Selema Mabena Masekela’s skills cross all aspects of action sports, including a long, rich history in brand-building, sales, marketing, journalism, on-camera hosting, writing, and athlete-management—as well as building mock waterfalls … true story.

If you’ve watched action sports, you already know him. Whether it’s from his time answering phones early in his career at TransWorld Media, his sideline work on the NBA, his tenure at X-Games, his work with Stoked.org, his music, his brilliant smile, or his life-long stoke for spreading his love of surfing, skateboarding, and snowboarding—the artist formerly known as “Sal” is a household name and a globally-beloved character in boardsports.

Now, about that waterfall. Before pursuing his passions, a 19-year-old Sal was working in inland San Diego County where he found himself building a mock waterfall using chicken wire and a nasty cement sprayer contraption. 

“I was working this hellish job and just feeling miserable,” says Selema. “Then one day at lunch, I just had enough. I wanted to surf, skate, and live my dream, so, at 19 years old, I walked away from the waterfall, straight into a surf shop, asked for a job, and boom, I was officially in the industry I always wanted to be a part of. I was starting from the bottom, but I was hungry.”

Selema quickly learned the ins-and-outs of the shop, and then moved on to answering phones at the thriving action sports media company, TransWorld Media, home to TransWorld SKATEboarding and SNOWboarding. At TransWorld, he worked with the photographers, sold videos to shops all over the world, built relationships, and learned invaluable business lessons at every step. At one point, he was calling nearly 1,000 shops a week. 

He devoured the culture and his hunger grew. Career highlights include helping Planet Earth get into snow, bringing Reebok’s brand “Boks” into the surf world, and signing the Irons brothers—two of surfing’s GOATs—to the team. He did that by spending a month sleeping in their garage and surfing on Kauai. 

Selema has been a team manager, marketing director, product development specialist, and owner of Alphanumeric with Alyasha Owerka-Moore.

He has a gift for hearing opportunity when it knocks—and answering the door. Selema’s early hosting gigs included the MTV Sports And Music Festival, working as an NBA sideline analyst and a reporter for X Games, The Winter Olympics, and Vice World Of Sports.

In the process, it’s not hyperbole to say that Selema has changed the world of action sports for the better. But describing Selema’s current employment status sounds like hyperbole: He’s an action sports storyteller across mediums; Sits on the board of directors at Burton; works as a consultant and ambassador at Red Bull North America; holds the title of Chief Of Sport Culture at X-Games and MSP group; and still does play-by-play in front of the camera. 

Selema’s legacy is already cemented, but he still has the same passion and drive he had as that teenager walking into the surf shop. “I’d like to be seen as someone who helped to make action sports and this lifestyle accessible to every type of person,” he says.  

In addition to his infinite range in action sports media, Salema makes music, acts, directs, and works on social initiatives including with Stoked Mentoring and The Lunchbox Fund.

Selema just wrapped a gig as contributing producer for the upcoming and highly anticipated Warren Miller film, “75.”