“That's Oman. My favorite country.”
The smallest scene, the favourite country
Mike Boisvert has been to more than 100 countries, and Oman is his favourite. He spent eight or nine days there in 2025, skated for two of them and made two videos: one about Muscat, and one about Firas. He is the first to say the skating is not the reason to go. “For skateboarding, it's not the best country, but, like, the country itself, oh my God.” It's the Middle East, but a safe and calm version of it. There are no giant towers; the country chose to stay peaceful rather than go the way of Dubai or Saudi Arabia, and the towns are small houses by the sea, desert and mountains, with wadis everywhere, “some kind of, like, oasis waterfall”. The food is amazing, it's safe, it's clean. “It's super Muslim, but super chill.” What surprised him most was the local hospitality.
Skating in a dishdasha
Some of Mike's most viral clips come from Oman, where he skated in traditional dress. The point, he says, is to humanize Muslim people for viewers who come with prejudice. “I love my brothers.” In Oman, the dishdasha is not for special occasions; everyone wears it, every day. The crew gave him the hat, the kuma, and it is still in his bag. His Muscat video is below.
A scene of about 20
It was bigger before. Now it's really, really small: Mike puts it at about 20 skaters. Oman Skate ran a skatepark and shop in Al Wadi Al Kabir; it opened in 2018 and closed when running both became too much financially. Mike was one of the last people to skate it, and it was in rough shape by then. The only park left is The Wave, a private skatepark inside a gated community. Locals can sometimes get in and sometimes can't, so they mostly skate street. And the street is good: Muscat has marble spots everywhere, and the Clock Tower is the main spot and Mike's number one place to skate. Oman Skate is pretty much the whole ecosystem.
Skaters to know
Firas Ahmed (@ferel_firastech) is the main guy, the best skater in the country and Mike's number one pick. “Amazing skater.” He spent a few months working in Saudi Arabia, and his video, below, is called The Gnarliest Skater Of The Entire Middle East. Shihab Al Nasri (@shihabalnasri) is the filmer, the friend who invited and hosted Mike and filmed with him. He started filming because of skateboarding, he is now a professional filmmaker, and Oman Skate's full-length videos are on YouTube. “You need those guys. Like, super, super important.” Hytham Al Wahaibi (@hytham09) is a pioneer of the scene and used to be the main skater; he was injured when Mike came through.
Lost in the desert
The story Mike tells about Oman isn't about skating. He spent six days alone in one town, going to the beach every day, and one day he started trekking without knowing where he would end up. He walked two hours in the desert without seeing a soul, ran out of water and turned back, then jumped into a pickup truck with some kids, who drove him through the mountains. He ended up at a waterfall in an oasis. “I wanted some adventure that day. I had it.” A goat he photographed on that trip is still the screensaver on his phone.
If you go
Fly. Mike tried the bus from Dubai, couldn't get on one, and booked a flight for the same day. “Going to Oman was a mess.” Don't go for the skateparks; go for the country. Visit a wadi, Wadi Shab for one. Get out of Muscat, rent a car and road trip with your crew or your family, skate some street spots, and get in touch with Oman Skate, who would be super happy to host you. The barrier for the scene is simple: no park, and almost no skaters. What would help, in Mike's view, is a JACKALOPE Golden Ticket.
Mike Boisvert, on what makes Oman: “The hospitality, the food, the people.”
Photos and video: Mike Boisvert / The Skate Nomad. Part of the JACKALOPE Skate Atlas, one country at a time, with the skaters who live there. See every country on the map.
