Adrián Otero: the Galician skateboarder who built the first stone ramp
Adrián Otero: the Galician skateboarder who built the first stone ramp
Adrián Otero is Galician by birth and stonemason and sculpture teacher by profession. As he is also a skateboarder, he has everything to become a true pioneer: he is the person who built the first stone ramp in the world, or rather, the first stone modules for skating on the entire planet. Galician stonemasons are internationally famous and display their profession with craftsmanship and works of the highest quality: we only have to study the churches, stone crosses and pazos scattered throughout Galicia in a not very deep way. This age-old trade is kept alive in the northwest of Spain thanks to stonemasons and sculptors like Adrián Otero. But he has gone a little further and has merged this art with skateboarding, giving fruit to an element that is very present in every space oriented towards skating. In recent interviews, Adrián Otero explains that he started building stone ramps as a result of his work as a sculpture teacher, in an attempt to modernize stonework. He confesses that he is passionate about this ancient art and does not hide that merging it with his favorite hobby, skateboarding, has been one of his motivations. He indicates that there have been attempts to create approved skating modules, but he has stayed on the sidelines since he considers that his works are not just pieces that make up skate parks, he goes further, and they are constructions that he does for the love of art and non-profit. Adrián always thinks about the environmental impact that his works will have, he elaborates the entire process in a workshop, with Galician stone... which means that the cost of transportation, one of the main ones, is greatly reduced . he uses industrial cutting machines with stone blocks weighing between four and eighteen tons . Starting from a completely cubic block, he draws the curve of the ramp with a template and he grinds the stone until he achieves the target shape. Did you know Adrian Otero? Did you know that a Galician was the first creator of a stone ramp for skating?
