Skateboard Down Under - Brazilian Style

We had an ivestigative conversation with the Pro Skateboarder Flávio Biehl from Brazil who is now living in Byron Bay - Australia. He is also the new Shot Spot Photographer.

Read the Interview and check out his photo gallery!

20 Quick Facts

1. Name: Flavio Biehl
2. Age: 35
3. Born: 18/09/1974
4. Residence: Byron Bay, Australia
5. Stance: Goofy
6. Years Skateboarding: 24
7. Style: all kind of terrains
8. Sponsors: Early Skateboards, Boardshop Australia
9. Favorite Music Style: depends on the moment
10. Favorite Band: Sublime
11. Favorite Maneuver: a new one
12. Best Comp Result: there are a few ones
13. Worse Comp Result: there are a few ones, ah ah.
14. Favorite Skateboarder: Bob Burnquist
15. Favorite Skateboard Spot: Nerang Skatepark, north NSW/Australia.
16. Other Sports: surf, snowboard, capoeira
17. Favorite Food: sea food
18. If not Skateboarder you would be: who knows...but definitely a different person.
19. Other Activities: I love jamming, love my drum kit.
20. Lifestyle Slogan: Life's a beach

Interview:

Shot Spot - How was your first contact with a skateboard?
Flávio Biehl -  I had my first experience on a skateboard in 1985, it was my friend's board. He used to bring it to school and we used to ride it every day. I fell in love with that new toy and I ended up buying the board from him. That was the beginning of this endless addiction...sk8boarding.

SS - What happened next?
FB - I got my first sponsor in 1989 and sk8boarding became a bit more serious, I was going to comps all the time and it made me do my best to improve and get better. .and it also made me feel the pain of all the injuries I had to go through.

SS - Back in the day could you see yourself being a Pro Skateboarder in the future?
FB - Not really. Back in the 90's you couldn't survive on sk8boarding, especially in Brazil. I was getting older and my family put so much pressure on me and I decided to enroll in University. I didn't really skate for almost 4 years. In 2001 I received a degree in Physiotherapy; I chose that course to help heal myself from all my injuries sk8boarding.

SS – So what happened after you finished university?
FB - My friend moca was the Qix team manager at the time and he asked me to do physio at the comps, helping the injured athletes. I also started to write articles for Qix website (www.qix.com.br). That was really good for me because it made me reconnect to the whole sk8 scene again. They were also supplying me with boards, shoes, clothing... which helped a lot.

SS – What about Australia? How did you decided to move Down Under?
FB - Australia was always in my thoughts and in 2004 the opportunity to come over here knocked on my door. The Globe World Cup was on in Melbourne and I applied for a business visa through Qix and Tribo magazine. I was supposed to stay over here for 6 months but I ended up falling in love with the country and the people.. so I've been here since.

SS – How does the skateboard culture from where you come from differ from the Australian Scenario?
FB - Something that I really like about the aussie skateboard culture is the fact that over here there's no old school or new school, it's all skateboarding.

SS – What were your best results here in Australia?
FB - At the opening weekend of the snowboard season 2007, Red Bull and Thredbo held a comp at Jindabyne sk8park. It was raining that day and it was freezing, but I was in such a good mood and I won the comp, my interview was on the local TV channel and I won a flight on the Red Bull stunt plane, which was insane.
Last year I went to Island Vibe for the first time (3 days reggae festival at Stradbroke Island). I took my board because I got told there was a sk8park in the island. The sk8park was located right next to the festival and they held a comp there, lucky I took my board because I ended up winning the comp. It was the best feeling ever, such a beautiful place, such a wicked festival.

SS – Can you tell us a little about the magic place you've been living here in Australia (Byron Bay and surroundings)?
FB - Byron Bay is just magical; I can't see myself living in anywhere else. Beautiful beaches, really good surf, live music every corner. It's so important for my soul.

SS – We know there are a lot of skate parks in the area. What is the best place to go for a ride? Why?

FB - There's heaps of skateparks around this area and lots more on the gold coast, which is not far from here. It's amazing how many parks pop out every year. I really like Nerang skatepark on the goldie, it's so big and it has a little bit of everything. I really like Mullumbimby sk8park too cause it's so close to Byron and it's such a beautiful spot, the sunset is always amazing there.

SS – What about surfing? Are there any good spots to go surfing in the area?
FB - Byron has amazing surf spots like The Pass, Broken Head, Whites beach..and Lennox is just down the road.

SS - You recently suffered an accident while skateboarding that caused you to loose your memory temporarily? Can you tell us a little more about it?
FB - Yeah, I hit the back of my head a few weeks ago sk8ing a bowl. It was definitely one of the craziest experience of my life. I had a memory span and I kept asking the same questions every 5 seconds, I was like that for a few hours. We were filming for Early and they got everything on film, I was watching the footage when I got back from the hospital and I couldn't believe what I was watching. They made a video to promote the helmets and it has had so many hits on youtube. Check it out:

SS - What about your sponsors? Who are they and how did the sponsorship story happen?
FB - I'm sponsored by Early Skateboards, a skateboard company from the gold coast; and Boardshop Australia, the biggest skate shop in Australia.
I met Austin(www.earlyskateboards.com) through a friend and he knew about my scene, we had a chat that day about building his short board team and he said my name was on the list. Then one day he rang me up and asked me if I was still interested in riding for them. Austin is a true skater, he loves sk8boarding so much and we have so much fun together.
My skate buddy Kurt, that rides for Boardshop, told me one day that Tony (www.boardshop.com.au) saw a few photos of me skating and wanted to put me on the team. So Tony came down to Byron one day, we had a beer at the beachy and he asked me if I wanted to be part of the team. Riding for Boardshop is awesome because the whole crew is really cool and Tony is always open for new ideas, he used to build skate parks in America and he has been involved with skate for a long time.

SS - What tricks are you working on at the moment?
FB - I'm getting into downhill skating now and I love it so much, especially because it's something new for me. So I've been bombing some hills and doing lots of slides too.

SS -  What are your goals for the rest of the year?
FB - I'm managing the Early short board team and Tony just asked me to do the same for Boardshop. So that's what I've been working on, my goal is to build up both teams and make sure everything is going well. Boardshop is holding a comp on the Gold Coast in December, and I'm helping them to organize it. For next year we want to have a serial of 4 comps at different parks, and give a really nice prize to the winner. I'm also doing a course to become a skateboard couch; I'm really looking forward to teaching kids how to skate.

SS -  What about your work as a photographer for Shot Spot? Can you tell us a bit more about that too?
FB - Yeah, I'm pretty excited about that. I got a nice camera a few months ago and I've been taking lots of photos. It's great that I have an opportunity to be publishing my photos on Shot Spot website.

SS – Do you want to say anything else, leave a message to the public or say hello to your fellow friends?
FB - Well I think it's really important to be doing something that you really love. Everyone should follows its dreams and not just think about how to make money, if you do what you love the money will come one day anyway. Peace out!

Interview by Marcio Ferreira