Freestyler: Fabian Duro

You may have heard of Fabian Duro before. We have featured him - and his mind-bending freestyle skills - on this site before. It doesn't hurt that in 2012 he placed in the top 8 in the world at the Red Bull Street Style Finals in Lecce, Italy. But Fabian is so much more that a couple of cool YouTube videos. If you are like the rest of the unfortunate people on earth, you do not know enough about him. That's where we come in. We have had the pleasure of taking part in a bit of a correspondence with Fabian, and the freestyle sensation was kind enough to answer our questions. He even sent us some awesome footage, exclusive to The18:

So, without further ado, it is time to learn a little more about the Albanian that should be on everyone’s mind. Here’s 18 questions with Fabian Duro.

1. How old are you? I am 26 years old.

2. Where are you from? I am from Tirana, Albania - the capital of Albania.

3. How did you get started with freestyle soccer? I started freestyle football after I met Ronaldinho. I liked the way he played and the way he did tricks so I got inspired and started to practice, and after I got to know there was freestyle competitions like Red Bull Street Style I started to practice really hard.

4. What's your best trick? I think rollers is my best trick. 

5. What's one skill any freestyler needs to cultivate? I think “hop the world” is very important for every freestyler.

6. What freestyler do you most admire?  I really admire Andrew Henderson from England.  

7. Why do you admire Andrew Henderson? He is the current Red Bull Street Style [champion]. He has won everything in this sport. I admire him because he can do everything, and [he] deserves to be the champion. 

8. What advice would you give someone just starting out in the sport? I think that if someone works really hard everyday, loves this sport, [and they] have passion and watch a lot of freestyle videos [then they] will be the best. 

9. What is your greatest moment as a freestyler? I think my greatest moment in freestyle football is making top 8 in Redbull Street Style World Finals in Lecce Italy [in 2012]. 

10. What was your worst moment as a freestyler? My worst moment as a freestyler was this year in Salvador, Brazil after I didn’t make top 16 [in the 2014 Red Bull Street Style FInals]. I thought I could make top 16 with my performance. 

11. How did you get past your worst moment? I got past my worst moment by practicing a lot and [I] hope to do better next time. 

12. What is the hardest part about trying to make money from freestyle soccer? The hardest part [of making] money in freestyle football is to [take part in] as many shows as possible. In my country [it] is hard to get shows.

13. What's the ultimate soccer experience you'd like to have? I would like to have enough experience to help people get better in this sport.

14. Where in the world has freestyle football taken you? What's your best story? Freestyle football has taken me to many countries, like Cape Town, South Africa, Salvador, Brazil, Lecce, Italy, Bologna, Italy, [and] Prague, Czech Republic.

15. What talent would you most like to have if you could choose any?  I would [have] loved to have been [a] professional football player.

16. What other sports and activities do you enjoy? I enjoy football, snooker, ping-pong and cycling.

17. What's your day job?  I work in a sports shop called "Intersport."

18. Where will we see you in 5 years? Hopefully I will be a football coach on a team.