coolest of skulls. It was averaging
in the 90's with very little wind.
While in São Paulo we went to dif
ferent spots every day and never
got bored. A few days later, we
split for Rio and hit Guarana on
the way, which is a country club
that has a figure-eight bowl and
fat ass keyhole pool with a channel
that would make anyone shit their
pants. It used to be the major site
of contests in the mid-eighties, but
now it sees little action, Put it on
the list if you're down there, Hosoi
540'ed the pool about eight feet
out. Shit's crazy.
The first stop in Rio was
Rio Sul, the most perfect
transition, wide-open
right-hand kidney that
ever graced the skate-
board world. It's located
between two busy streets
at a huge shopping cen-
ter. Ditch the wife and get
a plane ticket. It rained
for three days but some-
where along the way we
managed to get some
intense sessioning.
The pool is skateable twen-
ty-four hours a day with
lights and security guards to
protect you. While hanging
out on the edge you can
watch an endless parade of
people en route to the mall.
On any given Saturday
there are as many as one
hundred spectators watch-
ing yelling and cheering. It
was as if you put the most
incredible pool ever right
smack in the middle of
Times Square in New York
rio sul
City. The right
hander is about
ten feet deep.
has the best
trannies, a
boomerang
shallow end,
metal coping.
channel and a
fully working
drain. Words will
never transmit
any of the dreamlike conditions
and atmosphere one experiences
when riding at Rio Sul.
The streets next to the pool are
like highways, and while there is an
underground passageway below,
the locals like to think of it as sport
and jaywalk constantly. The consis
tent drone of the cars is ear
marked by the wails of sirens, the
screech of brakes and the thumps
of metal on human contact. Cards
and Stranger saw two people get
hit crossing the street, and instead
of stopping traffic, an ambulance
came and scraped them off the
JoJo Janeiro (top)
lipslides at Los
Angeles, a small
but hella ridable
bowl which is pri-
vate property of an
apartment com
plex. Bob again
(above left), over
another hip in the
street and took off howling into
the night. Cars: 2, People: 0. We
heard tales of people getting their
organs stolen from them while
they were in the hospital. Bodies
lay on the streets everywhere, and
you are hard-pressed to tell if they
are living or dead. But like the
morning paper, they are always
there. Cards over-rotated in the
pool and took a head shot that
looked like stitches, but after we
hooked some tape and gauze, he
looked like a prize fighter. His
head still reeling from the beef,
John dug deep into himself and
attacked the pool harder with a
fusillade of blows than could only
be described as war. The locals
watched in disbelief as the punish-
ment began, some had come for
miles around to see these
American "street" skaters. While
some were looking for a few flips
into the shallow end, all they got
was raw dynamite. The other
skaters at the bowl were feeding
off the adrenaline and pushing the
tropics. Check the
sweat. Any time
you think your life
is fucked up (right),
think about this
guy. Gordo (left)
carves frontside
while the fog-
enshrouded Christo
in the background
welcomes you with
open arms.
Some interesting facts about
this huge country that might
intrigue a visitor would include:
1) There is no racism because
every one is so tan from the sun,
2) People often drive around
with no headlights at night, run
red lights whenever they want,
and throw garbage out of the can
all the time.
Bob (left) goes kickflip to fokie at Rio Sul. The sandy shore (above)
of Macumba Beach. The water is 65' and there is mega trash.
Sometimes after it rains, the beaches are off-limits because of the
raw sewage and other infectious agents. Always remember, if you
give the locals the Fonx thumb, everything will be cool.
limits past insanity
Bob did backside
noseblunt slides
into backwards
manual switch-
stance frontside
roll-ins in the
deep. All of the
riders tore that
day: varials, kick.
flips, 540's, any
trick, it went down.
There is another
park on the beach
that is deep shit
called Aporador.
We rode there at
three in the morn
ing and had a
blast. We soon
made the observa-
tion that there is
no time in Brasil,
Ten Things
You Should
Know About
BRASIL
3) The beach is very beautiful,
but at the same time there is trash
strewn everywhere.
4) Brasilians wear clothes with
English phrases on them that they
don't understand.
5) Beer is cheaper in Brasil than
Coca-Cola
6) You can rent a hotel for two
hours for the old in-out.
7) There are lots of skaters in
Brasil that are over thirty and
many that are under ten.
8) Everyone thinks, spends and
wants American money
9) Shops sell wheels for fifty
American dollars a set.
10) Everything in Brasil is in Port-
ugese, everyone else in South
America speaks Spanish.
just as many people are out at
three o'clock in the morning as at
three in the afternoon, and it looks
as if nobody ever works.
We stayed in Rio for two weeks
and had a blast. The food is cheap
and the drinks are cold, which is
more than I can say about Europe.
For all the concrete cowboys out
there who dream of riding free
skateparks where you can do all
your tricks back to back without
ever worrying about speed, save
up the money for the ticket and
go. In the off-season (American
summer) you can get plane fare for
about $750. Bring some sun block,
some skate parts and imbibe a cul-
ture that will blow you mind and
make you realize how insignificant
one life is
BE
DESTROY