The Kokrobite Skate Crew is a skate and surf crew/lifestyle brand founded in 2021 by Kirani AYAT in the Kokrobite area of Accra specifically for underprivileged preteens. The story of the Kokrobite Skate Crew (KSC) is one that begins with an inspiring child skateboarder and a heart that knows no fear.
KSC was started by Kirani Ayat when he had a chance encounter with the incredibly brave child skater Nana. Before that chance encounter though, Kirani Ayat himself would have to discover his love for skateboarding. Kirani Ayat started skating in 2017 when he moved to America. Ayat was living and working in Santa Monica, California. He used skateboarding mostly as a way of commuting to work.
I just used it to transport myself from one place to the other, like an eco-friendly way of commuting.
I and my then-girlfriend used to visit the beaches of Kokrobite often over the weekends, and sometimes during the week. On one of these visits, we witnessed some kids doing stunts on bikes, doing acrobatics, drumming, and swimming.
These kids were extremely active and you could tell they had no fear in their eyes. You could see they were always eager to learn and eager to try new tricks. Within all of this activity, we spotted and watched a little kid who we would soon come to know as Nana. We watched him skate barefoot on a makeshift board that was closer to ramshackle than otherwise.
He said his brother had made it for him. And we told him we were going to get him a proper skateboard. The next time that we went back there, we brought the skateboard for him, and he was really excited,” that was the beginning of KSC. His brother and the other kids also expressed interest in the sport so we promised them skateboards and vans as well; if only they would take it seriously. And of course, they did.
The rest as they say is history—or even better—in our documentary. Now we have a crew of 4 boys and 1 girl. There are no creative spaces for the youth of Kokrobite and that has led to a lot of the youth indulging in drugs and premarital sex. KSC is my way of providing a positive outlet for the youth and kids of the community. Our documentary was shot by Yaw Boison of AfroBlaq Africa production company.
You can watch the full documentary here:
Source: Kuulpeeps.com
