Marco Ulgheri
Marco Ulgheri
Marco Ulgheri
Marco Ulgheri was born in Rome in 1970, to an Italian father and a German mother. He studied telecommunications and philosophy, but his passion and the beginning of his professional life were in art, which led him to travel across most of Europe.
Specialized in ancient painting techniques, he carried out most of his works in Italy and Braz
Marco Ulgheri was born in Rome in 1970, to an Italian father and a German mother. He studied telecommunications and philosophy, but his passion and the beginning of his professional life were in art, which led him to travel across most of Europe.
Specialized in ancient painting techniques, he carried out most of his works in Italy and Brazil, where he moved in 1995. He worked for renowned clients, such as the Italian Prime Minister, bankers (Safra and Burmayan), and churches in Rome, São Paulo, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, and Cabo Frio, as well as institutions (Hebraica Club) and hospitals (São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro). He created public works, such as the "History of Medicine" on Avenida Paulista in São Paulo. He also worked with contemporary art, photography, and digital art, holding several exhibitions.
Marco Ulgheri is also an amateur composer, one of the greatest experts in wind instruments, a luthier, and the creator of Brazil's largest clarinet-focused website. He has also worked with antiques, specializing in Japanese swords.
In 2013, during a restoration project in Rio de Janeiro, he started surfing, which changed his life. He began to design surfboards and, later, surfskates. His ability to solve mechanical problems in light of the laws of physics led to the invention of several technologies and the registration of patents in various fields.
In 2017, he founded the startup OVNI Surfskate along with Thelma Shuna, dedicating himself to the brand ever since.
Thelma Shuña
Marco Ulgheri
Marco Ulgheri
Thelma Shuna was born in the coastal city of Callao, Peru, to a Peruvian father and a Brazilian mother. She moved to Brazil at the age of three, initially living in Brasília before settling in São Paulo, where she discovered the arts.
She began her studies in the arts with music, then moved on to drawing, painting, photography, and eventu
Thelma Shuna was born in the coastal city of Callao, Peru, to a Peruvian father and a Brazilian mother. She moved to Brazil at the age of three, initially living in Brasília before settling in São Paulo, where she discovered the arts.
She began her studies in the arts with music, then moved on to drawing, painting, photography, and eventually to body expression through dance and physical theater. Between 2004 and 2010, she founded the dance and performance group "In-Pulso," participated in the Virada Cultural in São Paulo with the Cia Pia Fraus theater company, and the "Embryology and Art" project. She was also part of the dance group Célia Gouvêa in the projects "Corpo Incrustado" and "Massa," and performed as part of the ballet in operas at the Teatro Municipal and São Pedro / SP.
Graduated in Art History from UNIFESP, she worked for several years as a visual artist, contributing to various works, including the Christ the Young Parish in São Paulo, and the Nossa Senhora das Dores Church in Niterói and the Nossa Senhora da Assunção Church in Cabo Frio.
In 2013, during a restoration project at a church in Rio de Janeiro, she started surfing, marking the beginning of her return to the sea. The following year, she moved to the coastal city of Itanhaém, where, together with Marco Ulgheri, she founded the startup OVNI Surfskate, dedicating herself to it ever since.
2015 - 2016
The beginning of it all. STRONGBOARD was a brand of surfboards developed based on hydrodynamic concepts, design, and innovative materials. The study of the relationship between surfing and skateboarding begins, focusing on hybrid equipment.
The brand WATERSKATE is born, bringing with it the first hybrid surfboards that could transform into skateboards, and vice-versa.
2017
The beginning of research focused exclusively on surfskating. The brand SURFESKATE is born.
The first designs of surfskate trucks are created, functioning prototypes but not yet produced in mass, conceptual forerunners of the OVNI trucks.
The first surfskates of the brand are launched in the market, with decks that take into account the research done with the STRONGBOARD brand, different from any traditional surfskate deck.
2018
The brand OVNI is born.
We opened our headquarters in Itanhaém/SP, and its frequent visitors, mostly surfers, provided us with valuable feedback on the first products launched in the market.
From the very beginning, OVNI showed its purpose, registering its first invention patent, the MAG-SYSTEM, a magnetic spring technology with which it is possible to create surfskate trucks with 360° movement, without traditional springs or bushings.
Also, in this year, the DPS (Double Pumping System) patent was registered.
By the end of the year, the ORION truck was born, the first of the OVNI quiver.
2019
This year, the SIRIUS and ANDROMEDA trucks are born. Others are still in preparation.
Several series of surfskates were created and launched on the market with these trucks, such as FUTURE, ECO, and FLATWAVE.
In this year, the IKS (Inverted Kingpin System) patent was registered for skateboard trucks, which makes it possible to design innovative trucks across all areas of skateboarding.
2020
OVNI creates innovative, convex shapes with rocker curves to achieve the closest similarity to surfboards, used in the first prototypes of the COSMIC and WOODS surfskates.
The TRANCE line is also launched, exploring a more playful segment of surfskating.
In this year, OVNI creates the world's first surfskate for children, with a specific setup designed to be ridden by kids from the age of 4.
2021
The ALUMINUM PADS for OVNI trucks are born.
Research continues in various areas: decks, technologies, components, and configurations. This allows the brand to achieve one of its greatest goals: to make surfskating no longer just a skateboard adapted for surfing, but the TRUE SURFSKATE.
The surfskate revolution began: the COSMIC line is born.
OVNI also starts researching the concept of a surfskate quiver, with trucks, decks, and other components combined in ways that create various configurations for different surfing styles, wave types, and skill levels.
Thus, the PERFORMER COLOURS and PERFORMER CUSTOM lines are born.
2022 - 2023
Market tests are successfully carried out: the most significant examples of the COSMIC and WOODS lines are produced, reaching, for the first time in skateboarding history, a consumer market for luxury products.
The NEON line is also launched, inheriting the young and cool vibe of the TRANCE line.
The OVNI brand gains international visibility, selling its products on four continents, spreading the "word" of its new surfskate concept, gaining admirers and, of course, haters.
The success of the brand can then be measured by the discomfort it caused in the world of surfskating, which had been dormant, where the big brands had rested on their initial success, without truly innovating for over 20 years.
2024
The year of innovation that shook the surfskate world: complete SURFSKATE QUIVERS, with surf simulators that replicate the surfing experience of surfboards like LONGBOARD, FUNBOARD, FISHBOARD, SHORTBOARD, and MINI SIMMONS, as well as two models for children.
The CV-CLASSIC quiver, with concave decks, grip tape, for high performance.
The CX-CLASSIC quiver, with convex decks and rocker curves, grip wax or silicone drops, for the truest similarity to surfboards.