From Athlone to Russia: Skateboarder Jean-Marc Johannes Selected for Global Youth Summit

South African professional skateboarder Jean-Marc Johannes has been officially selected to represent South Africa at the 2026 International Festival of Youth.

Taking place in Yekaterinburg, Russia, from September 11 to 17, the festival functions as an international leadership gathering rather than a sports competition, serving as the opening leg before Johannes heads to Stavropol for the KARDO World Series Finals from September 16 to 20

Organised by the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs under the Youth and Children national project, the gathering convenes 10,000 participants aged 14 to 35 from over 180 countries to collaborate on global issues, leadership development, and cultural exchange.

“Being considered for this selection and receiving recognition not just on the board is a tremendous privilege,” Johannes told IOL. 

From Competition to Leadership

For the past decade, Johannes has regularly competed internationally for South Africa, and he has been selected as a headliner for the forthcoming KARDO World Series Finals, bypassing the preliminary stages.

Supported by the Russia Land of Opportunities platform, KARDO is an international award programme for street culture and urban sports, evaluating over 2,500 finalists across street disciplines including skateboarding, parkour, DJing, and many more.

“This invitation is a unique chance to share my South African sporting experience while exploring the broader global factors shaping our industry,” Johannes said.

Johannes aims to bring his new knowledge back to South African communities, noting that his selection reflects society’s changing view of skateboarding.

“Skateboarding has become a core influence within urban culture,” Johannes explained. He added that the continued development of local skate schools and workshops is helping the sport unpack a broader potential that extends far beyond competitive skateboarding.

Johannes is applying his competitive discipline to prepare for both the Youth Festival and the KARDO World Series Finals in Russia.

“My focus is to stay physically and mentally ready,” he said. “Experience has taught me that success happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

Overcoming Adversity

Diagnosed with chronic asthma at birth, Johannes spent much of his early childhood confined to hospital wards. Waking up at 3 a.m. struggling to breathe was a deeply isolating experience,” he told IOL, “which was exacerbated by financial anxieties over expensive medical costs.”

He later realised that skateboarding would become his outlet away from the hospital.

“It was an outlet for me to express my creativity, and I still see it that way, even though it’s very competitive,” Johannes told IOL. “It is my voice, an art. I will always stick to this because art is not bound by rules.”

After a local skater spotted him practising alone at Athlone Stadium, Johannes was introduced to the broader skating community in Cape Town. As his skills grew, he spent hours reading the Guinness Book of Records in his school library, where he noticed a lack of African representation.

“I read the book over and over, and I started to realise there was nothing about us in there,” he told IOL. “Page after page, year after year, South Africa didn’t exist.”

He later changed that reality when he set five world records in 2023 alone, earning his place as the first African skateboarder in the 2024 printed Guinness World Records.

A kid from Athlone

Through his participation in this year’s Youth Festival, Johannes plans to track industry shifts to help develop South African sports infrastructure and fulfil his personal aspirations, having previously been featured in the 2020 Namibian national school exams.

“Long-term, I hope to be able to contribute to the development of the sport with a forecasted understanding of the industry,” Johannes said. “My goal is to gain a comprehensive understanding of where the world will be in the years ahead.”

For young South Africans facing hardship, his core message remains constant.

“The biggest message that I would like to share is that absolutely anything is possible, with time, dedication, ambition, and the willingness to be adaptable to anything you come across in your journey,” Johannes said.

“Always keep your eye on the prize.”

From hospital wards in Cape Town to the global stages of both the KARDO World Series Finals and the International Festival of Youth, Jean-Marc Johannes continues to redefine what is possible for African skateboarders.

IOL