Kiko has been skateboarding for approximately three years, with his owner Abel Perez Cruz saying he was a natural and it was meant to be from the moment Kiko first stepped onto his board.
Whilst a bulldog confidently atop a skateboard is not the most common sight, Kiko makes it look effortless, as though all of dogkind should aspire to join him.
“It was supposed to be. One day he tries it and he likes it and I see he can do it.” Abel said. The dynamic skateboarding duo can often be found wheeling their way around Whitley Bay, but occasionally they venture out to new skating territories around the North East.
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“Sometimes I go to North Shields, one park close to Heaton to try to do different areas with Kiko, but Whitley Bay is the easiest for me and it’s beautiful so, why not?”
“I had one other dog before Kiko that was also doing skateboarding, but with Kiko, it was instantly he was good. When I saw that he was good I started to try and challenge him and try to see what he can do the best.”
“My favourite thing is to see him basically take the direction where he wants, he can save himself from hitting a wall and turn away. That, for me, shows that he’s got control of the board and that is truly amazing to see from an animal.”
Abel is a tattoo artist and the owner of El Rebel Tattoos in Shiremoor. Originally from Barcelona, he has been living in the UK for seven years around Newcastle and North Tyneside. His passion for skateboarding was ignited at the age of 16 and is such an important aspect of his life, that he could think of nothing better than sharing it with his best friend.
“Basically I tried to keep something I like to do with my dog and try to enjoy it, both together. Depending on how busy I am, I try to do skateboarding with Kiko at least once a week, sometimes more but sometimes less.”
“He enjoys it, he likes it and basically that’s it, he has fun. I try to do it as often as possible because it’s the only time when he has freedom. When he is skateboarding, he is like completely another dog and that is something amazing about the skateboarding, it calms the fear, calms the beast.”
“I think Kiko thinks that it’s a game between him and me, but sometimes I cannot do skateboarding by myself because I need to keep an eye on what he is doing.”
Kiko’s professional development in the world of skateboarding looks promising. Initially gaining a reputation as a viral sensation across the North East two years ago, the young dog is now sponsored by the Spanish skateboard company Limonero – which translates to ‘LemonTree’.
Over the summer, Abel plans to move back to his hometown of Barcelona with Kiko and take him on a tour through Spain visiting various skateparks under his professional sponsorship. The talented young dog certainly has a bright future ahead as he takes his skateboarding career international.
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