When I speak to people about their year so far, 2023 seems to be a tumultuous one for most. Everything seems to be up and running again and at such a pace, with many ups and downs. When speaking to the Fotta crew this Spring about the potential girls trip that would take place, this was a massive UP to look forward to this year. Not only because I love nothing more than travelling with skateboarding and meeting new people, but it would also take place in the beautiful South of Italy which has been on my bucket list for a while. On a personal level it would also be my first trip back after recovering from knee surgery. So this was definitely going to be a highlight of the year but also maybe a bit of a challenge at times too.

The crew was comprised of eleven girls, eight from all across Italy, myself from the UK, Tania from Argentina now residing in Barcelona and Ella from Ukraine currently residing in Rome. The age range also started from sixteen to thirty-two with some more familiar with the concept of a skate trip and for others this would mark their first time getting in the van. Not only for most but for Albi, our filmer, and Fede, the photographer, this would also be their first ever all-girls trip and they were very much outnumbered with the guy to girl ratio. To add to the less familiar menagerie of this project, the skate trip was in part funded by Italian make-up brand, Clio, who aptly have a mascara called 360FLIP.

Whilst an all-girl skate trip funded by a make-up brand might seem pretty cliché, the vast majority of us were incredibly stoked on a little goodie bag from the brand, photographer included, who got a beautiful makeover one morning before we headed out to skate a ditch in the middle of the Italian desert. “Oh my lips feel weird!” Fede got that plump-up lip gloss on the go.

Yes there may have been a few morning makeovers but do not judge a book by its cover or a face by the make-up, as this was a legit trip, like all skate trips I know. The ingredients may be different but the recipe would make for the same dish; getting in the van, turning up to a spot, stacking clips and photos and the end goal being this very article in a skate mag with a video edit to be released alongside it too. I must add that this being a Fotta trip first and foremost, a staple ingredient to the trip must comprise of at least one Gnocchi night with the crew, which turned out amazing thanks to the expertise of Marta and Sara.

This quite unique line-up for the trip got me thinking about how skating itself is always quite attention seeking whether we want it to be or not. Twelve girls and two guys infiltrating some of the less skate-known streets of Southern Italy and this scene is probably even more attention seeking and seemingly bizarre to the average onlooker than usual. But like most skate trips you find yourself in scenarios and mixing with characters that tend to be equally as mad and entertaining and this trip promised just that.

The tour kicked off with a beautiful red slappy curb Fotta and that “Off The Wall” brand made prior to the tour, to dump in the middle of a beautifully smooth flat ground spot overlooked by what looks like a fort. The perfect concrete bouncing the 35°C heat onto us all as we all try to get our slappy game on. No one was about at this time to query what on earth we were doing this time round. But even by skating terms, to be able to leave a red curb in a picturesque spot without any onlookers questioning you or getting in trouble with local authorities is definitely unusual.

A spot sourced by Italian skate king Jacopo (that Jacopo, n.d.r.) via a Google Maps hunt and only previously skated by the Samurai Safari crew provided us a ditch in the middle of nowhere without anyone there to question what we’re doing. Everyone was skating in peak heat for a solid couple of hours with little to no shade. Loads of clips later we’re all feeling pretty smoked, particularly Fede and Lucrezia who seem to have picked up some sort of suspect illness, and Marta, who was just now starting to feel better after a severe case of dengue fever, picked up on her recent trip to Costa Rica. Trooping on, we head out to the streets for more, skating ‘till it gets dark and we’re all hungry. But dropping the camera to squeeze in a skate for himself, being too hyped on the incredible street flat bars, Albi has a go, only to fall weirdly on his hand. Unsure as to whether or not it’s broken, we head to a pizza spot next door for what turns out to be the best pizza spot in Taranto. We manage to take over a solid chunk of the restaurant on an outside table despite it being a busy Saturday night. It starts to rain and we’re ready to eat the pizza round the back with a crate for a table and the floor for a seat, but looking slightly rogue the staff managed to accommodate us inside. Due to his injury Albi can no longer drive the van and so an ill Fede gets behind the driver's seat and Marta behind the wheel of the Dacia to take us home.

The next day it’s a Sunday so the doctors aren’t about to fully put Albi’s hand in a cast, which turns out is actually broken. Instead he is given what can only be described as a hard oven glove shaped plate for his hand with bandages to wrap it up and hold in place and some medication for the pain. Regardless, we continue with the mission for the day and head out to a plaza that is completely empty apart from one Bar Italia Pasticceria Panzerotti da Pino with an outdoor seating area filled with the local men and boys only. An overlooking balcony with doors wide open is also blasting an array of Irish music followed by some classic Coldplay tunes. Despite being a troop of female skaters infiltrating the plaza, with an unwell photographer and filmer who’s propping the camera on his make-shift hand cast, for once I actually feel like we’re not the weirdos in this scenario. I must say though I was weirdly quite hyped on trying to get a clip whilst Chris Martin’s angelic vocals singing Fix You infiltrated the spot.

I must say though I was weirdly quite hyped on trying to get a clip whilst Chris Martin’s angelic vocals singing Fix You infiltrated the spot.

Taking over this peaceful and quiet plaza (bar the loud music from the balcony) we can’t help but bring some attention our way from some of the locals who are most definitely confused with what we’re doing and where on earth we’ve appeared from on a sleepy Sunday afternoon. One of the locals we’re approached by is the guy responsible for blasting the Coldplay and Irish music from his balcony. As well as his life story, he goes on to tell us that he purposely plays the tunes loud as the neighbouring bar owners made the point that they hate it. Another local is continuously riding his town bike around the plaza, going nowhere but fast and dipping round the corner only to come cycling back round but without his top this time. Towards the end of the session we’re introduced to a local who buys us all drinks from the bar and proposes we go to Milan for a filming project sometime, himself being responsible for TV shows created over there. We later find out he is in a certain mafia ring and despite his interest in us skating, was previously not impressed with the other local skate community there and on occasion a fight or two may have broken out.

Day four and despite having to go to hospital round two for a real cast, there’s actually a banging spot outside the hospital that Mia tackles with a beaut No-Comply Tailslide. This day continues to be nothing but amazing with great clips including some at the most insane street transition spot I have ever seen. We’re all betting each other with the promise of Gelato if we get our tricks and afterwards Albi doesn’t fail by taking us to the best spot in Bari for Gelato; and the Panna is free! We even squeeze in a mini ramp session at Impact, the local skateshop, that’s next door to a bar and set of vending machines that sell cold beer and spritz for a euro. Fede also brings home the best focaccia in town. Nothing but ups on this day.

The trip continues to take us to more spots with everyone stacking clips. We end up at a spot only to get shouted at by elderly locals but despite the aggro and tiredness from another long day in the sun, we redeem it by finding a fun spot round the back of a pizzeria. Perfect spot for some evening clips and a rewarding dinner. It’s only at the table we realise that Albi’s set up is missing and it’d been left at the spot before. On the way back we swing by in hope of retrieving it, only to confirm it is no longer there and someone got lucky with an Antiz board with some fresh Ace Trucks. Another bit of bad luck strikes again.

Meanwhile the mysterious illness has spread across the tour members, and everyone is starting to feel a little better or worse depending on when they seem to have contracted it. After a morning spent on the beach and ice cream for breakfast (for me anyway), we head back into Bari to revisit some spots we’d come across earlier in the week. The street missions continue but we’re all pretty smoked by this point and there’s promise of a backyard ramp session on the horizon. We arrive at Fabio Di Molfetta’s place where we all get to witness a session go down on an insanely beautiful backyard vert ramp with the platform also a viewing point over the sea. Lucrezia joined Fabio and friends for a mini demo.

To top the day off we head to the local restaurant for a final dinner together where I realise the Southern Italian necessity to try everything off everyone’s plate or straight from their fork. No wonder we all got ill as we’d been doing this all week! But who cares. I feel we’d all agree it was worth it and too good not to try it all.

To top the day off we head to the local restaurant for a final dinner together where I realise the Southern Italian necessity to try everything off everyone’s plate or straight from their fork.

It’s now the last day and it’s pouring down as we all pile up into the van and Dacia to make the mission back home. Drivers taking it in turns to get us all the way from our base in Torre Carne eventually to Milan, dropping everyone off and making pit stops at various destinations on the way back.

First off Emma almost misses her train as we get stuck in traffic on the way to Bari Central Station but luckily her train is delayed so she just about makes it. This ups and downs theme only continues as the sun comes out and we decide to make a mini detour to go spot check. When we arrive the spot looks like a masterpiece you’d find in Copenhagen but in the middle of this quiet mountain village. As mentioned before we’re all pretty tired/ill/generally done with having skated so much but this spot is too good to go amiss. We tried to get some bits and whilst we did, in the process Fede credit carded himself and I fell on a metal edged planter hard enough to think I may have broken a rib. I only then go onto exclaim “Right that’s it no more skating for me, that’s done it” before trying to cut a slice of melon only to instead get a good slice in my thumb that liked to bleed quite a bit. We’re all absolutely fried like calamari. Surely no more bad luck?! We get back on the road to endure more traffic and something like eight hours later we’ve made it to Bologna but too late for Ella to catch her train back to Rome. But saying bye to the majority in Bologna, despite the fatigue, bruises mentally and physically, we realise this is the end of an amazing trip and the beginning of new friendships with many a good story for the memory bank.

Just when we thought it was all over, after finally making it back to Fede’s in Milan after a total of something like fifteen hours on the road, the following morning we discover that the most famous Dacia in the world had two completely flat tires. Icing on the cake I guess you could say or the Free Panna on the Gelato.