Mike Teixeira is from Lisbon, Portugal, and an amazingly creative skater. If you have been following him on Instagram you have probably seen his rail game being on point. Taking a lot of inspiration from his two decades in blading he seems to easily transform his tricks on quads. But you can also catch him tip toeing on the coping like a cat. After meeting Mike in Lisbon and Barcelona this year and seeing him shred it was long overdue to interview him for our “Under the Radar” series.
Mike, tell us a bit about the roller skating scene in Lisbon?
The roller skating scene in Lisbon is starting to get big. Every time at the skatepark I see more people skating, even in the streets more groups on roller skates are showing up. I am very happy seeing all this. My crew Sempre Os Mesmos was born in 2020. Translated into English it means “always the same”. Because when we started the crew we were only two guys and people always said: it’s the same two guys. Now, we are 10 crew members, from inline, aggressive to quads, male and female. We always ride together.
When did you start skating?
I started skating when I was around 6 or 7 years old with these classic metal roller skates at school and I got used to it really fast. Then I went on to play roller hockey. I played for a team in my local city for 4 years as a goalkeeper. One day my parents took me to the skatepark where I saw some people inline skating and I wanted to try it. I fell in love with inline skating and have been riding any type of skates for more than 25 years.
You have been inline skating for many years. Why did you pick up quad skating?
I started quad skating because of a friend of mine, Marine aka @peachsampras. We used to skate streets and parks together. One day she brought me her skates and I tried them for the first time and fell in love right way. It felt cool to mix the tricks from inline, quad skating and also dance moves. It came easy to me to put them together.
In which way did your skills from blading help you with quad skating and how do both disciplines influence each other?
My blading skills help me a lot when I’m quad skating because I already have the control, balance and skills for it. It was just finding a way to transfer them. I fell a lot in the beginning which was hard because I hurt myself. With time and patience, I made it work and I’m very happy with roller skating now. Most of the tricks are possible in both, blades and quads. What I really love is to use the toe stops to do tricks because this is not possible with inlines. It opens up new possibilities.
What does your skate travel wish list look like?
I love to travel and see new spots and skateparks. My favorite ones are in Spain, I would love to go back one day and visit more spots and skate them. I fell in love with Barcelona, it’s cool and big and all my favorite skaters are there.
Do you have a favorite or preferred style?
I love to street skate because it is rough and demanding. I love to push my limits and the streets make me push my creativity on roller skates. It’s also where I meet new people that are interested is this sport.
What’s the best thing about having wheels under your shoes?
The best thing is that I feel free, it’s when I relax, it is like meditation for me, and the most important thing is: it makes me happy.
Favorite tricks you go for everywhere you show up?
My favorite tricks are unites, savanas, royals, backslides and most of it: toe stops. I always try to combine toe stop tricks with aggressive inline tricks and a little bit of dance moves. I think roller skates have a lot of potential and can go really far as a sport. I hope this sport grows even more because it’s awesome, the whole community is. I met a ton of cool people through roller skating.
What do you do if you are not skating?
I do design, wood working, I love to work on the fields cultivating and making things grow. I love to paint and create stuff with my hands, I love any type of sports too. I don’t like being behind a desk working all day.
What should people check out when they visit Lisbon or Portugal?
People should come more to Portugal, it’s really amazing. I love my city, it’s full of energy and the people here are very welcoming. The weather is awesome all year, the beaches are amazing, the culture and the old buildings – I just love it. And you all should check out my crew’s channel because we do street spot reviews, skateparks and tours around the city on skates.
Sempe Os Mesmos Crew on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/c/sempreOSmesmos
Mike Teixeira on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/mikee.teixeira/
Click for more “Under the Radar” interviews
Interview by @octopolly
Top image by @jonasvietense