Monty grinds out podium placing despite theft

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JULIA WADE

 

5 Dec, 2022

 

As skateboarding season rolls in for another summer, one of Mangawhai’s young talented skateboarders has been getting some air already, scoring high in a recent national comp despite being robbed of vital gear only hours before taking to the bowl, as well as being invited to attend a training camp for Olympic athletes.

Talented local skater, 12-year-old Monty Graham, won second place in the Tech Deck 16 & Under section at Bowlzilla, the National Bowl Skating Championship held in late October. Showcased in Wellington, the festival attracts competitors from all over the country as well as overseas and is said to be the largest gathering of skaters in New Zealand.

What is so remarkable about Monty’s second placing however, is that due to the theft of his own board only an hour-and-a-half beforehand, the Mangawhai Beach School student had a brief ten minutes to get the feel of a brand-new board before he took it to the bowl for the comp, a feat skaters would naturally appreciate as daunting, father Blair Graham says.

“Monty coming second and being only three points behind the winner, is absolutely amazing as it’s almost an impossibility. Skaters work their boards for months before a competition and moreso with bowl skating as they get a groove in the board’s truck [the attachment for the wheels] which helps them when they’re grinding the bowls rim,” he says. “The theft really blew the wind out of his sails, he was so upset as he’d been working his board for four to five months to get it ready for the comp. It wasn’t easy for him to regain his composure but he pulled himself together and I think for a 12-year-old kid did pretty well. It was a test of character, which builds resilience and experience in high-performance competitive sport, I’m so proud of him.”

For Monty, it was a mind-over-matter situation, ‘to make the most of a bad situation,’ he says.

“Once I had a new deck, I just really knew that I had to put the theft out of my mind and then focus on competing, to work on just doing my best.”

The robbery occurred while father and son were staying in Wellington, the thieves smashing a side window of their vehicle before taking off with most of the car’s contents including Blair’s Segway worth thousands of dollars, and their clothing.

“We were set for being on the road for two weeks travelling to a few competitions and it had only been four days… then everything was gone… we had to race around getting Monty a new board.”

Next stop was Gisborne where the 2022 Skateboard Nationals Park and Street comp – hosted by Skateboarding NZ and Tairawhiti Adventure Trust – was held for the first time thanks to the recently opened $3.7 million Olympic-styled park. Competing against older and experienced skaters, Monty placed a good eighth in the men’s section.

Due to the involvement of Skateboarding NZ, Monty was also the youngest person to be invited to the Olympic training camp, which was held before the Gisborne Nationals and funded by the NZ Olympic Committee [NZOC], and included one-on-one training with international skateboarding champ, kiwi Bowman Hansen.

“It’s like a development camp as if you’re going to be in the limelight at the Olympics,” Blair says. “It offers the whole package of what an athlete would need to know like media training, fitness and health like yoga and diet, rest and recuperation, same thing as any gymnasts or the All Blacks would do.”

The young skater, who already has two sponsors (Hyperide who have provided him with skateboard gear for two years and more recently Etnies, a skate shoe brand) says he is aiming to hopefully represent New Zealand at the Olympics at some stage.

Meanwhile, Monty and his number one fan are looking forward to the Mangawhai Bowl Bash February 4 on Waitangi Weekend, organised by Andrew and Shiree Morrison, owners of skateboard supplier Irrom Distribution, and surfer Nicole Seyle, co-owner of local skate and surf shop No Limits.

The event is replacing the Mangawhai Bowl Jam which ran for a decade at Mangawhai Activity Zone [MAZ] with the final comp last year. Blair says Mangawhai’s Bowl Bash is the biggest event on the skateboarding calendar in terms of competitors and spectators, and MAZ still has the best bowl in the country.

“The zone has a progression bowl currently being built and should be ready by January, something skaters can learn tricks in and then take it to the big bowl, which is perfect for bringing new people into the scene as the huge monster of a bowl can be a bit intimidating.”

For father and son alike, being a part of the skateboarding fraternity is the best aspect of the sport which Blair says is supportive, friendly and shows real camaraderie, ‘everyone is always so stoked when others get a trick, and if they don’t and are down about it, everyone understands, that’s what I love about it’.

Monty, who has been rolling around on a skateboard since he was only six years old, agrees and says he also loves the competitions.

“They’re fun and push me to progress and improve myself. I’m looking forward to the next four months as there is a lot of skate comps on all around the country, so I’ll be working on getting some more good results.”

 

 

Mangawhai skater Monty Graham (12) grabbed a second place in his division at Bowlzilla, despite being robbed of his own board just hours earlier. PHOTO/DAVE READ

 

Getting attention on the national scene, Monty loves competition, saying it pushes him to improve his skills. PHOTO/DAVE READ

 

“Once I had a new deck I just really knew that I had to put the theft out of my mind… to work on just doing my best.”

- Monty Graham