Brandon Valjalo

Brandon Valjalo is a South African professional skateboarder, born on 11 July 1998 and raised in Johannesburg. He first stood on a skateboard at three on his brother's old board, began winning competitions around nine, drew inspiration from Ryan Sheckler's television show Life of Ryan, and made his local professional debut in 2013. He won the South African and world youth titles at the 2014 Kimberley Diamond Cup, defended the South African title in 2015 and won the 2017 Ultimate X festival to become African skateboarding champion. At the Tokyo Games he made history as South Africa's first Olympic skateboarder, finishing 18th in men's street with his arm in a cast after breaking his wrist days earlier. He hosts skateboarding events and workshops around Africa.