SoulParks Project One with Ruben Alcantara

What’s the name of your skatepark designing company?

SoulParks, just because it’s a thing that many parks need these days.

Who else works with you, and what are they responsible for?

My good friend Aitor, he is a good architect who loves to ride bowls so it’s fun to work on ideas. He has the architectural knowledge, so together we figure out how to make my ideas a reality.

October 2012

November 2012

Is the bowl in Málaga your first project?

Yes, and we’re really happy how it turned out.

Did they limit the size of the area where the bowl is, or were they flexible with how much space you could have?

We had to fit it into an area that was more or less the square metres for the bowl area.

Was it specified which things should be there, or did you have free reign?

I had free reign, but I had to respect some other people’s opinions and I couldn’t make it bigger, but it’s great how it is and it’s really easy for people to learn there, so I’m happy.

December 2012

Which bowls or skateparks inspired or influenced the design?

I think the inspiration came from so many other skateparks, and I knew I wanted a mellow radius after riding some like Five Dock in Australia, but I figured out what I thought was good to have so it never will get boring - like good hips, a wide spine and a straight easy jump as a boxjump, quarters, quarters to steep banks, rollers, a vert wall and a big wave that you can ride as a capsule... All of this connected in a nice way to keep your speed makes the park so fun to ride. I dreamt up one place I could ride my whole life and I think the plan worked out good. :)

February 2013

What was the most difficult part to design, or caused the most construction headaches?

They had a hard time building the wave, and it was hard to figure out how all the lines could work good together.

Also, figuring out the right materials so it’s not slippery was a big responsibility.

Now that it’s done and works good it’s a big relief! :)

photos: ed www.terribleone.com