At this stage fame and power went to my head and I los a little bit off the handle as a human being, I had no idea what made me good at

bicycle. Something that started out as magical and personal pure fun, turned into a sport profession without me realizing it. By this time I already had clothes, shoes and bicycles without had to buy. He didn't pay them with money. 

The management of my parents who formed me on pillars of discipline, exercise, and sacrifice, staying in school, swimming, and catechesis, disappeared at the same time that I distanced myself from them. I learned later the how important they were. I had to lie to them countless times to be able to go to championships and  encounters with malta.If he was once the simple and inexperienced village boy who envied the  cousin's bike to the point that he gave it to him, at this time (23 years old) I did what   I wanted to, I finished college and did what it took to keep going, literally. It was already a BMX freelancer moved to a box of Voltaren per month (anti-inflammatory muscle medicine) and 1L of beer per day, on average. I found myself alone and lost control , my video on College's final project class was a documentary about BMX. This one had a tone critical of how competitive it was becoming and the magic it had lost. Why would it be?! Now I realize that alcohol has had its fair share of influence on my body. I just put this video online less than a year ago and noticed what I had “said” back then.

The trip continued a little lame until I met Raquel, who showed me who she was in that moment, through your meditation ceremony. So I had a presentation to the “me”, in other words I started smoking Marijuana.  Very unconscious person was at that time, I then had a reminder to reflect

Like the bull that I am, I lowered my eyes I pointed the horns at what hurt me and I hammered. I lived intermittently with her and her parents somehow running away from being close to mine. Life went on and the proposals also, I was invited to go to Russia for a 20-day stay where I would participate in two annual BMX events, and I ended up making money at both. Country of tough people. the fact that what struck me the most in that passage, was that in an afternoon at the skatepark with the locals, we were everyone enjoying themselves until one of them falls and sprains his foot, lying on the ground moaning, enduring the pain. 

To the unlike Portugal, no one there came to help him and there was even a kind of morbid laughter. This one left at the foot of coxinho without anyone's help, followed by a heavy and cold environment that made it last a 5-second mourning until they can walk again. I experienced a very Russian way of hanging out with friends: seated around a table, the bottle of vodka from the freezer (since it does not solidify due to its alcohol content), distribute the pickles, as well as the cups. There was also cured fish, I barely touched it, maybe that was it. that got rid of me. One serves, everyone drinks and so on, until the end of the drink. Pickle must be rationed. Another example of the “coldness” was that in the height of a summer

lukewarm 26ºC there will be two weeks of piped hot water turned off to contain costs.

In the middle of the street, a truck driver inflated my bicycle tire using his car's air cylinder ,ancient truck. There were lots of old cars, brands I've never seen before.

 They are endowed with a very durable engineering because very, very old cars that seemed stopped for decades started with relative ease. At this time I started attending a different form of meeting within BMX: a jam, more format competition self-managed, where the obstacles are city streets instead of a specific skatepark for the It is made. 

In one of these jams, in Glasgow, Scotland, during a fall in one of the last obstacles, I jabbed something into the palm of my hand. I could only see the cut and feel something inside, so I ran to a convenience store to buy a manicure kit to be able to with the help of another person (a Scotsman who ended up praising me for my coolness and determination... the one he had brought from Russia), have a small surgery, without the minimum conditions of hygiene. I cut my hand in cold blood with a nail clipper, for later, while the assistant holding the cut open, he could access the already deeply buried piece of glass.

He was I need to turn it over and use tweezers to pull it out. As if that wasn't enough, I continued to participate, to win the 200 euros to continue to the next jam. The prize was more important than me and was taking too much of a risk for a reward so small, I see it now. I had already been told to take out health insurance: 

I didn’t want to know…

By this time I was smoking a lot more weed than I should have. On the other hand, it helped me to stay away from anti-inflammatory pills. Marijuana has somewhat of the same effect, but replaces one problem with another because the smoke wasn't what he needed either since dry my lungs. At that time it made sense to follow the path. 

The next day of jam I had an equally intense day with Markus, I went out shooting a one-day video for the its online magazine in Germany. I did a lot of maneuvers through the streets of Glasgow, some that I didn't get in the jam. I don't know how I managed to film all that, I was exhausted and crippled of the "operation" the day before, I was proud of what I did anyway. The next day, After all this, I headed towards the local skatepark. The first maneuver I tried to make, I caught my pants on the chain and fell backwards, hitting my head hard on the floor. II thought I was too strong and I wasn't wearing a helmet. I lost sensation in my body, from 

extremities towards the center to a point that, I had a mental trip in the consciousness where I flew even my parents, my sister and some places I missed like my homeland,this nomadic life that I was leading kept me very far from my roots. 

I had asort of hallucinating from the endorphins my body released to deal with the pain. 

WhenI slowly started to wake up and become aware of the body once more, I was being dragged by the terrified Fred, he had no memory of what had happened that very day. another jam would happen in Liverpool, they have their own accent called Scouse, if Glasgow is quirky, this one is not far behind. In the first 2 days, I had a lot of difficulty realizing 2 words followed by what they said to me. In any case, I managed to save 200 euros and same foot sprained again. During the jam we were in Chinatown where two motorcyclists armed men began to show off their weapons while doing wheelies on the MX, very scary. At that time I spent time with other people from other teams, I started to feel interest from other BMX brands when they see me ride. I even commented with people from my affinity "I don't feel that this team, (the one I was part of at the time, the only brand of BMX active in Portugal) be a family". We were of different ages, I was in my early 20s years old and theirs already 30 or so, I was in a different phase of life from theirs, I had a different performance from them. I suffered from a type of psychological bullying by the owner of the mark to be "washed face", cute kid to make a good impression, which I gave in many times, but also from other teammates who complained that I was treated differently than they were. I wasn't used to talking about what I felt so I closed myself off , even more in my thoughts and on impulse I decided to leave. If you initially listened to rock music and roll and punk on the mp3 player, house and techno on the disco, at this point I switched to reggae and dub and some 25 year old trance. The journey had changed course and the soundtrack also. I was looking for tranquility and connection. After the last jam of that same year that happened in Liverpool, I went straight to Portugal. In between the championships worked doing BMX demonstrations in schools and specific events. built  wooden skateparks for a Portuguese company based on the outskirts of Lisbon. It made a lot of money as well as keeping me connected to something related to BMX. It easily kept me on track, but it continued to demand a lot physically and psychologically. with a very fragile state of health. He said many times "BMX for me is life" ; "I go making BMX my life" I tried hard not to think about what that required, even though it had already been  advised several times. At the time I was interested in macrobiotics and oriental medicine, they gave me some encouragement and strength to heal from injuries and pain that I felt. in a way it would arranging placebos that kept me going. George Oshawa's book spoke of balance and in the two parts of the body, in the two hands, that we have. One gives and the other receives.

The exchange of “information” that passes in a constant movement of experience. I received an invitation to go to Shanghai, China, to participate in an important national competition. Experience single, the biggest culture shock I've felt to date. In addition to being much shorter in stature, people had little anatomical difference between genders and very little facial hair, in the case of men. I, 1.8m bearded Latino, was on another planet. The test went very well and I was in second place. We had to leave the big city until we reached a village called Huzhou. There stood a huge hotel in the shape of a donut. Most of the time I've been resting because my right foot was very weak. I had two massages of 45 minutes each, which cost no more than 10 euros each, thanks to the exchange rate. the vietnamese ladies were incredibly nice and showed great appreciation for my curly mustache height. The large main avenues where there were banks, hotels, car dealerships and buildings very high were cut by transversals where families of 4 or 6 people, in addition to the chickens and other animals, lived in shacks made of handcrafted metal sheets.

The roads covered in dust, where the most common means of transport were scooters, which also they were kind of carrying huge amounts of bags of soy sauce, I deduced. In general conditions here were very poor compared to the neighboring tycoons.

We share a delicious lunch with one of these families, leaving our contribution currency. In Shanghai, the rivers were transited by boats that transported quantities giants, these there had almost as much traffic as on the roads. I remember that although not language barrier with Kane, because he speaks English, on the first day I just felt a spectator glimpsing the whole place. There were large groups of people who they gathered around a radio after dinner dancing the Shikun. Surrounded that calm vibe, I realized an imbalance that I already had, because almost constantly

I had some badly healed injury in order to keep me in the current of proposals that were appearing to me. As some friends told me, back in Portugal "What's going on Diogo, have you lost your smile?” Something wasn't right, "I have to do something about this”, I thought. The culmination was when the second time I went to Estonia, we were “offered” the to all riders at the event, a free night of fun with everything included in a disco. At a certain point, after a few hours, some doors opened and a whole sea of ​​young people entered. inside the disco to be with us. Taking pictures and a whole lot of small talk. 

These young people paid well to be with us, and we were not told that that would happen. It was hard to change a course of several years like that overnight. other, so I did what I could and included riders in my influences in addition to the mainstream that

 were part of the "sport" of BMX, opting instead for those who were part of the "art" of BMX, broadening my horizons and making me see more possibilities. meet others  ways of interacting with obstacles, thus changing the bike, looking for a way to to be. I was so into the sport that it was hard to think outside of it. This search continues today and I even got to the point of making certain bike parts like pedals with a special protection, creating a much more robust and durable side to slide on walls.

Consequently, with this alteration, the footboards were too big and hindered, so I made them smaller to make the pedal easier to use. On the other hand, the BMX market goes in a notoriously similar direction to skateboarding, creating its own races

where it is elected, by juries from within this same group, a new convenient, fresh and beautiful to be the symbol of success and progress. An inbred breeding machine money moved by this idea of ​​the American dream applied to an “extreme sport” is something that by the unconsciousness of those who practice it continues to proliferate. It is what it is. I fell for it too. So I want to mention that it is very important for all those who want to try their luck in that same world that they do it in a safe, balanced way and guided by some reliable and experienced entity.

I also had the same help but over the years events and by my own momentum I walked away. I was advised health insurance, go to the gym, paid sponsorships among other opportunities that would give me some stability and could keep me healthy. Knowing this I felt simplified like a pawn in a chess game, empty and without identity. So many times I made inhumane choices to get follow… it was to be expected. The important thing was not to stop. It is necessary to slow down, and sometimes even to stop. The body wears out, it has to be repaired with rest and good practices. I killed a lot

of being inside me in order to be able to live all that without missing a single opportunity.

Destroyed, I traveled by caravan to France shortly after having finished a relationship of 4 years with the only girlfriend he had had to date. I accepted an offer from a brand of

English BMX. At this point I approached raw vegetarianism with the hope that eating the food without cooking it, keeping its nutrition would make my body repair more quickly. Anyway, without resting or slowing down, I continued to drink heavily .

Alcohol and smoking weed, of course, without proof that he was actually getting better, but he kept the satisfaction of doing those maneuvers I imagined. This strange balance continued.

I created excess elasticity in the joints, 3 calcifications along the spine,

a pronounced low back pain, bunions in the feet and calcification in the right wrist. This whole phase in

that I should have been an athlete, I ended up being a rockstar. I learned a lot. I'm very grateful for

these experiences I've lived, places I've been, people I've met, but, of course, it had a price.

If I hadn't ridden that wave, I don't know if I would have ever had the opportunity to go to all of them.

those sites. In France I also filmed an entire video on the street with the help of a local who had

recently lost my father, Arnault, with whom I had little understanding, ending up ask too much of him, as well as of me. What an idea to make a video on the streets of a new city! I ended up establishing a relationship with the local BMX shop, where I met another rider whom he idolized, Joris was fond of Hare Krishna who lent me the book "Easy Journey”. This one speaks of each one's personal journey related to the cosmos, comparing the

life with a directed journey through the movement of the universe. We had an invitation, I and the colleague who gave me shelter in Montpellier, (Leo, thanks for everything), to go to a village beautiful on the mountain where there was an indoor and outdoor skatepark with an associated school.

I got to know a new perspective and way of life related to BMX and skateboarding. He was great to see those kids who got together to watch us walk and eat a barbecue with us. Returning to where I lived in the south of France, I found a job to to sustain. I worked with a newly renovated neighbor, doing DIY in a house where this one intended to live until he made it. One day he invited me to lunch after knowing that I

traveled with my bicycle. He showed me the blog of his son and his wife, who they had been traveling for months, if not years, pedaling from country to country. Something wasn't right.

I noticed a mixture of indifference and respect from him towards his son's will to knowing the world, but also the longing that Andrés, my recent boss, felt for this one.

I saw myself a little in that situation and, having completed my work, my presence in this city no longer made sense: I decided to return to Portugal. My body was so adapted to the bike that it was hard being away from her. Specialization to a point that I found very uncomfortable to walk... I was in Portugal for a very short time, I don't even know if I was with the my parents, even after I realized they were missing in France. a lot of people don't bicycle world knew me and I accepted a proposal to be part of a demonstration that combined bicycles and motorcycles, something that at the time caused me a lot of fear but, once again time, it was a way of continuing, the vacuum of habit sucked me back into the journey. In traveling acrobat way, as my mother used to say, I went to Braga where I did the demonstration

with Sandro and Nuno. It went well apart from a headache caused by the sound deafening noise of motorcycles echoing in the pavilion. The next day we left for Barcelona

car.   My sister lived there, so I decided to visit her. I started looking for work, but it was quite difficult, I felt some xenophobic discrimination, but I managed to get a part-time job as a mechanic in a bicycle rental, where he also did guided tours around the city. Thanks to Santi and to Leandro. Needless to say, BCN is heaven for those who enjoy riding a BMX, it has amazing architecture that creates lots of walking spots and skateparks as well as a very large rider community. To date the capital of BMX, in my view.

I spent a “good” 4 months there where I filmed two web videos on this tremendous city. Mine quest for a healthier life kept in mind, but kept leaving it to

then… I continued to make my own films with my camera, where I was the protagonist, cameraman and editor, I even learned how to make the soundtrack! To date, I have traveled extensively in northern hemisphere, ( Russia, Estonia, France, Spain, China,) I filmed video parts, I was in jams and schools, anyway, I met a lot of people because of my taste for bicycles. I was winning

these invitations with mine done on the bike. It was a tide that passed. It's been a tough one years of pushing to become a more balanced and sensitive person, and if I really

I want to make a living with this activity, or for it to be part of my life, I have to be physically prepared for it. There is an emptiness I feel for missing that “comfort” in the ego to open social networks and have lots of notifications congratulating me on the feats on two wheels.

That was a synonym for success. Trying to make BMX life, I've already made videos, participated as a rider in championships and jams, I also organized jams, made some vlogs, gave lessons, built bikes

handmade, I built skateparks and jump tracks on land, helped to develop some parts industrially…all inside the BMX. I am currently recovering from an injury to my

shoulder resulting from the biggest fall I've had, at 31 years old. 3 months after surgery, I can already pedal the mountain bike again and do a few kilometers... it's not the same thing, but I'm starting to miss it, for now the two wheels have to be on the floor.