It’s been over 30 years since one of Portugal’s leading skate and surf brands opened its doors in one corner of the Cascais municipality. Bana took its first steps back in 1992 in Sassoeiros (Carcavelos) – in the very same spot it still calls home, though much bigger now after all these years.
Deeply connected to the local community, you’ll spot Bana’s iconic red circle with white graffiti-style lettering at international skate contests, in rap music videos, at São Paulo Fashion Week, or even on Netflix – like in the first season of Rabo de Peixe. It’s become a national icon, with its legacy growing stronger every day.
Very soon, Bana’s founder José Marques reveals, the brand will relaunch its website and celebrate with an in-store event featuring a DJ set and a fresh mural painted on the façade. Until then, here’s the story behind the brand.
Now 59, José Marques started surfing at Carcavelos Beach in the early 1980s, during his teenage years. “Bana was my nickname among the beach crowd – I never imagined it would become the name of a shop or a brand,” he tells Time Out Cascais.
Born and raised in Sassoeiros, José Marques worked in sales and distribution after completing his military service. He even dabbled in the record market before, around the age of 24, moving into international surf and skate brands. As a salesman, José acted as a link between the brands and the few stores dedicated to these products in Portugal at the time.
“That helped me a lot because, working in the industry, I knew the suppliers and the market. Then, out of the blue, my dad gave me a tiny space – just 18 square metres – that used to be part of his café. It was just a small square. He told me that if I wanted, I had a little spot to sell directly to the public. And that’s what I did.”
So, Bana opened in 1992 as a small multi-brand surf and skate shop when Sassoeiros was pretty much “a village.” “People knew about Carcavelos, but Sassoeiros? They didn’t even know it existed. Over the years it grew, now there are more housing developments, and luckily the secondary schools also opened up around here.”
Back then, the main competition came from Marmota store in Carcavelos and Windsurf Guincho, later acquired by Ericeira Surf Shop, also founded in the ’90s. “At the start, as my dad used to say, surfing was a sport for slackers,” José “Bana” Marques laughs. “Now surfers have to be wealthy, with big vans and SUVs. Back then, everything was second-hand, old gear.”
Bana set itself apart from the very beginning by putting a strong focus on skate gear – a sport closely linked to surf culture but often given less space and visibility in shops. “You’d walk into a store and if they had one or two skateboards, that was considered good.”
Alongside that, José had the vision to make Bana a local hub for the thriving urban culture along the Cascais coast. Bana was, for example, one of the first shops in Portugal to sell graffiti spray cans – and considering that this art form in Portugal is so closely tied to Carcavelos, where a bunch of teenagers began painting in the late ’80s before becoming some of the most influential names on the national scene, the stage was set for the brand’s legacy to endure with strong community ties. They also stocked pieces from streetwear brands that weren’t commonly found in Portuguese shops.
“While everyone else was going right, I went a bit more left. Maybe that’s what helped me stick it out all these years, because if I’d just followed the crowd, I’d be just another shop.”
The Bana brand appeared shortly after the shop opened. To spread the name, José Marques started creating T-shirts, caps, and beanies featuring the brand’s logos. At first, they had a points system – if a customer spent over a certain amount, they’d get a Bana T-shirt or cap as a gift.
Eventually, demand grew to the point where they simply began selling the pieces like any other brand – alongside items from major global labels. Bana’s gear started to spread far and wide as José Marques sponsored skaters, surfers, and musicians over the years – a method he still uses today that has brought great visibility and success to the project.
Portuguese skater Gustavo Ribeiro, one of the best in the world right now, is 24. He and his twin brother Gabriel were sponsored by Bana from the age of seven. In music, José has always backed local talent connected to urban culture, from hip hop to punk rock. Plutonio, Kappa Jotta, and Tara Perdida are some of the artists who have been supported by the brand. “I’ve really focused on locals, because it helps people connect with the area. Bana’s almost a symbol of the Linha.”
Over the years, the shop expanded and now occupies 150 square metres. “Now I’m starting to see the children of the original customers. I’m waiting for the grandkids,” José Marques says.
A brand that’s also a school – and Bana’s future
Throughout the 2000s, surf and skate fashion exploded everywhere. Even those who never picked up a board or hit the waves or halfpipes were rocking clothes from brands that became globally popular.
“Surf brands, in particular, started to get really commercial, selling to everyone – it became mainstream. I’ve always seen these sports as a niche… And if they’d stayed niche, they’d have stayed strong. But then they wanted to sell a lot, opened more and more stores, started selling in general sports shops, and the niche lost its appeal because everyone looked the same – it became banal. Many of those surf brands are bankrupt today. I’ve distanced myself from surf and focused more on skate, although I still sponsor a few surfers.”
Bana’s bet on skateboarding has been strong, sponsoring the Liga Pro Skate, the national championship, as well as a number of athletes competing internationally. “We always win something, we always bring home a trophy or two.”
On top of that, every year they run skateboarding classes as part of the Carcavelos festival programme, in partnership with the local parish council. They also have a skate school with regular lessons at Parque das Gerações in São João do Estoril and at the skatepark in Bairro da Torre, Cascais. The classes and Bana Skate School are managed by skater Pedro Roseiro, now in his 30s, who was sponsored by the brand from the age of 14.
They’ve also partnered with private schools Oeiras International School and International Sharing School, just over the border in neighbouring Oeiras, where they teach kids from four years old. “At Sharing, we have around 60 pupils, alongside swimming and other sports. At Oeiras International School, the lessons are part of the official curriculum, as part of PE.” The athletes from the school who compete represent the Cascais Skateboarding Club, Bana’s skate club, the only one in the Lisbon district.
As for the future and what’s left to do, José says the only thing he hasn’t tried yet with Bana is footwear. “That’s the only clothing item I’ve never done. It could be interesting, even as a collaboration with another brand. I’ve done collaborative T-shirts with Quiksilver and Volcom before.”
Her pieces have travelled the world. At the latest São Paulo Fashion Week, fado singer Bia Caboz appeared wearing Bana jeans. Even Madonna herself, during the years she lived in Portugal before the pandemic, dropped by the famous Sassoeiros store. “I didn’t even recognise her — she came in looking for a few things, and I just treated her like any other customer. It was the mother of a kid who was there who said to me: ‘That’s Madonna!’”
Expanding the brand with more stores has long been a dream, but it has proven difficult over the years, especially with recent rent hikes. “It would be wonderful to have a shop in central Lisbon, in Porto, or even over at Parque das Gerações. Malls have always demanded high rents, too. We’ve grown step by step and I’ve done a lot with very little.” A new website is promised soon.
Estrada Sassoeiros, 24 A, Carcavelos. Mon-Fri 11.00-20.00; Sat 11.00-19.00. 21 457 6683