Pa'din Musa won the silver medal in the Street Skateboard Qualifying (Best Asian Skater Division) category at the recent Asian X-Games held in Shanghai, China.
Really, he is. For a man who has single-handedly placed Malaysia on the map in the world of extreme sports, the local skateboarding legend is a simple man who still remembers his humble upbringing in a small town in Butterworth, Penang.
He speaks politely and it is apparent that there is not a single diva-bone in that man’s body. The 34-year-old world-famous skateboarder was very gracious during our interview recently at the Vans boutique in Sunway Pyramid, Bandar Sunway, Selangor, and even seemed a little embarrassed over the fuss everyone has made over him.
“I’ve been skateboarding for over 20 years now,” said the petite Pa’din
What he lacks in stature Pa’din definitely makes up for with his deft skills in skateboarding. The numerous medals and trophies he has won in local and international competitions throughout his career are testament to that.
The two-time Asian X-Games gold medalist (in 2000 and 2004) recently added another win to his already long list of victories – he won the silver medal in the Street Skateboard Qualifying (Best Asian Skater Division) category at the recent Asian X-Games held in Shanghai, China.
It was his 11th year of participation in the Asian X-Games.
“The competition was tough and I’m glad that I still managed to get a top-three placing in that category,” said Pa’din in a soft voice. In the overall Street Skateboard Finals (Open Category) Pa’din placed eighth behind skaters from United States, Germany, Brazil and Japan.
Born Mohamad Fadzil Musa, Pa’din as he is more affectionately known, is definitely a positive influence to many youngsters who are keen on extreme sports activities – and even to those who aren’t.
His rags-to-riches tale definitely serves as an inspiration to youths, proving to them that one doesn’t have to be born wealthy to be successful in life. Besides being a professional skater for over two decades, Pa’din is also an established skatepark designer and brand ambassador.
Back in the late 1980s, Pa’din was just another boy from a low-income family in Butterworth when his brother introduced him to the world of extreme sports.
“It was he who first started skateboarding. Only after I saw him doing it did I find the interest to try it myself,” said the third of seven siblings.
He tried his hand at skateboarding at age 13, and has been hooked on it since.
Although his parents initially were wary of their kid’s interest in the extreme sport, they eventually understood that it was what he liked and wanted to pursue professionally. (As a token of appreciation, Pa’din bought plane tickets for his family to visit Sarawak after he got his first big cheque in 2001.)
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Pa'din has been skateboarding for more than two decades now, winning many local and international competitions. |
When he first started out, Pa’din befriended teenage students of a nearby international school (most of whom were American) who were into skateboarding, inline skating and BMX riding. It was those older schoolboys who really helped cement Pa’din’s interest in the extreme sport.
“They would show us some tricks and even let us watch video tapes of skateboarding that they brought from their hometowns. Then we would get together to re-create whichever tricks that we could with limited skills and equipment,” said Pa’din who is the only person in his immediate family to skate professionally.
The schoolboys also helped Pa’din and his friends get skateboarding gear selling them their used stuff like shoes, skateboards and more.
“It was difficult getting the equipment back then. They didn’t have any extreme sports stores in Penang and we had to go to Kuala Lumpur if we needed anything. But the American boys were nice enough to sell us their stuff for cheap and sometimes even gave things away for free,” said Pa’din who became good buddies with the foreigners.
The skater, who wasn’t fluent in English when he was younger, now speaks the language almost perfectly, and credits skateboarding as the reason behind the improvement.
“I wasn’t very well versed in English as a kid, but the more videos I watched, the more people I met and the more tournaments I participated in, my grasp of the language just got better over the years,” he said.
Pa’din started to compete in local skateboarding competitions at age 18 and his long list of accomplishments is definitely something that could make other skaters go green with envy. And although he concentrated on creating a name for himself in the skating community, he didn’t neglect his studies altogether. The skater went on to receive a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from the Port Dickson Polytechnic in Negri Sembilan.
These days, when he is not competing, Pa’din and his friends go “skate travelling” where they visit countries just to try out the skateparks there and meet new skaters. He likes to watch up-and-coming skaters do their tricks as he believes that this new generation of extreme sports athletes have something fresh to offer to the community.
“Honestly, it’s hard to come up with a brand new trick in skateboarding as I believe that there aren’t any left. What the rest of us skateboarders do is create variations of such tricks to keep the sport current and also challenge our competitors,” said Pa’din.
He skates for at least three hours a day, even when he is not competing, just to brush up on his skills and work on variations that he has yet to master. It was with lot of hardwork he said that he managed to “land” a trick he had struggled with for years.
“I’ve tried to do a ‘backside nose blunt side’ trick for almost four years and only managed to land it perfectly last year. Once.”
Besides working on landing difficult tricks, Pa’din is also working on making skateboarding more accessible for youths across Malay-sia. He currently runs the skating school at in Putrajaya and hopes that the Government would take notice in providing adequate assistance to youngsters who are interested in pursuing careers in extreme sports.
“There is no point in having so many skateparks in the country if the youths cannot learn anything new or work on their skills there. We should provide them with lessons to sharpen their skillset and open new skateboarding opportunities for them,” said Pa’din.
He also advised youngsters who want to take up skating, or other extreme sport, professionally to understand that it requires a lot of time and dedication. It is different from doing it as just a hobby.
“Professional skateboarding requires a lot of hardwork and you must be willing to do it for a long time before tasting success. This is not a way to gain instant fame and money but if that’s what they’re after, baik join Akademi Fantasia.”
The skating school is located at the Putrajaya Challenge Park, Jalan P5, Presint 5, Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya (017-661 7105).
