Long time skateboarder and grafik artist, Christian De Souza Jensen has played a big part of making the skate scene in Malta better for the youth.

I had just graduated from art college in Dublin, Ireland and in the summer of 2003, I came back to Malta (where my folks live) to save cash and plan my next scheme which was to come back to Denmark... I quickly got work as a storyboard artist and had planned to stay for 5 or so months.  That original plan of 5 or so months turned into 2.5 years because of my obsessive mission to see that our local skate spot, Msida Subway became a skate park...

The old spot before.. Msida subway.

The Msida Subway for the few skateboarders on the island at the time, became the last proper skate spot on the island.  It was an underground pass from a roundabout with a huge open space in the middle. This made it isolated, much like a burnside spot, meaning we were lef½t alone while the natural state of the place was filled with gaps, and many pads making it very ideal. It was the only spot in Malta where skaters weren't treated with mental and physical acts of intolerance & abuse which was a massive problem since skateboarding came to the island circa '78. I have quite a few myself that are somewhat entertaining (at least now, not back then).

Fatty Mc Fat Fat..

We had some weeks, in 2003, where our extra skate obstacles were missing, mainly Portable rails and Grind boxes. While, we assumed it was scumbags during the night stealing or breaking them, we quickly found out it was government cleaners doing this. A cleaner was taking away a box(built by a pre-teen and his loving father most likely), and as the skaters were pleading with him to stop taking it, the cleaner got angry, and just plain unjustifiably cussed at the kids. An older skater came in at that moment and tried to diplomatically talk him out of taking it, by saying that they would stash it away during the night. The guy got angry and attempted to battle ram the box into my friend. He later confessed the government was planning to turn the Msida Subway into a garden and it was vital to move all skaters objects away. That day was a wake up call, and we needed desperately to start an association, to voice the rights of skateboarders on the tiny island as well as adressesing the massive problem of losing the Msida Subway. The Misda Subway simply had to be a skate park and in its natural state, made it perfect to be built on. It took around 2.5 years to get the go-ahead, and in 2008, The Msida Skatepark became the first official skatepark suited for the needs of skateboarding.

Our company was short-lived , but the positive part was that it indeed made cash for the stuff we needed at the Msida Subway, the kids got cheap priced goods, and it kinda helped bring down the prices at the skate shop at the time. We had to stop eventually, because 2 other skate shops had opened during 2003 & 2004. It was a conscious decision to stop.

Unfortunately, the 2 other shops had to close down so right now, there is that original shop of 2003. However, things seem to be grand. Malta Skateboard Association & that shop have a good relationship, and it’s only because the owners understanding where we came from, made their business a lot better.
We wish there were skateboarders owning shops, but what can we do? We hope that day will come, but the deal right now is pretty grand. That very same shop actually organized an amazing event with the European DC team. We are very proud to have worked with the shop and to see that they are putting loads of love and support into the scene.  Time and experience can do wonders for shops and people. 

Advice & Shout out...

 So much blood and sweat went into the park, and it’s truly an amazing thing that finally, after 30+ years, a proper skate park was granted to us. However, the Malta skater man has got to keep it going and give back to the scene as much as possible. Document the scene with Video, Photo's blogs etc. Make events, keep it fresh for the current generation to enjoy and progress in.  Use whatever skill you are learning at school/Uni that could help. Having a skater with construction, video, or business skills would be extremely useful, esp. the thought of having a business taught skater finally owning a skate shop. As a matter of fact, as far as this, if there are any skaters in Malta that want to start a shop, please contact me. I have tons of useful people who could help you out.

The biggest problem in Malta with the old skate park issue, was unfortunately, and I hate saying this, not that authorities and public were against us, but it was skateboarders attitudes, lack of enthusiasm and motivation to keep their "fight" going. So, let us not forget and learn from our mistakes, and not take what we NOW have for granted. This should make us want to do things more. So Much Love and respect and keep the "blood fire" lit.

I would love to thank every person that has helped MSA (Malta Skateboard Association) with their support incl. the Maltese government to the ordinary citizens... Most of all I would love to thank every Malta Skateboarder that has given us a hand over the years, Thomas kring at "Rend og Hop", James Grimaud and Michael Damarco at MSA...  Give yourselves a pat on the back

More art work from Christian De Souza Jensen.

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