jeanmarc

Jean-Marc Johannes: ODT SA Ambassador

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As a brief description of myself and what I do. I’m 25 years old and I’m a Professional Skateboarder, from Athlone / Cape Town. I have been skateboarding for over 10 years. I inherited my first skateboard from my mother at the age of 9 and won my first PRO/AM contest at the age of 11; I have never left it alone since then.

As of 2011 I have qualified to compete on the international circuit, competing as the only South African skateboarder.  I made top 50 in Europe and made a top 80 out of 200 in the World chosen to compete in U.S.A Tampa Am 2013. I was then invited to compete and represent South Africa in Paris this year, at the world cup skateboarding event http://www.farnhigh2014.com.

In 2014 I qualified to compete at the World Skateboarding Championship in Kimberley, and upon my first appearance in the PRO open, I achieved a top 20 ranking. Following this, event I was selected as a WILD card in 2015 to compete as the only south African skateboarder in The FISE world series in China Cheng Du where I then qualified the Top 10. I am now looking forward to competing in all other stops in 2016.

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Shortly after my return to SA, I was ranked in the Top 3 skateboarders in South Africa and Top 100 action sports Athletes in the World.

I recently had the opportunity to have been debuted as the first South African skateboarder on Tony Hawks Channel (RIDE channel) to end off 2015, introducing me to the rest of the world of skateboarding.

LW Magazine  http://lwmag.co.za/skater-profile-jean-marc-johannes

In 2013 I had an idea I would speak about throughout my high school career that not many believed was possible. To take South African Skateboarding  to a new height ollieing from one shipping container to another with a gap of 4 meters and a height of 3 stories. This made headlines on various News Channels and Newspapers. This was a first of its kind world wide for skateboarding. This was a project called Mind the gap. With the images of this event now on a permanent display in The National Museum of sport in France.

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Out side of my competitive career, I am the founder of a charity initiative called FILL THE GAP. It presents skateboarding demos, charitable donations and motivational speeches locally and internationally. I have partnered with numerous other NPO’s in my country to make a bigger difference and to fill the gaps in the lives of children with challenges.

This year, I have been given my 2nd invitation to the World Cup Skateboarding Far N High contest, which takes place in Paris, and I am now eligible to compete in The FISE world series following my result in 2015. I have also been given the opportunity to be the voice behind skateboarding in Cape Town/SA. One thing I do is co-star on Good Hope FM radio on the last Monday of every month, along side DJ Ready D.

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For further information and content reference on Jean-Marc Johannes, you can visit his website.