When Blessing Ewona was a child, her parents forbade her from engaging in any extracurricular activities. "My parents didn't let me do [fun] stuff like that because they wanted me to be a doctor, so I was only [focused] on going to school", the 23-year-old Nigerian skater and model tells AMAKA one hot Saturday afternoon in Lagos, Nigeria. Still, that didn't stop her from discovering her love for sports. In high school, at the age of 11, she began participating in long-distance races, long jump and high jump events. "When I won [these events], I felt like this is what I should be doing. I loved it." It seemed she was well on her way to becoming the next Tirunesh Dibaba.

These days, you're more likely to catch her breezing through the streets of Lagos on a skateboard or practising kickflips and ollies in the foyer of a shopping mall in the city. Ewona first picked up a board in January 2020 after her move from Calabar to Lagos. But she ensured she did her research first. "When I wanted to skate and started making inquiries, people were like, 'it's too extreme, and it is for boys'," she recalls. "Then I watched Skate Kitchen (a film about female skaters), and I found out that girls were skating [too], and I was like 'Oh cool, I can actually do this.'"

The first thing Ewona noticed when she started skating was the glaring lack of female skaters on the scene. This isn't too surprising, though. Skate culture in Nigeria is still a burgeoning niche with little interest from the population's majority. That interest rate dwindles even further when you narrow the scope to women. In Nigeria – and Africa at large – cultural norms suggest that certain activities are not for women (like skateboarding); hence, society does very little to provide opportunities for women to engage in these hobbies.

"When I started skating, some people would just stop me on the road and be like, 'Why are you skating? Why are you doing this to yourself? Go to school, go and get married,'" Ewona says with a laugh. "I'm like, 'first of all, I'm a graduate, I'm not 19 or 15. I have gone to school and gotten a degree.' I just realised skating is something I love to do, so why do I have to listen to what you are saying?" Naysayers be damned, Ewona forged on her skate journey and focused on learning the tricks of the trade. She recounts attending the Street Souk – an annual convention to celebrate streetwear and urban culture in Lagos, Nigeria – back in 2019, where she met the boys behind Lagos' first skateboarding company, WAFFLESNCREAM. Despite initial scepticism, they immediately took her into their fold. "When I wanted to start, I was like, 'guys, I want to skate', and they were like 'You are not serious.' Because apparently (as they explained to me after we started hanging out), there are so many girls that come to skate, but then, after like two weeks a month, they don't hear from them again. So they didn't want to go through that process again." 

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Still, Ewona couldn't shake the thought that there needed to be more women involved. "Right from when I started, I felt girls should be skating", she states matter-of-factly. "When I started skating, I was just posting random stuff on my Instagram, and some people were [sending messages] like 'Why are you doing this?', 'You are just killing yourself.' [But], some were like, 'This is a girl doing it', 'You inspire me', 'I want to learn how to skate.'"

The latter crop of messages motivated her to create Dencity, a skate community and collective for women and queer people. Since last year, Ewona has spent her weekends at the National Stadium in Surulere, an area on the Lagos mainland in Nigeria. There, she found just enough space to practise the skate tricks she was learning from her male friends. "Sometimes one or two girls would come around that they want to skate, and I'd teach them with my own skateboard. I liked that girls were coming out, so I felt it was time to do this", she shares. So she created a Whatsapp group chat and invited as many interested girls as she could find. "It was just five of us, and they were from Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, and they said they [wanted] to skate, so I felt we should be supporting each other."

As fun as it may seem, skating, especially in Nigeria, can be a very intimidating sport. Being trick-heavy, it can be nerve-racking for beginners to skate in public under the watchful eyes of more advanced skaters. Hence, camaraderie is a huge aspect of skateboarding culture, and esoteric skater groups can be a great place to meet like-minded people that don't discourage you from skating. As a largely male-dominated sport, women are more likely to feel even less confident while learning to skate in public. Therefore, the importance of inclusive communities like Dencity can not be over-emphasised. "Dencity is for women, gender-neutral people, and queer people. Because I am queer, and I know what it's like coming out to places like this to skate and facing discrimination and all of that. So that's why I mostly search for non-binary people, queer people, gender-neutral people, and trans women – anybody that does not identify as the male gender." 

Indeed, Dencity has since become a safe space for marginalised folks to begin their skate journey and receive the support they need. "I really think this is my community," says 23-year-old Lagos-based Wooshy, one of the founding members of the crew. "Like these are my people. As a queer person, a non-binary person, I don't ever feel like this is the space that I don't belong to. We kind of look out for each other; it's a really safe space to learn how to skate or just to be no one really, everyone's just really supportive."  

The Dencity community spreads across Nigeria, with pockets of sub-groups in the likes of Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt. The Whatsapp group chat – now over 40 members strong – keeps them connected and helps them plan and navigate their weekly skate sessions.

22-year-old Fikayo Odugbemi is an Abuja-based skater and member. She says, "At the time Dencity made its first post [on Instagram], I was already on the hunt for a girl skate community. There was already a community for skaters, but it was dominated by boys/men, and when I went for one of their meetups, I didn't feel comfortable around them. I'm simply a person who feels more at ease and safer among women/people who aren't men, so Dencity was literally heaven-sent for me." Although she's moved to Lagos now, being in a less culturally-reckoned city like Abuja certainly narrowed down the number of female skaters with whom Odugbemi could connect. She comments, "Being a girl skater in Abuja is something. There's actually a pretty prominent skate community here, but it's mostly roller skaters." 

Tecular Iwuh is another skater and member, aged 25 and based in Port Harcourt. On the contrary to Odugbemi, Iwuh sees the smaller skating scene as an advantage, "Since it's a small skate scene here, it's a bit easier to marinate into the community, blend in, be flexible and be comfortable because I don't get lost in the crowd or anything." 

Since its inception, Dencity has grown in leaps and bounds, welcoming new members along the way. But this expansion hasn't come without its challenges, the most prominent being a lack of gear for skating. Skateboards aren't cheap, and good boards can put a real dent in your pocket. Ewona was lucky enough to have been gifted one from her friend, Ziggy, who taught her how to skate. The other girls weren't as fortunate, which threw a spanner in the works for the crew's development. Ewona admits she often had to host weekly skate sessions where they all took turns practising with her own board. "On average, a board costs about 80 to 100 thousand naira (c. £148 to £185). [The price can be higher] if you want to get [an especially] good board. There are different types of boards, and trust me, you don't want to get just any board. The deck is about 30 thousand, and then we have the truck and wheels. Everything is just separate. You don't buy it at once - you have to buy the parts and then assemble them." Luckily she's been able to secure a few boards for the other girls. "Some guys, like Slawn (a Nigerian visual artist and skater), started giving me boards randomly. And now, I'm signed to management; they just provide boards for me. Sometimes I just stack up all the boards they give me, make sure [they have] complete parts and just give them to [the] girls."  

Another challenge Ewoma has faced while building the community is consistency from the prospective members. "Most girls that come out to skate are not consistent. Sometimes they'll come out once, then the next time you will see them is a month after." For Ewoma, the most crucial aspect of Dencity is fostering a community feel, and inconsistency from members undoubtedly hinders that, "I just want to be sure, because there are times I send boards out to some people and I do not hear from them again. Before I even give out a board to someone, I just like to make sure that this person is consistent and is coming out to skate more."

It's also imperative for Ewona that they find a safe and accommodating space to skate, "We all skate at the National Stadium, and sometimes where we skate, there are rollerbladers there. BMX riders come there to skate too, so everyone is clashing. Some of the girls are new to skating, so they just want to learn, but the rollerbladers and BMX riders are always there with their stuff and just hitting everyone. So I feel we need a space to skate, and it's very hard to find a space here in Lagos because anywhere you go, they are always saying you can't skate there, or they will say they will call the police or security." 

Regardless, Ewona is determined to ensure Dencity thrives. Emphasising her tunnel-vision mindset, she says, "Once I put my mind [to something] like, 'I'm going to do this thing', there's nothing that's going to stop me. I just feel for every problem there is a solution". She stresses the importance of female representation in skating and increasing female participation. White men are at the forefront of mainstream skate culture, so providing a haven where young Black girls can come in, find each other and push one another is essential. "I feel like it's very important to have this community because, first of all, skateboarding communities are really growing rapidly. People are making money off this thing. And it will be nice to see that girls are not only coming out but also making money off it as well. It's also now part of the Olympics. It'll be really cool to see a Nigerian female representing us there."  

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As such, the Dencity community has big plans moving forward. They’ll be holding a skate jam next year, as well as putting out merch for both members and supporters. They also hope to take the initiative abroad in the country, "I'm reaching out to other female skate communities outside Nigeria, and most of them are very supportive (including donating skateboards).

"In two, three years, we will definitely have a skate park, and we won't have to go through all these things. Because this is the beginners' stage that we're at now, it's going to be difficult. All we have to do is keep going and keep skating. People are recognising us."