A Life Of Daring

American action sports commentator, TV host, musician and producer Selema ‘Sal’ Masekela talks about his journey, reveals his latest brand collab and shares what’s next.

- Dayle Kavonic

TO THE WORLD, SAL MASEKELA is the instantly recognisable face of action sports. And for good reason: the Los Angeles-born commentator and son of the late, and infinitely great, Hugh Masekela presented ESPN’s X Games for well over a decade, and has hosted everything from NBC’s Red Bull Signature Series and Olympic Zone (during the 2014 Winter Olympics) to the award-winning VICE World of Sports. But there’s much more to the man than surfing and snowboarding, as we found out during his most recent trip to South Africa.

GQ: So, what brings you to South Africa this time?

Sal Masekela: I spent the first half of this trip working with my family to finalise my father’s estate, which is both a strange and difficult thing to have to do. You know, suddenly you become the steward of this great legacy, and it’s hard to know what direction to take that in. As much as my dad was a father to my sister and me, he also belonged to the entire world, so we have to think about how to handle the whole thing in a way that also takes care of everyone else and their love for him. Then the second part of my trip has been about the work I’m doing as an ambassador for Mami Wata, the African surf clothing brand, which I’m really excited about.

GQ: How did your partnership with Mami Wata come about?