Omphile Bogatsu put together this edit of Johannesburg recently. It’s looking good!

Featuring Bryce Rheeder, Pravesh Manga, Dada Marumo, Malcolm Raw, Patrick Porkorny, Evan Binge, Siya Ntuli, Omphile Bogatsu, Craig Tshabalala, Sam Khumalo, Lwando Gwili, Brendan Dyamond, Andrew Raw, Vaughn Molepo, Wandile Msomi, Daniel Miltiadou, Luke Jackson, Kanya Spani, Dlamini Dlamini, Lebogang Modise, Maanda Mulaudzi and Bergen Nielson.

So there is just one week to go in the DC REELedit contest and with a flurry of last minute entries there are plenty to choose from.

A bunch of dudes from Madagascar are leading the pack in terms of the number of votes. Plenty of people have been somewhat surprised by the fact that these guys sprang up out of nowhere but truth is they’ve been skating and you just didn’t know about it. The great thing about a web platform contest is that now you do. There have been a few skate video uploads on Youtube from Madagascar in recent times, here is one from 2011:

Rado https://vimeo.com/53008192 and Tsiky https://vimeo.com/53008020 are way ahead on the votes. It’s good to see dudes like this rolling and getting exposed, we’re backing a future heavy hitter out of Madagascar for sure. Props to you guys!

However, there is the matter of R30 000 being on the line here and that is no small matter. With entries from Kenya and Madagascar coming in it’s good for skateboarding on the continent but at the end of the day it still comes down to who actually has the best edit and not who found the most friends and family members to vote for them. That is where the judges come in to decide who actually gets the money at the end of it all.

Everyone will have their own opinion and that’s a good thing, skateboarding is subjective. This contest is not just about who skates well, it’s about the overall edit. Skateboarding, filming, editing, music, etc all-in-all. In the end, this about who made an edit that makes you want to get off your computer and actually go and ride your bloody skateboard.

Two of South Africa’s most reputable lens-men have multiple edits in the mix.

AV Skateboarding’s chief filmer Joubert van Staden has made solid edits for:

Justus Kotze

Alan Marola

Jamie O’brien has been hard at work making the first ever Session Magazine video and he somehow found time to make solid edits for:

Kanya Spani

Gavin ‘Moses’ Adams

We have to make special mention of Brett Shaw, he is the eldest skateboarder to enter and he holds his own. Brett has more motivation than most kids half his age and he still shreds. Our homie Jay Besaans filmed his edit:

You should also always have an eye on Anthony de Mendonca from JHB:

and Khule Ngubane from DBN:

One shame in our opinion is the Simon Stipcich edit:

Simon is damn good on a skateboard, those big frontside ollie wallrides are on it! This edit is however case in point of how editing can seriously detract from how well somebody skates. Simon kills and we’re always backing him but unfortunately due to the over stylised editing in this he doesn’t make it into our top 10. Maybe you disagree but that’s our honest opinion.

So who do we really like? Whose edit makes us want to skate more than any of the others?

Our top 3 are:

Craig Leak

Yann Horowitz (he made his own song too)

Pieter Retief

Just a few days left so get on your Facebook page, follow DC Shoes – Africa and view all the entries.

Let’s hear your thoughts, and don’t forget to vote for your favourite, you could be helping someone make R30 000!

You seemed to come out nowhere with that kickflip banger in Session magazine, how long have you actually been on the scene?

Well I only met AD and Sam like a year or two before the kickflip incident. So, not long hey. I started skateboarding in grade seven I think.

Tell us about the skate scene in Paarl?

The skate scene here used to be quite mad. A decent handful of the skaters were really talented and they were the ones that inspired me to start skateboarding… But now… Eish, they have all “moved on” and got themselves membership cards at the recently revamped Virgin Active. So at the moment, I think it’s only Tino and myself that skate in the whole of Paarl.

Do you guys have a Paarl posse that reps for hometown pride?

Haha yeah. We go by the name A.P.S ( Anti Pig Society). The local boere-mag isn’t too fond of us I must say… And as far as pride goes, we gave up a long time ago.

Does Paarl have any iconic spots, where the locals meet up and roll together?

Well we used to meet up at the Tennis Courts, but they recently broke that down to make a parking lot for Virgin Active. So now Tino and I meet up in front of Virgin Active and hassle the yuppies until we get chased away.

Who are your favourite Paarl skateboarders?

JP Burzacchi, Tino, Bennett, Alwyn and Garry.

How is the nightlife out there?

Dark. Oh so dark. I think I have been out to town like three times, all of which brought me no joy.

Where do you take a young lass on a date in your town?

To the vineyards. Or to Lazeez where you can get her a Dagwood and a “los entjie.” Now that I think of it, you shouldn’t take a lass out here, just think of all the awkward moments that could come about with it being so quiet!

What do you do outside of skateboarding, do you study, are you working, etc?

I studied a part time course earlier this year in Scriptwriting which was really cool. And before that I was working as a waiter, which I never really want to do again. So yeah, next year I’m going to study something along the lines of Journalism. Other than that I’m quite happy to go to peaceful places and drink beer.

Do think it’s possible to have a career in skateboarding in South Africa yet?

Probably not yet. I am really clueless as to how sponsorships treat skateboarders in terms of a salary and what not. So I’ll get back to you on that one, maybe I’ll do a little investigative journalism to practice for next year…

What or who are your biggest influences in skateboarding?

AD , Sam, hijinks, you guys at Reprobait, Session and AV, all the really cool people I’ve met in the recent years.

You have an upcoming debut section in AV, what are your top 5 song considerations for your video part?

Beastie Boys – Song For Junior

Beck – Replica

Greatful Dead – Born Cross-Eyed

Jefferson Airplane – Third Week In The Chelsea

Lumerians – Burning Mirrors

Where have you been filming for your part, are we going to see a bunch of new locations?

Mostly Paarl, Stellenbosch and Cape Town. I think we were all too broke to mission much further. Yeah there are quite a few new locations in there!

What makes a great skate video part?

Creativity from the filmer and the skateboarder’s side, and a nice song.

Give us an example of what you consider to be a good part?

Well one that stood out for me this year was that Cross Continental part that Mark Suciu did. Damn, now that’s what I’m talking about!

How seriously do you take skateboarding? Are you looking to try and pick up sponsors and get coverage in the skate media or is it just something you do for fun?

The reason I started skateboarding was to have fun. When people take it too seriously I think it tends to get corny. As for sponsors and coverage, I’m down, because it changes the dynamic of things a bit.

Sam Khumalo currently resides in Parktown, Johannesburg. He rides for Funisu Skateboards and DC shoes. You can usually find him rolling in downtown Johannesburg and in Soweto on the average weekend.

Stevie Williams – Transworld the Reason

Kareem Campbell – Round 2

Kareem Campbell – Trilogy

Steve Berra – Birdhouse – The End

Daewon Song – Round 1

Daewon Song – Deca – 2nd to None

Rick McCrank – eS – Menikmati

Arto Saari – AWS – MindField