Skate & Explore – Medellín, Colombia
I visited Colombia in 2018 and after seeing Medellín’s terrain I always wanted to return with a group of talented skaters to make a video. In late November 2025 that finally happened.
We all arrived from different places which took a bit of coordinating. Dillon came in from Guadalajara, Oscar from Monterrey, Clark from Asheville and I flew down from Vancouver. We met up with local Rigo, our newest LY team rider, who was going to help guide us for the next 8 days. We had a stack of brand new 2026 boards waiting for us, thanks to Rigo, our friends at Longboard Colombia in Bogotá and Rodeo Skateshop. While documenting our adventure, we’d also be getting to know the new boards, capturing photos and videos for their upcoming release.
We started off taking the boards downtown, cruising by the river and exploring the city’s many plazas before we were chased by the rain. Our home base was a comfy Airbnb in El Poblado, which is surrounded by restaurants, bars, cafes, tourists, and a ton of really fun spots to skate.
At home we use our public buses and light rail for sessioning skate runs and spots, but Medellín’s public gondolas were on a whole new level. Photographer Yepes rode his motorbike from Bogotá the night before to join us on this adventure.
When we got to the top, we were almost overwhelmed by the number of options in front of us for skating down through the neighborhood. Unlimited hills and spots in every variety.
The Medellín skate community showed us how gnarly they were one evening when we joined in on their weekly Las Palmas ride. It’s a nighttime highway bomb down a winding, traffic-filled road. A big crew of skaters and rollerbladers handled the road with ease.
One of the best parts about skate trips that involve riding hills, is getting outside of the city to explore the mountains and countryside. Things you wouldn’t usually see on a normal skate trip. Rigo really wanted to take us to some of his favorite spots; they did not disappoint. Twisting roads through lush jungle forests, lined with flowers, banana trees, beautiful farms, and tropical birds.
This trip gave us everything we were after and a little extra. A flu-like bug worked its way through the crew, but luckily not everyone at once, so someone was always ready and able to skate. We’d be lying if we said it didn’t affect our productivity.
FAVORITE BOARDS
Medellin’s wide variety of terrain was great for skating many different styles of boards.
Below are a few of the team riders’ notable favorites from the trip:
DILLON STEPHENS
CLARK PATRICK
OSCAR GUTIEREZ
RIGO ZAPATA
Eight days and we barely scratched the surface of what Medellin had to offer. You could spend years exploring and still find new spots and roads to skate. We came away impressed by the people. The skate scene is thriving, incredibly talented, and couldn’t have been more welcoming.
Massive thanks to Rigo, Yepes, Rodeo, Longboard Colombia and everyone else who came out to skate, show us around, and make this trip happen.
