etnies

When did you start riding BMX?
1988.

What kind of terrain were you riding at first?
Street.

Who were you riding with?
A lot of friends from Spain--Jesus, Bernardo, Beriqo, Alex, etc.

Who were some early influences on your riding?
I remember many of the pros that inspired me a lot. Maybe they were my heroes, you know? Taj Mihelich, Joe Rich, Dave Freimuth, Jay Miron, Matt Hoffman and many more. I looked up to those guys a lot.

Who were your first sponsors?
A Spanish distribution shop called Freestyle Promotions.

How do you feel about riding in contests?
It's been a little hard for me, because I think they're boring now. The courses are always the same set-up. You go into a contest and know already that the ramps they have are no fun, so you don't get motivated. So, lately, it's been kind of like that. Some big contests like La Revolution have been pretty fun, they have a good set-up.

How could they improve contests?
I think they need [to use] more opinions from different riders and make different types of ramps, have more freedom in practice. In a big contest, you only get two hours of practice all day.

What proves a BMX rider, more contests or real sessions?
Real sessions.

What is good / bad about being a pro?
Good things: I 'm able to do something with my life--you get to travel a lot, meet people and hang-out with friends. Bad things: sometimes the pressure of having to do things when maybe you don't feel like it--like going to a contest when you really don't like the course and you feel the pressure of a lot of people looking.

What do you think of BMX videos?
I like to watch the good ones, like Head First, Dirty Deeds and lately the Etnies Forward video is amazing. Good BMX videos help to keep everybody motivated to ride.

Do you enjoy shooting video parts?
Yes, it is fun when you are doing it in a good atmosphere (friends, weather, spots). Sometimes you go riding somewhere that you like and if you don't film, you might miss it. So, it's good to have it.

Do you ever ride mini-ramps or vert-ramps?
Yeah, I ride a lot of mini-ramps, not much vert.

Why?
I think it's because I never rode vert in Spain. I like it, it's fun, but I never get too motivated to do it.

How did you get on Etnies?
Mike Escamilla started to help me with free shoes and I really liked them. etnies was always my favorite ones--I used to buy them in Spain.

What do you like about etnies?
A lot of things--the style of the company and all of the products, how much they take care of me. They want to help you a lot, make you happy and stoked with the team--that's very important. They make me feel good, plus they let me do whatever I want with my riding. It seems that they like it, so I don't feel pressure to do things for them.

Do you like John Povah?
No [laughs]. Yes, of course. I always like John.

Are you designing a pro-model shoe? What will it be like?
Yes: full of comfort, good padding and a great sole for riding.

Did any older shoes inspire the design of yours?
Yes, I'm getting some inspiration from others--like comfort and the shoe's ability to breathe. Maybe not by looks--I want to try something different--but, I always liked how the Vallely's fit, and the Throttle 2 is the best shoe now for riding.

Are you doing a lot of your shoe design yourself?
Yes, almost everything--it's coming together very good.

Who do you ride with now?
I'm traveling a lot, so with all the friends that I have around. When I'm in Austin, I ride with Joe Rich, Sandy Carson, Taj Mihelich and the locals.

Do you live part-time in Austin and part-time in Spain?
Yes, Malaga, Spain.

Who are your favorite riders of all time?
Taj Mihelich, Joe Rich, Dave Freimuth, Matt Hoffman, Jay Miron and many more. I would say Jay Miron is the best rider in the world, probably, because he can do all kinds of stuff. My favorite for style is Joe and Taj.

What do you enjoy besides riding?
Different sports like snowboarding and surfing. I like to play with my computer doing video editing and hang-out with family and friends.

What are your future goals?
To be happy.