Skateboarding has been a teen-culture staple since the 70′s, and famous skaters have achieved almost deity-like status amongst the skater crowd. After all, who can forget that the ‘Ollie’ is named after Alan ‘Ollie’ Gelfand? And Tony Hawk’s sweet moves garnered him so much accolades that a video game named after him was spawned. Not being a skateboarder myself (I have tried my hand at the Tony Hawk video games, though, does that count??), I am constantly in awe of skateboarders. In their hands – or rather, on their feet – skateboards are not just pieces of brightly coloured plywood with wheels underneath; they are extensions of the skater’s body! And if you think I’m exaggerating, you haven’t watched any awesome skaters!
Skateboarding is a gracefully rough-edged entertainer of the masses, and who knows that better than Vans? It is, after all, the leader in action sports footwear and apparel AND the supporter and promoter of the action sports lifestyle (which includes, dum Dum DUMMM.. skateboarding!). In line with their support of this lifestyle, Vans recently held a ‘Go Skateboarding Day’ at Berjaya Times Square in conjunction with the global Go Skateboarding Day which falls on the 21st of June every year. With participants from all over Malaysia and even some from Britain and Japan, one could say that there was a good turnout. Okay, I kid. It was a fantastic turnout! And we would know, as we were there to watch the skateboarders zip up and down, doing tricks, performing stunts…. and, well, falling off. But only sometimes.
After hours of skateboarding fun and contests featuring stunts, fancy footwork and some seriously mad skills, the lucky winners took home prizes worth up to RM500! If you’re a skateboarding enthusiast, allow me to direct you to www.skatemalaysia.com, a site for skateboarders in Malaysia to keep tabs on all the latest happenings in the skater world. You’re welcome!
