Indigo Youth Movement: Skateboarding as a Ladder Out of Rural Poverty in South Africa

Founded by professional skateboarder Dallas Oberholzer, Indigo Youth Movement grew from a single rural skate camp launched in 2001 in KwaZulu-Natal's Valley of a Thousand Hills into after-school skate programs across Durban and the Western Cape. Its social enterprise skatepark-building arm has constructed more than ten skateparks across South Africa, employing past program beneficiaries as builders. A tourism ambassador program at the original Indigo Skate Camp now employs 35 young people from the surrounding village as guides and hosts. The organization uses skateboarding as a hook to teach life skills and mentor young people away from crime, drugs, and gang involvement.