International gold medallist and current FISE Am World Series number one skateboarder, Jean-marc Johannes successfully set out to break the Guinness World record for most Nollie Heelflips in one minute. Currently, the record stands at 8 Nollie Heelflips, which Jean-marc, effortlessly surpassed at the Shred Skate Park in Cape Town, with his own record of 14 Nollie Heelflips in one minute.
“I attempted to break this record for South African skateboarding,” said Jean-marc “when kids see this I hope to invoke a sense of confidence in them, so that they believe they can do anything. That was my ultimate goal. I’ve idolised international skaters that have achieved records such as this one and thought I had to give it a shot for SA.”
Currently, Jean-marc is one of only three South African skateboarders qualified to compete on the international circuit, where he rides among the top 50 skaters in Europe, ranked Top 20 during the World Skateboarding Championship in Kimberley’s PRO Open division and number one amateur skater during the FISE World Series. As an action sports athlete, Jean-marc is considered one of the Top 100 globally.
Apart from competitive skateboarding and pushing his stunt boundaries, Jean-marc has gained great recognition in the media when he debuted as the first South African skateboarder on the American pro-skater Tony Hawk’s website (RIDE Channel), which introduced him to world’s largest audience of skateboarding.
When not skating, Jean-marc spends his time as humanitarian and founder of a charity initiative he called FILL THE GAP, which provides motivational speeches and demo’s at various schools internationally and locally. He also runs a donation project FILL THE BOX, which has collected over 50 pairs of footwear in two months and has been awared with R10 000 by Engen to continue its drive for the remainder of the year and 2017.
