We’re always keen to peep skateboarding coming out of Mexico. The skaters there have heart, and consistently put together interesting and inspiring videos—often full of cutty spots and creative crust.
Truth be told, we didn’t know much about Beat Skateboards before this one slid across our digital desk. The closing part, two songs Osmar Cardenas, had us replying to the filmmakers with more info. Here’s what they had to say:
“Being a skater in Mexico is fucking hard. It’s not just the lack of financial and cultural support for skateboarding, it’s the whole reality of this country. Just like the ever-present violence of cartels, and the meager chances of a decent job force people out of our borders (or into an early grave), the harsh reality drives most skaters to abandon skating. Pushing through that every day is much of what unites the Mexican skating community—we endured a lot of shit to get where we are, and now we endure together.
So Osmar Cardenas is not just an exceptional skater in the technical sense; he’s exceptional because he skates in spite of it all—and he’s fucking rolled over it all! He’s worked since he could go fetch the caguamas, but has never put down the board. He gradually turned it into a vehicle, not just for a spiritual escape of sorts from a tough reality, but a vehicle to actually move forward, grow, make a buck, travel the world, and live doing what he loves.
This part is from the video JÓDETE by Beat Skateboards, premiered early this year, though not yet released to the public. JÓDETE took about five years to see the light of day. We’re a small team who do a little bit of everything to keep rolling free like cockroaches—Beat’s motto. So this video stands atop a pile of achievements from a group of skaters, filmers, editors, shops, and artists who, much like Osmar himself, have kept Mexican skateboarding alive against all odds. Projects like this one are becoming harder to make in general, and in Mexico there is no big industry and no big money behind them—it’s just us, but we’re damn stubborn. So, JÓDETE means giving the finger to that current of crude hopeless normalcy that constantly tries to wipe us out, that world that would love to see us drop the board—and we fucking won’t, so jódete!”—Beat Skateboards Team
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Related: Tricolor, Skateboarding in Mexico
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