Backyard treasures of Tenerife with Juan Mendez

Juan grew up in La Orotava, a valley in the northwest of the Island and started skating in the late 80s. Juan’s family owns a historic finca in the mountains. When we first met he took us there to show us around. The place was gorgeous, a beautiful old finca with a lush garden terrace overlooking the whole valley. An orchard behind the house and below it a wild overgrown area that had served different purposes in the past - one of them being an easy solution to dump your trash. Juan said he thought about building some concrete there and I remember thinking 'good luck with that man' cause it was nothing but a thick jungle of thorn bushes. You couldn’t see at all that there was some kind of terrace underneath. It’s a pity I didn’t bother to take a photo back then, because if you look at what Juan has made of the place - it's unreal. He put in many hours to clear out all the green and discovered lots of old trash underneath, give it a 100 years more and this would have been an archeological dig. After a lot of hard work he was left with a new terrace and started building the first bits with the help of a few friends, developing his concrete skills along the way. Over the course of a few years Juan transformed this once inaccessible space into one of the prettiest pieces of backyard construction you can imagine - a private paradise-garden-backyard-ramp-orchard. If you get the chance to visit you'll immediately feel the magic of the place and Juan will most likely treat you to a juice made of oranges that he just picked or hand you a cold bud thats been waiting for you in the fridge. I was lucky to return a few of times and met his good friend Mirko, who in turn had also transformed a bit of planet earth into a his backyard paradise - a covered wooden ramp with a pizza oven instead of a banana tree. They are brothers from different mothers and the nicest guys, true shredders doing it for the fun of doing it. I feel blessed for meeting them and I’m grateful for the chance to film this part. Thank you and much love. Lars ————————— Juan Mendez - Backyard treasures of Tenerife - from Dear Friends Videozine Issue II (coming 13.03.2026) With: Juan Mendez   / juanpablorotava   Mirko Belleri   / bellerimirko   Angel Garcia Joaquin Sommerschield   / joaqu_invertula   Zombie Stu Jose de la Rosa   / josedelarosa_tnf   Raul Lorenzo   / raul_hans_   Jozef Szklaruk   / pukethedawg   Filmed and edited by Lars Greiwe   / primitive_future_   Dear Friends Videozine ‪@DearFriendsVideozine‬ #dearfriends #skatevideo #skatediy #diyskatepark #diyskatespots #confusionmagazine