IN PHOTOS: The skater’s shoes

MANILA, Philippines — The sound of tiny wheels rustling along the pavement and ramps conquered the streets of Manila as hundreds of skateboarders joined in the celebration of Go Skateboarding Day on Sunday, June 21, 2015.

This global holiday draws all kinds of skaters to go out and express their love for the sport regardless of which crew, province, or social class they come from.

One important instrument of a skater aside from his board is his shoes. One can already reveal a lot about a person and what he has been through by looking at his feet.

Vans Philippines hosted a skate competition at Philippine International Convention Center, Pasay City, inviting a diverse crowd of skaters pushing with different boards and wearing different trends to the event.

Rappler features some of the many sneakers seen during the occasion and the stories of the people wearing them. 

“Mahal kasi ang sapatos at hindi na ako nabililhan ng sapatos… bihira. Ito ang aking panlaro hanggang sa masira.” —Leakiean, 14

(Shoes are expensive. I’ve rarely bought shoes. As long as I had something to play with, I’m ok… until it breaks.)

“My cousin requested a skateboard for her Christmas present so both of us just skated on that same skateboard and then eventually we joined serious skaters. It’s just a random thing that hit our lives and then we just continued doing it ‘cause we love doing it.” — Bella, 13 and Madison, 15

Mozart: “Nag-start kami magkaklase sa school sa University of Makati and then nagkataon nakilala ko siya, pero siya lang yung skater noon. Kung baga, nerdy guy ako noon. Tapos siya ang nag introduce sa akin sa skate.”

(We started off as classmates in school at the University of Makati. By the time that I met her, she was the only skater then. I was the nerdy guy before. Then she introduced me to skating.)

“Nag skate ako noon una para sa kanya, para mag paimpress, kasi astig daw ang skater eh yung na subukan ko naman, nagiba na yung objective ko, parang sabi ko, Masaya naman mag skate, masaya, parang malaya ka kapag nag rarides, kaya ayos din.”

(When I started skating, it was for her, to impress her because skaters seemed cool. When I tried it out, my objective changed and I realized it’s pretty nice to skate, you feel free when you ride.) — Mozart, 19

Shirley Ann: ”Actually last week, tinuruan mag skate, kase hobby ko talaga yun since 2012.” — Shirley Anne, 20

(Actually, I only taught him how to skate last week, but it has been my hobby since 2012.)

“Bunso ako, tatlo kaming magkakapatid at only girl, lahat na adapt ko nalang sa kuya ko. Actually yung cruiser sa kuya ko din tapos ako lang gumagamit. Medyo iniingatan nga nila ako kaya hindi nila ako pinagboboard ng skate board, kaya cruiser nalang. Nag tatry din ako mag skate board dati, pero hindi nila gusto masyado dahil delikado daw para sa akin. Okay lang naman sa akin.” — Micah, 20

(I am the youngest of my 3 siblings and I am the only girl. I learned everything from my brothers. Actually this cruiser is my brother’s and I’m just one using it. They are very protective of me that’s why they don’t allow me to use a skateboard, so I settled with a cruiser. I tried to use a skateboard before but they didn’t like it because they said it is too dangerous for me. It’s okay, I understand.)

“Skateboarding and friendship [are] gay! Skateboarding and friendship come along and go along. It goes a long way. Parang pinag sama ang dalawa, sobrang solid. Parang tinapakan at kape sa umaga. Hindi mo pwede paghiwalahyin yun. Skateboarding is gay. Ibig sabihin noon, love! Love naming isa’t isa. Wag na wag kayong mag shashabu, skateboard lang at tubig.” — Onin, 31, Ron, 31 and Chris, 31

(Skateboarding and friendship are gay! Skateboarding and friendship come along and go along. It goes a long way. You’ll have something very solid if you combine these two. It’s like bread and coffee in the morning. You can’t separate them. Skateboarding is gay. By gay we mean love!  We love each other. Don’t do drugs, just skateboard and drink water.)

“Tinuruan po ako ng mommy at daddy ko po. 3 ako nagsimula. Kaya ko po mag ollie and fakey ollie at half capo. Paglaki ko po mag gagrind, tapos mag oolie tapos mag kick flip.” — Jayden, 4

(Mom and Dad taught me [how to skate]. I started when I was 3. I can do an ollie, fakey ollie and a half capo. When I grow up, I’ll do grinds, ollies and kick flips.)

“I started skating not like a typical skater, I got the idea from my brother and then like, I didn’t like skating that time, so I used to fingerboard a lot. I don’t see finger boarding like skateboarding that much but now that I started skateboarding, I see finger boarding like side skating, like skate in the house. I can still skate in the house by just using finger board.” — Ziyad, 14

“Skate ang libangan ko, ito nagpapasaya sa akin, exercise rin. Pang papawis at pang ride. Nakaabot  sa ibang lugar kasama ang barkada.” — Jubilee, 15

(Skate is my favorite pastime. It makes me happy and it’s also a form of exercise to sweat and for rides. I get to go to different places together with my friends.)

“Libangan kang at kapag walang ginagawa, gusto kong makapaglaro, makapag gawa ng mga bagong tricks, Kapag gumaling na ako, pwede na akong sumali ng tournament. Yun ang habol ko. Kapag pwede ka ng lumaban sa ibang bansa. Para maturuan din ang mga ibang kabataan, mga nagrurugby.” — Marlon, 17

(It’s a pastime when I’m not doing anything, I want to play, learn new tricks and when I get better, I can join tournaments. That’s my goal. I want to be able to compete abroad and to teach kids, like those sniffing rugby.)

“Yung una, BMX ang nilalaro nilalaro ko noon tapos hindi ko nabuo, parang nagaasemble ako,noon may barkada akong nagsskate, tapos pina try ako. Try try Lang, yung ollie, first attempt ko, nakuha ko agad. Tapos sabi nila, ‘Uy, ano ka, fast learner’. Tapos binigay sakin yung deck yung barkada ko, 14 years old pa ako noon. Tapos derederetsyo na yun. Naka 9 decks ko na.” — Daryl, 21

(I used to play the BMX. I wasn’t able to finish assembling my bike when my friend who skates let me try skating. I tried it. I tried doing an Ollie and I got it right on my first attempt. They told me I was a fast learner then my friend gave me a deck. It was 14 years old back then. From that time, I just continued. Now I own 9 decks.)

“Sobrang saya, kahit problema sa bahay nakakalimutan, yun sobrang saya kapag nag skate. Masaya yung makakasama mo yung mga tropa mo mas lalo sa kalokohan. Basta for fun, wala na yung sasali ng ko petitions o mananalo, wala na yun. basta importante masaya.” — Jaime, 25

(It’s very fun, even problems at home you forget. It’s very fun to skate. It’s fun when you’re with your friends and up to no good. It’s all for fun, no competitions or winning. What’s important is you’re happy.)

“Ang tapang nila dahil hindi sila natatakot sa mga tricks na ginagawa nila. Iba yung thrill kapag nagsskate boarding ka, Minsan na coconquer mo yung fear mo, though ako, may fear ako sa heights, napupunta ka sa ramps and whatever, nakakaenganyo lang talaga. Exciting.” — Carla, 21

(They’re [skaters] fearless because of the tricks they do. There is a different thrill when you skateboard. You get to conquer your fears. Though I have a fear of heights, whenever I go to the ramps and do tricks, it’s enlightening and exciting.)

“Nagsskate kami dahil kung hindi kami nagsskate baka mahanay kami sa ibang direksyon ng buhay kasi yung lugar namin, hindi siya yung matino ng lugar Kasi baka maging addict dito. Kaya pinili namin magskateboard para may mapaglibangan na hindi makakasama sa kalusugan namin. Masakit minsan Kapag nagbebail, tumbatumba ka, pero masaya parin po dahil hindi naman, masisira kalusugan namin at na kokontrol namin ang paglaro.” — Christian, 18

(We skate because if we don’t, we might get pulled in a different direction in life because our place isn’t safe, there are many addicts around. That’s why we chose skateboarding, so we could have something to do that doesn’t harm our health. It hurts whenever we bail and fall, but it’s still fun because it’s not bad for our health and we can control it.)

All photos by Alecs Ongcal  –Rappler.com

Skateboarding is more than just a subculture, it is a passion for many individuals from teenagers to adults. It teaches the beauty of standing up to the challenge and camaraderie. Find out how you can save up on your next sports and outdoor purchases online, here.