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Cata Diaz – Cachái Part & Interview

We are happy to present you Cata’s first part “Cachai” by Enrique Mayor. Along with this part, we interviewed Cata and want to encourage you to give it a read. We discuss very important topics as she opens up about her struggles with mental health. If you struggle know there is no shame in it and make sure to talk to your friends and loved ones.

Filmed & edited by Enrique Mayor
Additional filming by Blai Costa
Photography by Roger Ferrero
Interview by Johannes Schön

We watched your part a while ago at the 20 Years of Nike SB Exhibition in Barcelona. Happy we get to release it now. How long did you work on it?
Yes, that was so much fun for me! I think in between me being sick and being out of Barcelona I guess more or less a year.

What happened?
Last year before CPH Open they found a tumor in my stomach and I had to go through surgery and chemotherapy. Which also contributed to my depression and anxiety issues.

Oh god. So sorry you need to go through that!
What is the situation like now?
It is all good. I’m very private about all of those things right now I’m just using medication and going to monthly reviews with my doctor.

KICKFLIP

In a story post the other day you opened up about mental health. Thought it was really brave of you to share your own experience. If you don’t mind me asking – what are your struggles and how do you deal with them?
Thanks for asking. It’s great to actually talk about it. I deal with depression and anxiety. It has been very hard but I’ve been going to therapy and using other alternative methods as well as taking medication because in my case I reached a point where I was dangerous to myself and I need help with my brain’s serotonin production.
Also opening up, being vulnerable and talking about it with my friends, family and boyfriend have been crucial for me to be able to fight back. Sometimes I just felt like if I would talk about it or say something to the ones who love me I would become a burden for them or they would just think I was crazy or overreacting but the more secretive I was about it the more lonely and trapped I felt.

“I’m pretty sure that the tumor was just a reflection of what was happening inside my mind and heart.”

Definitely reach out and talk to your friends or even seek professional help. Everyone here reading who is in a similar situation as well!
Yes. It’s so important to ask for help and to talk to others. My boyfriend always told me two things that helped me to get through it a lot. The first one was “everyone is guessing” which is something we don’t think about. Usually, we tend to think everyone else has everything figured out but ourselves. The other one was “we are all alone together” meaning we all think we are alone in the different kinds of struggles in our lives when the truth is we are all going through similar things. We just tend to think we are the only ones because there’s so much shame around it. Nobody should be scared of opening up, we are all trying to do the best we can with what we have!

NOSESLIDE

Yes most certainly everyone is just trying to figure out life and has their own set of struggles. Did you have mental health issues before they found the tumor or did that trigger it?
Yes, I would say way before. If I have to be completely honest I’m pretty sure that the tumor was just a reflection of what was happening inside my mind and heart. It was kind of crazy and made me realize how bad my inner voice was and how I was always making myself feel out of place, just trying to please everyone around and trying as much as I could to be considered by others good, or just acceptable when in reality it was me that never felt like I was enough or even just good.

“In skating, we usually don’t speak about this subject that much and even when it gets put out there, as sad as this sounds, it’s often when is too late for one of us. That’s why it was important for me to talk about it.”

What was your process of getting more open to talking about it?
Well, it was a hard process, to be honest. At first, because I tend to be really happy around people and I’m a very positive person. So when this whole thing started I felt like I just had to hide it because it just wasn’t who I thought I was. I was so ashamed and I felt so weak and lonely, I just couldn’t deal with the fact of facing my own situation.
To me, it was very important to start my recovery process by talking about it with my brother and his girlfriend. They live in Chile but even with the distance they were able to help me get into therapy and to talk about it with my boyfriend and some of my close friends here. That made a huge difference in how lonely and ashamed I felt because of the situation. It made me realize that in skating we usually don’t speak about this subject that much and even when it gets put out there, as sad as this sounds, it’s often when is too late for one of us. That’s why it was important for me to talk about it because it’s been hard and it’s still living with me every day. I haven’t gotten through it yet. I’m trying my best but I’m not going to hide anymore. Hiding my own struggle is what has been making it so hard to deal with. It also doesn’t open any doors of conversation for those who are going through it.
So what I’m trying to say here is, there’s nothing to be ashamed of, don’t give up, talk about it. Try to get as much help as you need. Let’s try to build a less lonely and more caring world for all of us starting for our community in skateboarding.

TRANSFER BOARDSLIDE

I can only agree. This is very brave of you, so thank you for being so open about it. Everyone is different but so far into your journey, what treatments/practices/techniques have helped you?
Thank you so much. Honestly, I still feel like I’m figuring this out but therapy indeed helped a lot. Also, meditation and truthfully a lot of fake it till you make it. I try to be nicer to myself. Skating is always a great superhero.
I’m pretty much in the middle of the struggle still. Hopefully, for my next part, I got a better answer for this.

What is your relationship with social media?
I try to not be on it for too long. So right now it doesn’t feel that healthy for me to spend too much time on there. On the other hand, I love to post skate clips of my sessions with my friends having fun and showing my progression on a daily basis. I’m very grateful to be honest that there are so many people that like my work and I wouldn’t be here without them. It is great to have so much support.

BS BIGSPIN

This is your first real part, right? What made you want to film a part?
Haha yes, this was my first real one, I used to make my own videos in Chile with my best friend on my phone. They were called “una wea mea chety” which means “something a bit shitty” in English, haha.
But I always dreamed of making one. It’s the hardest thing you can try to put together in skating. It is such a long process, it requires a lot of creativity and even if I didn’t make it to the end the way I wanted to, it was super fun to film and work with Kike (Editors Note: Enrique Mayor) and all my friends on it.
I’m so grateful that Nike gave me the opportunity to do this.

“We went back 14 times. (…) I’m never going back there ever again”

Which clip took the longest to get and which one worked out quickest?
Actually, we filmed that line where I do the Ollie over 8 stairs and then the Nosemany Revert on the first go. The hardest one I would say is that one boardslide pop out in the thin ledge, and we went back 14 times. Kike and I were so over it, haha. So I’m never going back there ever again.

BS 5-0 TO FAKIE

Wow, 14 times! Unreal!
You are originally from Chile – any plan on moving back at some point?
I’m from Valparaiso. I came here when I turned 18. I was supposed to come here for 3 months and then go back to Chile to study at college. But I got to see a whole different world of skating, living in a big city and making my own adventures and that made me realize I couldn’t go back. I love skating too much to live a life that wasn’t going to have skating as the center of it. So I decided to stay and give it a shot.

What’s next?
I guess getting better first. I’m starting to film a new part now, trying to travel the most I can, keep challenging myself to be a better skateboarder and keep on growing up as a human.

Cata, thank you so much for your trust and for helping open this dialog that we really need in skateboarding and life in general. I am sure it will help a lot of people. We wish you all the best in this world!
Thank you guys for all the questions and for posting this part.
It means the world. Much love for you all :herz:

(RE)WATCH CATA’S FOLLOWED EPISODE HERE: