Joseph's Big Win

As part of SHAPE’s partnership with the Roller Sports Federation of Nigeria (RSFN), we sponsored two of our top junior athletes on a trip to Cotonou, Benin to compete in the first annual International Francophone Skate Youth Championship, which featured skateboarders from Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal. Representing Nigeria were Joseph Skywalker, 16, and Aderibigbe Ayo, 16, who both call Lagos home, and waf Skatepark their home park.

Apart from being the one of first skateboarders to compete for Nigeria on a global level, Joseph Skywalker won first place in the championship. This victory puts Joseph in the running to represent Nigeria at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal, marking a monumental step for Nigerian skateboarding on the global stage.

This success would not be possible without the help from the village behind them, and we have many people to thank for their contributions. Firstly, we would like to thank waf for helping sponsor the journey and making it possible. We also would like to thank RSFN Sec. Gen Philip Olatunbosun for his leadership throughout the trip, and finally a huge thank you to our dedicated coaches Ziggy and Alex for preparing our athletes for international competition.

This is only the beginning!

- Maxwell Brothers