A few weeks ago a group of induviduals from around the planet met at the legendary La Kantera skatepark in Gexto on the beautyful shores of the Bask Country.
Txus Dominguez invited this group to celebrate pool skating and just have a good time grinding the pool coping of La Kantera´s famous kidney pool.
The frontside grind is one of the essential pool skating tricks, just the sound and feel of the wheels rolling over the tile and the aluminum of the trucks grinding over the rough concrete coping is something to experience. So ckeck out some rad grinds from the sessions at La Kantera.
Thanks for the invite and a great weeekend goes out to Txus!!!
Some artwork carved into the stone at the La Kantera ruin surrounding the skatepark.
Read what Txus has to say about the KILLER 50/50 Session:
KILLER 50-50S POOL LA KANTERA ARRIGUNAGA BEACH GETXO BASK COUNTRY 28-29 SEPTEMBER
INTRO –THE POOL- THE REAL HISTORY
All my live im loving curves, don’t know why but feel a gnarly attraction bowls, ramps, waves , pipes and deep valleys in the mountain, women..
Since I was 6 years old I always remember my live with a board in my hands, so skate, surf and snowboard put my brains out of order.
I find a way for search and riping everything I can. When I was a kid we made wooden diy ramps everywhere we can with my brother Miguel, Iñaki ,felix, Andoni, Pablo and some locals.
Surf as much as possible and climb all the mountains around in Winter. My dream was ride a pool a real pool with blocks of pool coping. My favorites places to skate are pools, bowls and hills. So no pools in Europe , I`m tired to skate concrete halfpipe , straight ahead copins , no carves , no flow…
You know why ¿
Carve,
beautiful lines,
empty pools,
free mind, free brains,
as fast as posible,
put the grind volumen as high you can,
double carve grind,
breakfast death box,
barrels, rocks and coping blocks,
then, look into the sky ,close your eyes,
feel the sensation, kill the session ,
friends and beers around
jump into the pool, sweep and swim
carve ,carve, carve……
Txus Dominguez knows the pool better than anyone and it shows in his speed and style.
Pool history
It was 1994 , 23 June summer soltice and is going on another wild La Kantera skate-party. For 4 years I continue to organize one of the wildest event I have ever seen at La Kantera in my life and I’m the one who organizes and believes in it. La Kantera downhill with all the permission from city hall, traffic department and pólice. Its real fuckin crazy, I have no words to explain . But if you go to La Kantera and see the long downhill and imagine to go down straight ahead, traffic stops, and two thousand people watching one slam and another, thats is la bajada de arriguna or arrigunaga downhill
That day talking with the man Kuko the man who make this bullshit with me and all the events at La Kantera , the real events at La Kantera. I said to him ,’’ im going to make a pool here ‘’, not like a real pool, but heavy shallow and easy deepend , not too much flat , coping blocks for sure , first coping blocks in Spain. My real good friend Kuko EXT man , says to me ‘’you are crazy, one dinner if you do it’’ ( I’m still waiting for the dinner). That day the downhill was just finished after 5 min because a 13 years old boy had a heavy slam on his head with a fracture craneal , but he is ok now. That was the final of the downhill for ever ,’’ la bajada the arrigunaga is over’’ , words by the boss of the civil protection.
So just finish the event I put all the bales of straw I used for the protection of the downhill in the exactily place where the pool is now and make the aquelarre pool future party. Make fire, put inside and dream….
Doug “Pineappel” Saladino with style
Next day I travel to USA to skate pools and surf. My dream travel, skate pools as much as possible. So thanks to Seth Keil for making it possible. Danny Lozano for his hospitality in Encinitas, Sam Cuninham who put me in the first pool of my life, the black bottom in Oakland, and many more after that. Remember one in Temecula with a Simpsons graffiti with extra XXXL coping blocks, only possible to grind if you make a vert slappy, and remember El Cortes in San Diego and crack house in Oceanside and many more.
When I come back to Getxo I talk to the city hall about building a pool and after 6 years of a lot of work I finally design and build the pool. Don Jamon pool, with the help of the arcitect Javier Labad.
This is the begining of Zut Skateparks…
Kongo – grind over the Deathbox
The KILLER 50-50S
After more than one hundred events I organized at La Kantera I wanna make something same like in the origins, free and simple so I want to come back to real pool sessions, real pool skaters who feel the skate like real pool skaters. Finally thinking about all concrete warrior pool daggers who skate since 40 years ago in the world and try to make a pool jam session together here at the pool of La Lantera – why not?
Lovely please, good food, good weather normally in September. Amazing surf session, good music on the platform and that’s all. This is the third year and it’s important to know this is not a closed event only for skaters over 50 years old, everybody is invited. One year ago I was talking to Brad Bowman for coming and helping me with the USA riders, ( next years there are more and more legends coming) he and Doug Saladino came this year and all the European legend pool skaters were here too. Ron and Gary from California, Dicky, Kevin Campbell, Wolfganster Toth, Johan Berglind who was hurt, Iñaki Velilla, Jeff Podolski, Ander Tellen, Gerd Rieger, Clive, Peter Dietches, Fred Ferand, Miguel Dominguez, a three German crew , Italian Martin and many locals legends was there for chilling, Seth Keil, Kuko, Eduado Saenz, Borja Saenz, Leandro, Aitor Elorriaga, Jonathan Hay from Confussion Mag who is always coming and take photos and videos. (thanks Jay) and many many more and can’t remember.
Peter Diepes
It was a really pity that Keith Meik „slasher man“ finally had a problem with his health and had to cancel his travel, hope see you next year Keith. GOOD LUCK¡¡¡¡
The session was all week long , with skate sessions at La Kantera and Sopeline skatepark everyday, really fun. I thinks I never seen more helmets and knee pads in the pool in my life and of course more than 50 years old dudes. The ambient was sick and the big day on Saturday with chillin and music with Kuko DJing some fuckin good punk and rockroll. The skate jam session was nice because nobody was injured, and was super fun. The younger kids and Anders who just turned 50 was the ripper and destroyed the pool like a mini ramp, a Santa Cruz local Gary made good grinds and some heavy Andrechts, Peter OMSA boss ripping the pool with passion and he finally conquered it, Clive fucking ripping as always with his gnarlies laybacks surf grinds , Wolf was more happy than ever and this year he don`t eat too much bask food and skate and skate and laughts as always … Dicky was finally back and was edgering the blocks sketchy style holligan incredible, nice too see you on board Dicky, best lines ever, no lines , no problema, stay on , grind everywhere.
Anders – smith grind over the death box
Kevin had the best lines as usual and this is his day, he skates like a real kid. Ron Isa is my hero, he was the best and this year he win the contest again, he have the big balls for sure, quiet, relax, he can conquer the pool like a real man , he put all his power in his round and feel the skate with passion and free. The German crew was super happy to be here for their first time and to destroy the pool. It was so nice how they skate the pool like it’s the last day in their life. Alex from Italy or Costa Rica need time top ut in on the line but he come back home with a big smile on his face because he grind and make really good line, don’t know if he eat seafood or not he rips. Finally Brad and Doug skate like only they know to do. When I look at BB and Piña it is easy to see how much dropping they have done in their life. Millions more than everybody there , but each drop-in is a show because they are Brad and Doug, two big skaters but also two big big humans.
Personally I think it’s so great to have a big session for free, no money , no fashion , no posers , no nothing , just skate and with real friends from all over the world.
Thanks everybody for coming!
See you next year.
Words by Txus Dominguez – @ortxustrofps
Photography by gerdrieger.com
The Crew – you know who they are – Photos by Txus
Parting shot: Wolfganster grinding down a new spot in Bilbao