Skateboarding in Vietnam

HANOI – It was a summit on the plywood quarter-pipe. Standing above the crowd on the rain-slickened courtyard of Indochina Plaza on Boo’s Skate Day 2013, two of Hanoi’s best young skaters – a native son and his American rival import – shared smiles and commiserated about the misty morning.

One, I later learned, is a 14-year-old named Vu, jaunty in a grey cloth cap and uncommonly graceful on his board.  The other, a 12-year-old who carries my DNA, was the only contestant in sight wearing a helmet – at my insistence.

Understand he was wearing the same Tony Hawk signature helmet three summers ago when he chipped a Tic Tac-sized corner of a front tooth in a fall at Volcom Skate Park in California, and last summer an awkward crash at Etnies Skate Park produced an ugly egg-shaped welt at the corner of his right eye. After he vomited – a symptom of a concussion – a trip to the Emergency Room and an MRI revealed no fracture. Helmets can prevent serious injury, even save lives – but they aren’t much help on face plants.

Happily, the weather improved, and Boo’s, the popular retailer that is a pioneer in Vietnam’s fledging skate culture, chalked up a new milestone. Do Viet Anh, who founded Boo’s with his brother, told me that about 150 skaters registered for last weekend’s event, up from 90 in 2012. It looked like about 95% of the skaters were Vietnamese.

Vietnam’s economic growth may have slowed but from a skater’s point of view, things are definitely looking up. It’s not hard to imagine that Vietnam’s big cities may soon sprout the sort of dedicated, challenging concrete skate parks that are now scattered across the US and global urban terrain – complete with skull-shaped pools, half-pipes, stairs, vertical drops, “clam shells” and other features. Hanoi now has a dedicated ice rink, after all.

Volcom, Etnies and Van’s are major U.S. skate apparel and gear brands that also sponsor dedicated skate parks appealing to inline skates, Razor scooters and tricked-out bikes.  It’s not hard to imagine Boo’s backing such a venture in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. That time will come. Vietnam’s “street” skaters will learn the joys of “vert,” for vertical. This will prove dangerous for those who don’t at least keep their motorbike helmets on. Shops like Boo’s, LB Skate and Leninn Skate will start selling pads – the secret of getting good. Serious skaters don’t wear helmets and pads out of fear, but because it frees them to take bigger risks. You shouldn’t “drop in” on a 90-degree pool face or go after “big air” if you don’t know how to fall on padded knees and slide like Shawn White and other pros on the X Games. Demand for helmets, and pads, helped create a multi-billion-dollar industry.

Someday Vietnam might host its own X Games, perhaps a regional event. On our travels in Asia, my boy packs his board. He’s skated in Singapore, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. There is something of an easy brotherhood among skaters that crosses cultural borders. Like a lot of expat kids, my son’s friends are mostly other expats or Vietnamese kids whose parents can afford the stiff tuition at United Nations International School. Skateboarding led to some casual friendships with Vietnamese lads who also simply love to skate.

Three years ago, Manh and my boy engaged in a friendly competition beneath the statue of Ly Thai To. Manh, now 13, had mastered a trick known as the kickflip – a staple of “street” skating. Over the years, my “vert” skater had tried it hundreds of times without success. Manh witnessed his new rival’s first successful kickflip – and seemed just as happy as my boy. We’ve bumped into him a few times since.

“He friended me on Facebook,” my son said, smiling. I could imagine Manh typing “Hanoi skateboards” in the search function and finding videos posted by his American peer. 

Vu and Manh both earned some oohs and ahhs in the competition. Their American rival did okay, but it wasn’t his A game. He’d love to meet his friendly rivals on the modest metal-clad half-pipe at Hanoi Rock City, where he’d have a home field advantage. 

That’s where Vu and my boy first encountered each other. During a break, Vu came over to chat some more. While Manh speaks little English, Vu seems to be learning quick, and parted with these words: “Good luck, bro.”