Under The Radar: Sofia Agatón – Mexico

by Marta
under the radar mexiko Sofia

Sofia Agatón has two passions: roller skating and medicine. The future doctor from Mexico city also likes to travel. On a recent trip to Barcelona Sofia head out to film her first street edit and we are super stoked to premiere it along with this interview where we talk about scary tricks, and one of the best cities in the world (I am biased): Mexico DF!

How long have you been roller skating and what inspired you to start?

I started skating about 4 years ago. At that time I lived in the city of Oaxaca. My roommate always insisted on buying some skates, but I didn’t love the idea. I’ve always been an athletic person, and at the time I thought that skating would take time away from another exercise. One day there was a competition in my city, and I saw Vrenda (@vrendasannicolas) for the first time… I was obsessed! So, I decided to learn to skate. I didn’t even know how to stand up without falling! Vrenda helped me drop in a ramp for the first time and it was very nice to feel the support of someone who was my motivation to start.

You love street skating, and it was a dream of you to come to Barcelona and film a video. Recently this dream came true. Tell us a bit about the process of your street edit.

It’s been the best days of my life. Although I’ve always enjoyed skating on the streets with friends, I had no experience skating with a filmer. Rudy is incredible and we matched from the first second. I contacted him and told him that I wanted to record a couple of clips before I leave Barcelona. He asked me for my Instagram, checked how I skated and sent me a list of spots that he thought I could skate. I was very excited about the idea. The first day that we saw each other he proposed not only to make a few clips, but to do a proper project with at least 20 clips to have a two-minute video. He is super professional. I was very nervous because I didn’t know if I was going to be able to achieve so many clips in such a short time. When I saw some of the spots, they seemed impressive. But once I did the first trick and saw the video on the camera, I was excited and all I thought about was having fun, doing my best and filming more and more.
The next few days were amazing, we would meet up every morning, have coffee and start our day. Sometimes we traveled by subway, bicycle, or skates. I got to see beautiful streets, touristy places and even places that most tourists never get to see.
It was a lot of fun going to the spots and putting together the tricks. Rudy always gave me advice, and that’s how we created fun lines. We spent the holidays together, like Christmas and New Year’s, filming and skating spots while the rest of the city slept.

Which is your favorite scene of your video?

Skating the Hospitalet bench was my favorite clip. I’ve always had difficulties skating benches and preferred rails or transitions. So, the feeling I had sliding on that bench while listening to David Bowie as I jumped off with a 270, made me feel amazing.

What was the most difficult or scariest trick you did in the video?

The descents that only Barcelona can have, were the spots that scared me the most. In Mexico we have downhills but not skateable structures in the middle of the city like the ones in BCN. It was a lot of fun overcoming my fear and it shows in the smile I have after skating them down.

By the end you slammed pretty hard on your knees which resulted in a deep cut. You had to get stitches. Did you have enough footage at this point?

Yeah! MACBA was the last spot on the list, so one day before my flight back home we went to film at the famous big three stairs. It was a promise and a challenge that I had with myself to skate that spot. With some encouragement from some beautiful people I met in Barcelona I decided to 180 it. It resulted in a long trip to the hospital, but with great satisfaction that I tried and went beyond what I imagined.

You stayed one month in Europe. Did you also visit other cities outside of
Barcelona?

Barcelona was my dream, so I really didn’t want to get out of there. Though I took a short trip to Lisbon. I was there for three days, but there was a huge storm. It was impossible to skate! But, as we all know, skaters always find a way to skate. Thanks to Mike (@mikee.teixeira) I got to know a fun skatepark under a bridge. It was disappointing that I didn’t get to see more of Lisbon and its amazing street spots.

You are back in Mexico now. Tell us a bit about the roller skate scene in your city.

The roller skate scene in Mexico City is incredible. I think the last two years it has grown and it’s so cool to see more groups of girls who want to skate the streets. In general, it is a tight community that has created safe spaces for skating and little by little we have gained the respect we deserve. When I started skating in Oaxaca, there were only two women at the skatepark with quads, now that I visit Oaxaca I always find more girls who skate and who want to learn. That makes me happy and inspires me to continue skating.

Which skateparks and street spots are your favorites and a must visit?

A must visit place is Lira Skatepark. It is very nice because it has everything to practice in like a mini ramp, rails, street, bowl. My favorite skatepark is called Templo Mayor. It has rails that help you to lose the fear of speed since the entire park is downhill. The streets are amazing in the city. The most common spots are in the historic center, but you can find fun things to skate at the outskirts of the city, too.

What skaters from Mexico should we watch and follow?

@jellyfishh8 : One of my best friends on quads; beautiful style and technique.
@dannymots : My motivation because of her dedication and discipline.
@enmaryluz : Incredible woman from the north of Mexico skating the streets of Guadalajara.
@iztapasauria ; downhill queen.
@diablomarino : technique and style.
@cincooruedas__ : It is the crew created by seven girls from different states of Mexico. The goal is to record ourselves and continue creating roller skate content in the streets in order to reach more Mexican girls.

Anything else you want to say?

My 2023 started with a lot of emotions; skating, traveling, and meeting wonderful
people. One phrase remains: “Cuando tienes miedo de saltar es cuando debes saltar” (When you are afraid to jump is when you should jump). I would like to give a special thanks to the incredible photographer @_aartemisaa, who was the eye behind the photos. Thank you for starting to document the roller scene in Mexico and for being such a beautiful human being.

Find Sofia Agatón on Instagram. Read more Under the radar interviews.

Photos by @_aartemisaa
Interview by @octopolly

You may also like