Yoga Rider

Part of Betclic Portugal’s “Defy the Odds” campaign, this short documentary tells the story of Downhill Skateboarder Alexandre Moreno as he recalls his journey into the sport and reveals how his Yoga practice has been decisive in his performance.

Client: Betclic Portugal // Agency: Funnyhow // Creative Director at Funnyhow: Cesar Sousa // Project Manager at Funnyhow: João Lopes Gonçalves // Creatives at Funnyhow: André Moreira, Leonardo Fernandez, and João Bronze // An el-Hey Films production // Executive Producer: Miguel Coimbra // Head of Production: Inês Santos // Script, Research, and Interviews: Maria João Venâncio // Directed by: Marco Espirito Santo // Cinematography: Alfra Teixeira and Marco Espirito Santo // Camera equipment and support: a-Tundra Filmes // Camera Assistant: Alexandre Azevedo // a-Tundra Filmes producer: Alex Barone // Additional Shots by: Luis “Porkito” Pereira and Alexandre Moreno // Drone Pilot and footage: Claudio Corrêa // Editor: Inês Soares // Sound Design: Victor Mingates at Ameba // Music: Mikkel Solnado at Great Dane Studios // Colorist: Marco Amaral at The Yellow Color // Post-Production: Miguel Bandeira at Musgo // Featuring the riders: Cristiano Medusa, Victor “Vic” Afonso, Luís “Porkito” Pereira, André, Gonçalo “Gon”, Pedro Roque, Joana Tomás, Pedro Gois, Sandra Lucas, Diogo Osório, Paulo Madureira, Lourenço Crispim, João Cruz, Manuel Cruz, Marco Guerreiro, Hugo Moreira, Bruno Sousa, José Zenha, Rodrigo Zenha, Jaime Ribeiro, Cristiano Medusa, Tozé, António “Peter” Tomás, Edgar “Mogli”, Pedro Silva, Jota, Jorge Pernes, Joãozinho Flipon, Diogo “Didó” Alexandre. // Special Thanks to: Pedro Gois, Cristiano Medusa, João Delgado and the Gravity team, Ana Carqueijeiro at Ameba, and Ana at The Yellow Color.

Every Thursday a group of friends come together late into the night to skate the empty streets of Lisbon in a ritual they affectionately call “Niterides”. Downhill skateboarders and in-line skaters, male and female, push each other hard down quiet residential streets, through tunnels and along overpasses, laying claim to the city. When cops show up, they just move on to the next spot and start all over again. After all, they’re not delinquents; most have jobs and families and all that regular stuff, they just happen to like bombing down empty streets at night. Between spots they review their runs, and laugh away their daily troubles over some beers. I was lucky enough to tag along with this tribe for a few nights thanks to the film’s protagonist Alexandre Moreno, and develop the film from there, accompanying him in training and in competitions, and ultimately discovering how one unlikely key element has made all the difference to his performance and mindset: Yoga. Special thanks to Alexandre once again for his generosity, kindness and trust with myself and the whole team in making this film.