Skateistan - Afghan Skate School Afghanistan Flag
Skateistan is Afghanistan’s first dedicated skateboarding school. It engages the growing numbers of urbanised youth through skateboarding and provides new opportunities in cross-cultural interaction and education. More photos

About Us

Skateistan is Afghanistan’s first dedicated co-educational skateboarding school. The school will engage with the growing numbers of urbanised youth in Afghanistan through skateboarding and provide new opportunities in cross-cultural interaction and education. Students will be selected from a range of different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. Student capacity will be developed in skateboarding, skateboarding instruction, project management, life skills and English. Our aim is to develop a program that empowers youth to take leadership on issues important to them and build networks that will counter current ethnic barriers. See our Frequently Asked Questions section for further details.

History

Skateboarding in Afghanistan? As soon as Australian skateboarders Oliver Percovich, Sharna Nolan and Travis Beard lay down their boards in Kabul, they were surrounded by the eager faces of children of all ages, begging them to teach them how to skate. Stretching the three boards they had, they developed an infant skate school.

Six young Afghan males who were naturals at skateboarding (aged 18-22) shared the three boards and quickly progressed in their newfound sport. Skateboarding was born in Afghanistan. The success with their first students prompted them to think bigger. By bringing more boards back to Kabul and establishing an indoor skateboarding venue they would be able to teach many more youth as well as run separate classes for females. Skateistan is Afghanistan’s first skateboarding school dedicated to teaching both male and female students. We aim to build indoor skateboarding facilities thoughout Afghanistan. We will start in Kabul with a indoor skatepark with indoor and outdoor sections.

Students will receive training from experienced skateboarders in a secure environment. Skateboards, shoes and safety equipment will be loaned on site for the duration of classes. The story of setting up the school and the achievements of the students will be told through a documentary that shows what it is like to grow up in Afghanistan in 2008 and presents a positive story about Afghan youth through global media platforms.

Staff

Oliver Percovich

Role: Project director, Age: 34

Oliver

Oliver Percovich first skated an empty pool aged 6 while growing up in PNG and in 1995 he competed in the Mystic Cup, an international skateboarding contest in Prague. More recently, he has managed emergency management projects for the Queensland Government and the State emergency services in NSW and Victoria. He came to Afghanistan in February 2007, bringing his skateboards with him.

Sharna Nolan

Role: Project Advisor, Age: 31

Sharna Nolan is a researcher from an environmental and livelihoods background. For the past five years, she has worked with donors, government, farmers and traditional groups to develop strategies to improve rural livelihoods. Arriving in Kabul in August 2006, she has spent the last 18 months in Afghanistan as a research officer for the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit and as a business development consultant for a large rural UNDP project based in Herat. She has been skating since 1992.

Shams Razi

Role: Logistics, Age: 22

Sharna

Shams is one of the original Afghan skater’s that started skateboarding last year. He graduated from the Science Faculty at Kabul University in 2007 and since then worked for a foreign owned logistics company until he joined Skateistan in June 2008. Shams is one of the very few Afghan volunteers in Kabul and handles all accounting and logistics requirements for Skateistan.

Major sponsors