Skateboarding

On the streets, hillside roads, and waterfront of Rio de Janeiro, the skateboard is more than an object used for radical tricks – it is, like the bicycle, a means of transportation. Skateboarders of various ages, genders, and social classes take advantage of the carioca topography and beauty to glide along on four wheels, whether enjoying a moment of leisure or heading to work or school. Among the sport's practitioners' favorite spots are Praça XV, the Aterro do Flamengo, Parque dos Patins, Estádio do Maracanã, Parque Madureira, and Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas. Is there a more beautiful view than Arpoador for enjoying a skate park?

Skateboarding arrived in Rio in the late 1960s, possibly brought over by surfers who had come into contact abroad with the sport, which had emerged ten years earlier in California (USA). The object used to "surf" outside of the waves — basically a wooden board fitted with roller skate wheels — was the perfect fit for the Cidade Maravilhosa!

The ‘surfinho’ or ‘asphalt surfing’ gained greater prominence starting in the 1970s, when a change in wheel manufacturing helped popularize the practice, including in its country of origin. Wheels began to be produced in polyurethane, offering greater grip on the pavement and allowing for faster and safer maneuvers.

Image description: This is a color photograph of a group of people on a street. On the left, we see a vintage car, possibly a Volkswagen Beetle, parked. In front, several men are standing or walking with a skateboard, all wearing baggy jeans and colorful t-shirts. On the right, women watch the group, also wearing jeans and blouses. In the background, more people are standing, talking.

In the early 1970s, the Zona Sul was the favorite spot for Rio's skaters, who tackled steep streets like Rua Maria Angélica, in Jardim Botânico, and Rua Cedro, in Gávea. But skateboarding wasn't confined to the capital. Latin America's first skate park was built in Nova Iguaçu, in Baixada Fluminense, in 1976. A year later, the venue was already hosting Brazil's first park championship. From there, the sport spread to other states and to the rest of the country.

Rio is the hometown of Bob Burnquist, the top medalist in the history of the X Games, considered the Olympics of extreme sports and first held in Rhode Island (USA) in 1995. The Rio-born skateboarder took part in every edition until 2017, when he retired from competition with a total of 30 medals won. It was Burnquist who inaugurated, in September 2016, one of the best halfpipe tracks (for the vertical modality) in the country, at Parque Madureira. In November of the same year, the Rio City Hall legally secured Praça XV as a space for skateboarding. In 2025, a new skatepark was opened in the favela of Santo Amaro, in Rio's South Zone. The project was carried out by the Instituto Ademafia in partnership with other organizations and offers free skateboarding classes for children and teenagers from the community.

Image description: This is a photograph of a skatepark during an opening ceremony. In the lower part of the image, we see a large half-moon-shaped skate ramp. On the left, there is a curved structure that appears to be part of the skatepark. In the center, a skateboarder performs an aerial trick, with the skateboard turned upward. He is wearing black pants and a white shirt. In the background, a crowd of people watches the ceremony. Most are standing, but some are seated in chairs in front. The area in the background features green trees and a concrete wall.

On a global scale, the sport's most recent achievement was its inclusion as an Olympic sport, since the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. By the time of the Paris games in 2024, Brazil had won five Olympic medals in skateboarding.