Skating, Traveling, and Living in the Moment
Thaynan Costa skates with the kind of effortless style that makes everything look fun. Whether he’s cruising the streets, hitting a demo, or just pushing around, there’s an easygoing energy to everything he does. We caught up with him to talk about growing up in Brazil, his move to Portugal, and why he’s in no rush to define what’s next.
How’ve you found the DC Tour?
It's been great. We've been meeting a bunch of cool people and the concerts have been great. People have been real friendly with us, too.
Have you got favourite stops so far?
Barcelona, I think. Like, all my friends are there and at the concert, so I had more fun.
What was it like growing up and skating in Brazil? What was the scene like there?
There is a lot of skateboarders, so it's very big. But the skate parks were not so good, with a lot of people trying to skate. Now I think it's better. I had fun, I was young, you know?
Who were your idols and inspirations growing up riding?
Mark Gonzales, Ray Barbee, Jake Johnson - I don't know, there's a bunch!
There's too many good guys.
Too many, too many to name all of them.
When did you know you wanted to skate for a living?
I still don't know. I just skate, you know? I go until it ends… and one day it's going to end and I’ll be glad it lasted so long. I know one day it's going to be over, I just have fun and enjoy it.
What made you choose Portugal when you left Brazil?
Half of my family's from Portugal. I had Brazilian and Portuguese passports, so I just went to Portugal. It was good for me because it’s the same language - I went to school there, and I learned Spanish and English from there too; so it was a good spot to be.
Good skate scene?
It's small, but it's good.
What's your favourite trick at the moment?
I just like to push around I think. That's a good trick. It's hard to slam on it.
Any locations that's still on your to-do-list?
Yeah, for sure. I wanna go to Australia, haven't been there, and Japan. I really wanna go to Tokyo.
What interests do you have outside skating?
I like to read. I like to draw. I don't know, and hang out with my friends. Camp, too, I like to camp!
Camp? Cool. England is a wonderful place for camping.
Is it?
It… can be, depending on the weather! What's your perfect day off the board then?
Perfect day? Wake up, have a good breakfast, maybe eat outside or something. Then, go to the beach, stay there - maybe the whole afternoon. Then, go back home, stretch a little bit and then, I don't know, go out for some drinks with my friends.
