Aaron Martin’s the leader of the skating crew and highly respected for his advocacy for it and equal opportunities.
Where were you born and grew up?
East Auckland. I grew up in Sunnyhills and attended Sunnyhills and Farm Cove Intermediate Schools and Pakuranga College. My family are from a little country in Europe called Malta.
What did you appreciate about your younger life?
I had a pretty-standard upbringing, played rugby in my primary years, raced BMX and played baseball in my early college days. Once I started skating, we’d skate between Lloyd Elsmore Park, the halfpipe at the church on Cascades Road, and a few street spots. In the weekends we’d bus to Victoria Park and go street skating.
You’re known as the champion for skateparks not only in the east, but in other areas of Auckland. What first attracted you to wheeled sports?
I wasn’t one of those kids that learnt at a young age. Believe it or not, I stood on a skateboard for the first time at 13-14 and learnt as an adult. I didn’t cross paths with skateparks until my college years. My best mate at college, Phillip Jensen, was sponsored when he was younger and could still throw down. I was hooked and wanted to learn how to do it myself. Then, like many teens, you get a girlfriend and start partying and drift apart from it all. It wasn’t until my son became of age that it reminded me how these sports built me into the person I am today.
Were there any people in skating who were strong influences early on?
Phillip Jensen was an ex-sponsored skater. Niam Kerr-Bell – I’ll never forget his crowd-pleaser at the National X Air comp. Danny Jensen, Grant Walker, Heather Martin-Armstrong. Our crew is tight. I could nearly name every person in New Zealand that’s part of our community. I still keep in touch and catch up with them to this day.
You’ve led the skating community through the East Skate Club for a long time. Why did you set it up?
East Skate Club was initially formed purely to encourage the council to do up our local park, at Lloyd Elsmore. Today, it has grown far past what it was ever intended to. My son Zac began enjoying riding his balance bike and scooter and had outgrown the school flat courts area and was ready for a bigger challenge. After not skating for four or five years, I rolled around to film him and was exposed to the environment I remember so vividly. A skatepark is a safe place for individuals and groups to challenge themselves, to encourage and be encouraged, to set and achieve their own goals while learning to manage risk along the way. It’s a place where people build healthy habits like self-directed exercise and creative expression. It’s a place where people learn how to persevere and the value of persistence. A place to experience accomplishment and build confidence. A skatepark is an attractive, accessible and safe recreational facility for all. A safe and welcoming gathering space for skaters, families and the entire community.
What are your/the clubs leading achievements?
We’ve over the past few years achieved a lot. Credit to our strong volunteer team. Fundraising through grants and sponsorship we’ve grown the club to more than 1500 members, and fundraised more than $300,000 to promote skate. We’ve run Sonsk8 – New Zealand’s only indoor skatepark, along with renewing several council-owned assets. These include Panmure, Barry Curtis Park, Otara, Tepai, Lloyd Elsmore, Mangere. Over this time, we’ve presented to all the local boards and now work on this at a regional level.
Away from skating, what are your favourite things to do in east Auckland?
I enjoy my jet ski, wakeboarding, wake-skating, snowboarding, longboarding, BMX track, boxing.
If there was anything you’d like changed in New Zealand society, what is it?
More parks! And the process in which skateparks and wheeled sports are treated. Every school has a rugby field and netball courts. With these sports on a decline, and wheeled sports on the rise as the fastest growing sport, there’s no facility upgrade plans or any specific guidelines these are adhered to. As a result, and with no formal club structure, these are not included in local or national renewal plans, and simply get left while the playgrounds and other council facilities get funding and refurbished. Equal Opportunity East Auckland’s Jessica Ready, New Zealand’s most likely Olympic [skate] hopeful, lives in Mellons Bay. Her parents travel hours every weekend in Auckland for her to practise for the sport she excels in. This is a major motivator for me to try and advocate for facilities for her to have equal opportunity to her competitors overseas training all year round, despite the weather and daylight saving. I’ll not give up fighting for us to have an equal opportunity. What other sport has to fundraise and advocate for 20-plus years to get their project done?
A recent Skateboarding NZ survey identified that more than 30 per cent of the skate community is neuro diverse, including me. I was diagnosed ADHD as an adult. Helping people with Autism, ADHD and those on the spectrum is something I really am motivated to do. Troubled youth – young people get into trouble when they’re bored and have nothing to do, me included. We have done programmes with the Youth Prison, Bluelight NZ and other youth organisations when people are going down the wrong path. Skateboarding has changed some of these people’s lives. Skateboarding is the third lowest cost sport to participate in. East Auckland [Howick ward] has the most amount of people, and the most amount of [council] funding, yet we have some of the worst and unmaintained facilities in Auckland. Skateboarding improves mental health. A recent study from The Skatepark Project and USC revealed that 76 per cent of people skate to have fun, and 62 per cent skate to get away from stress. Skateboarding encourages resilience. The nature of skateboarding requires skaters to learn on their own and develop their own strategies to succeed. Skaters frequently perform a trick hundreds of times over long periods before developing proficiency or experiencing reward for the efforts. Exercise reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression, improves mood, and promotes general feelings of well-being.
