Skating is not a crime ... well, not this time

It wouldn’t actually occur to anybody to skate at a Peruvian army Special Forces base or on a strictly sealed Spanish concrete dam anyway. Or would it?

“Like a dream,” is how the Israeli skate pro Boaz Aquino described his day at the Tous Dam near Valencia, Spain. Along with four skaters from Spain, France and Argentina he declared the enormous complex a Red Bull Access All Areas location. The huge dam, a 170 metre long bridge, two 90 metre tall towers and a concrete flood canal in the form of a halfpipe were the most important characteristics of the over-dimensional skatepark. Forgotten industrial junk provided additional objects for tricking, grinding and jumping. The spot, though, isn’t what you might call an insiders tip: entry was only possible over a high fence – and the massive ‘entry forbidden’ signs only offered inadequate climbing assistance.

In the army now

Almost at the same time, a few thousand kilometres further south-west, a Peruvian skater crew eight people strong was checking out a spot of a totally different kind. For one day, only for Red Bull Access All Areas, the Peruvian army opened up its Special Forces base, part of the strictly secret National Intelligence Service – and offered the skaters rather unusual obstacles. “Jumping over the military trucks and the burning tyres was the most amazing thing,” said participant Peter Chlebowski, who even managed a 360 jumping over a two metre high truck. Apart from trucks and tanks, the soldier’s recreation zone was also turned into a skatepark. Between the tables where the servicemen usually eat their meals the skaters erected ramps and barricades. “The only things we weren’t allowed to grind over were the picnic tables,” said Yosip Yactayo – and who could refuse to obey a heavily armed task force officer?

Skating in 'banned' places

Since 2005, Red Bull Access All Areas has been erasing the terra incognita on the skateboarding map, making it possible for local athletes to skate at locations where Ollies and Kickflips are not only illegal but also often dangerous. For example, on a freeway, in a jail and a strip club. Suggestions for new Red Bull Access All Areas locations can be made by any skaters on the official website.