Interview with Lorenzo Guslandi, Italian Slalom Skater

Lorenzo Guslandi lives for slalom skating. The Italian Slalom Skater fell in love with this practice, encouraged by his parents. He will do his best to get the gold at the upcoming 2017 World Roller Games in China. Interview...

Par alfathor
Publié le 21 juillet 2017 - Mis à jour le 3 novembre 2020 - 8775 Lectures - 0 commentaire(s)

Interview

Hello Lorenzo, can you introduce yourself?

Hi, I’m Lorenzo Guslandi, I’m 19 years old and I’m a diabetic guy living in Monza, near Milan. I’m a university student attending a Design of comunication degree, at the same time I love skating and I train as much as I can to be the best skater I can be!

How did you start skating?

I can say that I started skating almost by accident. My neighbors’ sons were taking skating lessons, so I decided to have a go too; but at the beginning I was quite bad and slow at skating, I was not that talented… (laughs) but I was hooked on it, so I kept skating and skating and gradually improved.

Why did you choose slalom skating?

In my first years of skating, jumping was my favorite discipline, as well as skatecross. I was more of an aggressive skater and I didn’t like style slalom because I thought it was for girls; but my parents pushed me into trying it, because they thought I could be good at it, and they were right! As soon as my first slalom lesson, I fell in love with it!
I have to say a big thanks to my parents for being the skater I am today! If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have started freestyle slalom.

Did you try other practices?

I consider myself as an ecletic skater because I can be quite good at every discipline. I tried high jump, style jump, agressive skating, skate cross, slides… but nothing gave me the sense of peace and creativity that I find in freestyle slalom!

How did you decide to try pair slalom?

I’d been practicing style slalom for one year when Tiziano Ferrari offered me to do pair slalom with him! I was still a beginner at the time, and Tiziano was almost at the top of his career. I don’t know why he chose me, why he made that crazy decision, but I must thank him because doing pair slalom with him made me improve a lot! We did pair slalom from 2010 to 2015 together, the 2015 WFSC in Turin being our last pair competition.

Lorenzo Guslandi In 2015, we both knew that it was the time to put an end to our pair, and I started working hard with my new pair slalom partner, Valerio Degli Agostini! Quickly, we found confidence (skating everyday together helped) and soon our performance was ready!

It was great to skate together with Valerio and it is still now, because we both learn a lot from each other! I can learn from his quickness and he can learn from my technique! At the same time, Tiziano now supervises our pair and gives us feedback to perform the best we can :)

How did you get in touch with your sponsor Powerslide?

When I started practising slalom, my skating model was Tiziano Ferrari. He was the best in my team, and even the best in the whole Italy! He was skating with Powerslide skates, so I wanted to skate with the same skates he had! That’s why I’ve always skated with Powerslide skates and never tried any other brand :)

After some years, Tiziano saw I was getting better and better, and he introduced me to Powerslide! I remember that in September 2013, after a competition in Busto, Tomasz Szymszyk came to me talk about a sponsorship deal with Powerslide! I was so happy and excited about it!

Since that moment, my involvement in skate testing and production grew larger and larger. Together with Powerslide, we create some of the best slalom skates. And a few months ago, we changed the World of freestyle, showing that it is possible and awesome to slalom with a 3-wheel set-up (84mm), mounted on a Trinity frame and TAU boots! Everyone was shocked the first time they saw me skating with that set-up. But now they all understand that this could really be the future of freestyle, and it feels great to be a pioneer in that!

What are your goals for the 2017 World Roller Games?

Of course I want to get the World title in pair slalom again, as I achieved last year! But I am working to get the Gold medal in single events too.
At the same time, I want to perform really good and impress everyone that will be watching me.

What are your project for the future?

In the skating world, I want to improve more and more and create new signature moves!
I also I want to be a role model for young generations, and pass on the love of skating that I have.
Pretty soon I plan on shooting and posting skating tutorials on my Youtube Channel and Social Medias to help people improve!

Free speech: anything to add?

I want to thank my family for supporting and helping me everyday to perform at my best. I also want to thank my skating friends who help me and push me to go further and improve my skills!

Valerio Degli Agostini and Lorenzo Guslandi

Fact sheet

Lorenzo Guslandi Name: Lorenzo
Given name: Guslandi
Date of birth: September 11, 1997
Birthplace: Monza, Italy
Size: 174cm
Weight: 64kg
Country: Italy
Residence: Monza
First steps on skates: Around 2004 – started slalom in 2009
Category: Senior
Studies: University of design of comunication
Strength: Fully dedication to what I love
Weakness: « No soche scrivere– forse so che sono troppo ossessionato hahaha! »
Other sports: Basketball, tennis, swimming, judo, volley, skateboarding
Last movie seen: Intouchables
Favourite music: Look right in now
Video games: I have never played video games much (laughs)
Books: I don’t have a favorite book, but I like comics and fantasy books
I like: Skating! and drawing :)
I don’t like: Wasting my time doing nothing
Quality: Obsessed about what I love
Flaw: lazy when I have to do something I don’t like
Club/team: Powerslide and RollerMacherio
Languages: Italian and English
Alcohol or fruit juice? Fruit juice
Beach or mountains? I love both, even if they are totally different
Morning or evening? Morning
Cheese or dessert? Dessert
Rap, metal or techno? Techno
Football or rugby? Basketball!