“There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat;
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.”

― William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

What a difference a year makes: in September 2024, Egoitz Bijueska made his first-ever World Skateboarding Tour finals when he joined the final 8 on the Sunday night showdown which was the 2024 World Championship in Ostia, Italy.

Prior to that point, he had never made it beyond the quarterfinals- stage (his previous best result was 23rd)- and he understandably looked a little nervous.

Having made all the spectacular parts of his run back then but struggling to complete them, he had to settle for a commendable fifth place.

What that experience seemed to do for the fourteen-year-old from Bilbao, Spain, however was to break through a psychological ceiling about belonging at the top table of what is, after all, the most punishing discipline within the least-forgiving boardsport of them all. Longest forty-five seconds of your life out there in the concrete waves.

For belong at that table Egoitz surely now does: speaking with Spanish coach Alain Goikoetxea on the morning of June’s World Cup Rome Park finals, we both agreed that despite the 900-debuting Gui Khury and a suddenly razor-sharp-looking Soya Inomata, Egoitz looked like he could actually win outright in just his second WST final.

And so he did. Not only did he, but he did so even though the new Golden Run format gave the top five one last go-around. He didn’t need his. By the time he dropped in on his last run, it was already a victory lap after what could quite happily be the performance of anybody else’s lifetime.

A backside tailslide shove-it out around that overhead deep-end, pool coping’ed corner pocket mid-run is just one of those signs of unteachable greatness which makes Egoitz something remarkable even coming from Europe’s deepest seam of concrete (arguably, any-) skateboarding talent.

With time on his side and good luck on the injury front, there is no telling what he could achieve. Genuinely, that is how good he is.

A star is born right under our noses as Spanish skateboarding once more issues forth a new great to join the others, his coach included. Lucky are we who get to witness it.

We re-connected the suddenly-everywhere teenager to hear what he has to say about high scores, battling nerves and avoiding wheelbite!

Ph: Kanights

Hi, Egoitz- can we start with the basics? Who are you, where do you come from and all that?

Hi, I´m Egoitz Bijueska- I´m fourteen years old, and I´m from the Basque Country/ Spain; I started skating when I was seven.

Ph: Kanights

We have to start with the obvious question: why do so many good skateboarders come from the Basque Country?

I think It’s because the influence of surfing in the Basque Country; there is so much surf culture here, and I guess that’s had a big impact on skateboarding- meaning there more skaters here, than in other parts of Spain.

Ph: Kanights

So let’s go back to June. You won in a contest with golden runs, 900’s, Soya Inomata came out of nowhere and could have won, Hampus Winberg could have won- and you won with a run to spare AND logged the highest-ever WST score in Men’s Park during the semi's: talk to us about that experience?

It was amazing. Every one did it so good, it was a really hard semifinal and final…900´s, 720´s, crazy tricks- it was really hard to win but it finally happened- and I´m so happy with that.

About to the highest score- that happened in the semifinals; I failed on the two first runs, and everyone was skating so hard and scoring so high, I just had one run left… so I was so nervous, but I decided to put together all my hardest tricks in order to to make the cut and I landed it. That run scored so highly- I´m so happy with that.

Ph: Kanights

You looked nervous in the World Championship finals in Ostia back in September 2024, what has changed for you in between times?

I always get nervous, but it’s true that this year I was a little less nervous than last year, because last year I was thirteen years old- and it was my first final.

Ph: Kanights

Backside Tailslide Shove-It through the corner- how do you avoid wheelbite?

I don’t know- I just do it like I would normally do that trick; it’s just practice, practice- a lot of times, until it is consolidated.

Ph: Mark Dillon

There has been a lot of local media interest about your victory in Rome, how is it being in newspapers and on TV?

I’m super-happy to have appeared in the media, and to have been able to give visibility to skateboarding in Spain- since it’s not a very well-known sport there.

Ph: Kenji

How do you feel about Vert versus Park skating? Do you have a preference?

I love both Vert and Park, but if I had to choose one… although I’ve started going to international Vert competitions, I would choose Park, because that’s what I skate the most.

Ph: Kanights

What’s the best skatepark you’ve ever skated? Just one!

The best skatepark that I ever skated… it´s probably the old CATF, now Level Up USA, in Vista, California.

Ph: Kanights

What do you want to do with skateboarding? Do you have any dreams you want to fulfil, or just enjoy the ride?

I love skateboarding and I’m really enjoying it a lot. My biggest dreams are to take part in the X-Games, and go to the Olympic Games.

Ph: Kanights

Who, in your opinion, is the best skateboarder out there today?

There are so many good skaters, but the ones that inspire me the most are Tom Schaar, and Keegan Palmer.

Ph: Kanights

Give us some words of wisdom, shout-outs, or something you want people to know?

My advice would be… that no matter how difficult skateboarding is, you have to keep going. Whether it’s with a trick, training for a competition, or doing a video part... because it’s really worth it. And- above all- don’t stop having fun, and skating with people!

 Ph: Kenji