When the concept of hoverboards was first introduced in the film Back to the Future II, it was a seminal moment for red-blooded males. Men of all ages salivated with desire, perhaps looking forward to the year 2015 (the year in the movie when Marty McFly first rides the gizmo) with anticipation.
Sure enough, almost two decades later the hoverboard is being sold to the mass market and is a familiar sight on our streets. Well, something we call a hoverboard anyway.
More technically known as a ‘self-balancing, two-wheel scooter,’ the contraption has taken not just China – where it originated, according to Wired magazine – but the world by storm over the last few years. (No, it doesn’t actually hover, but hey, it sounds cool.)
Its one-wheel counterparts have also grown in popularity, and have been nicknamed ‘wind-and-fire wheels’ by Chinese users, as they bring to mind the magical equipment used by Nezha, a demigod in Chinese folk religion.
Hoverboards have been embraced by a broad section of the public as a fun, fresh method of getting about town. Situ uses his to transport his kid to and from school. “I bought my very first one back in December of 2013 for RMB1,500 when I was browsing through T-mall,” he says. I had never seen it on the streets.”
“I bought my hoverboard because I was spending so much money on taxis and walking around so much,” says May Traux, who spends 20 minutes going to work from Liede to South China Normal University on her Xiaomi-manufactured hoverboard.
“My friend showed us how amazing and convenient it is to get around. Once I found my balance on it, I fell in love and never felt like walking again.”
While many use the tech for travel, others like Qiao Xin also employ them as performance props. An acrobat for 15 years, Qiao began attempting stunts on his first one-wheel scooter four years ago, doing handstands to the delight of passersby. “Almost every time I went to Beijing or Shanghai to perform, I wouldn’t forget to bring the scooter with me.”
Sadly for people like Situ, Traux and Qiao, they’ll have to limit their usage of hoverboards to private compounds from now on – at least in Guangzhou – and return to more traditional methods of transport. Following the lead of cities such as New York and Hong Kong, Guangzhou Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee declared a ban on two- and one-wheel scooters on October 31, bringing the Back to the Future dream to an end almost as soon as it had begun.
As a sort of memorial to the now-restricted device, Guangzhou-based photographer Don Seno took up his camera to capture them on the streets before they vanish forever.
Welcome to the world of tomorrow!
[Photos taken by Don Seno]
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