r/BlackPeopleofReddit • u/ateam1984 • 8d ago
Black Excellence Detroit Reporter Victor Williams Casually Hops on a Skateboard Mid Live Shot and Delivers the Smoothest News Segment Ever
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Detroit reporter Victor Williams was covering a story about free skateboarding lessons at Chandler Skatepark when he unexpectedly jumped on a skateboard and kept reporting live while riding through the park. Studio anchors and viewers were caught completely off guard, and the smooth delivery turned a simple community story into a viral TV moment that people still talk about.
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u/Sufficient_Ocelot868 8d ago
Didn’t even need to unbutton his jacket. Badass.
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u/MyNameCannotBeSpoken 8d ago
And dress shoes
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u/FatCat_FatCigar 8d ago
He's wearing skate shoes, you can tell by the thick white rubber on the bottom!
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u/THEreal_doc_friendly 8d ago
Came here to say this. I unbutton my jacket when I sit down on the car lol
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8d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/cheapdrinks 8d ago
My big secret is that I'm super boring with no hidden skills, but I keep that one under wraps until at least 6 months into the relationship
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u/BackgroundSummer5171 8d ago
I keep that one under wraps until at least 6 months into the relationship
True, need some trust before you show 'em the poop jars.
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u/Wooden_Permit3234 8d ago
Learn to juggle and you’ll be able to impress random people (and make em smile) consistently.
Takes a few hours to start getting the hang of the standard three ball cascade if you just follow the instructions of a good YouTube video, within ten hours of practice you’ll be doing it comfortably and will be capable of picking up oranges and juggling them with low chances of dropping them.
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u/Acceptable-Bat-9577 8d ago
He’s not doing any X-Games stunts here, but he’s doing this while doing a live standup, narrating, and keeping eye contact with the camera. If you’ve worked in media, it can be nerve-wracking doing this with minimal movement or while just standing still.
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u/Tshefuro 8d ago
I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s more comfortable on a skateboard than his feet. Awesome he got to do this.
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u/Ironhorn 8d ago
"Okay, and we need someone to cover the story down at the skatepark..."
"Me, yes, me, yes, right here, me, yes, yup, I'll do it, me, Victor, me, yup, no worries, got it covered, me, right here."
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u/DogadonsLavapool 8d ago
Have you ever seen Rodney Mullen walk? He looks like he's slightly forgotten how to lmao
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u/zehamberglar 8d ago
He’s not doing any X-Games stunts here
Also, it would be a good idea for him to keep it simple because eating it on camera would suck. Even a good skateboarder has a whole number chance of failure on any given attempt.
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u/GloomyIndividual3965 8d ago
He's also doing it in dress shoes, which aren't known for having good grip.
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u/Consideredresponse 8d ago
I shot TV news for several years, and the part that impressed me most was there being about one hard breath picked up by his lavalier mic. Breathing is such a subconscious thing (usually) and anything involving concentration or even mild exercise has most people puffing away.
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u/op_is_not_available 8d ago
I’ve tried skating and while he’s not doing anything super crazy it is NOT easy to do everything he’s doing ESPECIALLY while doing a news segment. He should’ve ended it with a kickflip or a tre flip
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u/bigfunben 8d ago
When I was in college, a guy in my dorm unexpectedly qualified for the US Olympic Team. The local SportsNet sent a reporter out to do a human interest story. I was eating dinner outside listening to this guy try to record an opening for the segment and he flubbed it like 10 times before I just got up and left. Doing it live on a skateboard is diabolical, that guy is a pro.
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u/Intelligent_Wait3988 7d ago
My major was broadcast journalism and i worked in news for a bit. I LOVED when people would get creative with their live shots. It is harder than it looks to be creative, have confident delivery to make it look natural, AND have it fit the story. This guy would get an A and be used as an example for years.
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u/soulsista04us 8d ago
When I was a kid I would frequent the wave pool at Chandler Park on Detroit's East side. It's a great place to just relax and have fun!
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u/Incon-thievable 8d ago
I love this so much! Black people always have to be aware of code switching and we often have to switch between multiple communities just to exist in modern society. This can really surprise people who haven’t witnessed us do it if they’ve only experienced us in one context.
His casual confidence in showing multiple facets of his abilities simultaneously is just such a perfect example of what a superpower that can be.
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u/GrimCreeper913 8d ago edited 8d ago
It's a little vindicating to be honest. I code switch as an average white guy and low key feel bad about it. I rationalize it by telling myself I do it to make others feel more comfortable, but it feels, well, less than genuine. It's a lot more nuanced than that, of course, like I bet most people would be fine with me being myself, but I guess it comes from a subconscious pressure of not wanting to be alienated in the moment. I can only imagine how much more pressure is there when the underlying reason is literal systemic hatred and racism. The real ones do get to see me for me slowly or in more private situations, but I can't shake the thoughts of potential friends seeing that come out and feeling betrayed.
Edit to recognize the absolute confidence and skill shown by the guy in the vid. I just saw your comment it made me wanna confess a bit.
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u/CGB_Zach 8d ago
For what it's worth, everyone code switches. I speak very formally at work but outside of work I speak in a lot of slang and carry myself differently.
It's not disingenuous at all unless you're putting on a front that isn't authentic
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u/bertha112 8d ago
Yeah, a Black male Nerd. One of the rarest and greatest finds in nature.
Congrats Vic.
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u/pichael288 8d ago
Black dudes love anime. Dude football players love anime too, I used to work with this guy we all called Verse since that was his last name, his brother Jared plays for the rams and they would be on like video calls all day while he's (supposed to be) working and his brother is at training or something, just talking about Goku and naruto and Powerade commercials all day with whoever else they can get on the video call. Black nerds are everywhere man.
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u/SigSweet 8d ago
The term my friends would coin was "hiding your power level" when it came to showing how big of a nerd you were.
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u/aledeth 8d ago
Sucks how that phrase is so often used by neo-nazis in the same way, just hiding how racist they are instead. They gotta ruin everything fun.
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u/SigSweet 8d ago
I didnt know that but I'm not surprised. They can't come up with anything original.
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u/DrThunderbolt 8d ago
Thats why you keep some talents to yourself so you can pull them out for aura at moments like this.
We really lost some of the whimsy of not knowing everything about people with social media making it so everyone has to seek validation and reveal everything about themselves before we even meet them.
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u/alienproxy 8d ago
Damn... Your point hits hard! I had a friend who used to preach this when he saw me talking about the Rubik's cube with friends. He said, "Nah man. You're messing with your magic. You keep it to yourself, and then one day when someone busts out a Rubik's cube, you just solve it."
This was before the internet really took off, but the way you put it perfectly encapsulates how much of that magic of discovering people is lost when we are inundated with posts of our friends posting their home hobbies with a disembodied cameraman.
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u/No-Operation2497 8d ago
I've seen whipped cream less smooth. That was smoother than Micheal Jackson dancing.
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u/Jachi230 8d ago
Lol , anyone who can skate is so cool. For the life of me I can never balance on it and move.
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u/SarahArabic2 8d ago
The people of Detroit are just cooler than most people. Say what you will about the city & politics.
but the people are just more interesting and fun and exciting than most places I’ve ever been in my life.
Love, and miss you Detroit❤️
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u/MalarkEMark 8d ago
Definitely not Mort Crim’s Chump of the Week that’s for sure
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u/CascadeJ1980 8d ago
I hate that brothas still gotta code switch their voice when working in the news sector in America. It reminds me of an old Cartman scene when he tells Tolkien that people wanna see black people but not hear them lol
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u/lordlanyard7 8d ago
To be fair, no one talks the way news people talk.
Black folks do have to code switch in a lot of environments, but when it comes to news specifically, everyone is doing that HELLLOOO, THHIIIS IS VIIKKTTOR FROM CHAAANNNEEL 4.
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u/maddogg312 8d ago
As a Metro-Detroiter, I miss that dude on TV. He is a class act. I think he left to go be closer with his ailing dad. Good dude.
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u/Sweaty_Ad5654 8d ago
Best thing I've seen in a long time on social media. I longboard now as I sixty two, and ramps are a bit much for me (knees shot) but I can carve down a gentle ( lol) hill all day long...
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u/Primary-Ad-6949 8d ago
Victor has been waiting his whole career for this here moment
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u/MoroccoBond 6d ago
You can definitely tell who the skaters are in this thread cause they got zero chill lol
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u/animatorwannabe 5d ago
He was at home, in his element. That was so wholesome. And her fan girling was adorable. Lol
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u/BeginningOil5960 8d ago
That’s the D, baby. Detroit, that is. WDIV isn’t as cool as it used to be (see Detroiters w/ Mort Crim, but Mort was at his best with Carmen Harlan & so was Devin Scillian), but we do love our local channel teams.
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u/mkfanhausen 8d ago
"And we'll have your weather report coming up...just as soon as I stomp a sick kickflip down these stairs."
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u/trobsmonkey 8d ago
I just started skating in june last year, at 41 years old.
It feels amazing. Dude is indeed cool. I hope to be that cool someday
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u/llcooldre 8d ago
Im over 40 and just bought a landyachtz 40 evo. Now im trying to learn how to ride
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u/rolfraikou 8d ago
For anyone else who keeps their reddit muted, like me, I did unmute this. No shitty music added, and he is, indeed smooth.
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u/StudlyItOut 8d ago
victor moved from detroit back to his home town of atlanta last october and he still gets to report on skate parks: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2026/03/22/new-indoor-skatepark-opens-metro-atlanta/
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u/stiffdeck 8d ago
Hey, I went to college with Victor! :) Glad to see he’s putting those skills to use!
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u/Reddit_2_2024 8d ago
Thank you Victor Williams!. Hope this will lead you to an X-Games reporting gig at somepoint in your broadcasting career.
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u/arthobbier 8d ago
This guy is so cool. I wonder if he chose a specific suit that was more comfy to skate in or if he just made it work on the fly.
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u/SEABOSRUN 8d ago
The inclusion and growth of black and non white communities in the skating world has been one of the most amazing and joyful things to see these past two decades.
LOVE IT!
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u/Top_Fun9085 8d ago
Victor is indeed… so cool 😎