Eipril form Argentina backside 50-50 grind.

On September 5, as part of TAKEOVER (Barcelona), we took over the streets for a Cash4Tricks session. The idea was simple: no pressure, no podium, no winners. Just a group of people skating some of our favourite spots around the city, with cash going directly into the pockets of the skaters who were throwing down.

More than anything, we wanted to create an opportunity for people who had never tried street skating before to give it a go. Skating unfamiliar spots can be intimidating, especially when you are doing it alone. So we wanted to make it easier: find some good spots, bring a bunch of skaters together, and create an atmosphere where everyone could try things, learn from each other and have fun.

Of course, we were also very happy to have some seriously talented skaters joining us. And they did not disappoint.

Spot one: warming up

We had planned a route through several different spots, each with its own obstacles and challenges. The first stop featured two long, clean metal ledges, perfect for getting everyone warmed up.

Eipril, from Argentina, was one of the first to get things moving, skating fast and throwing technical grinds including backside souls and acids. Bomba Hache started firing out fast lines and getting the crowd properly involved, while Ryan was already making people cheer.

GSA got the camera out, spotting with the fisheye while the session started to build. More and more people jumped in, trying grinds and slides and getting comfortable with the spots. Special mention to Isa, Sany, Randi, Kalavera, Toni and everyone else who got involved from the beginning.

The whole point was to skate, and it didn't take long for everyone to get into it.

Manuals, slides and a little splash

The second spot was a long manny pad with grindable edges on both sides. It quickly turned into a playground for manuals, slides and creative lines.

Cai showed us some incredible manuals, including one particularly stylish double-edge manual that switched into a one-foot inside-edge position. Carlota, Aylen, Michelle, Bomba and Maca also put together some great manual lines.

Nearby, another group started sessioning a P-rail next to a water pond. Tania, Milgiuto, Isa and others kept working on tricks while everyone tried to stay cool under the Barcelona sun.

Randi, apparently not particularly concerned about getting wet, decided to take a frontside slide directly into the water. It was too hot not to!

Two levels, endless possibilities

By the time we reached the third spot, everyone was properly warmed up. This one was a two-level concrete ledge, and it turned out to be one of the most fun spots of the day.

Nobody wasted much time getting started. The heat was intense and everyone was sweating like crazy, but the session was immediately on.

Maca and Eipril were hitting the ledges at full speed, while Julie, visiting from France, started working on transfers from one ledge to the other. Ryan and Toni brought out more technical tricks, and Bomba Hache landed a double axel grind all the way to the end.

A special shout-out to Carlos Daniel and Carlota for constantly pushing themselves, and to Cai, who kept grinding the rough side of the ledge. At one point, a particularly scary face plant could have easily ended the session. Instead, Cai got back up and kept skating.

That pretty much summed up the attitude of the day.

Pushing the limits

The fourth spot was a flat rail that sat above knee height. It was definitely less beginner-friendly, but by this point the session had its own momentum and people were keen to see what they could do.

Eipril, Aylen and Ryan started grinding the rail, followed by Julie with a crazy frontside slide. Sany kept pushing herself until she locked in a mizu grind, while Ragnaroll pulled a 50-50 to frontside slide transfer onto the other rail.

The cash kept flowing, the tricks kept coming and the crowd kept getting louder.

But eventually, the sun started to disappear.

The final spot

By the time we reached the last spot, it was getting dark. The final challenge was a stair set with a high, steep down rail.

This was the point where most people sat down to watch. Only the bravest, or perhaps the most stubborn, kept skating.

Aylen started throwing gaps and steezy judo airs. Bomba kept going relentlessly, putting down 180 grab gaps and taking some seriously nasty falls before finally landing the fakie 360.

Eipril and Ryan kept attacking the rail with jumps and axle grinds, including a few spectacular falls with sparks flying. Ragna locked in a 50-50 down the rail.

And then there was Maca. She made everything look completely effortless, throwing a 180 gap, a fakie zero gap and a fakie 360 like it was just another warm-up session.

By now it was properly dark. The final tricks were landed, the last bills were handed out, and Fisiotxell added a special prize to finish things off.

Some of the group then headed to the skatepark for one last session and a few drinks, because apparently skating all day in the Barcelona heat wasn't enough.

A competition that felt like a session

This has been the first roller skating street competition of this scale and level, but honestly, it felt like a session with friends. That was exactly what we wanted.

Cash4Tricks was about encouraging people to get out on the streets, try something new, cheer for each other and enjoy skating together. Having skaters with so much experience in the session helped push the level, but just as important were the people trying their first street tricks, taking their first falls and finding the confidence to try again.

With around 40 people joining throughout the day, and skaters coming from Spain, France, the USA, Argentina, the UK and beyond, we couldn't have asked for a better response.

And yes, we're very happy that we got to put some money into the pockets of skaters along the way.

Thank you

None of this would have happened without the people who helped make it possible.

Special thanks to Katja and Sany for all their help, GSA and Xavi for filming and photography, and everyone who came out to skate, watch, cheer, film, photograph, help or simply hang out.

And a huge thank you to SOLQUADS, your roller skating shop in Barcelona, whose support made Cash4Tricks possible.

This was only TAKEOVER day 1, and we still had another exciting day of events ahead!

Rollfolk CASH4TRICKS Barcelona 2026