MindMap-SA Issue 7

FeatureThe diversity and expirience of this team makethem a dynamic edition to the national skatecircuitIt is of course a generallyaccepted notion that skatingis the past time forjunkies, cultural extremistand general social degenerates.There is a wonderfulscene in Lords of Dogtownwhere one of the charactersdescribes skating as an attempt tocompete with the sun for being thecentre of the universe. I guess insome mild level it is understandablewhy some of those extreme sportsmenresort to this sort of psychedelicexistence. Surely there mustsbe some form of sustained psychosisrequired in order to do 360 degreeturns on ramps and hope not tobreak an arm or a leg or even both.When I meet the Zoo York skateteam they were perhaps the furthestthing you can imagine fromthe ‘skater boy’ stereotypes. Theywere clean, articulate and perhapsmost importantly sober. Mike,Morley and Nkosi are perhaps thelast of an almost extinct breed inHeat city. They represent a nonconformistapproach to what theydo that makes them a refresherfrom the self-induced braggadociothat is often associated withmen (and women) of this ilk.It’s an unreasonably hot day; theusual beach crowd is loiteringaround, walking about and dippinginto the ocean in a minor attempt tocool themselves from the sun blazingdown on them with no sign onreprieve. I shuffle my way through.I am already 10 minutes late andI am somewhat surprised that Ihave not been reprimanded for mysituation. My phone has been offfor most of the morning. I scurrythrough the sand in a hope that thephotographer has at least arrived tosoothe the irritancies of my subjects.When I get to the skate park thereis a laziness that is unavoidable.The base beats that are thumpingout of the skate shop are muchlike background noise. The coolkids are gathered in earnest intheir multi-colored clothing andwell to do to BMX bikes. Swayingback and forth between the variablysized ramps trying some mildstunts and sharpening their arsenal.This is the kind of thing that hasalways eluded me, much like tattoos.Maybe I have motion sickness,maybe I am just a sissy but