Jean-Marc Johannes is packing his bags again, and this time it’s not for a competition. The Cape Town skateboarder has been chosen to represent South Africa at the 2026 International Festival of Youth, set to take place in Yekaterinburg, Russia from 11-17th September.
Unlike the contests Johannes usually shows up for, this one isn’t about landing tricks or chasing a podium. It’s a leadership gathering, organised by the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs under the Youth and Children national project. Around 10,000 young people between the ages of 14 and 35, coming from more than 180 countries, will sit down together to talk through global issues, sharpen their leadership skills and swap ideas across cultures.
For Jean-Marc, this event is just the first stop on a busy September. Once the festival wraps up, he heads to Stavropol for the KARDO World Series Finals, which run from September 16 to 20. KARDO is a well known international award program for street culture and urban sports, and it evaluates more than 2,500 finalists across disciplines like skateboarding, parkour, and DJing.
Jean-Marc grew up in Athlone, Cape Town, and got serious about skateboarding at just 11 years old. He used to practise alone at Athlone Stadium until a local skater noticed him and pulled him into the wider Cape Town skating scene. That one encounter changed everything. By 15, Johannes was already ranked as one of South Africa’s top skateboarders, and he never really slowed down after that.
These days he’s widely seen as one of the country’s most accomplished skateboarders. He’s picked up international medals, broken five world records in 2023 alone and became the first African skateboarder to appear in the printed Guinness World Records book. He also holds the record for most nollie heelflips landed in a minute, along with the record for most 360-frontside spins completed in thirty seconds.
This year brought another milestone. Johannes competed at the DBKU International X Games in Malaysia, held in partnership with CanRoll Pro 2026, marking the first time South Africa had ever been represented at the event. He finished fourth in a field stacked with strong competitors, a result that added to his reputation as South Africa’s first ten-time international medalist on the World Series circuit.
Speaking to IOL News about the Yekaterinburg invitation, Johannes called it a rare opportunity. “This invitation is a unique chance to share my South African sporting experience while exploring the broader global factors shaping our industry,” he said.
Between the youth summit and the KARDO finals, September is shaping up to be a defining month for Johannes, and by extension, for South African skateboarding as a whole.
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