Cuba Skate: Growing Havana's Underground Skate Scene Into a Youth Movement

Founded in 2010, Cuba Skate is a U.S.-based nonprofit that supports Cuba's home-grown skateboarding community with donated equipment, cultural exchange trips, and youth mentorship. The organization's skate family now numbers roughly 2,000 Cuban participants, supported by more than 4,500 volunteers hosted on the island since 2010 and 8,500 donated skateboard decks. Alongside skate programming, Cuba Skate volunteers have run 125 beach and city clean-ups, collecting 5,000 pounds of waste. Its cultural exchange trips pair visiting skaters and volunteers with Cuban youth for woodworking, board-building, and community projects.