Thailand's coffin-maker kickflips his caskets into skateboards
As the popularity of board sports exploded in Thailand, and the price of a skateboard skyrocketed, Anusorn Yungyearn decided to breathe new life into some of the wooden caskets he had lying around his Bangkok workshop.
From a final resting place for the dead to a gnarly way to land a trick; a Thai coffin-maker is affixing Buddhist emblems to the dismantled walls of his caskets, and transforming them into skateboards. This image shows skateboards, made from wood used for coffins, at the Burapha coffin shop in Bangkok. (Image: AFP)
As the popularity of board sports exploded in Thailand, and the price of a skateboard skyrocketed, Anusorn Yungyearn decided to breathe new life into some of the wooden caskets he had lying around his Bangkok workshop. (Image: AFP)
"I want to give the kids who don't really have much chance in life an opportunity to skate," said the 30-year-old Anusorn Yungyearn. "I also don't want them to ask their parents to buy one for them since the cost of it is really high," he further said. Here an employee from the Burapha coffin shop cutting out a skateboard, made from wood used for coffins. (Image: AFP)
In the past year hordes of young Thais have taken up skateboarding and surf-skating -- likely a consequence of most social spaces like bars and gyms being closed for months at a time because of pandemic restrictions. Today, bands of young skaters can be seen cruising through Bangkok's historic quarter and its universities' open spaces. (Image: AFP)
Anusorn's warehouse has coffins with brocade designs, golden lattice work and even holographic stick-ons. But for his boards, he has decided to keep it comparatively simple -- gleaming white with golden trimming on the bottom. "The procedure of making these boards is almost exactly like making the coffins," he told AFP, adding that he sticks a signature twist to the boards. "We put the Thai angel emblem and the Thai traditional border on the board's edge." (Image: AFP)
Anusorn admitted that fliping coffins to skateboard will be tough and getting them right will be a challenge, but he decided that he will donate the first 10 to lower-income families. (Image: AFP)
"Some kids have never ever heard of a skateboard before so we want to make these casket skateboards as close to the real boards as possible, Anusorn said. "That way they could play and smile a little bit from all the fun." (Image: AFP)
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