In this REKD newsletter, we are bringing you up close and personal with a long-term and trusted rider, Borja Fernandez.
Hailing from Bilbao, Spain - Borja is no newcomer when it comes to action sports, picking up his first inline skates at age 7 and beginning aggressive inline at age 11.
Not long after, he began competing in half-pipe contests, displaying a huge talent for the sport.
At age 13, Borja won the Spanish X-Treme Tour Championships and in the following year, came in second place in the professional category.
This jump-started his career and scored him a sponsorship with Red Bull early on and soon after he started to compete in the US. It all culminated in winning the European X-Games at age 17, beating the legend Taig Khris in his prime years which led to several years of traveling the world as a professional skater.
After stepping out of competitive skating, Borja has been working full time in combined roles of instructor and founder of the Fun Riders Skate School in Spain, freestyle skate member of the Royal Spanish Skating Federation, and taking part in the National Committee, working to develop competitions and guidelines for the Spanish Championships.
All of this work, helping to ensure the popularity of Spanish roller sports, which will all pay off the day that freestyle skating is finally in the Olympics. Besides all of this, Borja is an avid free skier in the winter season and has competed in numerous contests throughout the years. Lost your breath yet!? Now let’s catch up with the man himself!
Hey Borja, great to catch up with you!
Thanks guys, good to catch up with you too!
What are you up to this season?
This season looks great! Lots of events are back after a 3 year break and I’m stoked about that. I’m taking it a bit easy this season as I’m more focused on coaching and organising events with my company (Fun Riders) and also I can take some time to rest from the comp scene as I’m recovering from an injury so I can come back 100%! 💪🏻
How do you manage to mix skiing with roller freestyle (inline skating)?
Actually, to me they are the same haha. Let me explain; I started skiing when I was pretty young, before I started skating. When I started learning tricks, I first learned them on skates during the summer and then brought them to the snow on my free skis.
They’re different sports but some tricks are pretty similar, once you’ve got a solid skiing/skating base. That means you don’t have to re-learn tricks, just get confidence and send it!
Can you tell us about your collaboration with REKD?
I’ve loved wearing knee gaskets under my pants ever since I was little. They give me both confidence and manoeuvrability to do tricks without getting hurt. I got some REKD gaskets for no reason, loved them and contacted the staff, as the products were super nice. Now here we are, almost 5 years on 😊
You have been testing out the REKD Energy pads for a while now, what are your thoughts on them?
I feel they’re the same fine products but with better materials. The knee pads are light and the anti-shock padding works even better. I love them for half-pipe and big bowl riding and I recommend them for any beginner as they are a perfect safety choice.
How do you find the REKD Energy pads differ from regular pads?
They actually feel the same… until you fall haha. They’re light but the impact absorption is even better, but you can only feel this when things go wrong 😊 I’m happy with this product and I hope new tech helps improve safety products every year!
Thank you very much for your answers! As a final question, what are your future plans in action sports?
I want to keep riding for as long as I can, focus more in coaching and inspiring new generations, organise bigger and bigger events with my company (www.funriders.es) and my partners (Refresco.tv and OSSO-Skate.com) and hopefully become an action sports ambassador to help them move in the right direction.
Thank you guys for the support and the opportunity to speak up!
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Life is short so don’t take it too seriously. Just go out and have FUN! 😎🤙🏼
To keep up to date with Borja follow him on Instagram
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