In the heart of Accra, skaters have their lair. In 2016, Surf Ghana is born, a surf, skateboard and art collective, offering a space for meeting and sharing around the culture of skateboarding to the young people of the Ghanaian capital.
Surf Ghana invites both young and adults to learn how to skate, gives visibility and connects confirmed skaters. It also provides equipment and offers a safe space where to meet, work, get inspired or chill. Through skateboarding, the collective wants to transmit not only the practice of a passion, but also to allow young people to discover themselves, to blossom, to gain self-confidence, to be united, to progress, to dream.
Sandy Alibo, founder of Surf Ghana, is not only motivated and full of ambition. The collective is growing and multiplying projects. In 2018, Surf Ghana collaborates with the renowned collective Skate Nation Ghana for a national tour. One year later, facing the lack of girls in the collective, Sandy and photographer Kuukua Eshun set up the Skate Gal Club. Every 2 months, an event allows young women to talk about everything and enjoy together thanks to skateboarding but also yoga and other workshops. The two friends thus create a space of freedom and sisterhood where each one can be fully herself.
Finally in 2020, it is time for the next step. Surf Ghana calls for reinforcements to build the first skatepark in Accra! In collaboration with the Limbo Accra studio and the support of brands such as Vans, Off-White or Daily Paper, the Freedom Skatepark project is on the way and promising. Much more than a skateboarding space, the idea is to create a space of entertainment and fulfillment for a generation. In a bustling capital where skateboarding is a risky practice in the city this space will offer a safe area for all ages and levels!
Skaters are still quite few in Africa and there are 4 skateparks on the continent. Thanks to initiatives such as Surf Ghana , things are changing! The collective offers new opportunities and portrays another image of African youth!
While waiting to travel to accra, discover all the collective’s projects here.