We were contacted by Skateistan (Skateistan | Empowering At-Risk Youth Through Skateboarding & Education) to run a year-long Skate & Create programme at the Fedasil (Molenbeek-Saint-Jean | Fedasil) centre in Molenbeek—and it quickly became one of the most intense and rewarding things we’ve done. Every week, we worked with kids aged 5–17 in a setting full of energy, languages, cultures and constant movement (when BX’elles & friends show up, we can cover 12 languages). Messy, loud, sometimes hectic… exactly where the magic happened.
SKATE
Sessions took over a nearby school courtyard: fast-paced, chaotic, full of falls, retries and sudden breakthroughs (followed by the biggest smiles). Kids who had never stepped on a board were rolling within weeks. We played with themed sessions, learned to slow down, take care of each other and celebrate every small win. Skateboarding became a shared language—exploring the boundaries, checking the possible, failing, trying again and pushing through, building confidence in real time.
CREATE
We kept skateboarding at the centre and built a full journey around designing and painting their own decks. From sketching ideas and making stickers to designing and painting real boards, everything led to a final exhibition showcasing both their artworks and skate progress. We also made a sick zine—full of drawings, thoughts and snapshots of the process.
We were joined by two teachers who had previously run a Skateistan project in Afghanistan, and received training in trauma-informed skateboarding, cultural awareness and pedagogy. But the biggest learning came from the kids…they learn so fast. By the end, they had all picked up at least one new language, helping each other across barriers, sharing, translating, hyping each other up—shifting from individual bubbles to a real crew.
