Skateistan & The Skateshop Phnom Penh visit Siem Reap Skatepark

Last weekend marked the opening party of the Siem Reap skatepark! We had the pleasure of being joined by the likes of Skateistan Cambodia, and the owners and skaters from The Skateshop Phnom Penh – really friendly, passionate guys, and I also had the opportunity to interview them, check the video at the end of this post! A lot of fun was had over the weekend, and a hell of a lot of sweat! It also reminded me how much I love skateboarding, and how it can be such an effective means of bringing people together.

The skatepark was originally designed and constructed as a roller-blade park a few years ago, and features some tight transitions, a fast triple-camel-hump and a little nipple in the middle. Last weekend a nice grindbox and a long rail were added (I’m not sure exactly by who, but thank you!), and the hope is to continue to grow the park so that it is more useable by skateboarders. There are plans of putting a small miniramp outside in the garden, along with a BBQ and some kind of fridge/bar with refreshments, which would be sick!

The whole project is being organised and run by Tori at The Hand in HeART Project, who is also planning several communal/art projects at the skatepark, such as wall-mural painting sessions, and other workshops. She is of course looking to get as many people involved as possible, so if you could give a hand, whether it be in the means of a sponsorship, a donation, or a helping hand on site if you’re nearby, please get in touch with her via her organisation’s Facebook, or via the Skatepark’s Facebook page.

After a fair few hours in the park, a few games of SKATE, and after riskily ducktaping Ed the GoPro to the bottom of a skateboard, we headed out to X-Bar’s rooftop mini to catch the sunset:

A huge thanks to everyone involved, for more photos please check the Facebook album, otherwise, peep the video!

Max Palmer