateboarding, swimming and sunshine, the international RVCA tour is departing from Durban and heading to Cape Town for the final 3 days of their visit.
