Zimpapers Logo

Kundai Marunya
He glides on the road like he owns it. Both feet rooted on his board, sometimes paddling with one foot to increase speed.
He sometimes skilfully flips his skateboard, and performs various stunts to the amusement of onlookers.

As many eyes land on him, a crowd gathering, he shows his amazing skills balancing off at a sharp edge of stairs.
His daring stunts, coupled with his usual activities centred on building the skate culture, earned him a position to tour West Africa with other skateboarders from Europe, Australia, and South Africa.

When Chenai Gwendure aka Chegnar first picked up his skateboard back in 2007, he never thought that one day, his luck coupled with sheer talent, would see him being part of the international team of skaters who are exploring the skate culture in different West African cities.

“The team comprises four skateboarders, namely Jaakko Ojanen from Finland, Jackson Pilz from Australia, Yann Horowitz of South Africa, and I am representing Zimbabwe,” said Chegnar.

Chegnar said he was contacted by Session Magazine editor to get involved in the tour.
“We have Patrik Wallner, a Hungarian film director who’s filming the whole tour, an American photographer, Sam McGuire, who also runs a magazine called Skateism and Luke Jackson, editor of Session Magazine,” he said.

“Luke (Jackson) is actually the one who got in touch with me to see if I was down for the trip. I’m so grateful.”
The tour’s objective is to explore skateboarding in different parts of Africa.

The team will also explore how skateboarding is influencing society in West Africa. The tour kicked off in Nairobi, Kenya, on December 5.

“We skate in Nairobi for a week, visiting different areas including safaris,” said Chegnar. “We will fly to Accra, Ghana to explore different parts of the city until December 21.

“In Ghana, we are going to meet up with other skaters at a social skate project called Surf Ghana that is influencing the young people using with skateboarding and surfing.

“Their mission is also strongly linked to the inclusion of females which gets me excited.”
Even before the trip, Chegnar had been involved with different skate boarding initiatives as a way of developing communities.

He often hosts skate sessions at Wits University where he invites students for skate lessons.
He believes his workshops are a space to take on and combat mental health issues.

“The positive changes from the sessions inspired me to set out on a journey to grow skateboarding in Zimbabwean and other African communities, thus making it more available in the country,” said Chegnar.
To develop skateboarding in the country Chegnar, working with Skate Zimbabwe partnered with Jibilika Trust.

They move around different communities teaching skateboarding.
He believes skateboarding is more than a sport or pastime activity, but a lifestyle that should be encouraged.
“Skate is life,” said Chegnar. “Let’s skate for peace as the world is not in a stable state. Skateboarding provides a peace of mind, stress relief and comfort of mind.”

Chegnar is passionate about spreading skateboarding in Zimbabwe. The biggest huddle he faces is the lack of skate parks in the country.

Even for him to learn, he had to go to Johannesburg.
“The scene in Zimbabwe is very small,” said Chegnar. “There are skateboarders and long boarders in Harare and Bulawayo. There are roughly about 20 people in total, in both cities, trying to push something.

“There are no skate parks anywhere in Zimbabwe. The skateboarders in Harare have their local meeting spot they call ‘The Fountains’ which is this old run-down fountain which often gets flooded during rainy season.”
Chegnar plans to explore possible spots around the country.

“I’m very curious about what kind of spots there are in Zimbabwe and I’m keen to make a trip up there to document that,” he said.

“I went on a family trip back in 2013 and saw some really rad spots in Masvingo. Sadly, I did not take my board with me, but I will definitely explore more spots.”

Chegnar dreams to build skate parks around Zimbabwe.
“I regularly collect skate products for the skate scene in Zimbabwe,” he said. “I dream to build skate parks in educational and public spaces with the goal to create jobs in skateboarding through Skate Zimbabwe.”

His exceptional skills saw him represent the country at the Kimberly Diamond Cup African Championship in 2015 and at the Vans Park Series Africa Continental Championship last year.

Chegnar is a skateboarder, Electrical Engineering student, assistant manager and bartender.
Though based in Cape Town, he defines the sport locally and passionately pushes for its growth.