Ramping up the Nelson Tasman skateboard culture was Nelsonian Ben Short’s focus.
The skateboarding enthusiast has recently released a one-hour video on his YouTube channel, BensEyeView, which was filmed over five years to showcase local skateboarding hotspots and talent.
Ben says he had attempted to land tricks for more than 25 years and had occasionally filmed his stunts.
After a stint as a video editor at Skydive Abel Tasman where he honed his filmmaking skills, he was sidelined from his hobby to undergo reconstruction surgery after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in a skateboarding injury.
“When I did the knee surgery [in 2018] one of the first things I did was buy new camera equipment because I knew I wouldn’t be able to skate as much as I wanted to, but I could still be involved in films,” he says.
“I bought myself a fisheye lens for close up filming and started collecting footage… I wanted to put something together for the locals and for myself, that could document the progression and growth.
“We have some good skateboarding spots and some good skateboarders, so to be able to put together a video that showcases some of the spots and local talent is a little bit necessary from time to time to remind the rest of New Zealand that we’re still here.”
Ben says his filming locations for his one-hour video were at Nelson CBD and Richmond streets, local schools such as Waimea Intermediate, and up to 10 clips were shot at Motueka.
He says about 30 skateboarders from Nelson, around New Zealand and overseas are included in the video.
“Our routine through the week will be I’ll message one of the skate [Facebook] chats that we have a lot of skateboarders in, and say, ‘hey, look, I’m going to go and warm up at the skate park, and then keen to go street skating, who wants to get a clip?
“The more people the more likely we’re going to get some productivity from the day and come out with a few clips… some days we’ll be at a spot for two or three hours and no one comes away with a land, which is frustrating but that’s the nature of skating.”
Ben says in December 2022, he and his skateboarding companion Ben Knight decided to piece together the five-year footage, a task which took nearly a year to complete, before it was released on 13 January.
“The local skating community has been really supportive, in the few skateboarding chats we’ve had there’s been a lot of praise for it,” he says.
“For the younger generation seeing a video like that in their hometown, seeing the spots that they’re going to grow up and skate, it gives them ideas and motivation.
“The wider community in New Zealand has been positive too, it had over 600 views in the first three days.”
Ben says a new video to uplift young skaters is currently being filmed.
