Over the past couple of months, we have been following the upcoming Olympics closely. Like many of you, we have been looking forward to the 2020 Olympics. After all, for the first time in Olympic history, skateboarders will finally have the chance to represent their countries and compete for Olympic glory.

Unfortunately, due to the global pandemic that our planet is currently faced with, the Olympic Games have officially been postponed. The Tokyo Olympics will open in 2021. The opening ceremony will take place on July 23, 2021 — roughly one year after the games were due to start.

Since the Olympics have been postponed, so too have all World Skate Olympic Qualifying Events scheduled through May 2020. As more information becomes available in the coming weeks, World Skate will work with organizers to restructure and reschedule the second season of Olympic Qualifying events. 

Qualifying for the Olympics

Despite everything that’s happened, the Olympic games will still happen As far as we know, there will still be 20 skaters per event. The events for the Olympics will still include both Park skating and Street skating. In case you haven’t been following along with the qualifying process, here’s a quick recap.

The journey to earn a spot at the Olympics has not been easy for these skateboarders. It all comes down to where they are ranked in the Olympic World Skateboarding Ranking. In order to score points towards their Olympic World Skateboarding Ranking, the skaters have been competing in a series of Olympic qualifying events. 

The first qualifying season started in January 2019 and continued until the 30th of September, 2019. The second qualifying season began on October 1st, 2019, and will continue until May 31st, 2020. By the middle of June 2020, the first-ever Skateboarding Olympians will be determined and set to compete at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

Pedro Barros

Over the past several months, we have been keeping a very close eye on all skaters in the circuit. We love looking at “up-and-comers” who you may have never heard of, but has the talent and skill to hold their position at the Olympics. One in particular is Pedro Barros.

This blog will shine a light on Pedro Barros and his incredibly successful skateboarding career. We will be reviewing some of his best contest performances, recent video parts, sponsors and more, so be sure to continue reading to find out why Braille is so hyped on the insanely talented, Pedro Barros. 

Who is Pedro Barros?

Pedro Barros is a regular-footed professional skateboarder from Florianopolis, Brazil. He was born on March 16, 1995, and began skating at an early age thanks to his father who was a skateboarder. Pedro and his father even built a vert-ramp in their backyard, and Pedro was nailing 540s by the time he was 11 years old!

In 2008, Barros won the X-Games Skateboarding Vert amateur event. From that point on, Pedro’s skateboarding career really started to explode. In 2010, he competed in the pro contest and took home several gold medals in the years to come.

• X-Games Park, 2010 (1st Place)
• Vans BOWL-A-RAMA, 2012 (1st Place)
• X-Games Park, 2012 (1st Place)

In addition to the above, he won the overall Bowl Title of World Cup Skateboarding for the fourth year straight. In 2014, Pedro earned his fifth X-Games gold medal and won the Vans BOWL-A-RAMA in both Spain and New Zealand.

Of course all of these amazing contest performances are impressive, but Pedro Barros was, is, and always will be more than just a “contest-skater”. He takes skating seriously, but will always have fun with it and push his limits. He takes it with high speeds, huge airs, and has a clean yet aggressive and powerful style. Over the years, Pedro has been dropping the collective jaws of the skate community with his video parts, contest runs, and passion for skateboarding. 

Pedro Barros in 2020

Pedro Barros is currently a member of the Brazilian Confederation of Skateboarding, also known as the CBSK. Though the Olympics have been postponed until the summer of 2021, Barros is expected to compete at the Olympic Games. Representing Brazil in the Men’s Park Division, Pedro Barros is currently ranked fourth in the Olympic World Skateboarding Rankings with 75,070 points.

Some of Pedro’s sponsors include Vans, Red Bull, Independent, Petrobras, Oi, Evoke, Alta, and Layback Beer. It’s clear that he’s been getting better and better, and is ready to take on the Olympic Stage.

He’s not doing bad either in terms of placing in qualifying events. Below are a couple of Qualifying events that he placed well in.

• 7th Place, World Skate Oi STU Open Men’s Park Finals (November 2019)
• 6th Place, World Skate Sao Paulo Park World Championships (September 2019)
• 1st Place, Dew Tour Long Beach Men’s Park Finals (June 2019)

He also competed in a few Vans Park Series Pro-Tour contests, picking up a first place in Brazil and Canada, and a 7th Place in France.

Pedro Barro Highlights

Below are a couple of videos and runs that really showcase his skill and style on the board. Here, let me show you instead.

Pedro Barros’ “Silver Era” Skate Part

This video part from Barros truly did have a bit of everything. From the opening street scenes, to the huge air in the bowl, followed by local skatepark shredding, Pedro really showed that he can rip no matter the terrain. Big wallrides, huge transfers, and even bigger airs, just watching this video part will give you an adrenaline boost like no other.

Did we mention the hill bombs? Oh yeah, there is a gnarly hill bomb or two in there for good measure. This part has something for everyone, so we encourage you all to give it a watch! Just be sure your eyes don’t fall out of your head when you see the ender. All we can say is, WOW. See it for yourself here.

In Conclusion

Braille Skateboarding is beyond excited to see what Pedro Barros is capable of at the Olympic Games in the summer of 2021. Though most of us will simply be watching the Olympics in 2021, Braille Skateboarding knows that some of you dream of competing at the Olympics one day. Well, guess what? We can help you achieve that goal!

Check out Skateboarding Made Simple in our Online Shop. It’s the most detailed lesson plan for skateboarding in existence, and you will surely improve your skills after watching and studying our SMS tutorials. With 9 different volumes, you’ll go from learning how to ride on a board, to skating skateparks and landing more advanced flatground tricks…FIRST TRY! Now get out there (when it’s safe to do so) and skate! 

Featured Image Credit: TheBoarder. Photographed by Chaz Miley.