First published in Manual Magazine, Issue 74.

Chase Collins: It sounds like you’ve been active in the streets. Still holding down sobriety and being a good boy, I hope?

I’m fully back skating! One hundred per cent crazy for it. During the week, I’ve been going to spots before work, just eyeing them up to hit the clip quota on the weekend. Today I’m 1222 days sober. I’m so happy where I’m at right now in life, and that drinking is not a part of it. Drinking is actually fucking shithouse.

CC: Love to hear it. Sounds like you’re gunning for NZ SOTY.

(Laughs) That’d be so controversial. It’d be like “he’s fucking Australian?!” I’m sure one of the requirements is that you’d have to be a Kiwi.

“Chur! Congrats on getting your NZ citizenship”, and pointed to my Red Band gumboots”

Boardslide double dropper, New Plymouth. Photo and portrait by Ben D‘Ath.

CC: Apply for that Kiwi citizenship. Surely you’ve lived in NZ long enough?

It’s funny you say that. I was on a job site the other day, and one of the other tradies said, “Chur! Congrats on getting your NZ citizenship”, and pointed to my Red Band gumboots, laughing. I’m definitely not a Kiwi, but I mean, I’ve always wanted to be. When I was a kid, I really wanted to be in the All Blacks. I loved watching Christian Cullen play!

As for the SOTY run, I’m not trying to push anything skating-wise. I’m just having so much fun skating. I’ve always worked full-time and skated on the side. And this time around, I don’t give a shit about being all sponsored and stuff. I just want to do my thing. But it’s really nice when your friends are like, “Hey Beachy, I got some product for you”. Especially Benny (Connelly), who runs Worship Clothing here in NZ. I feel that both Benny and I are on the same wavelength. He’s always said, “Just do your thing”, and leaves me to it. It feels super organic with no pressure at all. Also, shout out to Parliament, who still hook it up all the time. They even sent my son Arlo a box with his name on it.

I’m super grateful to still be getting looked after this far down the line, but my main sponsor at the moment is my ANZ debit card. (Laughs)

Crooked bonk, Naarm. Photo by Wade McLaughlin.

John Green: Respect! How’s the surf career going?

Bro, I got barreled the other day for the first time at Fitzroy Beach. (Laughs) I downloaded Surf cam — or swell cam or whatever it’s called — so I could fucking get the footage of myself. And I got a barrel, bro. I’m like, bottom turn. And then, come in and get in the barrel and then just shoot out the doggy door. It felt so sick.

JG: Where do you reckon has better surf? Naki or Queensland?

Where we live in Taranaki is kind of the Mecca for surfing. It’s not that busy because the water’s cold. If the water were warm, this place would be like Snapper Rocks or some shit. And that’s why it’s pretty cool here. It is heavily regulated by the locals, which is sick. But if you show your face a bit, you’ll get known, I suppose. But I’m fully a skater, so I don’t try to be a surfer, if that makes sense. I love surfing so much. I think it definitely helps me with my mental health. Like, when I’m feeling fucked in the head, thinking, “The world’s ending. I’m depressed. Everything sucks”. I go out into the ocean and be like, brought back, you know?

JG: Would you rather use that to reset over skating?

I think so. Skating can make you mental sometimes. But like getting clips and shooting photos, it’s like, whoa. Like you’re floating on a cloud up high. Whereas, the whole experience of walking through a farm, down a paddock into a small cove, and there’s no one around while you’re in the water. That whole experience makes me feel good. But what I’d really love to do is to go for a little surf in the morning and then go skate later that day.

“I’ve been going to spots before work, just eyeing them up to hit the clip quota on the weekend”

Wallie frontside 50-50, New Plymouth. Photo by Ben D‘Ath.

JG: That’d be the perfect day.

They call it the triathlon here in the Naki. You can do all three: Snowboarding on the mountain, surfing and then go skating all in one day.

JG: You mentioned that you and the family managed to secure a humble spot down there in Taranaki? Have any renos gone down on the house yet?

I’m so thankful how it worked out, but you know the old story: A builder’s house is never complete. Our room has been half stripped of the wallpaper for months now, with the plaster boards all showing. I’m slowly but surely getting the jobs done. I suppose it’s just hard to get motivated after working a full day on the tools only to come home and get straight back on them. I actually just finished building a veggie garden with the kids.

JG: Man’s eating healthy.

Homegrown veggies and freshly caught fish from Hayley’s uncle, Gaz. He’s ruined fish and chips for me, though. I paid fifty bucks for some fish and chips from the takeaway shop the other day, and it tasted disgusting compared to Uncle Gaz’s haul.

CC: Speaking of food, who does a better pie, NZ or AUS?

Everyone knows the answer to that. It’s no longer a debate. BP here has better pies than the whole of Australia, and it’s a servo. But man, the best ones in Taranaki I get from a place called Tiger Town Cafe. They’re pricey but so good. They even make a paua pie.

CC: Damn, sounds so gourmet! Pies here in Aus are pretty dunga, eh?. What’s up with your new furniture project, Birdwood Lodge?

That’s another venture I’ve started. I’m just so ADHD. I will start numerous projects and won’t finish any of them, much like the house renovations. I really enjoy joinery and tinkering in the shed. I made some tables using compressed recycled skateboards, which turned out well. I really like giving them to friends who own coffee shops just because I feel weird about selling something that I’m not 100% hyped on, if that makes sense. People will be like, “Whoa, it’s incredible”, but then I’ll pick it apart and point out all the imperfections. I’m still learning as I go. It’s still in the early stages.

JG: What’s the hardest thing about making them?

Building the actual table is all good, but it’s the finishing stages that are challenging. The last coat of epoxy is a My War. Like it’s make or break. And usually it’s a break for me. Then I’ll be sanding it back, having a whinge about how much it sucks. If I do slightly fumble the finishing coat, I can sometimes sell them at the markets and label them as “seconds”. (Laughs)

“The kids froth, and the community loves it. And now I’m loving it”

Switch backside 50-50 grind, New Plymouth. Photo by Ben D‘Ath.

JG: Another project you’ve recently started up is a skate school. How did that come about, and how’s it all going?

I had a friend named Jesse, back in Queensland, who always mentioned that I should start a skate school when I moved to NZ, but I never really gave it much thought. It was hard for me to lean into starting because I thought it was going to be lame. But it has turned out pretty sick. The kids froth, and the community loves it. And now I’m loving it.

JG: It looks like it’s very rewarding.

It’s amazing watching these kids learn. They come to me and can barely stand on a skateboard, or they’re just rolling around. Then, within a few lessons, they’re doing roll-on grinds, hippy jumps, and some kids even go straight to ollieing the five-stair. I’m like, damn, this is sick.

Half-Cab heelflip, Naarm. Photo by Wade McLaughlin.

JG: How do you find the actual teaching side of it?

It’s fun, but it’s always good to remember that everyone has their own individual way of figuring things out. All I’m trying to do is give him the confidence and mindset to go, “Ah, this is actually pretty easy. I can do this”. I can show them where to put their feet and how to do certain moves, but they’ve just got to try it out.

JG: Are you running the Instagram as well?

I try. (Laughs) My friends Mark (Lahood), Jez (Jeremy Hill) and Ben (D‘ath) help me out a bunch with that. Ben is onto it in the social media world and basically runs it for me. He will give me pointers like, “Okay, bro, so you need to post at 7 pm”. Then I’ll hit him back with a random question, “Can I post on Friday?” “Absolutely not. Bad day. That is a bad day to post, wait till Sunday.” And then he’ll follow up with “Mondays and Tuesdays after dinner time”. Sometimes I’ll post at like 2 pm on a Friday arvo, and he’ll message me, “Whoa, bold move”.

JG: (Laughs) Bold!

It can get ridiculous at times, but I’m also just having fun on my life journey right now.

@beachy_beee @birdwood_lodge @beachos_skateschool

Worship Supplies advert from Manual Magazine, Issue 74.