A popular Cape Flats skateboarder has done it again by breaking his fourth Guinness World Record in three years.
After years of hard work, pro skateboarder Jean-Marc Johannes, 29, from Penlyn Estate, has claimed his fourth victory by achieving 21 nollies in just 30 seconds, kicking American skateboarder Ivan Sebastian Cordova off the top spot.
Cordova has held the record for more than 10 years with 15 nollies in 30 seconds.
A nollie is a trick where the skater uses his front foot to push the nose of the board down and slides his back foot backwards to achieve lift-off from the ground.
The local skateboarding star is ranked among the top 100 in the world and is currently preparing to show off his skills at the Olympics in Japan next year.
Jean-Marc’s passion for skateboarding started 18 years ago when he tried out various sports at school, but failed to make any teams.
When he was 11, he entered a skate competition in Claremont and got a skrik when he won.
He has been competing professionally ever since and at just 15 years old, he was rated among the top 10 skateboarders in South Africa.
After entering Guinness back in 2017, Jean-Marc has managed to break every record he applied for and this year was no different.
His nollie attempt was approved during the lockdown.
So on what would have been the Olympics day for skaters on 23 June, he decided to attempt his record bid.
He says although he broke the record, he performed fewer nollies than he expected.
“I had broken the record many times in practice and I got way above the record but on the day it was fewer,” he says.
“In my preparations I focused on my endurance because although it is just 30 seconds, you feel it in just 10 seconds.
“For the trick, although simple, you need to have muscle memory and you cannot waste time landing in different positions.”
Jean-Marc says he still has more records to attempt this year.
“It felt amazing, but what I haven’t told anyone is that I applied to attempt the most “varial heelflips” and the most 180s in a minute. In any sport you need to be consistent and train every day and to break a record, you know when your body is ready. So I think I need another month of training.”
Jean-Marc also received a sports scholarship and is currently studying sports at the Health & Fitness Professionals Association Academy.
monique.duval@inl.co.za