CHRIS NJOKWANA: FROM JZ TO BRAZIL, FROM JOZI TO AMSTERDAM
2008 Red Bull Street Style champ ended 2009 doing a freestyle demo for Jacob Zuma and flying to Brazil. 2010 is all about new tricks and more freestyle soccer experience.
2008 Red Bull Street Style champ ended 2009 doing a freestyle demo for Jacob Zuma and flying to Brazil. 2010 is all about new tricks and more freestyle soccer experience.
Chris Njokwana, the 2008 Red Bull Street Style Champ chats to us about how he ended last year with a bang and where freestyle will be taking him and his soccer ball this year.
“It’s been a really positive start to the year for me, I’m sure 2010 is going to be awesome.” He tells us. By the sounds of it, the end of 2009 was also pretty exciting for Chris, “Yeah, Kamalio (2009 Red Bull Street Style champ) and I got to perform for JZ at his homestead on the 27 December. Man, what a way to end last year, performing for the president and a whole lot of dignitaries.”
Chris says the audience was unlike any that he’d performed for before, “Most of them had never seen freestyle before; their eyes were like, wide, wide open!” He hopes their performance inspired some people in the audience. “Who knows,” he says, “maybe some of those kids from JZ’s homestead will be up and coming freestylers in a few years to come! That would be awesome.”
Off to a Flying Start
Not even pausing for a break, Chris is currently gearing up for an exciting trip overseas. He and reigning champ, Kamalio, are heading to Saudi Arabia in February for a Red Bull Street Style promotional tour. “We’ve both been working hard; hopefully we’ll get an opportunity to show some new stuff over there.”
Chris and Kamalio have struck up a great friendship over the course of the last few years. While they respect each other’s work and skill, there is also a lot of teasing and joking between the two of them – and this is something that comes across when they perform together, “Kamalio and I get on really well. He’s a great guy; we have a lot of fun together.” Chris tells us.
We ask Chris if he’s had any time to see any of his other freestyler friends since the roadshows last year, “Yeah I had an awesome holiday with Mzu in Brazil. We won the Sneakers ‘Two on Two’ competition and our prize was a holiday to Sao Paulo. What an experience.”
Chris also connects with the broader freestyle community when he has a chance. “Kamalio organised a meet for all the Johannesburg freestylers. It’s great to see General and the other guys. We just hang and video some footage of our new stuff.”
Drumming up support for Kamalio
Chris is very excited about the Red Bull Street Style world championship, happening in Cape Town in April 2010. “A couple of the freestylers in Jozi are trying to raise funds so we can get to the finals and support Kamalio.” We ask him if he knows what his friend Kamalio has in store for the final, “He is working hard hey. He’s got some pretty cool new stuff. I don’t know if it will be ready for the final but yoh he’s working hard. We’ll see. I know he’s gonna be totally awesome.”
Cape Town isn’t the only trip Chris has planned for the year, “There is this huge freestyle meet happening in Amsterdam this year - all the best freestylers in the world getting together to just hang and share tricks and stuff. Imagine that! Yoh, yoh, yoh.” He is very keen to join them, “All of my money is going straight towards a ticket to get there. I’ve never been to Europe before so it will be a real dream if I get there.”
Will Kamalio be joining him? “He really wants to come as well, but I guess he’ll just have to wait and see what his mother says,” says Chris with a cheeky laugh.
