Monday, November 30, 2009

Barcelona skateboarding | Travel blog Barcelona, Berlin, Paris and Madrid

Kickflip, Frontside, Goofy, Ollie, Freestyle, Method Air Grab, Nosegrind, Railstand: do you speak skate-language? All these terms refer to skateboarders’ acrobatic tricks. The guys jumping, sliding on their four wheels boards, sometimes can really surprise and almost dazzle us with their acrobatics. In Barcelona, one of the capitals of skateboard, there are dozens of places where it is possible to practice this sport: large squares, streets with suitable pavements, stairs, ramps, and benches. Get closer to this universe and you will discover the magic of the skateboard world.

skateboarding-barcelona

In Barcelona it doesn’t often rain and the weather is fine for most of the months. For these reasons it sounds like a utopia and a bit unrealistic to set limits to street skateboard. If you are a skateboarder or you are just curious about this world, Barcelona is the destination you’ve been looking for. The city offers many places where skateboard material can be purchased. Remember that this is not only a sport, but also a huge industry and a fascinating lifestyle, just think about the skaters’ look, their clothes and their shoes, the music, the championships, the graffiti…Somebody will buy a board just to decorate his home, as if it were artwork: some boards are so beautiful that it seems a pity to use them!

A well known skaters’ meeting point in Barcelona is the Plaça dels Angels, close to the Macba. Many of them shoot videos while performing nose slides, slips and other original tricks. Why are you asking yourself whether it is a sport or not? The football players after all, only run after a ball, don’t they? The skateboard has many merits. It’s incredible how the skaters can perform their acrobatics, with two legs, two arms and balancing on a wooden board which is only 80 cm long. This street culture can be seen in the movie Paranoid Park. This is definitely not only a type of transport, but also a real sport that originates from surfing.

How about the girls? Don’t think this is exclusively a men’s sport. Day by day there are more and more enthusiastic girls being enticed by this sport. The first open air skate-park was opened in California in 1976. Nowadays the skateboarders catch on very quickly and they come from all around the world to skate in Barcelona. And they are right! Barcelona seems to be a kind of magnet for the skaters, an ideal scenery where to practice without being afraid of nasty fines.

Do you still believe that skateboard means a fool, performing acrobats on the asphalt, bordering suicide? Let us give you a suggestion: book a ticket for the beautiful Catalan capital and, even if you don’t skate, discover this world, where youth, sport and art are the kings - seeing is believing. Rent apartments in Barcelona and fly away with your board.

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