We had a chat with Malaysia’s most requested Freestyle Basketballer, Scalia Nethanial!
At a young age, Scalia found his true calling for performing. Nothing has ever stopped him ever since.
What’s good, Scalia! Tell our readers more about yourself. What do you do full time?
Allow me to introduce myself, I go by the name of Scalia Nethanial. I am a full time Basketball Freestyle performer! I love art. I write poetry, I play the piano, I rap once in a while and I even worked as a drafter in an engineering company for a while. Performing Freestyle Basketball has been my #1.
I come from a broken family of abuse; my dad abandoned us when I was born and my mom had to work. Me and my siblings were put under the care of a guardian.
It was pretty difficult growing up. I didn’t understand what was happening to me. I needed to do something to get my mind off struggles that were happening.
After those guardians were sent back to wherever they came from, my mum took me back to stay with her. But I was still pretty lost. I was always bullied at school too. So with dancing, I was just doing it for fun with my old neighbors and from there it grew into something I loved.
Long story short, I needed an escape from everything that was happening so I turned to music by playing the piano, then dancing and basketball.
I was able to be a part of shows, reality TV, join competitions and of course, a team. I enjoyed my time as a dancer and I was able to accomplish what I wanted to do in that form of art, but if it wasn’t for Basketball Freestyle, I wouldn’t be where I am today. With Freestyle Basketball, it started with my brother bringing home DVDs called “AND1 Mixtape” back in 2007. And I was a huge Basketball/Street Basketball company and I was completely hooked. I was amazed by the tricks they were doing.
Being a Filipino, we all love Basketball.
Tell us your journey as a basketball freestyle performer! When did you first discover your passion for it?
I decided to just try playing that style of Basketball and so there it was. Then I started watching videos on YouTube and seeing all these other Basketball Freestylers doing crazy things with the ball – I knew that was gonna be it for me. I practiced everyday. I’d wake up every morning to dribble around my neighborhood. Many people didn’t believe in me. Everyone thought I was chasing something that wasn’t achievable. People laughed at me. People threw jokes at me.
But I knew one thing, I knew I was gonna do this regardless of what anyone said. Nothing was gonna stop me.
Freestyle Basketball was pretty recognizable in Malaysia. There were competitions organized by AND1 as well in which I took part in but eventually disqualified. I worked really hard the following year and came back to win the championship in 2010. I was chosen by World Renowned Basketball Entertainer Grayson Boucher a.k.a “The Professor” to win the whole competition. After winning that, I was signed to the company (AND1) to tour and perform for them!
We heard that you were internationally recognized by a Streetball group – how was that experience like?
I was invited to play with the Best Streetball Team/Brand in America, “Court Kingz” when they had a tour here in KL.
Phillip Champion a.k.a “Hot Sauce” was part of the tour and he knew who I was. He stamped me as one of the best with a shout-out video on his Instagram. It was very humbling to hear that. I don’t consider myself on that level at all but it sure does feel surreal to hear it considering all this started with me watching DVDs of him back in the day. I’m very blessed and fortunate to be able to perform and do what I love.
Meeting supporters everywhere is really cool. I always hear stories about how I inspire them and that’s just awesome, really! I’ve never resorted to alcohol or drugs – my escape was art.
Describe yourself in 3 words!
The performing mode me would be “Poetry In Motion”. The real me would be “More waffles please!”
Scalia In Motion – Gatorade Tour ( Cyberjaya & Kuala Selangor ) Thank you MVP Marketing Sdn Bhd! ✌Wearing Uptown Playaz Street Boutique (since 2001)(T Shirt) and PEAK-Malaysia(Shoes).
Posted by Scalia on Sunday, 30 April 2017
Any upcoming projects for you?
I’m just performing here and there. I have shows coming. I’m also looking to change the format of my shows and turn it into a more beautiful (and badass) experience. Videos! People always request me to make more videos so that’s all up in the air. I’m up for collaborations too. I’ve also created a Performing Arts/Dance team not too long ago called “THE NEXT THING” so I’d love to see them grow too. We’ll see where everything goes.
Share with us a random fact about yourself.
I could be outgoing but I’m very reserved for the most part. I talk to myself a lot. I find it very therapeutic.
Tell us an accomplishment that you will always stand by.
It’s pretty cool to be called Malaysia’s Best and Highest Requested Basketball Freestyle performer. To me, that represents all the pain, hard work, effort, lonely times and sacrifices that I’ve made throughout the years. Looking back, it was worth it.. not because of that title, that title won’t mean much someday. It was worth it because I’m able to see people smile everytime I do this.
Who is your all-time inspiration?
The Rock and Kobe Bryant (both since I was a kid)
As a Freestyle Basketballer, do you have any advice for upcoming performers?
My advice to any upcoming performer out there is really just to simply enjoy what you do. Enjoy it and live it to the fullest. These are all gonna be memories someday so make sure you go out there and reach for it. Don’t worry about the hate. If I were to count the amount of times that people counted me out, I’d lose count. Don’t worry about proving anyone wrong. It does not matter what they say. Live a life you can look back and be proud of. Live. Be you.
What makes you smile the most?
Life. Even when it hurts. Life is precious. Life is fragile.
But life is a blessing. Smile through everything.
Where do you see yourself in 2 years time?
Interesting question. Although I daydream a lot, I’ll just save this for the future! Let’s do another interview in 2 years time maybe? Oh, and I would love to help build a home for the less fortunate to create art.
