The images captured by photographer LA based photographer, Noah Abrams were anything short of mind-blowing. Abrams discovered the phenomenon of skateboarders in war-torn Afghanistan and decided to go there himself to capture some of these skateboarders; many of whom incorporated the war-scarred landscape as their playground. I am just in awe at the resilience of the Afghan people who, despite the events occurring within their country have found a way to go on. I also want to give props to Mr. Abrams for executing some beautiful shots of such a hotspot of conflict. Noah Abrams decided to chronicle his discovery 'Skateistan', HUH Magazine sat down with Noah to discuss his inspiration and what he found to be most profound during the project.. Here are some excerpts..
After the Jump
"Cool. How did this Skateistan series come about?
I was sitting in my bed surfing the internet one morning and came across a video about skateboarders in Afghanistan. They were skating an old swimming pool that the Taliban had used to execute people in. It just struck me as one of the most positive things I had seen in a long time, especially out of Afghanistan.
So what happened next?
I started to do some research and came across a group called Skateistan who are doing amazing work for the kids in Afghanistan. After that I got really focused on finding a way to get over there and support them.
I’d imagine it’s particularly difficult to get to Afghanistan.
It’s definitely not easy. From idea to actually traveling there took around eight months. Getting the visas was the tricky part but we had some great support on the Afghan side. After all the organizing we had to fly from the US to Germany, then finally to Kabul. It takes a little over two days to get there and we were on a weird travel high when we arrived.
I never would have expected a group of skateboarders to be so warmly welcomed in Afghanistan.
Not to get preachy, but at the end of the day, people are people. Culturally we may be very different but our goals are pretty much the same — we all want to be happy. No-one wants to suffer. This is why, for me, doing a trip like this is so important in the grander scheme of things. It’s that cross-cultural dialogue that will hopefully help push things in the right direction for us all.
That makes sense. What were the kids like at skateboarding?
They were good for sure, considering what they have to live with from day to day. They are a tough bunch with no fears at all when it comes to skating.
Do you think you'll go back and visit them again?
I'd definitely like to.
READ THE REST OF THE INTERVIEW OVER AT HUH. Magazine
Big shout out to my Acacia Fraternity frat brothers Brother Michael Quinn and Brother Robert Gilmour as they are currently fighting in Afghanistan. God Speed!!
Via: Hypebeast
LV
Photos Courtesy of: Noah Abrams
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