MyCulture Res Jam 2012 !

The biggest annual Extreme Sports comp is happening again this year !

Check out the Article to find out all the details for the event !  The Prizes are gonna be big and the Rollerblading will be top notch level, with Pro Chris vd Merwe coming from capetown, bringing with him some of the best skaters in the Cape Town scene.

On Saturday, 18 February 2012, I loaded my car full of powerade and rollerbladers and headed from Jozi to Thrashers Skate Park in Pretoria. The event de jour: iRollSA.com and Rolling SA Distribution Street Competition.

As the rollerbladers gathered at Thrashers I could not help but feel that excitement mixed with the anxious anticipation that comes with competition emanating from the bladers. With everyone assembled, Anton revealed the ‘official’ comp shirt: “NO skateboards. NO Bmx. KNOW Dewald Botha!” The moment was a classic one that only began to describe the fun that was about to follow.

Hugo Vermaak  has been one of the most influential rollerbladers in South Africa I have ever met.  I first met Hugo in 2003 - and if I think back; I would say that Hugo has had the right mindset from the start, all the way from the old FSTF crew (o yeah !) to RSAD, all the Thrashers comps he organized in between and his ongoing involvement in the development of Rollerblading in South Africa.  I asked him to give us some insight about what he thought about 2011.  And I must say…he really hit the nail on the head. Here's Hugo:

The iRollSA champs, in collaboration with Inspired2Become, went down in Stellenbosch, Cape Town, over the last weekend of November.

I was blessed to be there, compete, and witness the incredible work that Inspired2Become, headed up by Chris v/d Merwe and his brother Fanie v/d Merwe, along with Earl Abrahams and other Volunteers have been doing in the development of young RollerBladers.

The Comp was insane.  I found myself at many instances standing in awe at the incredible hunger and passion that the rollers had.  The turnout was amazing, and it was by far the best comp of the last few years...

So I have been in this game from nearly the start of it in this country and I'm still going strong, I been Rollerblading for 18 years and so far so good! Now when I look back I think:" No, wait that can't be right", but it is what it is...

When I started out I never thought that it would take me to the places it did and now when I look back I tend to think: "wow those where the days!"

Recently I realized that statement is not true; 'the days' ARE NOW. It is what you make of it that counts no matter what you do or what you don't do, everything you do builds your character and in the end you become the thing you spend most of your time doing! Rollerblading is what I do, a rollerblader is what I've become...