Wheels of Change: Dallas Oberholzer’s Olympic Ride for South Africa’s Future
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This past week, I was lucky enough to attend the Olympic men’s preliminary rounds for skateboarding. As I watched the young, fearless skaters zip through the course, one name caught my attention: Dallas Oberholzer. The crowd gave him a standing ovation, but I couldn’t help but notice he didn’t seem as skilled as the others. Yet, he had this undeniable presence, and it made me wonder—what was the deal with this older guy from South Africa?
That’s when I overheard someone behind me explain, “That’s Dallas Oberholzer. He came in knowing he wasn’t gonna beat out any of the younger guys. It’s more about making a name for South Africa in skating and creating opportunities for kids back home. Dude is 49 though, so what he can do is still impressive.”
Dallas Oberholzer’s journey to the Paris 2024 Olympics was about more than competing—it was about family and a dream for his homeland. The 49-year-old South African skateboarder has traveled the world and inspired countless young skaters, and had a special goal in mind for his Paris Olympic run: to make his mom proud.
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According to Dallas, it had been 28 years since his mom had seen him skate. Growing up, she wasn’t thrilled about his choice of sport. She always thought tennis would be a better fit - a sport with structure and tradition. But Dallas saw things differently. Skateboarding gave him a sense of freedom, excitement, and expression that nothing else could.
When Dallas qualified for the Olympics, he knew getting his mom to Paris would be a huge moment. Her simple advice to him before his run was to do one big trick - and he did. Early in his performance, Dallas nailed the trick and the moment lit up the arena, making all the years of hard work and dedication worth it. Even when his legs gave out near the end, causing him to fall off his board, he knew he had already won something more important than a medal.
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He shared on Instagram, “The best thing about today’s skate was having my Mom and sister in the audience. Before my 3rd run just looking up at my family made me so stoked, we were all enjoying skateboarding. It was one of the best moments for me, soon after I got my personal best score with so much love coming from the audience.” Instagram Post
Dallas’s story isn’t only about making mom proud. He has a dream to bring skateboarding to more kids in South Africa. There aren’t many skate parks, and those that exist are often makeshift or out of reach for many kids. Skateboarding is seen as more of a luxury than an activity.
Dallas has spent years helping raise money to build parks, but what he really hopes for is a change.
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“In my ideal world, somebody would see me on television and say they want to build a skate park and high-performance center in South Africa,” Dallas told USA TODAY. He dreams of a place where kids can have the same opportunities to skate as those in Brazil or the United States, where the sport has grown and thrived.
As Dallas looks to the future, he’s not planning to retire his board anytime soon. He keeps going with the hope that the next generation will have even greater opportunities to chase their dreams—whether on a tennis court or flying through the air on a skateboard.