When we first heard about Hypnosis and Meggy Santos, we were approached almost simultaneously by two different parties. First, Vanessa Konte hit us up asking to take a look. Secondly, Lea Meny came to us with the request and asked if this project might be something for our channels, seeing that we had been a home for FLINTA-based projects before. Needless to say, our interests were piqued…

Text by Roland Hoogwater.

Video by Meggy Santos.

Photos by Meggy Santos & Mica Figueras.

So, with those two recommendations, we went about watching the video and, as we went along, questions arose, and it wasn’t about 9 minutes later we asked to speak to the person responsible for the video. Meeting Meggy Santos, answered a few questions immediately. Here was a person who immediately hit us with a strong dose of positive motivation, which is essential if you want to spend your time lying on the ground documenting tricks, dealing with driving to spots and leaving without tricks, and the many hours one is sat behind the computer trying to finish things up, only for the skater to say, “I don’t know if I am feeling the song…”

Besides that, Meggy also told us that the project kind of happened spontaneously, with her being based in Portugal, meeting some people, and flying out to Barcelona to meet them without really knowing them all that well. Still, she said, “I immediately felt at home, like we had known each other for years. They introduced me to a lot of people, and I had a camera with me.” Now, it is essential to note that, after speaking with Meggy for even a short while, one can easily see that she possesses a certain “fade into the background” quality that is beneficial for a documentarian. One of my first questions was about the project being female-driven and if that was a conscious point or something that happened by chance: “It was something that just happened. All the people in the video skate with men as well, but I feel that, when it came to this project, the feeling of being a group of women carries a different type of vibe. Not saying one is better, but they have their differences.”

Obviously, as a male, I won’t ever quite know what that vibe is, but what I can say is that, to me, it seems like if these female-based projects are happening without much thought or marketing behind them, that means we are moving in the right direction. How many male-based videos have we had where including women wasn’t even a thought? It is projects like these that show the growth we, as a sport and subculture, have gone through.

On the topic of support, Al Carrer Skateshop had given the project a deadline due to them hosting a film festival for Hypnosis to premiere at. One of the owners also came on their trip to Mallorca, where the whole crew rented a Winnebago and got most of the project done. Still, it was soon after that Meggy hit a crossroads in the project. She injured her ACL and had to get surgery, which meant she could no longer be the main filmer for the project. This is the moment where her instincts were proven correct; it was the family who took over, many of the skaters finding someone to film with and sending the footage to Meggy so the project could get finished. “I was really happy that everyone sent in stuff. There were a lot of different types of cameras used, which normally can be a bit of a ‘thing’ for some people watching. But I felt it was important to keep these types of things in the project, because I felt it fit that vibe of doing things together. That is what the project is about.”

I think we can only agree: it seems that this is the start of something, a labour of love, and something it seems all parties will benefit from. We surely hope to see the Hypnosis crew and Meggy, in particular, grow and build something that many can look back on fondly. This is the start!