This episode is going downhill fast, as Chela Giraldo joins us to talk about her love of extreme longboarding. She describes her journey from discovering longboarding while working at a skate shop in Bogota, to becoming a competitive downhill racer who reached the top eight women internationally. Chela talks about the unique feeling of downhill longboarding as "flying just inches off the ground" - a moving meditation that combines pure adrenaline with total calm, and requires complete presence. She shares the story of the serious accident where she broke her femur, leading her to retire from competitive racing, only to return to casual skating mere months later. Through longboarding, Chela discovered her competitive nature, learned to trust others, and found a community that shaped her entire social world.

Guest Bio

Chela Girlado (she/her) is a Colombian senior product designer based in Austin, Texas, who recently joined realtor.com to work with their design system team. She specializes in design systems and accessibility, and brings over 10 years of experience across visual, motion, UX, UI, and product design. She’s also a first-time mom to a wild little toddler who keeps her on her toes and when she’s not chasing her around or smothering her with a million kisses, you’ll probably find Chela bombing hills on her longboard — something she’s been doing since 2011.

Links

Chela’s website: https://chelagiraldo.com/

Chela on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chela-giraldo/

Chela on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chelagiraldo

Chela on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HellaChelaaaa/

Chela’s skate videos:

- https://youtu.be/Xnhqy7NVdz8?si=5WM55R76YZG3j3s_

- https://youtu.be/o-alztDnEiQ?si=3yun_tUb9yDRuvKJ

- https://youtu.be/SJX_rrU69jM?si=8sOw3fW64TL8OeOU

- https://youtu.be/SJX_rrU69jM?si=XhQYlBaegxB-fh3t

Credits

Cover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Chela Giraldo Loves Downhill Longboarding