Egypt’s skateboarding scene

For years, the Egyptian community only cared about football, whilst other sports, especially extreme ones, had little attention, if any. However, the mentality of the Egyptian people is about to change as two brave entrepreneurs have successfully raised awareness of other types of sports -extreme sports- with a main focus on skateboarding!!

It begins:

Back in 2005, two youngsters, Omar and Sheriff Herrawi arrived in Egypt from the United States, carrying a new concept of a sport with them to our Egyptian community, they were carrying skateboards! However, it caused them a great deal of sadness to see that this sport was barely even known in Egypt, which led the two brothers, on their own venture, to spread this amazing sport by establishing an online store selling authentic and high quality skateboards and its spare parts for public skaters in Egypt –who at the time were mainly their own group of friends- This small group has now grown to become an army of more than 1000 skaters from Alexandria all the way to Cairo!!

What is it really about?

As I said earlier, Egyptians don’t really know much about extreme sports, so you might be wondering what exactly is skateboarding??? Skateboarding is an extreme sport, based on using a wooden board with wheels (hence the name skateboard) and using it in a variety of ways. First of all, it will definitely make you look cool, but more importantly it can be used as a mean of transportation. Many people like to show off with their skateboards too and this led to the development of board tricks such as the flips. The whole concept of the sport is getting back up on your feet no matter how many times you fall or hurt yourself, which makes it a physically and spiritually beneficial sport that is suitable for all ages.

Where did it go from there?

After 11 years of hard work, the two brothers have finally made it into well-known sport in Egypt, with thousands of skaters all across Cairo and Alexandria, who are always supporting their skate shop too by buying spare parts. The Herrawi brothers have also formed a professional Egyptian skateboarding team, sponsored by foreign skateboard manufacturers, that is usually invited to skateboarding tournaments abroad. The hard work of those two brothers has immensely increased the popularity of the sport to the point that some schools in Egypt are hiring skateboarding instructors, not to mention their appearances on television talk shows and social media, as well as having their own popular skateboarding channel for Arab skaters!!

Where do I sign up?

If the thought of trying and never giving up impresses you, if you are an adrenalin junkie and want some thrilling activities to make, skateboarding in Egypt is highly recommended! As it is heavily supported by skate impact, you can always contact their skating school in Cairo (called XGEN SKATE SCHOOL) or you can order your own skateboard from their online store www.skateimpact.com and use their tutorials without any instructors. Nothing is holding you back from trying this new exciting activity!

And as all skaters say:

“WHEN IN DOUBT, SKATE IT OUT!”

#skateboard #sports #Egypt