Taking us for a spin
Spinning has its origins in the early 1980s in Soweto, Johannesburg, where gangsters and criminals would steal cars and “spin” them at their friends’ funerals.
The Showmax hit Spinners introduced the world to a daredevil motorsport that was once the preserve of South Africa’s underworld. Spinning has its origins in the early 1980s in Soweto, Johannesburg, where gangsters and criminals would steal cars and “spin” them at their friends’ funerals. This evolved into a dangerous art form, where drivers perform risky stunts while hanging outside a drifting vehicle – sometimes with their heads only centimetres from the tarmac. The more daring and risky the stunt, the more popular the driver becomes.
Spinning is now a recognised sport with officials, rules, competitions and fans. It is rapidly gaining popularity across southern Africa. Participants load their spin cars onto trailers and drive them to meets in South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The rewards are more about pride than prize money, with even the top drivers only earning just a few hundred dollars per spin.
Photojournalist Shiraaz Mohamed was among the fanatical crowd at events in Manzini, Eswatini and Johannesburg, South Africa.
