Skateboarder Nathan du Preez is using an epic journey on the road to raise awareness of homelessness and addiction by drawing on his own experience to help people often overlooked by society.
Du Preez, 24, who hails from the small Eastern Cape town of Hankey, is completing a practice run ahead of his official attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest continuous skateboarding journey.
According to Guiness World Records, the longest journey by skateboard (12,159km) was completed by Rob Thomson of New Zealand, who started in Leysin, Switzerland, on June 24 2007 and finished in Shanghai, China, on September 28 2008.
Du Preez, who said he wanted to skate 20,000km, said the aim of the practice run was to demonstrate to supporters that he could complete the tough challenge of breaking the world record while using his travels to spread awareness about the cause behind it.
The young man, who has been homeless himself, has already skated from Jeffreys Bay to Mossel Bay and has travelled through towns including Port Alfred, St Francis and Addo as part of his preparation.
He said his own experience had changed the way he viewed people living on the streets, particularly those struggling with addiction.
“When I was homeless, people looked at me and saw an addict because I was homeless.
“They didn’t see me as a person who had fallen on hard times.
“They grouped everyone together, and people turned their backs on me.
“But the people who were addicts themselves were the ones who helped me when I needed help.”
Du Preez said that through spending time with people battling addiction, he came to understand that many genuinely wanted to recover and leave the streets but faced enormous barriers.
“What I learnt from being around those people is that they don’t necessarily want to be on the streets.
“A lot of them really want to get clean and get their lives back, but it is not as easy as people think.
“They need support, they need somewhere to go, and they need somebody to believe that they can change,” he said.
The funds raised through his campaign will go towards his work with a nonprofit organisation that aims to assist people struggling with addiction and help homeless people get off the streets.
His journey has already attracted considerable public support, with people following his progress on social media and offering him a place to stay along his route.
“The journey has been difficult and there have definitely been moments where I have had to be careful.
“I nearly got robbed at one point, but the support has been incredible.
“People know who I am now because they have been following the journey and when I get to places people recognise me and offer me somewhere to stay,” he said.
Guinness World Records has recognised his application, and Du Preez plans to announce the date and logistical details of his record attempt after completing his practice run.
He said the practice journey was about more than proving that he could skate 20,000km — the idea was to use the attention generated by the challenge to start conversations about homelessness, addiction and the people behind the labels.
To follow Du Preez’s journey and support his BackaBuddy campaign, visit his Facebook page for updates and information on how to contribute.
The Herald