SUDDENLY I SEE MYSELF GOING OUT OF THE HOUSE AFTER BEEING MONTHS ISOLATED FROM EVERYTHING, TAKING THE METRO DOWNTOWN WITHOUT TOUCHING ANYTHING BESIDES THE BOARD OR THE INSIDE OF MY POCKET. THE PARANOIA WAS REAL, THE FEELING WAS A MIX OF "I JUST WANTED TO BE DOING THIS" AND "I SHOULDN'T BE OUT".

THERE WAS STILL NO VACCINE, NO REAL PROOF THAT WE WERE OVER THE COVID, BUT IT WAS A FREE TIME IN THE BETWEEN, WE ALL COULD BE OUT FOR SOME HEALTY ACTIVITY, BUT IT WASN'T ALLOWED TO DRINK IN THE STREETS, BE IN GROUPS OF MORE THAN FIVE PERSONS, AND ALSO A STIPULATED CURFEW TOUCH TO FOLLOW, OTHERWISE YOU COULD GET A FINE.

IT WAS ON THIS PERIOD THAT I GOT CLOSER TO THESE FRIENDS. SOME I ONLY MET BECAUSE OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES, OTHER I ALREADY HAD SOME KIND OF SKATE COLLEGUISM RELASHIONSHIP BUT I WASN'T REALLY CLOSE TO THEM.

 IMEDIATLY AFTER THE FIRST LOCKDOWN A GROUP WAS FORMED, AND WE WERE ALREADY TALKING ABOUT DOING SOMETHING FOR THE CULTURE. WE HAD A LOT OF IDEAS AND WERE ALWAYS DISCUSSING, GOING TO NEW SPOTS TO FILM NEW TRICKS AND MAKE OUR OWN VIDEO.

 ALL OF THIS WAS A BIT MORE COMPLICATED THAN WE THOUGHT, CAUSE WE HAD A REALLY FRAGILE VX CAMERA, NO EQUIPMENT FOR IMAGE CONVERSION, NO JOB, NO MONEY AND NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE TO FILM.

ALL THAT WE HAD WAS FREE TIME.

IN ONE OF THESE DAYS I WENT TO SKATE praça da figueira, WHEN I GOT THERE I SAW ALEX RODRIGUES, PEDRO CABRAL, LONI AND SIMON, WITH HIS CAMERA, BEEING KICKED OUT FROM THE PLAZA. I DIDN'T REALLY KNEW THEM BY THE TIME, BUT I JOIN THEM AGAINST THE COP, ASKING THE SAME QUESTIONS AND GETTING THE SAME ANSWERS.

WHEN WE FINISHED WITH THE POPO SIMON SAID THAT THEY HAD A KILO OF WAX, AND THE LEDGES AT martim moniz WEREN'T ACTIVATED YET. WE WENT THERE AND SKATED THE WHOLE AFTERNOON, BEFORE GOING TO portas do sol WHERE CABRAL WOULD END UP TWISTING HIS ANKLE.

IN THE FOLLOWING DAYS MARTIM MONIZ HAD WAS BAPTIZED AGAIN, THE junkyard. THE SPOT WHERE WE WOULD SKATE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DRUG DEALERS, JUNKIES AND MIGRANTS FROM SOUTH ASIA COUNTRIES, LIKE NEPAL AND BANGLADESH, THAT USED THE PLACE TO PLAY SOME CRICKET AND FOOTBALL.

AFTER SOME WEEKS WE HAD A BIG CREW, NEW SPOTS AND ENOUGH BEERS TO GET 1000€ FINES EACH.

SIMON WAS SHOOTING FOR THE BORA BORA EFFECT AND I WAS RANDOMLY COLLECTING THESE MEMORIES. THE CREW WAS SKATING EVERYDAY, FOR CLIPS, BEERS, PICS AND JOINTS. IT WAS JUST BECAUSE WE HAD ALL THAT FREE TIME AND THE ENERGY AND WISH TO MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF IT.

IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL TIME OF MY LIFE, I'M REALLY GRATEFULL FOR EVERYBODY THAT WAS THERE. IF YOU WEREN'T PLEASE GO CHECK SIMON'S VIDEO ON YOUTUBE TO SEE SOME OF THE VIBE THAT WAS IN THE AIR BY THE TIME.

THE END WAS MARKED BY THE SECOND LOCKDOWN, THOSE MONTHS WERE JUST A TRIP THRU AN EMPTY LISBON, WHERE ONLY THE RATS COULD BREATH AND RUN FREE.

THE PICTURES WERE TOOKEN WITH THE nikon d-5300, 50mm ANALOG LENSES AND FISHEYE. THIS IS MY FIRST MAGAZINE EDITED WITH A DIGITAL SUPORT.

VIDEO: THE BORA BORA EFFECT

THE PHISICAL ZINE IS STILL AVAILABLE.