With her fame radiating on the streets of Kampala and on social media spaces, JANEL NAKIGOZI, 27, has distinguished herself as the Skate Queen, who skates around the streets of Kampala dressed in a gomesi.
This has led her to getting 30.1k followers, and 263.3k likes on TikTok, with most of her videos getting above 1.3 million views. She recently sat down with Quick Talk to talk about her interesting hobby.
Could you please introduce yourself properly?
Hello Uganda, my name is Nakigozi Janel. Most people know me as the Skate Queen in a Gomesi. I am a valuation surveyor by profession, and I’m also a make-up artist as my side hustle, and very passionate about skating, as most people have seen on my TikTok.
Why did you choose a gomesi of all things to wear while skating?
First and foremost, I think the reason why I’m in this state today is because of the gomesi. I have been doing skateboarding for quite a while now. I started way back in 2013.
For all that time, people were not really seeing it. But now they are seeing it in a gomesi, because it’s very unique. We tried several concepts, and eventually settled on it. We wanted something that would capture attention, because it doesn’t necessarily have to be just for fun.
I also wanted to embrace culture, because I’m a Muganda; I would be putting my culture up there. Imagine if I went for a national competition and I’m recognised as the skateboarder in a gomesi. [Quick Talk can’t imagine some skateboarding jumps done in a gomesi…!]
With a gomesi, you need to respect it in terms of how you move. I also love women’s empowerment. I feel like I’m bringing women together; something that represents women.
How do you skate safely in the streets of Kampala with all the potholes?
We mostly skate on weekends, especially Sundays, when the city is less busy. We skate through Kampala mainly for fun, and I don’t skate alone. I skate with friends.
It’s like a family. After a stressful week, you come together with the skateboarding family and skate through Kampala, but for scenarios like rough roads, we mostly use special wheels. Some are called Shaka wheels, which help with rough surfaces.
Describe your first encounter with a skateboard; what drew you to skating?
I got my first skateboard in 2013 when I was still in school. One Saturday, a friend came with a skateboard and dared us to step on it. She told us that if someone stepped on it and did not fall, she would give them the skateboard.
I took the challenge and stepped on it. Luckily, I did not fall. She later said she would not give me the skateboard, but would introduce me to a coach called Kizza. The coach introduced me to other skaters.
At that time, skateboards were very scarce, so it was not easy to get one. After some time, the coach gave me a skateboard. It was very old, but I loved it so much. Whenever I got the chance, I would sneak it into school on Saturdays and ride it.
Later, I got a new skateboard, and I would spend hours practising at the skate park. At the beginning, however, we did not have a skate park. We used to skate on a basketball court in Saza.
After some time, a proper skate park was established in Mukono, and that is where we started skating more regularly [now, there are also skate parks in Kitintale and Kiteezi].
Talk about the physics of standing on a skateboard. Is it just putting your feet on the board and pushing?
There is much more to skateboarding than people think. When they see a skater fall, they often wonder why it happened. However, I usually challenge them to try it themselves.
The basics of skateboarding depend on which leg you use. For me, I use my right leg. You start by placing the first foot near the wheels of the skateboard, then place the second foot behind it, making sure your weight is properly balanced over the wheels.
If you simply stand in the middle of the board without balancing your weight, you can easily fall. After positioning your feet correctly, you push slowly with one leg to gain momentum.
Once you start moving, you turn your feet slightly sideways to maintain proper balance. The more advanced tricks come later with practice and experience.
What has been your biggest injury?
Falling is inevitable in skateboarding. Some people think the sport is very dangerous, but in reality, anything can be dangerous. I have had several injuries over the years.
One of the worst was on my elbow when I was in senior four. At the time, my parents did not allow me to go to the hospital because they were trying to discourage me from continuing with skating.
The wound would keep reopening whenever I moved my arm, which made it very painful. However, I did not always tell my parents about some of the injuries, because I feared they would ban me from skating completely. Eventually, they realised how much I loved it and began to understand my passion.
Talk about the influence of skating organisations like the Uganda Skaters Society and Skaters and Grind on the skate culture…
I would really give flowers to Skaters Grind and the Uganda Skaters Society, because they have done a great job promoting skateboarding in Uganda. They help us source skateboards and organise competitions; they also support us with video coverage and content creation.
In addition, they bring together skaters of different ages, creating a community where people can practise, learn, and grow in the sport together.
How do you balance skateboarding with your work as a valuation surveyor?
I love my life. I need money to survive, so I work. But I have to be careful while skating to avoid serious injuries that could affect my job. In other countries, skate companies provide insurance, but here, we don’t have that yet.
Therefore, I mostly skate on weekends. During the week, I work as a valuation surveyor, conducting property inspections for banks and loan officers. I also run my own makeup studio in Ntinda, balancing my profession with my passion.
Tell Quick Talk about your education and the schools you went to.
I went to Mukono Boarding School, Bishop Senior School, Mount St. Anthony’s, and later Makerere Business School in Ntinda. While studying, my mother only allowed me to skate on weekends or holidays, because she didn’t want it to interfere with my education.
During my time at campus, I discovered my modelling passion and even became Miss Campus at Survey School. Although many people thought I would stop skating after school, I continued pursuing it.
What advice would you give to young, upcoming skaters?
They should stay determined and stand for what they believe in. Some people dismiss what you do simply because it is unique, while others say that at your age, you should not be doing some things. But if you truly believe in something, stand for it and keep going.
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