‘Actually no, because somebody has to take care of the local scene down here.’
Diego San Martin
October 2023
Where are you from?
Hey, what’s up. I’m Diego San Martin and I am from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In Vol. 16 I covered the story of two Argentinian skate photographers that moved to Barcelona. Has it ever crossed your mind to leave your country for a bigger skate industry?
Actually no, because somebody has to take care of the local scene down here. I mean I had the chances,but I decided to stay.
What is the skate scene like in Argentina?
Well, down here is pretty good at some point you can have sponsor,or you just can skate and enjoy it. I compare Buenos Aires to New York. We have everything down here, plus the culture. Lately the economy is not helping and most of the sponsored skaters I know took on side jobs, like bartending or cooking, working at skateshops or teaching skate at local skateparks. It’s not easy right now,plus the big companies like Nike or Adidas fired the whole team and left the country.
Argentina’s economy has been struggling for years if not decades. How do people manage through those crises?
We are going day by day. It’s pretty hard as always. We are still going no matter what. Lots of my close friends moved somewhere else. Pretty sad for me. We have such a beautiful country with the worst politicians in the world.
Any local talented skaters that deserve a call out?
Christian Bica, he is the best.
Assuming you started off skateboarding at what point did you move to photography and why?
So, I started to shoot because my parents were into photography, since that, I always had a camera at home.
How did you get involved into skateboarding and when was that?
I started to skate around 1988-89, and at that time we didn’t have much information about it. First person I saw was some random dude skating down the street and I was like, I want that. After that I guess my life change for good.
‘It’s not easy right now, plus the big companies like Nike or Adidas fired the whole team and left the country.’
Who are some of the photographers that inspire you (locally and internationally)?
Well there’s a few, Bryce Kanights is one of them. And from here I really like Kevin Enis. He is one of the best at a really young age.
Proudest moment as a photographer?
Covers baby covers (laughing). I guess when you have a cover shoot or a really good ad campaign for a brand you like. It happened to me a few times. Cheers to that!
What was your first cover shot and for which mag?
My first cover was in 2005 for the magazine ‘Buenos Muchachos’. It was a kickflip down 15 stairs. This mag has been around for like 25 years taking care of the scene with advertisings and interviews of the local skaters and local brands.
Most embarrassing?
Flashes don’t work!!
What is your take on skateshots that have not been landed?
Go land that before you run the photo.
Is there any post production you do? If so, how far do you go?
I try to keep as natural as I can. Don’t like to much postproduction in photos.
What else do you do if not shooting photos?
Well when I don’t take photos or skating, I take care of my clothing company witch I started almost two years ago. The name is Nor Goods and you can follow us on Instagram and check out what I do.
Last question. If you could interview one person, who would it be and why?
Mark Gonzales I guess, true inspiration.
‘Christian Bica, he is the best.’
