One of the most interesting things about skating in Chile is the temperature drop. You might leave the house in the morning with shorts and a tee shirt on, but if you don’t have a proper hoodie or sweatshirt, you might be fucked come night fall. The reason for this is the unique desert/mountain climate that the valley of Santiago creates. Only an hour from the beach and an hour from The Andes, one of the biggest and most famous mountain ranges in the entire world, Chile has it all from the most urban scenes in the heart of Santiago, to the south in the mountains of Patagonia or the high deserts and sand dunes of the north. Chile is more than 4000km long and has a little bit of something for everyone.
The skate scene is still growing, but growing fast at that. New brands and pros pop up frequently and a good amount of guys are making a living off of the skate lifestyle. A fact that is not true for all countries the size of Chile. The companies and magazines seem to do a good job supporting themselves and everyone in the industry has a good amount of hustle to make it happen in such new and uncharted territory.
All that being said, Santiago is a beautiful city and we were very lucky to be able to call it home for three months. There are great skate spots, great dudes to skate with, plenty of beautiful women with smiles for miles, and a city that is very navigable by board, bike, feet and public transportation. Chile is not cheap, but there are ways to live on a budget and stretch your pesos to make your stay last as long as possible. Come to Santiago, skate, enjoy it, sleep and repeat. Nos vemos pronto!
We enjoyed skating and filming with Filoko, Christian Elizondo, Christian Dawson, Andros Maturana, Diego Rojas, Marcello Castillo, Pato Vargas, Oruga, Spiro Razis, Stavros Razis, Mathias Letlier, Paris Laurenti, Pastiti, Juan Carlos Aliste and Filipe Nery!
