Ruben, etniesbmx.com, february 2008: Everything started in a hospital in Carlos De Haya which is in Malaga, Spain, where I was born on September 13, of 1974.
FIRST SPONSOR.
My first sponsor was a spanish distribution shop called Freestyle Promotions.
JAY MIRON.
Jay Miron, www.macneilbmx.com, 2004: Not many people know this but I actually rode with Ruben when he was completely unknown in Spain. I was over there with Dave Osato filming for the Schwinn video with a few of my Spanish friends and Ruben was also hanging out. It's going to sound kind of funny now but Dave and I actually thought he was a bit of a click. It seemed like every time we did something Ruben would do it right after us. It felt like he was trying to show us up at all of his spots. So I asked one of the guys, "What's up with him always doing our shit right after us?" He then told me that Ruben was from a town eight hundred kilometers from there and he'd never seen half of our tricks before. He was so stoked to see all this new stuff that he was learning our tricks as he saw them in parks he wasn't local to. He was doing some of our hardest stuff in only one or two tries most of the time!!! I couldn't believe it. After seeing that I knew Ruben was going to be a great rider. A few years later he showed up in America and proved me right.
Ruben, etniesbmx.com, february 2008: This is when the best part of my life began. It was 1997 when I went by myself on a little adventure looking to meet riders that I always looked up to and riding some of those amazing places with them. Then, like a magic trick, boom! There I was, I couldn’t believe it. Even better than I thought and somehow I got invited to the X Games. I was very excited about it, but the event was in a month and a half. I had already spent all my money and if I went back to Spain there was no way I could afford to come back to the X Games. This was when I made the decision to take the risk and stay without money. Thanks to everybody at the skatepark in Wilmington, NC who let me stay there and helped me out. The thing was, the X Games were on the West Coast, in San Diego, and I was on the East Coast. Somehow, one day, a big box showed up at the Skatepark with my name on it. I was so confused and stoked at the same time. When I opened it up it was a complete new bike, a plane ticket to San Diego and an envelope with $600 in it. At that moment I was the happiest man on earth. A few months later I started to ride for etnies and since that day they’ve been so good to me that I don't know how to thank them for everything they do. Whatever I do for them it never feels like it’s enough.
Brian Tunney, www.expn.com, june 2010: Shortly after emigrating to the U.S., Ruben was introduced to Stew Johnson, Ryan Corrigan and select members of the Austin, Texas scene. Despite communication barriers, Stew and Ryan welcomed Ruben into their home. Ruben's riding excelled to new levels in Austin, as well as his addiction to chocolate. "He would crush up Oreos, and put them in a bowl with milk. He pretty much just ate chocolate junk food, like Ding Dongs," said Johnson.
1997 WORLDS.
2nd place pro dirt @ 1997 Worlds. Ruben Alcantara n'est pas loin de rentrer double tailwhips et 360 tailwhip.
Ruben Alcantara "Pollo" pulled double tailwhips over the box and in the finals he came so close to pulling a 360 double tailwhip you can consider it done.
ON HUFFY
Ruben Alcantara is riding for Huffy.
1998 BS ROUND 3 WOODWARD.
Brian Tunney, www.expn.com, june 2010: The first time I witnessed Ruben Alcantara riding was in 1998 at Woodward. He was riding an overweight Huffy with Jnco Shoes and coming really close to pulling the then unthinkable double tailwhip 360 over a box jump.
Ruben is on the cover of Ride BMX US february march 1999.
Taj Mihelich, Ride BMX US #100: I was just freaked out by seeing Ruben doing an Indian air in a pool on the cover of Ride 38. Pool riding was just beginning to make a comeback and here was Ruben blasting an air out of one, doing a fully-stretched Indian air, no less! That was just after I had gotten to know Ruben, so I was excited for him to get a cover, and it was a great photo.
January 2000, Ruben switched from Huffy to Mongoose.
CREAM COVER.
Ruben Alcantara at home in Malaga on the cover of Cream february 2000. Photo by Manu Sanz.
6th place stuntmen street @ CFB round 1, FL.
Ruben Alcantara, who bunnyhopped up a 2 foot high handrail (3 inch wide) and tailwhip bunnyhopped off of the top of it, along with simple bump jumps that show how much control Ruben actually has over his bike. Ruben is control, plain and simple.
DIG COVER.
DIG #12 september 2000
FRAME COVER.
Ruben is on the cover of the Frame Trilogy video.
INTERVIEWS.
Soul magazine #8 april 2000
Soul video #14 summer 2000.
2000 WORLDS.
Pro street world champion @ Cologne, Germany. Fast, unpredictable and original. World champ in street.
2000 X-GAMES.
10th place pro street @ X-Games 2000. Ruben Alcantara (Mongoose-1) had no major problems making the cut. Ruben even qualified in 2nd behind Dave Mirra. His "really" wall-ride (Ride BMX US jan01 cover) was so cool. It makes you think why no one else has thought of that trick before. Picture a bank to wall, do a 180 turn, land with both wheels on the wall, pull off the wall and land back in the ramp.
IMPORTAN.
Mongoose pro model: the Importan.
January 2001, Ruben Alcantara has left Mongoose to ride for Jay Miron's company, MacNeil Bikes.
Jay Miron, www.macneilbmx.com, 2004: Signing Ruben to the team was a big decision for us. He was such a good rider but he was also used to riding for big companies like Huffy and Mongoose and held out for a lot of money. Then when the SoBe deal was signed we knew we could afford him. I'm really glad we did. It was great getting to ride with him so much and even just hang out with him. Ruben left the team in October of 2003 but I'll never forget the good times we had and the incredible sessions.
2001 FISE.
Ruben Alcantara won Palavas FISE 2001
BIKE 2001.
LA REVOLUTION.
Toronto.
RIDE BMX US COVER.
Ride BMX US #56 january 2001
FREEDOM COVER.
Nollie whip at the FISE on the cover of Freedom BMX magazine #40.
SIGNATURE MACNEIL PARTS.
.MacNeil had Ruben Alcantara's new signature frame, handlebars, and stem on hand at the Interbike tradeshow. Ruben's frame weighs in just over six pounds (2,9kg), has a 20.75" top tube, a 14.25" rear end, and a 74-degree head tube. The Ruben frame retails for $300. Ruben's stem and handlebars were designed to be lightweight, just like his frame. The bars are made with fluted tubing and retail for $72. Ruben's stem has 53mm of reach and retails for $70.
Ruben Alcantara on the cover of Faction #11.
ETNIES FORWARD.
Ruben Alcantara hold the honor of having the final section in the Etnies Forward video
FOX EXPENDABLE 3.
Part in the Fox Expendable 3 video.
2002 WORLDS.
2002 Worlds, Koln, Germany. Ruben Alcantara from Spain ended up in the crowd face first when his incredible transfer attempt went wrong.
WORLD RIDER OF THEYEAR.
Ride BMX UK announced their World Rider of the Year for 2002. According to their readers, Ruben Alcantara takes it.
Ruben Alcantara part in Etnies Forward.
CREAM COVER.
Cream magazine september 2003.
ON T1.
November. Ruben Alcantara is now officially on T-1. He has just recently left his sponsor MacNeil, and he also quit riding for TIP Plus to start riding Fly Bikes components and parts.
Wallride transfer on the cover of Transworld BMX magazine september 2004. Photo by Keith Mulligan.
DIG COVER.
Ruben Alcantara on the cover of Dig september 2004.
PROPS COVER.
Cover of Props #54 winter 2004.
Ruben Alcantara on the cover doing a Table on the cover of Ilame issue 2.
THE TERRANEA.
www.expn.com, june 2010: In 2005, Ruben received his first-ever pro model shoe from Etnies, the Terranea. Designed around a synthetic upper, the Terranea featured a cross logo on the heel which signified good luck and was originally from a village in Ruben's home country of Spain. "It's crazy, because I worked on the design of the shoe while I was in many different places in the world. So, much of the inspiration comes from everywhere," said Ruben. The shoe also featured removable pads to protect the inner part of the ankle from hitting the cranks, another BMX first.
Ruben Alcantara has a section in the Etnies Grounded video.
www.thecomeupbmx.net, july 2007: Not even worth trying to describe how amazing this guy is. Truly epic, thank god this guy decided to ride a BMX bike.
RIDE BMX US COVER.
Ruben Alcantara on the cover of Ride BMX US july 2007. Ruben Alcantara goes where no man has gone before with one hell of an amazing wallride. You'll have to wait until the new Etnies video drops to see the footage. Photo by Jeff Zielinski.
Ruben Alcantara and his 3rd Dig cover, Fuengirola, Spain. Dig #80 january 2011. Photo by Ed Docherty
ART COVER.
Art issue 5 - november december 2011. Photo par Manu Sanz.
Ruben Alcantara on the cover of Dig #90 september 2012. Photo by Vincent Perraud.
