Following up on our Meet the Team series, here is part 2 with our Spanish riders Aleix Calderon and Carlos Ruiz Lopez. From their new project to riding in a fridge, they prove that there is definitely more to Spain than tapas and farniente.
1.Introduce yourself!
Aleix: Hi, I'm Aleix Calderón, Spanish snowboard rider. I'm a regular and I love
to destroy rails, hahahahaha.
to destroy rails, hahahahaha.
Carlos: Whats Up!! My name is Carlos Ruiz López, I am 26 years old and I'm from Madrid, Spain and I started riding when i was 19.
2. Tell us about the snow in Spain as many people don't know that's even possible. What's the snowboard scene like?
Aleix: Snowboarding in Spain is not the most popular sport, there is no snow culture like in the rest of Europe. Although some of us try to do what we have always liked, no matter how difficult it is. In Spain, we have an indoor slope in Madrid that allows us to snowboard almost all year round. There are also several resorts and some have snowparks, although much improvement is needed.
Carlos: There is a lot of people who can´t imagine something else rather than tapas and paella in Spain, but actually we do have snow. We dont have huge mountains but we got pretty big snowfalls in winter, I'm from Madrid, where we've got an indoor slope to please our desires, it is pretty cool because it is open the whole year and it has a snowpark! So we have a place to practice right in the city. There is a lot of good riders as Mario Prrestel and Roberto Alcocer among others.
The snow scenario in Spain is alive!
3. Aleix, you've been staying in France too quite a bit?
Aleix: Yeah, I have spent several summers working as a snowboard instructor in Les 2 Alpes. But lately the summer camps in L2A are losing steam and fewer and fewer people are coming to learn on the glacier. In the last years I have been a shaper for the resort, and it is really great. It allows me to snowboard while having a good job.
4. How did you get to meet BA and get on the team?
Carlos: It was like 5 years ago in Munich, I was with the White Days crew (a spanish shop) working on a material guide at the ISPO and Chris and Aisling had a little selling spot at the fair.
Our first contact was there, they were pretty cool so we got our contacts and we kept in touch, a few months later Chris asked me to join the team and he also asked me to look for someone to complete the Spanish team, so I went directly for Aleix.
Aleix: Well, Carlos Ruiz, my bro, offered me to join the BA team that was making good clothes and they were looking for riders to get involved. I really liked the idea of participating in a European brand that was beginning to emerge. It was a good bet without any doubt and I am very happy with the support that the brand gives us, growing together.
5. It's been a strange season for most, what you guys been up to?
Carlos: Yeah this pandemic got us well.... But instead of crying we got in touch with ech other and started a new project, this is where ``ИKNOWN´´ starts. It is a street project made by four snowboarding lovers:
@Peter_heads, @ericroige, @aleixcalderon and myself. It is a movie made by snowboarding lovers for snowboarding lovers, we have been traveling around trying to be at the right spot at the right time to get
advantage of every snowfall in our country. This will be our first street snowboarding project and we will be dropping it this Fall. We really hope that you enjoy it as much as we did!
Aleix: Although it is a rare and difficult season for snowboarding, we have embarked on a new project "NKNOWN". It's a street snowboarding video edit that we've been planning all season and hopefully it's a bomb. In the project there is also Calos Ruiz and some Spanish riders who complete the crew that we have motivated. We all love snowboarding and we really want to show Europe that in Spain, the streets get also destroyed when there is some snow.
6. You don't just ride "real snow". What's it like at the Madrid fridge slope?
Carlos: Well, Madrid´s fridge is heaven! It means a lot for me as it is the place where I started snowboarding. We have spent a lot of hours in there, because it has a snowpark so you have endless hours of enjoyment.
It is fake snow but it really does its job!
Aleix: The indoor park in Madrid allows me to snowboard even though the average temperature in Spain is 20º, hahaha. In this special season I decided to play it safe and stay in Madrid to use the indoor and as a base camp to move the "NKNOWN" project forward.
7. What are your favourite pieces from the BA collection?
Carlos: My favourite pieces are Nightwatch Softshell Joggers, as they work perfectlly for any conditions from really wet snow to deep powder, keeping you warm all time. Im also in love with the Softshell Anorak
as it is a perfect windcutter and a perfect raincoat.
Aleix: I love BA pants, they are the best, super comfortable and waterproof. I also love the Robbin Hoods that allow me to be warm both in the fridge in Madrid and on the worst days on the street.
8. Famous last words?.
Aleix: Dale papi!! hahahahahaha
Carlos: Be safe and stay tuned for ИKNOWN!!!!!!!!!!
PIC Alex: @nachoroblesgonzalez