Red Bull Tales: Tiago Lemos _ video + Madars Apse & Gaston Francisco interviews

RedBull released a NEW EPISODE of Red Bull Tales featuring Tiago Lemos. We had a chat with Madars Apse (host) and Gaston Francisco (director) who went to San Paulo and Jaguariuna, Tiagos’ hometown to know more about him and where he comes from. Enjoy. Photos Diego Sarmento. Interviews Davide Biondani.

 

Madars & Tiago.

MADARS APSE // Red Bull Tales host.

Where did you guys filmed this episode with Tiago and what made it unique compared to the others you hosted?

We filmed this Episode in Sao Paulo, Brazil and we also went to Jaguariuna, Tiagos’ hometown to find the roots of this beast of a skater and we sure did! The skatepark is huge and we met his super cool parents! This episode is unique because it’s Tiago Lemos or TiagZILLA as we call him among my friends, one of the top skaters & your favorite skaters favorite skater. He is such a G and such a unique person and we are really thankful that he let us in to showcase a little bit of his story and that is hugely because we were teammates at DC shoes beforehand and Gaston was our team manager in Europe at the time.. so for the most part it was a great reunion!

 

How much time did you spend in Brazil? What spot did you skate?

We usually film these episodes in 4 or 5 days, but I got a chance to fly in a day extra to discover Sao Paulo a little bit. Mostly we hung out at the OG spot Vale d’Anhangabau, but we also went to the metro station where Tiago and his friends used to skate & sleep at night time & also another monument around that area, but I really enjoyed skating his hometown skatepark!

 

Tiago is 100% skateboarding and a super welcoming guy what impressed you the most of him while working on this project?

I am impressed by how much time Tiago spends on his board.. Even when we are not filming, he is already at Vale early just skating with the homies, sweating like crazy, so when it comes time to film a trick it’s just like spitting in the ocean for him, that’s how easy it comes with Tiago! And I must say how down to earth and relatable he is, definitely paying respects to the original skaters and doing it the same way as it has always been. Pure 100% skateboarding.

 

How was watching him at home, in his environment with his friends?

It was super relaxed and very respectful, there was never any rush (even if we were worried about not having enough time to film), we would always wait for the homies coming and take it easy step by step, trust the process.. Mellow style, you know what I mean? And one time we were chilling for a while already and Gaston said: “Let’s go to the next location?” and Tiago just says that he wants to skate a little more and that just makes me very happy, because I get a chance to skate again too, that’s how I ended up doing the kickflip up the euro gap in Jaguariuna. Thanks Tiago!!

 

If you could “steal” something from his skating what would it be?

His POWER!! One time I saw him break his skateboard with his bare hands, better believe me!!!

Madars, kick flip up. Photo Diego Sarmento.

 

GASTON FRANCISCO // Red Bull Tales director.

You are the Director of the whole RedBull Tales project, can you briefly tell us  a bit more about the whole thing?

Skate Tales was born to shine a light on the skaters who do things differently and usually do not get a light shone on them. With time we realized that there was also an appetite from our viewers in seeing very well known skaters as well but with a “Skate Tales point of view” which in my eyes means going beyond the curtains and somehow into the Behind the Scenes of their lives and who they are. Skaters are by nature very interesting people who usually live non-standard lives and I like to believe that we make a great job at showing this.

 

How was organizing this episode in Brazil? Tiago is currently living in Oslo and he’s pretty busy…

We reached out to Tiago and we both agreed that it would be more interesting and close to his heart to shoot the episode in his hometown of Jaguariuna and Sao Paulo in Brazil. He has lived there most of his life and that is where everything started for him. We also believe that Tiago is a very famous skater nowadays so people are aware of his current life but they don´t really know much about his beginnings nor how he is in close proximity so we all agreed that it would be more fair to shoot the whole episode in Brazil. He is a very busy person but he was willing and wanted to show this part of his life so he found time for us. We worked out our dates around him and went to Brazil while he was already there.

Madars & Tiago, switch backside tail slide. Photo Diego Sarmento.

Were there any interesting behind-the-scenes situations you can tell us about while filming this?

I would say pretty much the whole episode was an interesting behind the scenes situation. I´ve known Tiago for a very long time but I didn´t know much about his story which led him to where he is now. I was surprised at first to discover how determined he was to become a professional skater and how he actually went the extra mile to make it. It was great to meet his family and the friends with whom he shared this voyage into becoming one of the best skaters in the planet. It was also great to see the respect and love that Brazilian skaters have for him and how he is still true to his heart and his roots.

 

What this episode leave you with about Tiago?

That he is a whole hearted human. Kind and always ready to help, he is so much more than the best switch backside tailslides in the world! He is a guy that came from humble beginnings and did not have it easy at all but with willpower, dedication and consistency reached his goals in life and that, I think, is a great lesson and example for all of us to have!

Tiago and friends.