Why Skateboarders Aren't Always Who You Think They Are

      Skateboarders get a bad rap and I think that it's because of the negative connotations people have towards their sport and its reckless nature. However, for the most part, I think skateboarders are good people (maybe a little rough around the edges, but good people nonetheless). Everywhere I have traveled to, I have been fortunate enough to meet some great people through skateboarding and hanging out at the skate park. 

       I think that says a lot about skateboarding as a sport. To me, it shows that skateboarding is a way to make life-long friends just like the way you can through basketball, baseball, football, or soccer (or futbol, whatever you wanna call it). In this trip, I met a friend named Matteo that I have mentioned a few times before and he told me to check out this skate park here in Madrid. It is called Legazpi Skate Park.

       I finally found my way here after asking some people for directions. I skated for quite a while and then sat down on the bench to drink some water before heading out. There were some kids there and one asked me if he could have some of my water. I told him claro (of course) and shared my 1 euro liter water bottle with him (water is so cheap here in comparison with back home, and that's the way it should be). I had some corn nuts left over from the bull fight earlier this week and shared some of those with him and his friends as well. We all talked together in Spanish while we watched some of the other locals destroying the skate park's numerous rails, ledges, and bowls.
      After a little while, I ran out of water and I was pretty tired. One of the kids told me he was about to hit up the bus to go home, so we both headed out together. I asked him where I could buy some water and he took me to a Chinese store. He told me he didn't have any money, which I believed after seeing the condition of his skate board (when you don't have money, you skate on whatever you can get your hands on), and I told him that I could get him something. I didn't have much money with me, but I knew I had enough to buy a couple sandwiches and another water bottle. He was very grateful and so was I, for without him, I would have struggled to return to the Metro station and would not have had any water either.
       On the way to the station, I ran into this cool statue. I don't really know it's significance, but I thought it was cool so I snapped a photo. Madrid is filled with little plaza's like this and one thing we have learned from class is that many of them were created by previous kings as a way to show the locals how well the government is doing, as well as a way to make this city look as beautiful as it is.

       This young Spaniard that I met today isn't one of these life-long friends that I am talking about, but he was a good-hearted kid and he inspired me to write this post. However, I consider my friend Matteo to be someone that I would hit up any time I am ever in Spain. Without him, I wouldn't have been able to go to either of the skate parks I have been to here in Madrid, and I wouldn't have had nearly as many memorable experiences without his suggestions. Skateboarding really does bring people together and I think that stories like this show that skateboarders really aren't who you think they are.

      I have now skated on two different sides of the world, and met great people in both. When the world is yours to skate, skate it.

Thanks for reading,

      RCE