The sun gradually disappears from the grey skies, leaving behind just a faint streak of light. As dusk falls, a medium-built young man positions himself on the tarred road along the Merdeka bridge that crosses Sungai Muda which demarcates the states of Penang and Kedah.
His Nikon D800 is positioned, with his finger poised on the shutter button. Any second now, his subject will merge and he needs to be fast enough to get the shots he wants.
The subject in question — a long-haired man clad in T-shirt and jeans with a cap worn jauntily back to the front — appears in a flash, balanced on a skateboard. He does a complicated stunt called Nollie Backside Heelflip, deftly executed at the front of the board where the heel of his back foot performs the flip, on the bridge ramp. The “trrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr” sound emits from the camera as it takes continuous shots of the skateboarder in motion. The man behind the camera takes a look at the photos soon after and grins widely. He got the shot.
That was about a year ago. The image of legendary Malaysian skateboarder Ahmad Fadzli Musa (fondly known as Pa’din Musa) is now immortalised within the pages of the recently launched photo book titled Another Day To The Streets: Malaysian SkateboardingThrough The Lens.
The book — which is supported by Vans, an American manufacturer of skateboarding shoes and related apparels — depicts breathtaking imageries of the Malaysian skateboarding scene, not least by showcasing a vast number of talented skateboarders doing complicated stunts at selected locations across the nation.
The man who shot these images is no stranger to the skateboarding fraternity in Malaysia. Mohd Azim Nong or fondly known as Ajiem Serr (short for Serdang, Selangor where he is from) has been a skateboarding photographer for 13 years.
Seated across me at the dining table in his humble apartment located in bustling Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, the father-of-two flips the pages of his photobook to show me some of his best work while reminiscing his journey in taking these amazing shots.
PHOTOGRAPHY JOURNEY
Ajiem had already made his name in skateboarding photography as early as 2005 with his photographs published in local skateboarding magazines.
With the emergence of social media, the world was soon drowned in images — no thanks to camera phones and never-ending Instagram feeds.
Professional photographers like Ajiem felt the impact of this mass democratisation on their craft. Print media was slowly being sidelined and he soon found himself unemployed. Undeterred, he took time off to equip himself with more knowledge and technical know-how on skateboarding photography before successfully landing a job with Vans in 2016.
“Print media is still the best way to naturally feel your final product,” insists the 32-year-old with a smile. He reveals that his photo book took him one and a half years to compile and publish.
Inspired by award-wining photographer Jonathan Mehring’s book on skateboarding Skate The World: Photographing One World Of Skateboarding, Ajiem’s book serves as a testament of his tireless work in highlighting the Malaysian skateboarding scene.
He tells me that he constantly engages with the local skateboarding community to help him further sharpen his skills at taking these evocative images.
So how big is the skateboarding scene in Malaysia?
“It’s getting more recognition now,” replies Ajiem, who also skateboards “...for fun!”
Explains Ajiem: “We have many talents here in Malaysia such as Pa’din and Joe Ipoh (Johari Fitry Khairuddin). They’re my idols. My book features them as well as other local and foreign skateboarders.”
While he admits he can never skateboard as well as Pa’din or Joe Ipoh, he says with a grin: “I have good eyes, so that’s why I prefer to master the art of skateboarding photography instead!”
Flipping to page 46, he tells me proudly: “This is one of my favourite shots. The lighting and the composition were just perfect.”
I can’t help but agree with him. Skateboarder Zainul Abidin is captured mid-air, performing his backside kickflip trick on the railing of the Kota Kinabalu Plaza crossing bridge. There was no room for error as he performed this stunt. A slight slip and he would’ve plunged to the pavement below.
Was he allowed to skate there? I ask curiously, transfixed by the image.
Chuckling, he admits: “Well, not really. Finding a proper place is a major challenge that skateboarders face. There are only a few skate parks in the country. There’s one in Mont Kiara, Shah Alam and Putrajaya.”
He goes on to add: “Even during the photoshoot for this book, some skateboarders were stopped by the authorities because they thought we would cause damage to the structures and the facilities there.”
Did he face any challenges as a skateboarding photographer? I had to ask. Ajiem ponders the question. “I travel a lot doing what I do. I do miss my wife and my two young daughters who are only 3 and 2 years old. But the support I get from my family is pretty amazing. My mother actually bought me my first digital camera,” divulges the youngest of three siblings, smiling.
GAINING GROUNDS
The history of skateboarding started back in the 50s. Surfers in California, the US started the movement by trying to surf the streets instead of catching the waves. As to who made the first skateboard — that guess is as good as anyone else’s.
The first manufactured skateboard found its way to store shelves in 1959. And in 1963 professional-grade skateboards appeared on the market to take advantage of the growing interest among America’s youth. A skateboarding legend was also born in the 60s and his name is Tony Hawk.
Over the years, skateboarding has been gaining ground all over the world, Malaysia included. Once viewed as a harmful activity for troubled teenagers, skateboarding has now found legitimacy as a mainstream sport, complete with championships and official organisations. Interestingly, it will also make a debut at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics!
The standard of our skateboarders, however, is still far from countries such as Japan and the US. There hasn’t been any skateboarder who has matched the achievements of Pa’din Musa. He has won gold medals in the Asian X-Games 2000 and 2004, and has even competed against top professionals in the 2004 Summer X-Games in the US.
“Pa’din is Malaysia’s answer to Tony Hawk,” Ajiem declares with pride, adding: “But I’m sure we’ll be seeing more talents soon. It’s great that there are skateboarding organisations now to help develop the sport and unearth new talents.”
Officially, skateboarding in Malaysia is under the umbrella of Malaysian Extreme Sports Association (MESA), a government body that’s responsible for extreme sports in this country. Skateboarding had also received a boost with the founding of a government-certified NGO called Skateboarding Development Malaysia LLC (SDM) aimed at developing new talents for the local skateboarding scene.
So while there might not be a clear champion in sight at the moment, there could be possibilities of seeing a Malaysian skateboarder competing in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
As for Ajiem, as long as the local skateboarding scene is thriving, he’ll be armed with his camera and ready to capture the moment.
ANOTHER DAY TO THE STREETS: MALAYSIAN SKATEBOARDING THROUGH THE LENS
Author : Mohd Azim Nong
Supported by : Vans “Off The Wall”
Pages : 155
Where to buy : Skateshop Showroom (Paradigm Mall, Johor Baru), G Hard Pro Shop (Mont Kiara Skate Park, KL) and My Papan Skate Shop (Alor Setar, Kedah)
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Contact Ajiem at his Instagram @ajiem or Facebook www.facebook.com/ajiemserr