Skateboarding
Skateboarding
Sandro Dias wants more challenges: "I skate more today than when I was 25"
With 40 years of skateboarding under his belt and approaching 50 years old, Brazilian legend Sandro Diaz is tireless and still finds it strange to be called a master of the sport.
Excited to compete in his first ever skateboarding contest in the mid-1980s, Sandro Dias wanted to fill in all the items on the entry form. But he got stuck on a nickname. He'd never had a real one. "Put Mineirinho, that's what your uncle calls you," suggested his mother, Leila. Afonso, his father, was known as Mineiro.
The boy wrote Mineirinho without much conviction, but the nickname stuck – and how! It's no exaggeration to say that there isn't a skateboarder in the world who doesn't know the Brazilian legend behind this name.
Dias is one of the biggest names in skateboarding history, a three-time world champion and also a three-time X-Games gold medallist. A boy who started skating at the age of 10 on the streets of Santo André, where he was born in 1975, and went on to conquer the planet.
01
Child's play
Sandro Dias' manoeuvres are remarkable
© Fabio Piva/Red Bull Content Pool
Sandro Dias first got on a skateboard in the mid-1980s, when Brazil was experiencing skateboarding fever. At the time, his best friend's older brother, Xan, had won a skateboard. Dias and Xan would put a car tyre on top of it and ride down the slopes of Santo André.
At Christmas Dias got his own skateboard from his parents and started going to the parks in Santo André and São Bernardo do Campo in São Paulo. He soon showed that he was different to the other youngsters and in 1988, three years after he got on a skateboard for the first time, he was Brazilian champion in the beginner category.
02
Prejudice and difficulties
Sandro Dias at camp in Arizona
© Anthony Acosta/Red Bull Content Pool
At that time, skateboarding wasn't even considered a sport in Brazil and skaters suffered a lot of prejudice. In the sprawling city of São Paulo, it was even banned by then-mayor Jânio Quadros. These were not the only difficulties. Access to state-of-the-art equipment, all imported, was very difficult and skaters had to place orders with acquaintances travelling abroad and hope they could bring something back in suitcases.
Brazilians were also unable to follow the evolution of the international scene as closely as they can today. Without internet or mobile phones, they found out what the big stars were doing thanks to rare VHS tapes that arrived in Brazil or photos in long out-of-date magazines.
Sandro Dias is a skateboarding legend
© Fabio Piva/Red Bull Content Pool
"We'd see the images on paper, try to guess what moves the guys had done to arrive at those manoeuvres and try to imitate what we imagined," recalls Dias. "Our technical level was far below that of the Americans and Europeans, so evolution was very slow. It took about 10 years for the scene to improve, for us to have a shop that sold imported parts in São Paulo and for the parks to start growing."
03
Good guy
Meeting fans on the Red Bull Drop In Tour
© Allan Estevam Carvalho Teixeira/Red Bull Content Pool
The national scene was still precarious, but the boy from ABC talented and soon fell in with the older skate crowd who frequented the local dance floors. Dias was responsible however, didn't get into trouble and didn't give his parents a hard time. That's why, from an early age, he had a lot of freedom to head out into the streets and skate, going from one park to another. At the parks in Santo André and São Bernardo, he met all sorts, from a professional skateboarder to a bank robber.
Sandro Dias on the Red Bull Drop In Tour
© Anthony Acosta/Red Bull Content Pool
"I was a 13 or 14-year-old kid, I didn't mess with anyone and no one messed with me. Everyone respected each other and I was always considered a local from São Bernardo, even though I was from Santo André," he says.
The quiet boy had a great ability for skateboarding and for the veterans, he was an ideal pupil. Dias always tried to ride with the best and so he got close to the top riders of the time like Sérgio Negrão and Edsinho. His first international skating trip was to California at the age of 13, in 1988, in the company of the two of them and Tio Liba.
Skateboard legend Sandro Dias traded ramps for the road in Brazil
© Fabio Piva for Wings for Life World Run
"It was a dream. We watched the videos of the Americans and the dream of every skateboarder in Brazil was to go to California and spend a season there. Everything was perfect: the pavements, the slopes, the halfpipes. You come back with different parameters, a different view of skateboarding, with different desires and with good pieces to wear. I came back with that childhood wish of, 'Wow, one day I want to live here'."
Spoiler: Not only did Dias realise his childhood dream, but he then spent almost 20 years in California, consolidating one of the brightest careers in world skateboarding.
04
Key turning point
Before turning pro, Dias did what his parents had hoped: he graduated from college. At the time, betting on being a professional skateboarder was still too risky in Brazil, so it was important to have another plan.
In the early 2000s, he graduated in business administration and went to work for his father's company. But he was already making a lot more money skateboarding than working for the family business to give up competing: he would work from Monday until Thursday or Friday, get on a plane to travel, compete and then go back to his work routine on Monday.
"When I graduated from university, I had to go somewhere, right? That's when I had to make a choice: go to the United States and dedicate myself 100 percent to skateboarding," he recalls.
Sandro Dias at Red Bull Skate Generation in Florianópolis
© Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool
His father was a little reluctant to see Sandro go. He wanted to pass the business on to his only son (he has three other daughters), but his mother, Leila, who had accompanied him to contests from an early age, always encouraged him to go and do what he liked.
At that time, living abroad was the only option for Brazilians who wanted to be at the top. The main events were organised by foreign companies and their eyes were mainly on the American and European scenes. "If we weren't there on the circuit, we wouldn't be invited to some events. From the moment I went to the United States, I started taking part in everything that was going on. I tried to get involved in everything and then things really started to happen," he says.
More skateboarding
05
The top
Sandro Dias boosted his career abroad
© Fabio Piva/Red Bull Content Pool
From Brazil to California and then the world. Inserted into the most important skateboarding scene on the planet at the time, Dias evolved quickly and the big results began to come.
In 2003, he won his first Vert World Championship title and then went unbeaten until 2007. He even returned to the top in 2011, at the age of 36, to total an incredible six world titles. In the 2000s, Dias also became a three-time European champion and won a hat-trick of golds at the X-Games in 2004, 2006 and 2007.
As his career took off, he saw distant idols - in both geography and ability - get closer. Dias was on equal terms with the best, who became his friends.
Sandro Dias at camp in California
© Anthony Acosta/Red Bull Content Pool
"Even before I started winning, I'd had the crazy experience of hanging out with the guys I admired in Brazil. I was learning to skate and suddenly I was next to Edsinho. I bought a board from Negão. It was really crazy. The guys were my idols," he recalls. "Then, I started getting close to guys like Tony Hawk, Christian Hosoi and Steve Caballero. To this day, it's a bit of a head trip. I still catch myself at events admiring the guys like a kid. I saw Hosoi for the first time at a performance in 1985 or 1986 and he was out of this world. We thought we'd never reach his level.
While conquering the world's vert ramps, Dias also took the opportunity to promote skateboarding in Brazil by organising championships himself.
Sandro Dias meets a fan
© Allan Estevam Carvalho Teixeira/Red Bull Content Pool
He has organised several editions of D-Day, a respected vert contest, participated in the production of the Jump Festival and holds Camp-onato at his farm in Vargem, São Paulo. There, he also realised his dream of creating a skateboarding camp, which brings together education, sport and leisure in one place for children.
I see people calling me master and I'm still surprised. I don't feel like a master, I still feel like a kid
06
Driven by challenges
Sandro Dias skates the Estaiadinha Bridge in São Paulo
© Fabio Piva/Red Bull Content Pool
Dias has always liked to challenge himself and took it to the next level when he joined the project to skate the Estaiadinha bridge in São Paulo. The physical and technical challenges were immense, but what really got to him was the psychological part. Fear, a rare feeling in his routine, took over and for the first time threatened to hinder his performance.
The skater only got to see the setup on the marginal Tietê bridge at the time of the challenge and before that he had to abseil for the first time in his life down to the ramp with a stream of cars passing at his feet.
"It was the first time I went into something prepared to die. I thought. 'Everyone's done their best, it's all set up, it's really beautiful and now we're missing the icing on the cake, which is me. So, I'm not going to give up, whatever happens',"he recalls.
3 min
Sandro Dias rides São Paulo's Estaiadinha Bridge 45m above the ground
Skater Sandro Dias rides a halfpipe on São Paulo's Estaiadinha Bridge whilst 45m above the ground.
Dias made use of a visualisation strategy often used by professional athletes. He went over in his head everything he needed to do from start-to-finish and put it into practice on the bridge without letting other thoughts get in the way: "I closed myself off, didn't pay attention to anything else and started walking until I was comfortable. Little by little, I loosened up and became calm."
07
Talent vs preparation
Sandro Dias dedicates himself 100 percent every time he's on his skateboard
© Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool
In his more than 30 years of skateboarding, Dias has landed historic tricks. He broke the world record for the highest aerial in a halfpipe, flying a towering 4.20m above the coping and in 2004, he was the third person in the world to do a 900. He also managed to be the first to do this trick as part of a competition run.
For those who follow the meticulous preparation of professional athletes today, it's hard to believe that Dias did all this without ever step foot in the gym and that serious injuries were never part of his career path. "I had meniscus surgery in 2015, but I was also 40-years-old and 30 years deep into skateboarding. One day, the meniscus was going to grumble," he says. After a month of intense physiotherapy, he was back on track.
"I've always been very disciplined. I've never used alcohol or drugs, although I've never stopped having fun and enjoying my youth. I think what's kept me physically and psychologically well all this time is that I just love skateboarding. I never ride half-heartedly. If I get on a skateboard, it's to do always my best," he explains.
Sandro Dias has paved the way for many skaters
© Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool
Dias says he still feels like a little boy and he's surprised to be called a master wherever he goes: "I see people calling me master and I'm still surprised. I don't feel like a master, I still feel like a kid.
"I've been skateboarding for 40 years and I'm about to turn 50. When I started, it was unimaginable to see a guy skateboarding well at my age. Now, Tony Hawk is 56, Caballero is 60 and they're still riding, but not at my level. Today I ride at the level I did when I was 25. I ride more than all the youngsters who ride with me on the ramps."
That's why Dias doesn't stop. He's ready for new challenges, to continue having fun on his skateboard and to expand his legacy even further.
08
The next record: Watch Sandro Dias's Building Drop live on Red Bull TV
Red Bull Building Drop livestream
Sandro Dias drops from heights never reached before on the boldest skate ramp ever built.
On Thursday, September 25, Sandro Dias will attempt an unprecedented feat in skateboarding history: riding down the sweeping curve of a towering building in Porto Alegre, Brazil, during Red Bull Building Drop.
Beginning with a 30m drop – already higher than a standard mega ramp – Dias will gradually work his way up to a groundbreaking 75m descent from the roof of the iconic Centro Administrativo Fernando Ferrari (CAFF) building. With Guinness World Records™ officials present, this global event promises to showcase the evolution of skateboarding and inspire skaters around the world.
Watch Dias attempt to make history live on the Red Bull TV YouTube channel and Red Bull TV from 12pm local time.
Red Bull Building Drop is going to make skateboarding history
© Victor Eleutério Costa/Red Bull Content Pool
