Video: Skateistan's new year's resolution is to bring skateboards to kids everywhere
- Text by Alex King
Take a look at your skateboard. Bet you’ve never seen it as a powerful tool for social change, have you?
But the truth is skateboarding has allowed the world-renowned NGO Skateistan to reach at-risk young people in places like Afghanistan, Cambodia and South Africa. Through innovative social programmes built around skateboarding, they’ve helped thousands of young people to learn, become role models and find a positive community in which to grow, skate and just have fun.
Skateistan have huge ambitions for 2016 and they need your help to make them happen. To help fund two new projects and allow them to grow their reach to over 2,000 young people worldwide, they’re hoping to raise $100,000 in December 2015.
For the first time, you can help them reach their goal by taking a more active role in the project and becoming a ‘Citizen of Skateistan’ with monthly donations. To find out more, check out the video above, edited by filmmaker Ty Evans, and featuring Skateistan’s community of students and staff, alongside skaters Tony Hawk, Jamie Thomas, and Mimi Knoop.
“Skateboarding brings people together because it is the great equaliser,” explains pro skateboarder and Skateistan Ambassador, Tony Hawk. “You have no advantage given your background, your economics or your location. It’s more about; here is a skateboard, what can you do with it?”
Learn more about Skateistan.
You might like
Leticia Bufoni is one of the greatest skaters ever. Now she’s tearing up asphalt.
Vamos, Leticia! — The Brazilian trailblazer helped rewrite the rulebook for women in skateboarding – and now she’s setting the pace behind the wheel for Porsche. For Huck’s 20th Anniversary Issue, she reflects on shredding stereotypes, building a career in male-dominated spaces, empowering the next generation, and the lessons that defined her journey.
Written by: Tracy Kawalik
Dropping in at Lahore’s first ever public skatepark
Skate Pakistan — Set right in the centre of Pakistan’s capital city, the free-to-use space has started a mini youth revolution in the country. Z. Raza-Sheikh tracks how it came to open its doors.
Written by: Z. Raza-Sheikh
The vibrant pre-Taliban ski community deep in the Afghan mountains
Champions of the Golden Valley — A bittersweet documentary by Ben Sturgulewski spotlights the unlikely rise of Bamyan Ski Club, while charting what happened next for skiers forced to flee their country.
Written by: Sam Haddad
The brutal, unifying sporting spectacle of Buzkashi
Way of life — Popular across Central Asia and the national sport of Afghanistan, the equestrian game sees horse riders – sometimes hundreds – battle to secure a goat hide and transport it to a goal. It’s extreme and theatrical, but also brings people together, writes Rob Corsini.
Written by: Rob Corsini
What went down at the London screening of STEPS: Deo Kato’s Run for Justice
Cape Town to Shoreditch — Taking place at Rich Mix, the evening featured a Q&A with the runner himself and Huck’s Phil Young, as well as plenty of community connection.
Written by: Ella Glossop
Imprisonment, illness, internal strife: Deo Kato’s mammoth run for justice
STEPS — Spanning 17 months, 21 countries and two continents, the Ugandan born athlete ran from Cape Town to London to raise awareness of racism and migration stories, while trying to find his own place in the world. A new film explores his obstacle-filled path and what he learned along the way.
Written by: Olivia Fee
