First Nature in association with Cult wheels is proud to announce the sponsorship of SA’s very own “steeze pony”, Gerhard Nel. Gerhard will be the first ambassador for Cult wheels in South Africa. In his 3rd year of shredding the streets, we felt it was time to get SA riders the hype they need. We had a chat with Gerhard and this is what he had to say:

First Nature (FN): What has been your inspiration in longboarding?

Gerhard Nel (GN): My inspiration and motivation has always been skating with Paul du Plessis. I would tell him that I want to “one day” do a certain trick, and the same session he would land it. Hehe. Being far from frustrating, this served as an inspiration for me and soon I started pushing my skating with every session. My passion for longboarding is definitely the fruits of the tree planted by the Oracle, Chris Lubbe. Blue Whiskey for life.

FN: What is your favorite Cult wheel and why?

GN: I love gamma rays, simply because they are beautiful. I also like their shape from a technical perspective – its rock solid and heavy with nice momentum. And I like the fact that they are resilient and grippy, but become all smooth and mushroomy when the first few millimeters are off. They definitely outgrip most wheels that I’ve skated. And they have this weird kind of post-grip, almost like this purgatory between grip and slide. Not that speed-checky 4 prez kind of vibe, more like a stoned BigZig, its lazy, but doesn’t ever seem to let go. To borrow Nick Hook’s term, the grip feels rather “elastic”. Super duper traction.

FN: Tell us about the Spanish Pony, how did you get that name?

GN: It’s a term I coined myself to describe a mock Zoolander hairstyle. It became a joke between Anton Pratt and myself and subsequently the name of my board, a custom Rhino Charger (Project Skateboards). By some grace “spanish pony” became my nickname and racing mantra. Ponies are mythical, awesome creatures. They are neck-to-neck with a penguin in an icy cave, soaring eagle and howling wolf as my personal power animal.

FN: What is the hardest move you have busted?

GN: Ummmmmmm, it must be driving a VW beetle with a cigarette, fanta and an ice cream in one hand in the heat of summer. My other favorite move is a headstand. One day I’m gonna be able to do a upside-down lotus.

FN: What is your favourite hill in SA?

GN: On the record: J-lo, with her sweet sexy curves and saffa-pin as well as steepways in Jo’burg. Off the record: you won’t even know how to get there…

FN: How do you feel about your sponsorship?

GN: I don’t see this as a sponsorship based on my skill as a skater, but rather as an ambassadorship based on love. I feel that I can really contribute to the Cult brand by representing them in our local saffa Scene. On a personal level, I see this as the biggest compliment ever and a chance to improve my skating. I am very heavy on wheels, so my friendship with Cult really is a blessing. When I was a student money and academics always used to be the reason why I was skating shitty products and missing races, so I’m super duper stoked that I have access to a bit more resources to push myself every single day. Its also nice to become part of the industry side of things and hopefully one day I can make a life from skating and everything that goes with it.

Cult and First Nature are very excited about this new venture for both brands and look forward to documenting Gerhard shredding urethane at races and on the streets.