Defining the flowering of a newly born skateboarding scene is quite complex especially when discussing one situated in the farthest North of Africa. During the past six years, Tunisian skateboarders witnessed essential culture-related events such as their very first Go Skateboarding Day (2012)  as well as crucial steps in advancing the local scene.

I have been wondering what path will present and future Tunisian skateboarders take as the global scene  evolves in diverse directions. Being a local myself allowed me to discuss the idea with fellow skateboarders whose opinion differed and satisfied my personal perspective on the splitting of the modern skateboarding world into two main divisions (and respective sub-divisions); Skateboarding has always being primarily presented as an expression of the self since each and every skater had a unique approach and style (even though influenced by aspiring pioneers in the field). Modern era skateboarding is heavily influenced by social media in term of trends, videos and brands’ evolution.

Many skateboarders got recognition through social media and transformed it into a door full of opportunities for people that want to make it in the skateboarding world. I believe that the ‘’online’’ perspective of the industry is manipulated in valuable and poor ways, I mean having Michael Mackrodt filming a fishing line part in Tunisia took it to a whole new level for us locals discovering such an incredible man on and off the board. He helped revealing our scene and unlocked spots that ended up between the hands of  Thrasher’s audience. We truly hope to have more of these projects as they promote an exciting future for the generations to come.

Confidingly, very few support is happening domestically and that makes it a tough mission for locals to get new or used boards and else… It kind of limits their ability to exploit themselves to the fullest (For example not being down to skate stair sets to avoid breaking boards, i.e., paranoia from having no board for an indefinite amount of time). Despite that, the African continent is witnessing an incredible evolution in its’ skateboarding scene. The hype is real !