Our story.

During his time volunteering as an English teacher in 2006, skateboarder Charlie Davis would take his board into the streets after class. He was amazed to find crowds of kids gathering round, asking how he made the board jump in the air, assuming there must be magnets in his shoes. 

He soon discovered that skateboarding was something new to Palestine, and the idea for SkatePal was born.

Since establishing the charity in 2013, Charlie and a growing team of volunteers have been returning to Palestine on a regular basis; working with local communities to build skateparks and provide skateboarding lessons and equipment to young people across the West Bank. 

SkatePal is working towards establishing a self-sustaining skate scene for years to come. In 2019 Aram Sabbah, one of the first skaters in the West Bank, joined the team as the full-time Local Manager and set base in the Ramallah office. Aram is gradually overtaking all on-site operations, including co-ordinating the classes, volunteer programme, establishing a mobile skateshop and many more.