Chris Van Der Merwe Conference Interview

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The Conference just posted this interview with South African skater Chris Van Der Merwe in their blog along with some photos and his March 2010 edit. Check it out.

Oli Benet: Hi Chris, please tell us a bit about yourself!

Hey Oli, thanks for doing this interview with me. My name is Chris van der Merwe a very common South African surname, haha. My first language is Afrikaans. I live in a really beautiful town called Stellenbosch close to the South West coast line. I’m 26, I rollerblade, build ramps, film, edit, skimboard, play guitar, live all out for Jesus.

OB: How long have you been skating and how has your skating evolved over the years?

Been skating for 15 years. I skateboarded for two years in-between the rolling just because of a lack of spots in the small country side town I grew up in. I also played lots of other sports growing up that also kept me from skating lots. I started out when rollerblading was the new thing on the block. After seeing what can be done on skates I just stuck to it and never looked back. I started taking my rollerblading serious when I quit playing rugby at the age of 21. I mean, there wasn’t a skate park even close to the town I grew up in and no proper spots, so I grew up on little rails and boxes we built ourselves. After high school I started winning street comps and best trick comps at skate parks. Only after high school my park skating progressed lots and I started winning park comps also. I’ve qualified pro at AIL in 2008 and competed in Asian X Games the past two years. I skate for Conference – on the Xsjado Ambassador team. Locally I skate for Son Skate and Roll One.

Read the whole interview in the Conference Blog.