Every couple of years, skating has a big stunt moment.

Before Sandro Dias drops in, we called him up to get the basics: Where, why, how… and what song he’ll be listening to right before dropping in.

So how long have you been preparing to do this?
Physically, I’ve been training for two years already, but on my board, only six months.

Have you considered going padless for street cred?
[Laughs] I’m gonna wear my protection gear. I’ll have a suit, I’m using wrist guards and a full face helmet… Things I don’t use on vert. It’s quite different than what I’m used to.

What’s the hardest part about this?
Everything really, because it’s something that we have never done before, so we don’t have anything to reference. Everything was new for me except standing up on my skateboard, but even that was totally different because I had to practice skating at speeds that I never had before.

I skate mega ramps and I think we go a maximum of 70km [roughly ~40mph]. And to practice the drop in, I did 136km [~84mph] – so way more. I was getting towed by cars to practice.

But I think the most important thing was my mental. To know that I was really prepared after all the tests, all the training. Because when you go there and look at the building, you’re like oh, my God, that’s big. But, I always tell myself “I’m prepared for this. I’m ready. I’m prepared. I did everything that I’m supposed to do to get ready.”

How did this whole idea come about?
Here in Porto Alegre, South Brazil, we have this government building. And from the first time I saw it in the 80s I was like, “Oh my God, it looks like a quarterpipe.” The building is like folklore here in this area, even non-skaters think it looks like a ramp.

I shared the idea with Redbull 10 years ago. I wrote everything out and I sent it to them, but time went on and nothing happened. A little over three years ago they asked me again for a project and I said, “I still have the building idea, what do guys think?” At this point there were some different people working at Red Bull and they’re like, “Whoa.” That’s how the project started.

It’s something that I never gave up. It’s a super expensive project, but I know it’s going to be a dream come true, not only for me, but for the skaters in Brazil.

How tall is the building?
88.91 meters [288 feet]

I saw you dropped in already from halfway, but those are just test runs, right?
Yeah, pretty much. I’m doing it gradually. Start in the middle and go higher and higher. On that test day, I did it from the 16th floor, and something happened on my board. It wasn’t working. I had to go home, rethink about everything, and try to change things on my board and come back to try again.

I still don’t know if the problem is my setup. I made so many changes to my board. I changed the wheels from regular vert wheels to bigger, wider wheels. So, hopefully it’s gonna work. And I changed my bushings. I don’t know the exact right setup for this but I’m going to try. Hopefully I can go higher than the test I did two weeks ago.

If it works first try, are you going to try it switch?
Oh my god, no [laughs].

Did you talk to any other pros before doing this to get advice or there thoughts on if it’s possible?
I always thought it was possible, but I never talked to anyone besides the people at Redbull and my family. Why share my dream project with people who don’t see my vision?

I thought you would have talked to someone like Danny Way, who really innovated on big ramps and stunts in skating.
I don’t know if it’s better to talk with someone or not [laughs]. Because people would think I am tripping for sure, saying like, “Man, it’s not possible.” But I don’t want to hear that. In my mind, it’s possible.

“Why share my dream project with people who don’t see my vision?”

What bushings are you using in your trucks to avoid speed wobbles?
I did so many tests, I tried every bushing, every brand. I started my test maybe six months ago, with the Bones Black, the hardest ones they sell. They weren’t hard enough. And then I have a friend, he made some out of aluminum for me to test.

So those don’t move at all do they?
They don’t move at all, yeah, I tested them and they didn’t work. So we made some out of carbon fiber, and now I have a mix: The top one I have in my board is this carbon fiber and the bottom is the harder rubber one. I like this mix.

What’s the size of your wheels? And deck?
70 millimeters, 83A Duro. I tested more than 30 sets of wheels. And the deck is an 8.5″.

I saw you wearing weighted vests when you been skating. Why?
Oh, that was for training, just to simulate G-force. With how fast I will be going on the drop in, I will have to support a lot of weight on my body, ~310 kilos [680lbs]. That’s why I have to put a weight on my upper body to simulate it and see how much weight I can support. I won’t be adding any weights for the actual drop, it was just to practice.

What do you think about before you drop in?
I always think to myself: I thought of this thing. I convinced people to do this thing. I am ready for this.

I also think about how the things that I did to get here were way harder than just dropping in. Speed tests, impact test, G force test. This is nothing. Just drop in. Just stay on your board [laughs].

What song are you going to listen to before you do it?
Dead Kennedys, “Moon Over Marine.”

What’s your pre-game breakfast looking like?
Man… I don’t know. Last time for the test, I just remember going to the bathroom so many times before [laughs]. My belly was just [moves his hands like a washing machine].

Once you do it, how are you gonna celebrate?
I just wanna celebrate with the team. We have had so many people working on this for so long. So i’ll stay with my family and friends, and the team.

In Baker 3, Erik Ellington does his trick and says, “Getting fucked up tonight!” Do you think you’ll get fucked up or no?
I’m super mellow, you know? I’m not getting fucked up. I’m mellow.

He was also in his 20s, so it was a different style.
I’m 50 years old, I have two kids, a wife [laughs].

So you’re not gonna be get fucked up tonight?
Nah, I’ll celebrate for sure, but I’m not gonna get fucked up. That’s not my way of celebrating. Sometimes I’ve seen people celebrate by getting super drunk, and then they don’t even remember what happened the day or night before. Why get messed up and forget what you did before? Why even celebrate [laughs]?

Interview by: James Lee
Photos courtesy of Red Bull
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