Publications
Partners
The sport of spinning has grown in leaps and bounds from its shady beginnings as a hobby for hoodlums.
Now the sport is garnering the attention of brands such as Red Bull, who have put their power behind this fully charged and crowd-pleasing attraction.
Shay’iMoto will see teams of spinners going against each other in the hopes of being crowned champion.
No cash prize is being put up by Red Bull, quite surprisingly.
The showdown will happen this weekend at The Wheelz ’n Smoke Arena in Brackenhurst, Alberton.
Crews have been selected carefully from various cities around the country and only 16 were invited to flex their horsepower in the City of Gold.
With any sport rooted in the streets, the crowd are a big factor in who is crowned the winner of a battle.
For those of you who are unfamiliar, the sport involves a gushshe (box shaped, vintage BMW), at least one driver and a couple of stunt artists.
The aim is to spin the vehicle around a small circular pitch while jumping in and out of the car, hanging from the windows and sunroof while these specially modified vehicles whirl around in a cloud of tyre smoke as the engine snarls viciously.
The crowds are a big factor but there are levels of intricacy involved that only seasoned spinners will be able to pick up on, and so an elite judging panel has been put together.
At the helm of this panel is a highly esteemed savant of spin. Ahead of the show, City Press spoke with Masgesh Ndaba.
The friendly icon of spinning said: “The sport of spinning has grown through the support of the people in the kasi. We hardly get sponsored other than opportunities like this. This sport is a very expensive one.”
This high octane pass time is of course quite a dangerous one too.
Ndaba explained: “Safety is our number one priority, we take it very seriously. Should one lose control of a car, lots of people would be injured. We always use a barricaded area, fenced, with fire marshals around as a car is not a play thing.”
Ndaba said to look out for Off Spinz, Maskopasi and Bad Company in particular at the event.
There will be a whole host of crews looking to showcase their talent on the day.
Ndaba suggested for all those who have never encountered this sport and are looking to attend on the day.
“The one thing you should focus on is how the spinning is done. The technique, the driving style. We all do the same thing but the difference is in the approach.”
He offered advice to the crews who will dual it out next weekend.
“In order to win you have to give it your best. Spin like there is no tomorrow and no holding back, do all the stunts you know, hit a combo and leave it all out on the pitch.”
He seemed to be hopeful about the future of this controversial but nonetheless, rising activity.
“We are seeing a lot of youngsters venturing into the sport. They will be the ones to watch as we want them to carry it forward. We are grooming them to be better than us and get what we couldn’t. It would be wrong not to pass the knowledge on.”
 |
| ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
