If you are a frequent visitor to the Forum Algarve you may have noticed over the past year or so the occasional event which featured ramps and plenty of smiling skateboarders of all ages having fun on their boards. Or, if you’ve walked through Faro town you may have even seen posters offering private and group skateboarding lessons. This rising wave of skateboarding in the Algarve is all down to a new association of skaters called WallRide.

Based at the skatepark in Faro, they have been using skateboarding to bring the community together to create a place where, no matter who you are, you feel welcome to come and have a roll around. I thought it was about time I went to find out more…

A ‘roll model’

The Faro skatepark was opened in 2008, and it was here that I met two of the association's founding members, Viriato Villas-Boas and Catarina Florido.

We all arrived at the same time and Viriato set about opening up the old marine shipping container that was donated to them and with a little work they have turned it into the office and headquarters of WallRide.

As we sat overlooking the skatepark, an adorable little dog called Princesa came over for a cuddle. An abandoned stray, she’s become what you might call the mascot of the association that everybody loves and looks after. It was clear Viriato cares a lot about animals and it turns out that he works for Animal Rescue Algarve (ARA) as their Communications and Public Relations Manager.

Growing up in Faro, he’s been skating since he was just 12 years old and although he insists he’s quite clumsy in day to day life, I had watched enough of his videos on Instagram to conclude that on a skateboard he becomes some kind of flying wizard. After spending 5 years away studying at Birkbeck – University of London and The London School of Economics and Political Science, Viriato returned to the Algarve where he found the skate community had become fragmented and the skatepark quite degraded - and he wanted to do something about it.

Even though skateboarding is, in a sense, a very individual activity, Viriato has always been amazed at its remarkable ability to bring people together in a way few other things can. Regardless of financial status, religion, age, gender or even skill level, everybody is united in their passion for the sport.

All hands on deck

While we were sitting chatting, members of the crew started to arrive. This really gave me a chance to see Viriato in action and get a sense of the respect they all pay each other and how welcome everybody is here.

A bunch of kids who can’t afford their own skateboards turned up and are allowed (provided they ask nicely, of course) to use the association's spare boards.

But it’s not just skating they do here. I met the official DJ and there’s opportunity for budding street artists to decorate the skate park, as well. I also know they have some talented photographers on the crew, as Viriato kindly gifted me some copies of a magazine they have created called Lodo Zine. It’s the very first skate magazine in the Algarve and features pictures of various WallRiders flying down staircases and other awe inspiring feats of bravery and skill.

Girl power

Speaking with Catarina, she explained how skateboarding has traditionally been quite a male dominated sport and that girls in the past may have felt a little intimidated to come down to the skatepark. WallRide has been working hard to change this and Catarina set up the South Girl Skate Department - to unite and support skater girls in the south of Portugal.

They even organized the first Women's Skateboarding Day - an event they hope will one day be held worldwide. Skater girls came from Olhão and even Lisbon to attend the event which was held outside the Municipal Market, as well as a few famous ‘street spots’ around Faro.

The best smile

I had to stop chatting with Viriato and Catarina because a little boy turned up with his mum eager to start his weekly skate lesson. But I will end with a quote from part of one of Viriato’s recent social media posts:

“In the past year since founding WallRide, the Skate School Department has given me the opportunity to learn as much as teach, while also rediscovering what skateboarding truly means through the joyful eyes of those who are yet to make it an integral part of their lives and identities.

[...]My personal yardstick for assessing how successful a student is at WallRide Skate School is not, and never will be, the amount or complexity of the tricks they perform, but rather how many times I get to see their smiles, their willingness to open-up about their fears, their awareness of their weaknesses and strengths, their support for their peers, and most importantly their sense of self-worth is not dependent on anyone else.

WallRide Skate School focuses on building up Human Beings, not Athletes. And I am proud of all the over one hundred lives we helped to shape in our first year.”

To find out more please follow them on Instagram or Facebook @Wallride.pt