Dr. Neftalie Williams has parlayed his passion for skateboarding into directing San Diego State University’s new Center for Skateboarding, Action Sports and Social Change.
“We’re looking at how skateboarding helps young people build communities, and particularly at a time when people who have dis-similar backgrounds and at a time when in the US right now we need more reasons to see each other or see the other is the self," said Dr. Williams.
Williams isn’t just a sociologist and assistant professor at SDSU, he’s also the first “Ambassador of Skateboarding” and envoy for the U.S. Department of State.
He’s headed to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The skateboarding professor, as he’s known, started skating as a kid in Massachusetts. He says part of the allure is its utilitarian nature, of sorts. There are no rules or coaches. That’s why he says it has the power to build community and create social change.
Williams says he’s seen it in action through skateboarding programs he’s introduced worldwide from Asia to Syria, to Cuba.
“Skaters in the U.S. and the skaters that are in Cuba say like, ‘Hey! This is one thing that we love together,’ and it can be the thawing in relationships between our two countries,” Williams said.
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Through his experience and research, Williams has also seen how skating has broken barriers in the States.
“When we saw the murder of George Floyd and that sort of the aftermath of that, what we really saw was that skaters were out in the streets working together and also talking about that shared history that they had.”
Inside his SDSU office, skating paraphernalia decorates the walls. From a deck commemorating the 2020 Tokyo Olympics -- which was the year skateboarding debuted in the games, to a poster with some of the Tokyo team members. Some of them live in San Diego and are competing in this summer’s games.
San Diego’s rich skateboard history is why even though he’s gearing up for the Paris games, Williams is looking to help make sure San Diego gets its props in Paris and when the Olympics roll into Los Angeles in 2028.
“When people think about, hey skateboarding 2028, that’s something we built, all together. But particularly with Southern California. San Diego is getting it done.”
