TONY HAWK American professional skateboarder

I consider skateboarding an art form, a lifestyle and a sport. ‘Action sport’ would be the least offensive categorisation

BATTLING chronic asthma as a child isn’t easy. Particularly when you have a love for sport and your medical condition holds you back from taking part in all the activities you love.

This is the challenge that Jean-marc Johannes faced as a child.

“Growing up asthmatic, and still to this day, is a very big challenge in my life,” Johannes told the Saturday Star.

“Aside from constant monitoring and a lot of time away from home spent staying at hospital, there were also the mental difficulties behind it. I believed for a long time I couldn’t do sport because of my condition, to a point where I avoided it completely.”

When Johannes did gain the courage to eventually try out certain sports, he admits he battled.

Johannes went in search of a sport that he was able to partake in without it affecting his health and soon stumbled upon skateboarding.

“I initially saw my friends doing it at school and I thought this was a sport I could possibly do.”

However, in his community of Athlone, in Cape Town, there were no designated skating areas for him to practise his new sport.

This didn’t hold him back from chasing his newfound passion, though.

“Most of my tricks that I know today I learnt from skating benches of the local taxi ranks or train stations. I used anything I could around me or what I had access to in order to progress,” he said.

While other kids his age were playing popular sports such as rugby, football and cricket, Johannes quietly went about his business of perfecting manoeuvres like Nollie heelflips, Fakie heelflips, Boardslides, Ollies, Backside Bigspins and many others.

The Windsor High School (Lansdowne, Cape Town) alumnus then took part in his very first skateboarding competition at the age of 11 and walked away the winner.

In 2017, he turned professional, and last year, he went professional on the international stage.

Along the way, he has won a multitude of awards and competitions, including an accolade from Asia in the form of a Global International Podium in the Virtual Pro Skate Competition hosted by the Ministry of Sports Affairs of Indonesia. He also holds various world records including, the most Nollie Heel flips in one minute (broken twice), most Fakie heelflips in one minute, most Nollies in one minute, and is also the first SA International to win Gold, Silver and Bronze medals for competitive skateboarding.

And last week, the Guinness Book of World Records officially confirmed that Johannes is now the new record holder for the highest number of Backside Big Spins.

He managed 18 Backside Big Spins, beating the previous record of 12 held by American Rob Dyrdek since 2007.

Johannes smashed his latest record at Cape Town Stadium on April 6.

He also recently qualified for this year’s Tokyo Olympic Games.

“It is a dream come true, not only to have broken the record but to be part of history in Cape Town.” He says previous record holder Dyrdek inspired him to go after the US skateboarders record.

“I am motivated and inspired by Rob Dyrdek both on and off the board. I watched him make history growing up and it gave me confidence in myself to try and do the same.”

Breaking a record of this such nature is no easy feat.

“On the board, I just practised big spins a lot, every session I had, I made sure that I did the trick at least three times on different obstacles. I needed to make sure I could keep up with the quick movements so I could achieve it in the designated time frame by my trainer Mark Whelan. “A Backside Big Spin is when the skateboard is rotated 360° in the air, as you’re turning yourself 180°, to face the opposite side from where you started – basically, it looks like you and your board are spinning around.

“A Backside Big Spin is a combination of tricks which are called Pop