Element South Africa recently added a whole host of new team riders to their line up, hailing from various places along our coastline. What better way to introduce them, and for them all to meet each other, than going on a trip? The annual The Shred Xmas party was coming up in December so they decided to get the whole crew together in Cape Town to produce a tour edit over a few days, and then end up at the party on the final day of the tour. Khule Ngubane, Thalente Biyela and Chris Nderitu flew in from Durban to meet up with Liam Broek, Munro Munnik, Dean de Clercq, Tao Havenga and Jeremiah Van Wyk, who all road-tripped from PE/J-Bay with team manager Jason Mendonca. Not forgetting Seb Dossantos from the Cape peninsula who also recently joined the Element crew. With 9 team riders in the van, there was a solid crew assembled for 5 days in the Mother City.
We caught up with Liam Broek to get his take on the tour:
Liam Broek feebles in Bloubergstrand – Photo Joubert van Staden
Was this your first Element trip?
Yeah it was.
How old are you and how long have you been in the Element crew?
I’m 20 and I’ve been with Element for about a year now.
Where are you from and where do you currently reside?
I was born in PE and I’ve been here ever since.
What’s the skate scene like in your hometown, where and with whom do you usually roll?
The scene is pretty small, but super friendly and it’s slowly growing. The old scene from the bowl days has kinda died out but with the new park that opened about 5 years ago a lot of new skaters have joined. I usually skate with Munro, Gio, and Jono, but really with anyone that’s down.
Was this your first time skating in the city of Cape Town?
About a year ago I skated some spots, but I’d say this was my first real mission in Cape Town.
Give us a funny story from the van?
Well, basically every morning as we got in the van the topic of a video featuring this dude on flakka would come up, and it became a running joke that lasted the whole tour.
Guys were saying that this was the “Get jacked” tour, what was that all about?
I can’t really remember how it started, but it would come up as soon as anyone had to do anything remotely related to strength.
The days were pretty long, were you guys making nightlife missions each night, or what was the downtime like during the tour?
We were all usually pretty tired after the sessions, but we went for a beer at the end of some of the days.
Who was the DJ in the van and what kind of stuff were you guys listening to?
It was a mix of Tao, Khule and I think Chris got involved as well. Pretty much just the song “Gucci Gang” on repeat.
Who was MVP on the trip?
It would have to be between Thalente, Khule and Chris. All three dudes put in a lot of work.
Jason is the Element team manager and was also the driver, was anybody giving him a hard time or was everybody keeping it together?
I think everyone kept it together quite well, but still a massive thanks to Jason for having to go through that.
Best trick you saw?
Hard to decide, but that backside flip Chris did at Maidens Cove looked damn good.
Chris Nderitu blindside flip to fakie from high to low – Photo Joubert van Staden
Worst slam?
It’s got to go to Dinkie (Dean). The dude got his knee all tangled between the barriers on Table Mountain.
Biggest bust?
We were quite lucky (well that’s what I hear), I think we only had the one bust at Thibault.
Tour vans can be squashed and smelly after sessions, who was the toughest person to deal with in the van and why?
Thalente has the worst smelling sliders of all time.
You guys ended up at The Shred Xmas party on the last day, was anybody in the money or were you all pretty tired after 4 days of intensive skateboarding?
I think the dudes were all pretty tired, but Thalente and Tao got a little something during the bowl jam. I think Chris also might’ve gotten something there. But Khule did that rad feeble to back lip on the ‘North Pole’, that probably earned him something too.
Best thing about being on tour in Cape Town?
It’s just super dope to roll with a big crew and skate a whole bunch of new spots. Everyone’s pushing each other to go harder which was really sick.
Worst thing about being on tour in Cape Town?
Thalente’s sliders.
You spend a lot of time on tours waiting for someone to land their trick, what’s the best way to pass the time?
You kind of just end up talking shit with the homies and that seems to work pretty well.
What was your favourite spot during the tour?
Maidens Cove was pretty fun, but I can’t neglect the barrier spots. I think Seb really enjoyed those as well.
Where is the crew going on tour next?
I don’t know yet but I’m sure it’ll be rad.
Any final words to end this off?
Just a big thanks to Jason for handling all our shit. Thanks to you Luke and Joubert for showing us around and filming everything. And also thanks to Element for sending us. All in all it was a really dope tour.
Khule Ngubane frontside pivot pop-out – Photo Joubert van Staden