SKATING THE DRAGON
MAX HAMILTON EXPLORES THE INTIMATE WORLD OF CHINESE SKATEBOARDING.
With a camera slung over his shoulder and unable to speak a word of Chinese, Max journeyed through Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen in search of signs - any sign - of skateboarding. Slowly, a scene emerged; a small one, yes, but a proud and tight-knit community of committed skaters, obscured to all but the most discerning eyes by the smog, bustle and scale of these three sprawling cities.
“I suddenly realised what it was that bound this skate community together," Max writes. "Each and every skater expressed a powerful sense of pride. They were proud of their own skateboarding history and their own culture. They were proud, too, of their ability to take skateboarding and make it their own.
My Chinese mission drew to a close, but the skaters I met along the way left their mark. In a country of mass production and conformity, their desire to live creatively was a refreshing find.”
Max Hamilton’s full feature on Chinese skateboarding can be found in SUSOLOGY: The Origins Issue, our new publication available for free around the UK. You can check it online here.
