Ah... Let us start the new year by making new friends! Meet Ah Leong who is in his late 30s. Do not be deceived by his looks though. This humble guy actually loves listening to death metal! He was introduced by our friend, Adam. Both of them were actually childhood friends back in Aljunied.
Leong's tragic disability was a result of a freak accident involving his motorbike which almost took his life. His body was a total mess and is now half man - half machine. Literally. Because what you are seeing is a surgical wonder! More than half of his body is implanted with metal fixtures. So why skate rather than being safely secured on a wheelchair?
"Haiya...! Boring la. At least I feel free and happy whenever I am on a skateboard."
Freedom to run amok against this discriminative society who dismiss the less able as a burden, who equals their inability to charity. How sad to see the state of graciousness in Singapore still leaves much to be desired despite years of courtesy campaigns by the government. No wonder Leong is all about destroying these preconceived ideas.
Loose Grooves has always been about the everyday man on the streets rather than seeking free exposure on some national media by volunteering at a big charity organisation. (Well, the reason we put this post up is firstly, it is because this blog is read only by the boys for our own amusement. I mean who the hell would read some random ramblings by the most professional unprofessional crew on the island? Secondly, it is nothing more than an ego booster for us to show that our English proficiency is far superior than Komeng's!)
The crew at LG were so impressed by Leong's optimist nature that they decided to change his ten year old Shorty's and present him a brand new deck. The grin on his face upon test riding on his 64mm wheels puts a tear on an emotionally wrecked Komeng.
So if you see someone zooming past you while seated on a skateboard in Aljunied, tell him we said hi!