Skateboarders of Uganda

I was recently admiring the skateboarder photography collection by Hugh Holland. These shots, taken throughout the 1970s and 1980s in southern California captures the early scenes that would eventually become a gazillion dollar industry with big events like the X Games and making legends out of folks like Tony Hawk.

With that on my mind, you can only imagine my complete and utter joy at this collection of shots by Swiss photographer Yann Gross. Gross has been recording this nascent subculture in Uganda for the past three years, watching as more youths get excited about this sport despite the complete and utter lack of proper infrastructure (i.e. skate parks) and equipment (i.e. durable boards, safety gear and maintenance parts), not to mention the financial sport to really take those that excel to the next level.




Despite the gazillion obstacles, I can't suppress the joy I feel that in skateboarding, these kids have found an alternative to all the other things that could be eating away at their idle time (i.e. glue sniffing, stealing, begging, etc.).

You can check out a video about this little sub-culture of skaters as well as donate to their cause right here as well as read more about their union here.

{Photos: Time LightBox}