For episode four of Skate Tales, Madars Apse hightails it to Ethiopia to meet the skate crew building a scene from scratch in one of the world’s oldest countries. The story of Ethiopia Skate is as real as it gets: from a parking lot in Addis Ababa, Henok Yetbarek, Michael Baheru, Ruel Desta, Babure ‘Babu G’ Teferi, Yeabkal Abraham and Yared Gobezie started a skate movement which would snowball with the help of two American skaters, JT Rhoades and Sean Stromsoe. Within 3 years they would link up with Make Life Skate Life to build Ethiopia’s first free skatepark in the capital, and a year later they would double down on their success by building a second in Awassa. Nowadays Ethiopia Skate has 150 skaters enlisted from around the country, and has registered as a non- profit in the USA meaning they can accept tax- deductible donations to keep their skatehouse open, build more terrain and, as Sean tells Madars ‘create more opportunity through skateboarding’. Madars came by to build and inspire, listen and learn in a beautiful one from the Skate Tales storybook.
