Mery Muñoz

Sobre

"Skating is my life, my art, my everyday therapy against stress, and what makes me connect with the world and the people around me. But most importantly, it makes me connect with the happiest version of myself."

Mery Muñoz, our queen of aggressive inline skating. Based in Barcelona, Mery is one of the most passionate skaters we know. She puts her whole heart and soul into every trick, making this sport a real holistic experience.

Team SkatePro Q&A

Q: How do you handle pressure during competitions?
A: Last year, sports performance anxiety started to be an issue. So, during competitions, I really try to connect with my inner soul, which loves to compete and show people what I’m able to do. Breathing and meditation are a big part of my preparation in the moments just before a competition, your mindset can really define your performance. Smiling at the ramps and the crowd makes it easier. Nowadays, when I’m out filming and someone passes by to watch me doing my tricks, I take it as a little exercise for the show moments. Every day it’s a new challenge and I love to put myself out of my comfort zone…contests are a good way of doing this. So, although sometimes you go through a lot of nerves, once it’s over, it’s always nice to share the vibes with the rest of the competitors, like it's oveeeer! Let’s celebrate all together, regardless of the results.

Q: You know the skating community inside-out, and we can say you witnessed the birth of freeskating as a distinct discipline: since you excel in both freestyle and aggressive skating, what kind of vibes do you get from each different style?
A: I’ve always thought both disciplines go together because freeskating is one of the best backgrounds for aggressive: it puts you in good shape, and it’s good for cardio and agility… I love both of them. Combining freeskating and parkour has brought me a lot of new creative tricks, which I can transfer back to aggressive in another way, even combining with grinds. So I like to practice both: sometimes I skate with my Aeon aggressive skates for hours, filming, then I get home, I switch to freeskates, and go out again to roll without any pressure. That’s the moment when I just enjoy my music, or I run with my dog around the city. I wouldn’t be the skater I am today if I hadn’t done so much freeskating. Having released my pro model of freeskates with Powerslide is one of my favorite things about being part of the Powerslide team. I’m so grateful to have had the same awesome opportunity as Nick Lomax did.

Q: Action sports (some might argue, sports in general) are often seen as a male-dominated territory: what could athletes and the industry do to make it a more neutral and inclusive common ground?
A: I’m proud to say that in Spain we have now more and more girls that are bringing a lot of light to the future of the female scene. I’m starting to see that, let’s say, 50-70% of the events I go to now pay women and men equally if they win. So, all I can say is that everyone, including the men in charge of big events and sponsors, has made our sport nearly equal for female and male riders. However, we need more female opinions in relevant companies, events, and more female judges so that we as a community can give the world what everyone has been waiting for. Starting from making skates in smaller sizes (not only for females but also for juniors) to having more female team managers, and so on. I’m very positive about the future, and I will put all my energy into making it a reality.

Q: Besides being an incredible skater with a crazy repertoire of tricks, you are also an audio-visual producer: what are your creativity sources? And what is your favorite video?
A: At first, I couldn’t believe I could make a living as a pro rider, so I’ve always had a plan B as a video maker. I worked for many years filming and editing. I like to think of myself as an artist more than an athlete, studying audiovisuals made me see life with different eyes. I was very bad at communicating with words when I was younger, and I used to love expressing my feelings with video art. No dialogue, just music, and images. My inspirations have been mainly video clips from my favorite artists. This year I was lucky to participate as a stunt specialist on a Netflix movie: I would love to keep in touch with this world, as I realized I love acting and faking slams.

Q: As you might know, your signature freeskates model Next Mery Muñoz Pro 80 from Powerslide occupies a special place in our hearts: how was it to collaborate with this epic brand?
A: Well, Kenneth Dedeu and I designed both the Aeon & Next skates during quarantine, at the same time. The color was very important for me, as it brought a new hue to our industry. The liner was a special addition on both models, I really love the MyFit 2nd Skin. We already had the ninja logo I did for the Aeon model, so of course, we wanted to add it to this model as well. I chose the Next boot because it’s my favorite freeskate hard boot to jump and do stunts on skates. The aluminum buckle was a must, too. I only changed the color of the plastic part, from black to white, to differentiate the design a bit compared to the Aeon skates. The wheels are the same urethane formula as the Aeon skates because I love them so much! So yes, it was pretty exciting to design the Next Mery Muñoz Pro 80 with my designer and friend, as he really understood what I wanted to accomplish with the color selection. It makes me super happy to see people from all over the world skating with them. Thanks again to everyone involved in the process: Powerslide for making it possible, Rafa for filming like a boss, Raquel for taking care during my injury, Skatepro for selling them, and to everyone who has them and rides them with the same love that I do!!

Q: Injuries are part of the life of every rider, but every new one kind of feels like the first one, and it’s sometimes difficult to conciliate the more-than-necessary downtime to heal with a busy life: do you have a special strategy to deal with them? Did your perception of injuries change with experience?
A: I’ve been very lucky throughout my career, I got mainly just sprains. Until last year, when I nearly broke the hamstrings on my left leg. I’ve learned that it is very important to respect the healing process and take your diet more seriously. As I have a very active life, at first it was a mental shock to not be able to walk for two months. Thankfully, my mind couldn’t stop thinking about skating and learning. Watching videos online and resting your body is never a bad idea if it’s needed to recover before a strong comeback. It was a slow process, but totally worth it. With the help of my physiotherapist, we did an intense rehabilitation and when I was back I felt so grateful for being able to just skate, even without doing tricks… I also started to write and sing some homemade songs with a very cool app. I let all my thoughts out as a therapeutic form of expression. My perception of how lucky we are to be able to do what we love the most has changed. Now I really pay attention to what my body feels after every session. Might be redundant to say it, but stretching after a session is necessary if we want to take care of all our muscles, I really want to keep skating as long as I can. So taking care of the muscles and bones is a must!

Q: You are a major source of inspiration for us all, because of your incredible skills as well as for your involvement in the community: your Blading Camp is the best! How is it to run your own skating academy, and what is the biggest thing that teaching others to skate has taught you?
A: Teaching others made me learn that although our sport is very technical, we can never forget that the way we talk to our minds is also a big part of the physiology behind every movement we learn. So I’ve learned how to talk to every skater that wants to overcome their limits. Teaching at Blading Camp made me learn a lot about different perspectives to overcome every fear. I also learn a lot from all the riders I meet. It makes me so, SO happy to be able to help and teach so many riders from all over the world. Creating my own school in Barcelona, the Rollsport Academy, made me connect with many skaters, no matter if it’s quads, inlines, or fitness skating. Always a pleasure to put my heart into making our community bigger and spreading the love for skating.

Want to get more into Mery's world? Here's her desert island list!

• Movie: Princess Mononoke (1997)
• Book: "The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom", Miguel Ruiz (1997)
• Food: Avocados & bacon