At the bustling Yaba Market in Lagos, Nigeria, there is something for everyone.
Chatter rises from shopkeepers, whose stalls span miles of cracked gray concrete and rammed earth. They might be selling baskets of fresh fruit, wheelbarrows full of phone cases, piles of sequined fabrics, or racks of second-hand clothes.
If you’re lucky, you might find a vintage jacket you’ve been looking for or a durable pair of Levi’s jeans. But you’ll never be as lucky as Dencity: Lagos’ coolest cool kid. These skaters, often dressed in a uniform of baggy pants and cropped tops, go to the market every week to save money. They are armed with fashion knowledge that only the young, fun and determined can possess and seek out the best streetwear they can find.
Founded by 26-year-old Blessing Ewona in 2020 as a response to the lack of spaces for young gay men and female skaters in Nigeria, Dencity skate, dream and save together. From their trips to the market to regular skate encounters at the ramshackle National Stadium or the beach at Tarkwa Bay, they’ve drawn their own map of the city.
“I tried to look for one,” she said, referring to a group she felt at home in, “and then I said, just let me build mine. Not just for me, but for other people like me who also want a community like this but don’t know how to go about it.
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