Sal Masekela Tames the D-Rex

The Face and Voice of Action Sports Get Barreled in South Africa

Wave House locals in Durban were surprised tuesday morning with a visit from one of the most famous faces in Alternative sports. Halfway through their tuesday night Flow League sessions Sal rocked up with a film crew in tow. The host of E! News Daily 10 and the Xgames was immediately recognised and surrounded by delighted fans. It seems he's been cruising through South Africa for the last 10 days filming a series for ESPN. The show is gonna air on the sports network during the World Cup in a few short months and will focus a bit more on the cultural side of things. As the son of Jazz legend Hugh Masekela, Sal has strong ties to South Africa and is the perfect host to link the American public to the country hosting the World Cup. It is estimated that over 150 000 US supporters will be coming to watch their team play and with the rapid growth of football in the USA, they've gone from something of a joke to a serious competitor in a very short space of time.

The moment Sal saw the guys riding he was ready to get on the FlowBarrel. An accomplished surfer and snowboarder, he wasted no time getting shacked and with some of the best riders in the country helping out he caught on very quickly. His film crew couldn't wait to get in on the action and as soon they had the footage needed they were all straight into the water to try flowboarding out. The guys had such a good time that they made arrangements for a second early session the next morning before heading into Zululand to visit a village that lives the traditional way, unaffected or changed by modern advances.

Sal was hugely impressed by the local talent and humbled by the challenge of flowboarding. "I know a lot of the guys who ride and always thought it looked pretty easy, and the basics are, but what some of you guys are doing is amazing," he told the local riders, before posting this on Twitter: "Sess two at Durban Wavehouse was incredible. We got some pits!! Thanks to all the boys there for the shreddy hospitality."

Sal's planning on coming back for the duration of the World Cup and when he heard that it's offshore every morning in Durban, he was even more excited. We'll probably be seeing plenty more of Mr Masekela soon. Who knows, in a couple years maybe he'll get to announce that flowboarding has joined the Xgames?