Skate Noise: Manic sessions, moshpits and madness at Jozi skateboarding and music event

On Saturday 27 July, around 2,500 people flocked to 1 Fox in Braamfontein to attend Skate Noise JHB. This epic collision of skateboarding and music, put on by Spotify, was reminiscent of late 90s and early 00s skate contests when skatepunk culture was in its prime. The blunt team arrived just before the gates officially opened and already around two dozen skaters were cruising in the street and sipping on fresh Monster Energy drinks, waiting for things to kick off. And boy did they.

Words by Carmen Gee. Photos by Richard Dick Smith.

A tangible buzz of anticipation hummed through the chilly Joburg air as the first attendees secured their Skate Noise bands on their wrists and began exploring the urban wonderland that lay before them.

Skateboarding Madness

Blue Galore was the first to put his wheels to the ramps and stuck some big tricks from the get-go. Others followed suit and soon the sweet sounds of skateboarding filled every corner of 1 Fox’s industrial warehouse… It had begun.

Blue Galore, frontside bluntslide.

The Setup

The 200 square metre setup was designed and built offsite in Braamfontein in around 7 days by Dave Dewitt (well-established skate park builder) and Mikey Sparrow. 

Josh Beukes and Gaylord Chipawe helped assemble the setup when it arrived at the venue before painting the obstacles a popping ‘traffic cone’ orange. The team had free reign with the layout and incorporated some innovative ideas inspired by overseas setups. 

Josh Beukes goes large with a melon to flat.

With the wallie to hubba and rail jam, all built upon an a-frame with a quarter on one end and a bank on the other, the possibilities for creative lines were endless. The scale of the setup was also truly impressive and it seemed as though most attendees were expecting something much smaller, like a basic mini or a couple of ledges.

“Yoh, if this was my local park, I’d be stoked!” said Sparrow, admiring his handiwork, as he watched some of the first skaters testing out the setup.

The skate jam hosted by Session Magazine was full-on carnage and chaos. Boards were flying around everywhere and the guys were going hard, rewarded with cash prizes and goodie bags filled with Spotify merch.

For those who found the ramps and other obstacles a bit intimidating, there were plenty of flat ground spots to explore. In fact, almost the entire venue was skateable. With its concrete floors and multiple sets of stairs, there was a spot for every skill level.

Day Muramo, flip to backside tailslide.

Hosted Sessions: Cash for Tricks

Thato Moet, founder of Island Gals Shred— an all-femme skate group from Soweto, hosted the girls’ skate jam, where local skaters gave it their all to win some of the cash prizes on offer.

Ntokozo ‘Choccy’ Mono provided many of the session’s highlights, sticking a nose slide down the hubba, a sick boneless, heel flip on the bank, and a 50-50 nollie 180 out on the ledge.

“Choccy’s nose slide deserves to be in a museum,” said attendee Chantal Graaf. 

Mmabato Kekana on the hubba.

Other stand-outs from the Island Gals’ sesh were Lindi Jane Mnukwa’s backside flip on the bank and kickflip over the A-frame, as well as Mmabatho Kekana’s wall ride up to flat.

Next up was the skate jam hosted by Session Magazine, which was full-on carnage and chaos. Boards were flying around everywhere and the guys were going hard! Those who threw down were rewarded with cash prizes and Spotify goodie bags filled with Spotify merch.

Kelvin Vosloo, frontside 50-50.

Despite rolling his ankle pretty badly earlier in the day, Kelvin Vosloo still landed a front blunt fakie on the handrail, a pole jam up the rail and into the bank, and a back 50 on the ledge, among an array of other tricks.

Josh Beukes went large by boosting over the quarter and into the dance floor area. He also landed a frontside air on the quarter and a front 50-50 bank to ledge frontside bigspin out. Some of the other skaters who were sending it included Kyle Kheswa, EAZ, and Blue Galore among others

Special shoutout to the MC, Hypeman Spice, who kept the energy high and got a board to the ankle on more than one occasion while immersed in the action.

Skate gallery:

Electrifying Music Lineup

Twenty One Children kicked off the music line-up, with their nostalgic rock-inspired sound igniting a mosh pit filled with backflips, kickflips, headbanging and crowd surfing. “When you bring people together who eat concrete for a living, they’re going to go hard,” said photographer Dick Smith.

Twenty One Children vocalist, Abdula Skink amped up the crowd.

Despite the band’s recent rise to success and profusion of media attention, it’s clear that Abdula Skink, Valentino ‘Jazz’ Nkosi, and Thulasizwe Nkosi are real genuine, approachable guys and could be seen in the crowd jamming out to other artists after their set.

When blunt asked the band about their songwriting process, frontman Abdula Skink said, “The process is very organic and almost anything can spark an idea. One time Thula and I were walking to the shop and an old lady fell over in front of us. That incident led to our song called ‘She Fell’ …We helped her up of course!”

Twenty One Children kicked off the music line-up, with their nostalgic rock-inspired sound, igniting a mosh pit. “When you bring people together who eat concrete for a living, they’re going to go hard.” – photographer Richard Dick Smith.

Next up was Shameless, the legendary rock band from Soweto, who put on a truly stellar performance. Their enigmatic sound boasts a fusion of kwaito, rock ‘n roll, metal, and ska. Frontman, Musa Zwane, showed off some impressive dance moves while stomping around in his iconic kilt.

Shameless.

Music collective, The Qwellers, changed up the vibes by bringing that hip hop swag to the Skate Noise stage. The 10-person crew is made up of talented rappers, mostly from KZN, and their energetic dynamic made them exceptionally entertaining to watch.

The Qwellers.

Muzi, who achieved incredible international success after his second album Afrovision, wrapped up the event in his signature high-energy style and even jumped down onto the dancefloor to sing and dance amidst the crowd. 

Muzi gets down with the people.

Music gallery:

A memorable experience 

This was easily one of the most well-curated skate culture events to grace Gauteng in recent years, and long overdue. In addition to the skate setup and music line-up, attendees could browse the gallery wall of epic skate pics and watch skate clips provided by Session Magazine . 

There was also a T-shirt printing station where you could choose a design to have screenprinted onto a black T-shirt. The designs were graffiti-style onomatopoeia, including words like ‘Taaaaah’, “KREeEE’, and ‘GrssSSH’…quite literally skate noises.

“This event is truly one of a kind,” said Pretoria skater Josh Beukes. “It’s not just money that has gone into it, but it’s clear that a lot of thought and effort has been put into every aspect, including the music, marketing, and venue layout.”

Big ups to Spotify and The Bread Agency for putting together this memorable day of epic skating of iconic music. Despite the big-name sponsor, the event’s atmosphere stayed true to authentic Jozi skate culture and that Twenty One Children moshpit will undoubtedly be spoken about for years to come!

Crowd gallery: