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By Neil Korn
When I sat down to write about my trip
to Corfu, Greece I began to realize the
content in my head could fill a book.
Then I remembered I would be lucky to
have around five pages or less for my
entire article. So, I set out to rewrite a
much shorter version of this adventure
travel story and base it all on the photos.
Really, if I didn’t retool my story there
wouldn’t be any room for photos.
Spiros Badios got his first skateboard at age 5 and has never looked back. Now at age
31, his drive, love, and enthusiasm for the board sports lifestyle has never wavered. He has
figured out how to make a living with film, photography, and producing video for the real
estate industry and the many weddings that take place on Corfu. This allows Spiros the time
to continue to lead and build this athletic community on Corfu and in Greece in general. The
scene on Corfu is very similar to Bend in terms of the love of water and snow, but in many
ways so different. To this day, Sprios’s dream of opening an extreme sports and art school is
alive and well. P: Neil Korn
Left: During my time on Corfu, Spiros set up a “session” night at his house. These events take place
a few times a month, depending on the season. As people starting showing up with snowboards, I
said to myself, I’m on a Greek island, in the Ionian Sea, in a Mediterranean country and people are
bringing snowboards? This was my first glimpse of the “crew” coming together. Spiros’ backyard
training center was set up with a dry ramp, trampoline, balance board, and mini-ramp all in a perfectly
flat area. The Badios’ property has fruit trees all over it, a very large vegetable garden and even a
small church. Here Spiros and I show off our Hydro Flasks at the backyard session. I brought Spiros
the HydroFlask as a gift and right away it became his favorite hydration tool.
Middle: On Corfu there aren’t shops you can just go to and buy boards. So, Spiros makes his own
skim boards since starting in 2007. Surfboards, wakeboards, and skateboards are also built in his
shop. He sells the finished product to friends so he can buy new materials to keep building boards.
P: Neil Korn
Right: I biked to Spiros’s house one afternoon. He drove us to Glyfada Beach on the west side of the
island. There, on an absolutely pristine beach with warm early June Ionian sea water, I photographed
Sprios and Alex J. Pappas skimboarding. I have to say, it was pretty awesome. P: Alex J. Pappas