Ahoy!

I'm Francisco, a 22-year-old skater from Portugal. 

For four years now (plus a two year gap where I was forced to quit - ugh), skating has been more than just a pastime for me

it has become the thing I yearn for every day.

It all began when my PC malfunctioned, leaving me bored and looking for something to do. I stumbled upon a decade-old skateboard I had lying around and decided to give it a go.

At the time, I had no idea that the tricks I was attempting were actually freestyle moves and footwork. 

My only exposure to skating had come from playing the Tony Hawk video games as a kid and watching João Soares skate around the same time. 

Rodney Mullen was always my favourite character and watching João skate live was proof that the things Rodney did were actually possible! Loking back, I'm sure they planted the seeds for my love for skateboarding.

I’ve always been drawn to pushing myself and setting out to do my own thing, so freestyle became THE outlet for me because it allowed me to do both.

That’s why I skate every single day (or night), rain or shine. Even on days when nothing seems to work, I always leave a session with a feeling of satisfaction because I set out to do what I was meant to do and know that there’s a lesson in every failure—it’s just a matter of finding it.

When I first started, freestyle was almost unheard of in Portugal. 

Nobody was practising it here besides João, and I was skating in isolation. 

About a year ago, I set out to change that. 

I partnered with Sporting CP, one of Portugal's biggest and most historical sports clubs, to start a skate school and founded Portugal’s first freestyle skateboarding club. 

I performed dozens demos at schools, skate shops, and events, and even entered my first competition - the WFSC!

Today, that is no longer the case. 

Every week, more young skaters join us, eager to learn and push themselves and this is what led me to connect with 

East Frisian Skateboards, who shares the mission to grow freestyle skating. 

Portugal had long lacked an accessible way to purchase freestyle gear, and East Frisian Skateboards has been a game-changer in that regard. 

Eventually, to my surprise, I was asked to join the team!! It’s a massive leap for me, and I’m incredibly  excited to be part of it. I can't thank EFS enough!