I first met Thalente a few years ago when we headed up to Dallas Oberholzer's Indigo Skate Camp for a crazy downhill comp in the Valley of a Thousand Hills. We went down to his shop at the North Beach skate park on Durban's beachfront and I was confronted by a very cheeky and extremely "talented" young black skater, who wanted to know who I was there to film. I introduced him to the crazy Austrians I was with and he ended up spending the next few days with us skating around Durban.
When we heard his story of running away from home and how he was living on the streets, we were very moved. But more than this tale of tragedy, was the huge amount of stoke this kid put out there, as well as gallons of confidence. I said then that this kid from the streets could have a massive future and Thalente did not disappoint. He skates really well and is super technical. He enjoys his life and spreads the stoke of skating wherever he goes. So enjoy this video and support local skaters and great initiatives like Indigo Skate Camp! http://www.indigoskatecamp.co.za/
