Tania Cruz

Strong, motivated, positive and talented are four words to encapsulate Tania Cruz. But four words could never do Tania the justice she deserves. Hailing from La Rioja in Argentina, Tania arrived in Spain to start a new life in Barcelona. Over the past 4 years, Tania’s grit and talent has seen her raise eyebrows and the bar of ability at spots across the mecca of skateboarding that is Barcelona and wider afield in the European scene. Her skating is fast, confident – a juxtaposition to her homely nature. When not dominating the various plazas of Barcelona, you can find Tania mainly at home; tending to her plants, painting or studying.

So, sin tardanza, Tania Cruz!

Where are you right now?

I’m in Barcelona, on my bed drinking maté and listening to music.

Give us a little background on yourself?

I’m 27 years old, I was born in La Rioja, Argentina, I started skating when I was 16 and I moved to Barcelona 5 years ago. I had a complicated childhood but things seem to be better now!

I moved to Barcelona because I was looking for a better quality of life – in search of better opportunities and a better future that I didn’t see possible for me in South America. I was tired of living in fear and uncertainty.

At first it was very intense, both in the good and the bad. The few things I brought with me like my phone, passport and money got stolen at the beginning, so I really was starting all over again from zero. However I was so excited about this new beginning, skating and making new friends (who are still my best friends now and I love so much) and even though sometimes it was hard, I stayed strong, motivated and positive – it’s not like I had another option.

When I arrived, I never even thought about having sponsors for skating or anything like that, so actually – things are turning out better than I ever dreamed. Even though they’re stupid, I love and miss my two sisters and my two nephews at home a lot. But I do have the best friends ever and the most beautiful and kind person in the world as a partner.

Talk us through your journey in skateboarding

I started skating when I was almost 16 because my younger sister was skating. We would share her board (when she was being nice) and skate with some friends from my neighborhood – my sister was actually really good. It was way easier for her to learn tricks than for me – she’s very talented and I was very stubborn.

After like two years she stopped skating. I managed to get my own board and kept doing it since I’d made good friends through skating and it really helped me through some tough family times. Skating for me has always been a way to escape, to disconnect from the world and forget about everything. Then studying at university and working meant that I skated a little on and off but deep down I just wanted to skate.

When I first moved to Barcelona, I would go a lot on street missions with Raisa from Dolores magazine. We would go skate in the morning and then go on street missions for the mag and it was always just about enjoying it and having fun, that was my first time being in a magazine and I was super stoked and it really motivated to push skating further. Then more and more good things like this kept coming and I’ve never really changed the way I see and feel about skating… I still love it so much. I never thought I would be where I am today and I feel truly honored and happy to be able to do what I love the most and very grateful to everyone that helped me on the way.

How does your average day look in Barcelona?

Pretty random and always different. If it’s not going on a street mission, I love going to skate at night. But some days I’ll go in the morning, it really depends on my mood and what friends are down to skate. I try to avoid times where there’s many people on the streets as much as possible because I’ve been living right in the center of Barcelona for a few years now and it can be very overwhelming for me. I love to push around at night when the streets are kind of empty and skate my favorite spot, Ciutadella plaza.

I fortunately have so much stuff to keep me busy at home like painting, taking care of my plants or studying something I like so if I’m not skating around with my friends or on a street mission, I’m quite happily entertaining myself at home.

How would you describe the difference in scenes between Argentina and Barcelona?

To be honest, not a big fan of any of them. In my personal experience, I never felt safe in the Argentinian scene where being underage I was harassed by many people related to the industry such as filmers, pro skaters, skate shop owners and so on – when the only thing I wanted to do was enjoy skating as they were doing. Because I was young and not having a strong family support system I wasn’t that conscious about this behavior but now as a grown woman I feel disgusted and scared for the new generation of girls out there. I don’t care how good you are in skating if you’re a shit person.

The Barcelona skate scene also has similar problems where female skaters are passively forced to be silenced to fit in in the industry and in the community. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to speak your truth and defend your rights without being judged and victimized. As a result, I don’t care about being liked by anyone anymore and especially by people with this mentality.

Aside from this, it can also be overwhelming because there’s so many skaters and so many different crews, so sometimes there’s a really weird vibe of competition and trying to be the coolest. For me, that takes the fun out of skating, I just try to stick to my friends and to the people I consider genuine and nice.

However, fortunately we also have amazing people and movements in the scene fighting against this situation such as girls_invasionsb and orgfemskatearg. These movements really helped me to make it through really challenging situations as a young woman. In BCN we have the amazing women from asiplanchaba and Dolores Magazine doing a fantastic job in supporting female skating. I would like to say thanks from the bottom of my heart to them for trying to make skateboarding a safe place for everyone and inspiring me to do the same.

What changes would she like to see in the women’s skateboarding scene?

I think everyone can do better to try to make skateboarding a safe place for everyone.

For me if you haven’t done “anything wrong” but you support people who messed up or you just look the other way in terms of any form of abuse, you are also part of this problem. It’s the same as “not taking sides” – that is not a solution and it’s not being neutral, you’re actually making it totally clear as to what side you’re on.

I think everyone in the community can make a change with simple actions like being respectful, educating yourself about these topics and trying to generate awareness to the people that surround you. I feel it’s also very important to have the awareness, support and help from people in the industry – I think that’s sadly missing right now.

How has skating in different places shaped your style and approach?

I think it helped me a lot. Especially coming from a small town with only one skatepark and tricky street spots, moving to a city like BCN where you have every kind of obstacle and the city itself is like a big skatepark with the most perfect floor! I feel I’ve learned so much and my skating changed a lot since I moved to Barcelona – I’m having a lot of fun with it.

What have you been working on recently?

I’ve been working on a Vans project for the past year and on some personal projects. Outside of skating, I’ve been painting a lot and also trying to get my driving license and searching for a new place to live – I just got my US Visa so I am excited to head over there and do some trips.

How would you describe the vibe within the Vans skate team?

The vibe within the EU team is amazing, the people on the team are not only incredible skaters in their own right but everyone is such a beautiful person on an individual basis. I feel very safe around them and incredibly happy to have the opportunity to go on trips together. I think we are all lucky to have Chris Pfanner and to have had Alex Forbes working for Vans Skate it wouldn’t be the same without all the work and the passion they’ve put in! so I’m truly honored and grateful to be considered by them and to be part of such a beautiful team!

What and who inspires you in skating?

So many things and people but I would say my biggest inspiration in and out of skating are my friends and my loved ones!

And outside of skating? What gets you fired up?

Lately it has been oil painting. I’m just obsessed with it. I started about a year and a half ago when I was going through a hard time and since then, I haven’t stopped. I feel like along the years, I’ve tried so many different things. I love trying and learning new stuff but I have never found something that I like as much as skating until now. I can spend so many hours painting and I feel like it’s my safe space.

We understand you like planning…. Tell us a little about that?

I think it just comes from my anxiety and desire to have everything under control. I always liked having agendas since I was a kid but I took it to the next step when I moved to Spain because of all the bureaucratic procedures I had to deal with. It helped me a lot to have these agendas for a clear vision of life! I found it really helped with my mental health.

What are your goals?

For the near future, my goal is to travel and to live experiences as much as I can. To learn new things, study things I’m interested in, take care of my physical and mental health and to be at peace with myself. For the long term, it’s my dream to have a little house in the woods, to be a mum and to have my own family.

How does it feel to be a role model in your community?

To be honest I do not consider myself like a role model and I’m also not trying to be one. But I am aware of the visibility I have with social media and the influence I could have on others girls, especially the younger ones. So I just try to be myself, with the good and the bad but always trying to be better because I think that’s the most important thing we can convey to them: to be themselves no matter what others think and to do what makes them happy!

In Barcelona and further afield, women’s skating and general equality are growing. It’s lovely to see how women are inspiring other women. It’s not about competition, it’s about pushing together, teaching and learning from each other.

Favorite Vans shoe to skate in?

Half Cab and Gilbert Crockett High

Any last words? A message for the internet? A message to your former self?

Enjoy life. Drink water. Take care of yourself and your loved ones