Maysam, Dubai

We caught up with Maysam, soon-to-be founder of an online skate shop, to talk about the skate scene in Dubai, his plans around sustainability and how brands can get involved. 34-year-old Syrian Maysam was born and raised in the UAE. He’s been skating since he was ten years old and has worked in production, advertising and - most recently - a tech firm. He’s currently in the process of launching an online skate shop to cater to the UAE skate scene, with plans for catering to Dubai’s neighbours in the GCC and Levant. Previously sponsored by adidas, he’s been in the global scene for nearly 25 years.

So, let’s start with what you love about skating, Maysam… 

Simplified, I love skateboarding. Skateboarding has quite literally saved my life and I want to give back to it. I feel like the community and support has fallen off a little and now that I am older and capable and blessed with somewhat of a small network of decent people I feel like I can make that happen. So really it’s my love for skateboarding, my love for the community and wanting to provide them with what I experienced and more growing up.

You sound very us - that tends to be how we think, I love it. Looking at the culture of skating in Dubai right now, is there anything that’s really exciting to you? 

If I were to step back and look at it from a bird's-eye view, I would say the only thing that’s kind of exciting right now is the number of public skateparks that are available in the UAE. These are things that I didn’t grow up with. I have to be harsh and be like, that’s pretty much the only thing that excites me about the skate scene right now. 

So you have frustrations with the scene? 

Yes, significantly, there’s a lot of things. It has to do with the lack of brands, stores and retailers that are supporting skateboarding. And by supporting I mean, fairly stocking and selling fairly priced products to the skate scene. That’s one of my major frustrations, and the other one is the current state of the skate culture in the UAE. Those are my two main gripes.

I get that… Distribution is always something brands have to be mindful of, and pricing too, right? Are there brands you are happy with at the moment? 

I can definitely give some honourable mentions. There’s a brand out of Bordeaux, France, called Magenta Skateboards, and they brought something unique to skateboarding. They brought a certain kind of playfulness, class, as well as a laid-back approach to how they design. The kind of videos that they make, the types of riders that they sponsor, the huge emphasis on style and quality. That’s one of many brands that I can name for particular things. It’s like music now, you could be into so many different things, for particular moods. 

Playfulness, after the year we’ve all been through together, that feels important… And what are those people or companies doing that is so exciting to you? What makes them interesting? 

Authenticity. It’s also something that’s kind of difficult for me to say. Like a heritage kind of. For example I hope at some point, people look at me the same way I look at Polar Skateboards or Magenta Skateboards. There’s credibility there. They’ve been skateboarders for a fucking long time. They’ve put in the time, they’ve put in the work. There’s a certain element of trust that when they create something, it’s going to be skateboarder first. Fashion aside, as a skate product, aside from the deck or whatever accessories they make it’s going to be from a skateboarder's lens. Quality is there, thoughtfulness is there. And if they blow up, they blow up. But there’s history, authenticity and credibility. 

It’s rooted more in honesty?

Yeah. Back in the day when Ryan Sheckler got his MTV show people were fucking hating on the guy but when Tony Hawk got the game and started doing Ford and Got Milk ads he didn’t get that much hate. You did your time and you paid your dues. Get fucking paid. They’ve paid their dues. They’ve put in the effort and just like you they’ve bled. Support that. 

Let’s go back to the actual culture of skating; is there anything that you think is being lost in the culture right now? Are these losses good or bad? 

I think history has been lost. At a certain point when Instagram blew up, everyone had a smartphone. I noticed that there was a certain loss of interest in hometown heroes, home town culture, and history. Granted, a lot of that responsibility falls on us. We didn’t provide certain things for the community to consume this content. But we did our best. We made DVD’s, we made skate videos, we made magazines, because there wasn’t a solid skateboard industry, it was hard to continue this as young, bum dudes with fucking no money. And because history has been lost, every generation has nothing to look up to, appreciate or feel like they belong to a certain part of their identity. I grew up here, these are my hometown heroes. Oh my God, look at the spot that used to exist here. There’s nothing for them to talk about or export with them when they leave here. 

Right. There’s nothing for them to hang on to. It’s true, Dubai and the UAE are incredibly transient.

Absolutely. That’s made it very difficult even for someone like myself to finally start something like this. The rugs are always being swept up from under you. Skate scene. Gone. The skating talent. Gone. The best town is gone. Now you’ve gotta wait another four years while the little kids build some light muscle and their parents allow them to go skate street with you, start filming again and start making new hometown heroes. If there was a brand or some kind of shop that helped to anchor that, it would’ve been awesome. But we never had that, and we’re trying to do that now, I guess.

Who do you think has the most power or influence within the culture of skating? Is it the athletes, the brands, the consumers, or something or someone else entirely? 

Truthfully, the responsibility lies with many parties, but a skate scene can only do so much in a transient city like Dubai. If no one here moved, it would be a whole different story. If we were able to retain 50% of the skate scene that has started skating here and continued skating, it would’ve been a whole different ball game. At least in culture. 

How can brands contribute, do you think?  

We’re sitting in Amongst Few Cafe right now. Had they been around when we were growing up, I think they would’ve really benefited from our culture and we would’ve really benefited from having a place like this. A place to hang out, a brand that’s local, something you could do cool, creative stuff with, something you’re proud of that you could export. It’s a culture swap. When I used to travel back in the day, I’d go to the local skate shop and I’d still ask, “You got any local magazines, any local skate videos?” Because it's another way of discovering this. This is something I developed pre YouTube and pre Instagram. We would have benefited from that and so would they. 

How do you see adidas within the scene right now?

adidas has been pretty rad with how they’ve entered the skateboarding market, they’ve entered pretty low key, they’ve just sponsored riders. I think they’ve done a lot of research on developing the shoes because right now, if I didn’t have to worry about the price of a skate shoe, I’d be wearing adidas all the time. It’s reached that level. Even though it’s not a skate brand, sorry, the comfort of my feet is pretty fucking important. Skate brands have had long enough now to get it together, for shoes at least and adidas has been doing some really fucking cool things with shoes. They’ve been hiring a lot of skateboarders to be a part of their skateboarding team. A friend of mine retired as a pro skateboarder and became their marketing manager. There’s another guy who I also looked up to when I was growing up, from the UK, who is now their team manager. They’re hiring from within the skateboard industry, which means that their videos, content and the way they do things feels way more authentic than how Nike does it or how Reebok tried to do with Stevie Williams back in the day. I appreciate how slowly and quietly they’ve come in. They let their actions speak versus trying to make a big show. I think that’s one of the reasons why so many skateboarders around the world are wearing their shoes. 

Hiring from within the culture, collaborating with the culture, it’s imperative. I love that you’re proud of the work adidas has done there… How can adidas do a better job, do you think? 

Dude, internationally, I think adidas have been killing it, but it feels like the adidas offices around the world don’t necessarily operate to the same standard. I’ve heard stories from friends of friends being so fed up with adidas’ methods that they’re like, “Fuck it, we’re going to ride for DC. DC’s coming at us with what we need. adidas is just giving us stuff that we don’t want.” 

Do you think that’s them misunderstanding Dubai as a market?

It feels like some places are not adapting to what the skate scene or what a particular city needs and Dubai is a perfect example. There’s a lot of fucking stories you can tell from this place, it’s a content gold mine. If they just picked me up - and I used to ride for adidas at a certain point of time, which was a fucking disaster - there’s a lot of stories just from me and there’s other people here that have equal amount of stories with a whole different experience. Here, they don’t sponsor anybody. They don’t sponsor anybody in the Middle East at all. adidas doesn’t even have skate shoes in the shops here. They have like 1 out of like 100. People ride adidas here, but they don’t even buy it from here, they order it from the US, they buy it from Skate Warehouse.

That’s so crazy…

No one is plugged in to what's going on super close by, but everybody knows what's going on in the US and Europe, to a certain extent. But that’s not the important stuff. I think brands could do so much with so little. For example, I’m going to call Nike out... I saw a pretty decent skate shoe collection in Jordan, very nice shoes but none of them are the models that local skaters would want, simply because they are far too expensive. Any brand that’s selling skateboarding has a responsibility to at least consult with the local skate scene as to what products they want, if they’re not selling. Don’t just chalk it up, “Oh skateboarding isn’t selling here.” But why? Ask questions. Sponsor people. It’s the cheapest form of marketing. It’s basically seeding. Just give them some free product and give them a platform, and watch them deliver. And if they don’t, don’t sponsor. 

This is advice I completely agree with! [laughs] What else is needed here?

They need to put people on flow. Flowing people is a brand acknowledging your existence, they fuck with you but they are not ready to make it official. And so while you’re a free agent, if you’re going to be riding then here’s some adidas stuff and save a buck. You’re not riding for us yet but you’re on flow. It’s like care packages almost but while you’re on flow if another brand chooses to flow you then you need to pick one because you can’t be on both. So you might leave adidas because Nike is offering you a better status. It’s early support, like maybe they are waiting for a sponsorship spot to free up.

You said you used to ride for adidas… right?

I rode for adidas for a year and a half or something like that. It was trash. They said, "Come to the office, grab some product." I’d be like, “I don’t need any product. I'm good. I got enough stuff.” They say, “Your shipment is here, come grab it.” But what do I need 70 fucking t-shirts for? Why do I need 20 pairs of Porsche design pants? You’re giving me 30 pairs of shoes, two are skate shoes. I don’t want them. It was nuts. I rode for adidas and I did nothing. They used me for nothing. It was a waste of resources. What are you guys doing? So then at some point all of that fell off and the entire fucking team was gone. Then you have one chick come out here named Naomi (Accardi) from NYC. I guess she was like you a little bit. She did some research. She knows who I am. All it took was for her to be curious. She did so much for adidas in her little stint. She fucking killed it. She’s gone and adidas has fallen off.

It’s so important to get the right people...

With Naomi, one person changed the entire scene in the community because they were cool and they got it. Nothing makes things original or innovative without constraints and challenges. adidas could do something cool here.

We feel really strongly about this, about hiring  from the community… 

adidas have got to find someone who knows all those people and is respected by all those people. I could tell you someone in my mind. As much as I love skateboarding, he's the one that can bring all of us together. Find that guy or girl. Let them be the channel of communication between the community and adidas. Also fucking deliver. Deliver on what you said you would. Stop letting people down and stop hosting fucking parties where you invite the same people…

I get it, fully… Let’s see what we can get them doing… I don’t wanna change tack too much, but I do want to talk to you about sustainability a bit, what do you understand about the term? 

To me, it’s just giving a fuck about the environment. Stop wasting products. Start reusing products when you can. Upcycle and recycle where you can. 

Does skating as a sport have a role or responsibility within sustainability at all? 

I think there’s some people out there trying to make an effort but on a global level/industry level absolutely not. For example, me and a few friends will organise care packages that we send to Lebanon or any skate scene that needs care and this is a product that may be disposable to someone here but in Lebanon it’s gonna hold over a scene for a long time. I can remember sending a care package out there and then travelling back there two years later and still seeing my personal skate shoes being used. We’d swap out the shoes depending on which foot you use most. It’s doing what you can to skate. 

And that’s really the stuff a brand should be doing too, right?

Now as a brand I’m wondering what I can do. Skateboarding is pretty fucking wasteful. You go through shoes like crazy. You go through boards like crazy. The accessories can last a long time but it depends on you as an individual. There’s a lot of skaters I know who are considerate to the environment. They recycle or use their bikes but sustainability in skating for some reason is not something that crosses their mind. 

How are you tackling that personally? 

I’m now halfway through my apprenticeship in carpentry so I can recycle and upcycle old skateboards. One as a brand it can help me make money to sustain myself because I make fuck-all margins on hard goods. So if I can get a skateboard for free and get 150% margin on it that would be amazing. Two - it’s 150% cheaper than what a new skateboarder is gonna buy also.  You don't wanna be selling the best stuff to beginner skateboarders, you want to sell them the basic stuff because you don’t know if they’re gonna get into it. Also you don't want the first purchase to cost so much. It doesn’t need to. Let it run its cycle and reuse it. Keep chopping it down and making accessories. 

Maysam, this is sick… I always think people, as well as brands, should use their power to make a difference… 

Fully… I also donated a whole lot of skateboards to an art exhibition here for artists to get behind. I wish it was a noble cause where proceeds got donated to a charity, but hey it’s somewhat of a noble cause because artists got paid. Shit like that doesn’t happen enough. Some people are doing it and are committed to holding it down and some brands are experimenting with recycled products being made into skate shoes. I don’t think anyone’s actually addressing the wastage problem in skateboarding. There are no adidas collection bins in skate shops. There are no flip skateboard collections bins. That part is not happening. 

How can we harness originality to help around sustainability do you reckon? 

So let’s say I work for adidas here. They put me in charge of skateboarding. As a skateboarder who is involved in the skate community there are particular things or budgets I’ve been instructed to do or particular powers, I would make choices that would help the skate scene. Whether you’re a girl, gay or Indian or a group that would be looked down upon here, I wouldn’t give a fuck because you skate. You rip. You’re a solid person. I wanna support you. I don’t wanna pay you for life but I wanna back you because I wanna see more of you out here. Put yourself more out there and hey, guess what, if you’re gay and someday you decide to come out, I’ll celebrate it. I will stand behind you. Brands can do that.

Tell me more? This is perfect… 

For example I don’t expect international, multimillion dollar brands, huge brands who have stores in Israel to shut down or stand behind Palestine. I get it. But hey, support skateboarders in Israel because skateboarders in Israel skate with skateboarders in Palestine. They skate with fucking skaters in Jordan. You may find a Palestinian skateboarder who skates in Palestine and support them. You can have a contest, try to arrange visas for Palestinians to come out there. You can do shit. Do shit in your communities. It takes hiring someone from that community to make that happen. 

We talk about making a commitment when it comes to investing in a city, a scene or a country… I know we’ve spoken about it a bit already, but what else have you seen?

I have something for you on this [laughs]. Do you remember the skate ramp at Tashkeel? 

Is it still there?

No, it’s been torn down. adidas believed skateboarding only happened there. They didn't know that there was street skating. I discovered this later. I met with the girl who attempted the skate programme to find out what the fuck went down. I’m like, “You genuinely thought that skateboarders only skated there and that's only where we skated?” And she said, “Yeah, that’s why I arranged the photo shoot to be there. I’m like, “Did you not google skateboarding?” She replied, “Yeah but I didn’t think you guys did that.” It’s like, what the fuck? How is that even possible? Then you’re like, oh my God look at the calibre of the people working at adidas. 

Ah shit… 

But then there were some really cool people. There’s this dude, I think he works at Gucci now, and he had nothing to do with skateboarding, and he was able to make an impact by reputation alone. Some French dude, his name was Boris. He was a super, super fancy guy that wore turtlenecks. He was super cool and respected the community. When he hung out with skaters, he understand what the fuck the skaters where all about and he understood the community, so he never felt like a thumb. It made sense that he worked at adidas, to be connected with the community. 

If adidas wanted to use their power to make a difference within the skating world, what would that look like? What role do you think they could play? 

Personally, from what I know about what they’re doing around the world and the way they’re sponsoring skateboarders, they’re doing a good job. Even gossip wise, there isn’t too much. It’s just very little things, that there’s clearly inconsistencies in how they run their operations in certain countries and how disconnected they are from a particular scene because maybe their headquarters are somewhere else, whatever it is. But they’re doing a pretty good job. 

What are the things you love? 

I love the fact that they’re not chasing what Nike does. 

I always tell them to let Nike be big so they can be small… I guess we haven’t spoken much about Nike and skate, so let’s do that a bit now? It’s not always helpful to dwell on it, but what are the things you admire there? 

Nike did something amazing actually. They petitioned along with some locals to make a well-loved US skate park in California, to be skate friendly, to turn it into a skate plaza. Nike put up money, they renovated the space, they worked with the city, they made it into a safe space, they repainted everything, fixed everything up and it became open to the skateboarders. No more issues with security and police, which there had been for 17 years or something like that, with homeless people and heroin needles everywhere. 

Ah, that is good, damn [laughs].

Even though the skateboarders were the ones that were keeping the place clean and safe, they were the ones being pushed out by the police. Nike saw an opportunity there, actually they didn’t see an opportunity but somebody that worked at Nike was friends with somebody in skateboarding and reached out to this person and said, “Yeah let’s fucking do this, sounds amazing, we can get behind this.” 

I wish that had been an adidas anecdote… 

adidas didn’t do anything like that, it would obviously be nice if they did but it’s not like they’re chasing fucking Nike. They’re just staying in their own lane, doing their own thing, creating their own impact. They’re not chasing clout and they’re operating behind the scenes low radar putting out great videos, sponsoring great skateboarders, whether they're super relevant or not. There’s a lot of people that need to be rewarded and supported for their contributions. Nike’s doing it. adidas is also doing it.

What are the other things that you wish adidas would do? This is your chance to rant and rave...

I want them to stop ignoring the Middle East for the talent that they have, if you want to be culturally diverse and if you want to be inclusive, truly be inclusive. Stop directing all of your resources to just Europe, Australia, and the US. The UAE and the GCC is a big market, the least you can do is show interest in one of those fucking countries. As a Syrian who grew up in the UAE, I went through my Facebook two days ago, just to go back through old archives of shit because of nostalgia from those tapes, and I was telling my girlfriend this yesterday, I have so many fucking messages from kids around the region saying what an inspiration I was to them. These were the days where Instagram didn’t exist, so they went out of their way to find stuff on YouTube or got their hands on a DVD.  If adidas did something in one country, it could extend or at least make other people feel like there is a representation. Like, “Hey, they’re representing Arabs.” There’s only fucking one professional Arab skateboarder out there. 

Which is crazy to me. 

They have a real opportunity. This is still a very untapped market. They have an opportunity, if they get in now, even though skateboarding has been here for 24 years, if they try to do something, they’ll be one of the first to really do it properly. I’ve ridden for Vans, Element and adidas, no ones done it right. But they can make it happen so easily because skateboarders don’t need much. We’re not a very demanding bunch. Unlike the fucking fashionistas who want the fucking regular free swag and fucking photo shoots and all this kind of shit. Skaters will give you content. They will just give it to you.

That’s so funny [laughs], you sound like me… What’s the other thing adidas should understand? 

As a culture, we’re doing shit all the time. We film skating, we film each other skating, so, brand or no brand, stuff happens. If you’re sponsoring a skateboarder or whatever the fuck, you’re going to get stuff. Stop talking, start doing things. Also, hire within that community. And again, focus on a skateboard lens. Clearly, adidas took a crack at it, but it was the wrong people anyway. You’ve had professional adidas team riders visit the UAE. We’ve done stuff with them. We’re the ones that showed them around, drove them around. I filmed them. adidas was nowhere to be seen. There’s not even like, “OMG adidas.” For example, if a Red Bull athlete is coming to the UAE, for sure Red Bull UAE is going to do something with them. adidas? Fucking Busenitz was here! Nothing was happening with adidas. Busenitz. Twice! Who has photos? I do. Who has skate clips? I do. Did adidas pay me? No. Was adidas around? No. Did they organise some type of demo or meet and greet? No.

That sounds like a Ruby rant to me too [laughs].... 

Ah man… [shakes head].