Exclusive Interview – Pedro Carvalho the 1st Portuguese to participate in Dutch Ultra Skate
Exclusive of Site Nacional de Skate
Site Nacional de Skate: What is your name, and/or how are you known by your friends?
Pedro: My name is Pedro Carvalho.
Site Nacional de Skate: How long have you been skateboarding?
Pedro: I started late. I’m 46 years old and I started walking when I was 41. At that time they offered my daughter a plastic skateboard, like a Penny board. I tried walking and loved it. The following week I was buying myself a longboard.
Site Nacional de Skate: What area are you from?
Pedro: I’m from the Leiria area but I’ve lived in Oeiras for over 15 years.
Site Nacional de Skate: We know that you practice Long Distance Pushing/Pumping, tell us how you discovered this modality and what led you to practice it?
Pedro: LDP (Long Distance Pushing/Pumping) is, simply put, a very long cruise, and that’s how I started. The cruises got longer and longer, and I started challenging myself to try to improve my times or distance. For example, if I could do the Passeio Marítimo de Oeiras, round trip, at an average of 15 km/h, next time I would try to improve and do it at 16 km/h. I also started following the LDP more on social media, and my interest grew.
During the pandemic was when I started taking this more seriously. I started participating in IDSA’s virtual challenges (https://theidsa.org/), I loved competing and I wanted to improve every day and one day be able to take part in real competitions.
Site Nacional de Skate: You will be the first Portuguese to participate in the Dutch Ultra Skate competition. Tell us how you are doing your physical preparation, and what are your goals for the race?
Pedro: I will be the first Portuguese to participate in an Ultra Skate, and my 11 year old daughter will be the first Portuguese! She and I will compete as a team, in a relay format, and my wife and my 8-year-old son will be our support team.
Physical preparation is possible, it’s difficult to have the time, and sometimes the health, to train what you should. Ultra is a test of physical and mental endurance, and the training should prepare you in both aspects. I try to walk at least an hour every day and once or twice a month, do long workouts of three or more hours. In these long training sessions you test everything as if you were in the race: the equipment, the shoes, the wheels, the trucks, and most importantly, the nutrition.
In any endurance sport, nutrition is essential, and in a 24-hour event, it is as important as skateboarding.
As for the goals, I would like us to reach 100km, and if we are doing well, reach 100 miles (~161 km) but, honestly, this first participation is to have fun, live the experience with my family and meet many friends that I only know on social media. I’ll be happy with whatever distance we can get.
Site Nacional de Skate: What advice can you give to anyone who wants to try LDP or Ultra Skate?
Pedro: No special equipment is needed to get started. Grab your cruiser or longboard and go for a cruise and challenge yourself to be faster or to reach the furthest distance you’ve ever done. If you like it, then think about more specialized equipment.
Wear a helmet, even if it fits well. Fatigue sometimes plays tricks on us.
If you want any advice or have any questions, I’m always available to help. Contact me on Instagram (@pedro_as_carvalho) and I will help in any way I can.
Site Nacional de Skate: O Site Nacional de Skate and/or other skater communities, etc., have they helped you in the past in any way in promoting this sport? (If yes, which ones and how?)
Pedro: I wanna Thank’s to Longboard Cruisers PT (https://longboardcruisers.pt/). I have already participated in two cruises organized by them, which certainly helped to publicize the LDP.
Site Nacional de Skate: Do you think Site Nacional de Skate be a reference site where all “anonymous” skaters can make their voices heard? Why?
Pedro: Of course it’s important. Skateboarding, in all its forms and variations, is a deeply individual thing, but at the same time we lean on others for encouragement and inspiration.
Site Nacional de Skate: Do you want to leave us any suggestions or challenges?
Pedro: Nothing comes to mind at the moment. Keep up the good work.
Site Nacional de Skate: Thank you very much for your time.
Pedro: Thank you very much.
