When 14-year-old Hector McNeilly is not using a compound bow and practicing archery every day, he is roaming the hills above Kaikōura in search of deer with giant antlers, hunting and filming for his latest YouTube video.
He also enjoys crafting knives and learning how to clean skulls and hides. He then sells these through his website, which he taught himself to build by watching YouTube.
“I’ve never been into gaming, but I’ve taught myself how to do everything through YouTube.”
The Garin College student is considered an expert archer for his age group.
He gained first place in the 2022 under-18 men’s world archery Oceania challenge and is the Pacific International Field Archery Association junior division winner U18 2022.
He competes against older age groups so he can learn and challenge himself. With only a handful of competitors in his age group, and competitions scarce in the South Island, Hector and his father Glen are often flying up to Auckland or Palmerston North for qualifying events.
“There are mainly three of us in my age group that shoot competitively, and we also get together for the teams’ events.”
Hector is the Oceania Champion while also holding a number of New Zealand records in the cub age group. He started hunting at an early age with his father.
“We would go to hunting together and my dad would take a gun while I took a bow.”
So passionate about the sustainability of hunting, Hector would “like to become certified as a pet food supplier to be able to make some extra income”.
Self-taught videographer and editor, Hector first dabbled in filmmaking two years ago and has built up a following of over 1200 on his FilmMakerNz channel. His ‘Massive Kaikoura Crayfish’ video amassed an impressive 49,000 views. What started out as a record of his family adventures now earns him a small income from YouTube advertising revenue.
“I started making my first video two years ago, playing with the different angles. I attached my Garmin camera to a spear gun and captured footage underwater,” Hector says.
Releasing a new film on YouTube on average every four months, Hector says he would like to move into documentary making, with Sir David Attenborough an inspiration.
He loves wildlife photography and knows he is in a privileged position having access to his father’s high- powered spotting scopes. Hector is looking forward to planning some more adventures down to Rakiura and Fiordland over the summer.
On a world stage, there is the possibility of qualifying for London and Ireland at the Outdoor World Youth Archery events.
“It is completely nerve-wracking competing against someone,” Hector says.
With such determination and focus, he may well find himself in the filmmaker’s capital of the world, Los Angeles, competing in archery at the 2028 Olympics.
