Adrian skating in Marina Bay. Marielle Descalsota/Insider Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands is an icon of the city-state’s wealth. MBS is known for its luxury hotel, high fashion stores, and celebrity chef-owned restaurants.
But it’s also home to dozens of skateboarders, who say it represents an “evolution of street culture. ” Singapore is the second-richest country in the world, and its wealth is on clear display in the financial district’s towering skyscrapers. Singapore skyline.
Marielle Descalsota/InsiderWhile most of the city-state’s six million residents live in residential towns outside the city center, Singapore is best-known for its futuristic skyline. The city-state’s financial district managed more than $3. 5 trillion in assets in 2020 alone.
The most famous landmark in Singapore is the Marina Bay Sands. The futuristic structure cost 8 billion Singapore dollars to build, or $6. 88 billion, according to the AFP.
Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Marielle Descalsota/InsiderOwned by US corporation Las Vegas Sands, the structure includes a 2,500-room hotel, a luxury shopping mall, an exhibition center, and one of the most expensive casinos ever built. MBS is known for having rows of luxury stores, from fashion houses Chanel and Dior to prestige watch brands Audemars Piguet and Rolex.
It also has dozens of celebrity chef-owned restaurants, including Gordon Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen. It’s built on a reclaimed stretch of land in the Marina Bay, so it’s surrounded on three sides by water. A wide swath of pavement cuts a path around the building and connects to a bike path that leads around the coast.
By day, MBS is a picture-perfect luxury estate. But at night, dozens of skateboarders roam the vicinity, whizzing past tourists snapping photographs of the famed skyline. A skateboarder in Marina Bay.
Marielle Descalsota/InsiderI spent several evenings down by MBS in June and July, talking to skaters and photographing them as they went about their nights. Most of the people I spoke to for this story requested that I identify them only by their first names. Many told me they come to MBS to skate with friends, with the exception of one or two who prefer to practice alone.
In their casual outfits, they struck a stark contrast to the high-fashion facade of MBS. A few tourists stopped to watch the skateboarders perform tricks. Right outside MBS’ luxury mall, the Shoppes, the air echoes with the sounds of skateboards slamming into the ground.
Syafiq, a former B-boy, social media moderator, and skateboarder. Marielle Descalsota/InsiderI approached Syafiq, a 37-year-old social-media moderator who told me he skateboards to unwind. A former b-boy, he said he likes skateboarding at MBS because it feels like he and his friends “have the whole space” in front of the mall to themselves.
“We get chased out by security sometimes when people complain, but that doesn’t happen to often,” he added. Skateboarding is not officially allowed in the vicinity — a sign in front of the Shoppes says skateboarding is prohibited. Marina Bay Sands did not immediately respond to my requests for comment.
When I asked Syafiq what he thinks about skateboarding in one of the most luxurious places in the city-state, he shrugged and said that MBS represents an “evolution of street culture. “Skating in front of Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands. Marielle Descalsota/Insider”I was a dancer, so to me skateboarding is similar.
And there needs to be space to learn dance,” he explained, referring to how limited space is in the “space-starved” city-state, which is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. “Technically we’re not allowed to skate here but it’s a new style of street culture,” he added. Syafiq and his friends belong to a skateboarding club called “Chill Vibes Only SG.
” They meet multiple times a week to hang out around MBS. Skateboarders at Marina Bay. Marielle Descalsota/InsiderNicky Hsien, one the leaders of the club, said the group used to skateboard at Kallang in the outskirts of the city center.
The group later moved to MBS because the estate was “so beautiful at night. “”We wanted our fellow skateboarders to reach out and approach us, and MBS is a great place for that,” Hsien, a banker, added. “It’s the perfect place to unwind and to have fun and grow — even if you have a bad day.
“Hsien said there are over 400 people in the local skateboarding community. A skateboarder from Chill Vibes Only SG. Marielle Descalsota/InsiderHe added that some parents had even picked up skateboarding in order to bond with their children.
“Skateboarding sometimes has a bad reputation, especially to parents,” he said. “But we’re not just skateboarders — we can be bankers, students, and influencers in our fields too. “I met Steven, a Vietnamese expat, at the foot of MBS.
He said skateboarding around the city-center helped him make friends in an unfamiliar place. Steven relaxing in Marina Bay while waiting for other skateboarders to arrive. Marielle Descalsota/Insider”I’m not very good at skateboarding, but I get to meet people who are,” he told me.
“I only started skateboarding around six months ago — it’s a way to relax,” he added. More skateboarders began trickling into MBS at around 7. 30 p.
m. Some of them looked to have come straight from work and school. A skater eating dinner from McDonald’s.
Marielle Descalsota/InsiderOne skateboarder brought along a fast food meal from McDonald’s. Less than a mile away were high-end bars and restaurants, where people enjoyed dates and after-work drinks. Steven later introduced me to Adrian, a conscript who was serving Singapore’s mandatory military service.
He said skateboarding at MBS was an “escape” for him. Adrian, a conscript, swim coach, and skateboarder. Marielle Descalsota/Insider”Ever since I found skateboarding I always had my skateboard with me,” the 24-year-old part-time swim coach said.
“I can be who I want to be here. It’s a bit obsessive but I enjoy it,” he added. Adrian practiced a few tricks right below MBS’ glistening hotel.
He said he chooses to skateboard in the city-center because of “the scenery and people walking by. “Adrian skating in Marina Bay. Marielle Descalsota/InsiderHe added that his favorite part about skateboarding at MBS is “cruising around the river,” which helped him build up speed and endurance.
“I love having an audience to watch my friends and I skate,” he said. “The best part is no one has ever complained or chased us away. “Above all, Hsien, the banker, said skateboarding shows that Singapore is “not just about working.
“Nicky Hsien (second from the right) from Chill Vibes Only SG. Marielle Descalsota/Insider”Skateboarding feels soothing,” Hsien said. “We’re not here just to skate, but to build a community.
Because of skateboarding, I learned to be a leader, that I have the ability to do something good,” he added. Read the original article on Insider.
From: insider
URL: https://www.insider.com/mbs-skateboarding-marina-bay-sands-singapore-street-culture-photos-2022-7
