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

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Juan Mendez - Backyard treasures of Tenerife - from Dear Friends Videozine Issue II (coming 13.03.2026)

With:
Juan Mendez https://www.instagram.com/juanpablorotava
Mirko Belleri https://www.instagram.com/bellerimirko
Angel Garcia
Joaquin Sommerschield https://www.instagram.com/joaqu_invertula
Zombie Stu
Jose de la Rosa https://www.instagram.com/josedelarosa_tnf
Raul Lorenzo https://www.instagram.com/raul_hans_
Jozef Szklaruk https://www.instagram.com/pukethedawg

Filmed and edited by Lars Greiwe https://www.instagram.com/primitive_future_

Dear Friends Videozine @DearFriendsVideozine

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