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A little sweeter than your average skate video, this brand new short film by Uukhai, a Mongolian skateboarding association, sheds an intimate, honest and unpretentious light on a burgeoning community in Ulaanbaatar. The video features interviews with skaters involved with the organization, and tons of footage of street skating shot this summer. This look at a blossoming scene is the perfect inspiration for the jaded. Their old school is young, and they are devoted to bringing up brand new skaters. It’s also become a focal point for expatriates and repatriates. Take nothing for granted, certainly not your pristine sidewalks! Uukhai is working to raise funds to provide young skaters with decks, components, and eventually an indoor skatepark. Support from abroad is very much welcome, and rarely bestowed on this community. In a city that offers young people very few creative outlets, Uukhai is supporting skating for all the right reasons, and could use your support as well. Dig in! – THE UUKHAI DOCUMENTARY travels time to bring you the past, present and future of skateboarding in Mongolia. As it is a brand new sport and lifestyle, success is inevitable. Original and local skaters of the city of Ulaanbaatar, explain their perceptions of skateboarding on how it changed their lives and what it could do for the young guns to come follow in their footsteps. Step into their lives and get a firsthand look of what it takes to be an upcoming skateboarder in the dusty, rugged and cold streets of the historic country that is Mongolia. DIRECTED BY Odmandakh Bataa PRODUCED BY Uukhai NGO FEATURING Erdenedalai Purev Enkhjin Batnasan Sergelenbayar Batjargal Odmandakh Bataa Batbayar Lkhamsuren Malou Rose Binderiya Sanduijav Tobias Ulbrich Munki Lhagvasuren Aaron Szott Albert Morgado Jack Arendt Ankhbayar Ch. Bilguun S. Tengis B. Orgilsaikhan N. FILMED BY Odmandakh Bataa Enkhjin Batnasan EDITED BY Odmandakh Bataa Enkhjin Batnasan SECOND CAMERA Erdenedalai Purev Sergelenbayar Batjargal STILL PHOTOGRAPHER Enkhjin Batnasan Malou Rose Sergelenbayar Batjargal TEAM MANAGER Malou Rose email: uukhaiskateboarding@gmail.com
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A little sweeter than your average skate video, this brand new short film by Uukhai, a Mongolian skateboarding association, sheds an intimate, honest and unpretentious light on a burgeoning community in Ulaanbaatar. The video features interviews with skaters involved with the organization, and tons of footage of street skating shot this summer. This look at a blossoming scene is the perfect inspiration for the jaded. Their old school is young, and they are devoted to bringing up brand new skaters. It’s also become a focal point for expatriates and repatriates. Take nothing for granted, certainly not your pristine sidewalks! Uukhai is working to raise funds to provide young skaters with decks, components, and eventually an indoor skatepark. Support from abroad is very much welcome, and rarely bestowed on this community. In a city that offers young people very few creative outlets, Uukhai is supporting skating for all the right reasons, and could use your support as well. Dig in! – THE UUKHAI DOCUMENTARY travels time to bring you the past, present and future of skateboarding in Mongolia. As it is a brand new sport and lifestyle, success is inevitable. Original and local skaters of the city of Ulaanbaatar, explain their perceptions of skateboarding on how it changed their lives and what it could do for the young guns to come follow in their footsteps. Step into their lives and get a firsthand look of what it takes to be an upcoming skateboarder in the dusty, rugged and cold streets of the historic country that is Mongolia. DIRECTED BY Odmandakh Bataa PRODUCED BY Uukhai NGO FEATURING Erdenedalai Purev Enkhjin Batnasan Sergelenbayar Batjargal Odmandakh Bataa Batbayar Lkhamsuren Malou Rose Binderiya Sanduijav Tobias Ulbrich Munki Lhagvasuren Aaron Szott Albert Morgado Jack Arendt Ankhbayar Ch. Bilguun S. Tengis B. Orgilsaikhan N. FILMED BY Odmandakh Bataa Enkhjin Batnasan EDITED BY Odmandakh Bataa Enkhjin Batnasan SECOND CAMERA Erdenedalai Purev Sergelenbayar Batjargal STILL PHOTOGRAPHER Enkhjin Batnasan Malou Rose Sergelenbayar Batjargal TEAM MANAGER Malou Rose email: uukhaiskateboarding@gmail.com
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I’ve had the privilege of meeting and interviewing a lot of top-shelf skaters for the pages of Giant Robot: Don Nguyen, Daewon Song, Kenny Anderson, Eric Koston, Shogo Kubo, Steve Caballero, Willy Santos, Peggy Oki, Richard Mulder, Kien Lieu, Chad Tim Tim, Jamie Reyes, Daniel Castillo, Pat Channita, Jimmy Cao, Lincoln Ueda… (I know there are more and if I forgot you, I’m sorry.) Truthfully, the topic was probably lost on many readers but hopefully the culture wasn’t. Streetwear, street art, and even punk rock–so much of that stems from skateboarding and no one should forget that.