Melbourne Skateboarding’s Newest Prodigy: Dante Narita-Johnson
Images by Josh Sabini
Dante is that kid who is good at everything he tries.
So, it only makes sense that even though he only started skating three years ago he is as good as he is at it now.
The first time I remember seeing him skate was at Clifton Hill Skatepark in 2021. He had been skating for a year and a half at that point and was already doing back 180s down the big set. Since then, he’s gotten ridiculously good at skateboarding, had incredible hairstyles that included liberty spikes and worn some crazy outfits.
In the last year, he started getting Nike’s and Evisen boards. The future is looking bright for him.
It’s been six years since I was seventeen, but his life is surprisingly quite different from mine at that age. I wanted to catch up with him and see what life is like as a skateboarding prodigy who is a product of the TikTok generation, even if he’s banned from the app.
Oh, and for context on the photos. Just before we did the interview he borrowed a pair of rollerskates and was roller skating around the skatepark jumping into ramps and up ledges. It looked like he knew exactly what he was doing. Then him and his friend Liiban started doing parkour. It was awesome.
How were your exams?
Ah, man. Why did you ask me this question?
Oh no, you didn’t do well, did you?
[Laughs] Shush. I think I did well in maths and definitely fashion, but I did not do well in English, because I’m not that good at English.
Damn, you’re studying fashion. That’s awesome, have you made anything cool?
I’ve created a couple of patterns, but I haven’t put anything together yet. I’m still a noob.
Do you want to work in Fashion?
Yeah, but I don’t know what I want to do yet.
What year are you in?
I just finished year eleven.
How old are you?
I’m seventeen.
When did you start skating?
I started skating in the 2020 lockdown.
What were you doing before you started skating?
I was doing parkour and playing the violin.
Did you roller skate too? You look like you know what you’re doing.
Yeah, I did use to roller skate, well like kinda. Me and Liiban did sometimes. We’ve known each other since kindergarten so we’ve done everything together.
Do you still play violin?
I quit violin when I started getting into skateboarding because I started losing my passion for it. I was doing a whole bunch of other stuff too like basketball, footy, acrobatics, violin and I was also playing tennis at one point.
Woah you were doing so much.
Yeah, I don’t really like team sports too much. There is always that one dude who lets the team down.
Were you that dude?
Nah, I was not [laughs]. I was a pro at everything.
Is parkour why skating is so easy for you?
Not really, but I guess from parkour you learn how to fall and stuff. Then that means less injuries which equals more time to skate.
How did you get into skating?
In year seven all my friends were scootering; I couldn’t afford a scooter and my parents were like we aren’t buying you a scooter. My dad had his old skateboard underneath the table outside, so I just started skating on that.
Does your dad still skate?
He used to skate in the 80s and stuff. He skated ramps.
Has he ever gone skating with you?
Nah, he’s a bit crippled now.
I remember seeing you a bunch at Clifton Hill skatepark about two years ago and you already seemed so comfortable skating, you were skating down the six block. How long were you skating for before you were doing that?
I think that was like a year and a half into skating.
Did skateboarding just come easy for you?
I don’t know, I guess I have an image brain, so I believe in the physics, you know what I’m saying [laughs].
Oh, yes! The physics. Newton’s laws, right?
Its gravity. Wait is gravity even one of Newton’s laws?
I think so. Is that how it works?
Yeah, it's gravity and…
What about inertia?
What’s that one again?
It’s where you push something it keeps on going.
Oh… yeah. Yeah, if you flick on one point of the skateboard it folds perfectly.
And you can just imagine it right [laughs].
Yeah, I can imagine it. Instead of flicking sideways, you flick forwards and then you get that perfect backside flip fold.
And is that why skateboarding is easy?
[Laughs] Nah, it’s not easy.
Do you think it’s easy?
No, it’s not easy at all [laughs].
With physics how long did it take you to ollie?
I don’t know.
How long was it, Liiban?
Liiban: I think it took him like two weeks or three weeks.
Dante: Yeah, but I literally only did ollies for the first few months of skating.
How long did it take you to kickflip?
Liiban: When I first ollied this guy could already do kickflips on lock and we started at the same time.
Was it like three months in?
Liiban: Oh, maybe a month in.
Dante: I don’t know, but I felt like I was only doing ollies. I couldn’t tre flip until my second year of skating.
I still can’t tre flip and I’ve been skating for eleven years.
I just do one trick and then do it over and over. With ollies once you get that everything else comes.
Were you watching trick tips and stuff?
Yeah, like John Hill and Spencer Barton, he was so sick, but I don’t watch him anymore.
How did you become TikTok famous?
I met Tommy [Keenage] one of the first days I went skating in the city and then I started hanging out with him all day every day. He was always posting TikTok’s when we would go to Savers and stuff, and I was like what is this app? Then I started posting on it and then everyone started to like me, I don’t know [laughs].
What were you posting on TikTok?
Umm, a video of me in the car with my mum, where I was regurgitating boba and my mum was about to vomit [laughs]. It was fucked. I mostly posted skating though.
Was it just what you would post on Instagram?
Yeah, well like I feel like on Instagram I feel like I can’t post certain things. You know when you get a clip and feel like it is just a story clip?
Yeah.
I would just post the story clip on TikTok
How many followers did you have on TikTok?
I got up to like sixty thousand.
Would people notice you in the street?
Yeah, it still happens.
So, you have fans.
Yeah, I guess.
What was your name on TikTok?
It was just Devil City.
Yeah, where did Devil City come from?
It’s from this necklace I wear. It’s a hannya, which is a Japanese devil.
Your TikTok got deleted, right? Why did it get deleted?
Because TikTok is so weak, and they can’t handle skate content where you fall over. Can you just ask me about Roblox now [laughs]?
Okay fine. How late is the latest you’ve ever stayed up playing Roblox?
During lockdown, me and Liiban used to play for like seventy-two hours at a time. Deadset grinding one simulator.
Seventy-two hours with no sleep?
Nah, we slept but we just let it play because we had auto clickers.
What do the auto clickers do?
It just clicks for you.
How long do you think you’d sleep for at that time?
Well, it was lockdown, so it was very spontaneous. Probably like three hours.
What even is Roblox?
Roblox is a game that contains many, many games that players can make.
What are the games like?
There are categories, there are simulators, there are shooter games, tycoons and dungeon games.
Was DJ Khaled right when he said, ‘Life is Roblox’?
Yeah. I started following him and listening to his music after that.
What is your favourite DJ Khaled song?
I don’t know a single one [laughs]
[Laughs] What is the biggest fish you’ve caught in the fish simulator?
Oh, these are the questions I want! A bear face trout.
Do you like the fishing simulator?
Yes, it is my favourite game. I have spent maybe seventy dollars on that game.
Have you ever gone fishing in real life?
[Laughs] Nah.
[Laughs] I’ve seen people make fan accounts of you and copy your name, I saw one kid's Instagram that was like @demoncity6.6.6.
Oh yeah, he followed everyone that I was following. It was very cute. I haven’t spoken to him in my life but he’s from the Philippines, I think and he’s like a little kid.
That is cute. Your biggest fan! Is it weird having other people copy you?
Yeah, it’s kind of annoying because I’ve seen people follow them back thinking it’s like my second account or something.
Do your fans ever message you?
Yeah, so much.
What do they say?
Mostly they just want to play video games or go skate.
Do you watch much skating?
Nah. I really should.
Do you have favourite skaters?
Ceelo has put me onto Stevie Williams and Antwan Dixon… I think. Kyle Wilson has been one of my favourites too.
If you’ve hardly watched skating, how did you come up with the tricks that you do? Your trick selection is so unique, how can you backside double heelflip and stuff?
I don’t know. I haven’t seen like a famous skater do it. I just thought if you can backside heelflip you can just flick harder, it’ll flip twice.
You’ve had a bunch of different haircuts. What is your favourite one you’ve ever had?
My current one.
What about the liberty spikes?
The liberty spikes are so ass.
How long did it take to spike them up?
Probably about half an hour to an hour.
What was the inspiration for them?
My dad plays a lot of punk music and movies and there was a movie I was watching that had kids in it and they all had sick hairstyles. The kids were hating their parents and were squatting in empty houses.
If you were Prime Minister of Australia, what’s one law would you bring in?
Oh, the Myki’s bro. Get rid of them! Make public transport free! I hate Myki inspectors when I look at them, I look in their eyes and I hate them. I hate them so much [laughs].
Do you have anyone you want to thank?
Thank you so much to Geoff Campbell for looking after me, I really enjoy going out and skating with you. Mappy [Anthony Mapstone] too, I love Mappy. He is like my second dad, I actually think he is, Mappy is so sweet. I want to say thank you everyone to who has ever supported me! Even you Josh.
No, thank you, Dante. What words of inspiration do you have for your fans and the kids reading this right now?
Life is Roblox.