Skateboarding at Atlantis, The Palm Dubai. Photo: Red Bull/Lichtbildstelle

Atlantis Dubai becomes skate park for a day

Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai has been near the top of my wish list for a long time. I remember seeing it under construction from afar back in 2006 and was hoping to one day return and see it up close.

That hasn’t happened yet, but in the meantime my ears always prick up at the slightest bit of Atlantis news. And this little tidbit is one worth checking out!

Three world-class skateboarders enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime experience back in January when the waterpark at Atlantis, The Palm was transformed into a skateboard park. It’s random… but the pictures are epic!

Skateboarding at Atlantis, The Palm Dubai. Photo: Red Bull/Lichtbildstelle
Skateboarding at Atlantis, The Palm Dubai. Photo: Red Bull/Lichtbildstelle

Poseidon’s Tower, a waterslide which rises almost 40m above the ground, was drained of it’s 100,000 litres of water to allow 18-year-old Alex Sorgente of Italy, 19-year-old Jan Hoffmann of Germany and the UAE, and 25-year-old Milton Martinez of Argentina the chance to flip, grind and drop inside.

The trio skateboarded their way down the 156m twists and turns of Zoomerango, before taking on its 14m wall. Then, they whizzed down Aquaconda at speeds of over 35km per hour, skating up to the edges of the 9.2m-wide pipes, catching glimpses of Dubai from the open sides before disappearing down tunnels and vertical banking of 4.6m.

The crew at work. Photo: Red Bull/Lichtbildstelle
The crew at work. Photo: Red Bull/Lichtbildstelle

After coming back down to earth, Alex commented: “The whole hotel was insane; it was the nicest resort I’ve stayed in and the rooms were amazing. I never had the chance to skate a waterpark before, the slides were huge and a real challenge, kinda scary but very cool. My favourite part was the roll in to the giant bank wall, I’ve never skated a wall so tall in my life’. Serge Zaalof, President and Managing Director of Atlantis, The Palm said it was an honour for the skaters and team at Red Bull to choose Atlantis for the stunt.

Photo: Red Bull/Lichtbildstelle
Photo: Red Bull/Lichtbildstelle

Visit redbull.com/waterpark-lockdown to see more

Written by
Chris Ashton

We're Chris Ashton and Simon Ceglinski, two Aussie travellers with a love of exploration and adventure, and the odd bit of luxury thrown in. We seek out street art, street food, and scuba diving wherever we go, and prefer the road less travelled over well-worn tourist paths.

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Written by Chris Ashton