Former skateboader Sharné Jacobs is moulding South Africa’s next skating superstars

Growing up as one of four children in the Johannesburg suburb of Alberton, Sharné Jacobs was always a sporty child. She dabbled in sports such as cricket and rugby, but it was skateboarding that tugged at her heartstrings.

Exposure to a popular video game titled Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (named after and endorsed by skating legend Tony Hawk) fuelled the flame for skateboarding that Jacobs already had flickering in her.

When she was brave enough to eventually take the sport up in her teenage years, she was the only girl at the skatepark – just like Elissa Steamer was the sole female skater in Pro Skater.

Despite her love for skateboarding, often being the only woman in a male-dominated field took its toll on Jacobs, and she severed ties with the sport. It wasn’t until her 20s that she went back, after being coaxed by a friend. Older and wiser, she enjoyed skating a bit more, rising to become a prominent name in South Africa.

Jacobs participated in competitions, but even then, she was never quite pleased with the number of women and girls able to rise to the upper echelons of the sport.

The rebirth

Hence, in 2015, Jacobs founded Girls Skate South Africa and began pouring her energy into becoming a skating coach. The organisation fosters the inclusivity and representation that Jacobs so desperately longed for when she began her skateboarding journey.

In continuing with her mission of being the change she wants to see in society, in 2022, Jacobs opened the Johannesburg Skate Club (JSC), which focuses on underprivileged communities around Johannesburg, looking for South Africa’s next big skateboarding star, as well as keeping a multitude of children off the streets.

Jacobs coaches her youngsters from the Nike Shapa Soweto sports centre in Klipspruit, after being handpicked by Nike to be a mentor at the sports hub. The club also has a branch in Alexandra.

“What made me want to do this is because of what skateboarding has given me. I wanted to give that back. Skateboarding has given me so much,” Jacobs told Daily Maverick. “So, I want every person to feel what I feel from skateboarding. That was my inspiration to start the club and to start giving back to the young ones.”

“It’s really important to give the children something to do. Skateboarding also teaches them life lessons,” Jacobs said.

“I want to show them that Soweto is not where it ends, that there’s so much more to life. They can take themselves further with skateboarding, especially with the lessons that it teaches you about life, like not giving up.

“Skateboarding was my escape when I wasn’t feeling happy or whatever. I would go out to skate and I would feel much better,” the 37-year-old said.

Team effort

JSC has sessions five times a week. This means Jacobs must have a team as passionate as her to drive the project forward. This includes club manager Natalia Josefa Álvarez. Born and raised in Chile, Álvarez departed her native country at 24.

The marketing specialist then moved to Germany, where she spent six years, before moving to South Africa in 2024. That’s when she joined Jacob’s JSC initiative. Now Álvarez is an integral part of steering the ship, while Jacobs directs most of her energy towards mentoring the youngsters at JSC.

“The way Sharné has structured the classes is that the first hour is for beginners and the second one is advanced. It does not matter how old you are, it’s just about passing an exam – doing a few tricks proficiently. If you pass that, you graduate to the advanced level,” Álvarez told Daily Maverick.

“We also teach the advanced class members to communicate with the beginners in a kind way. We teach them the importance of respect, no matter the level of skateboarding someone is at because sometimes we rely on the advanced ones to show the beginners the ropes. So, they must have empathy and patience – characteristics which are also valuable in life in general.”

Life lessons

Because of living in the townships, some children who are part of JSC use it as an escape from particularly tough backgrounds. To equip the youngsters with more life skills than just the lesson that skateboarding teaches of rising and dusting yourself off after a fall, there are a number of other initiatives.

These include an in-house book club and volunteers who share their knowledge in fields such as mental health. According to Álvarez, this is important because: “Some of the children we work with only have one parent. Some have none. Due to different circumstances, such as death or just abandonment. But for us, the most important thing is knowing that we are making a difference for them, changing their outlook on life.”

One of the Soweto-born children who has been positively affected by JSC is 11-year-old Omphile Mashile, who benefited from the World Skate Development Scholarship Programme. He flew to the US in late 2025 and was exposed to elite facilities and coaching from some of the greats in the sport. The programme is funded through Olympic Solidarity.

Direct impact

Jacobs says seeing youngsters such as Omphile enabled to dream of a better future, even if it doesn’t come through skateboarding, is what spurs her on, despite the burden of running JSC with limited financial resources. She does not charge a membership fee, and the organisation often relies on the contributions of good Samaritans.

“Omphile has been skating for about two years now. But he has that raw talent. If everyone can see that and see what a little child from Soweto is capable of, they will be inspired as well,” Jacobs said.

“I’m super proud. I cry all the time when I see these children going out and having fun, going to competitions and making the podium… also, to see them being noticed and enjoying themselves, as opposed to being on the streets doing bad things.”

So coveted are Jacobs’ coaching skills that another member of JSC, Ashley Gindre (10), travels all the way from Randburg to Soweto to be mentored by the woman coach. This passion is paying off, too, as Gindre is a rising prospect in the sport, much like Mashile.

“The boys have been so welcoming to Ash; they’ve been really sweet and friendly to her. So, she always feels comfortable at the skate park with them,” her mother Alison Gindre told Daily Maverick.

“It’s just a really amazing club and Sharné does such a great job with coaching the children. She doesn’t just focus on their skateboarding; she focuses on their whole self.” DM