Scotty Buckner
Skate Skool instructor Scotty Buckner assessing the earthquake damage
Scotty Buckner is 22 years old and was born and raised in the grid city that is Christchurch. He has over 12 years experience on wheels and 6 years experience as a skate instructor. Influenced by the feeling of freedom and the adrenaline kick that skating gave him Scott’s passion for rolling started from cruising the neighbourhood with his brother. It wasn’t until the Cheapskates team came to his school (Shirley Int.) that he was truely inspired to explore the world of freestyle skating. Once he had mastered the basics, there was no stopping him as he took to the skate parks around Christchurch. At age 12 he was recognised for his skills and invited to join the Cheapskates Skate team and also began part-time work in the Cheapskates High Street branch.
In 2004, Scott competed at X-Air in Hamilton placing 11th at 16 years old and again in 2007 at X-Air in Wellington with no placing this time but instead the first recorded injury of the event with a dislocated shoulder. After completing year 12 at Shirley Boys High school Scott continued to work at Cheapskates fulltime developing into the roll of assistant manager and then stepping back from this position into the role of rental and events co-ordinator. This position allowed him to share his passion for skating with others and build his knowledge in event management.
During his employment at Cheapskates Scott ran the Inline skate rental van at Hagley park on weekends and began taking school groups and running holiday programmes on demand. He also began running regular skate competitions including the annual Cheapskates Skateboarding Regionals as well as establishing the Summer Skate series in 2009 with support from the Christchurch City Council – a series of free skate jams across the city. His greatest achievement so far has been event manager for the 2009 Skullcandy Rail Jam. This event involved bringing 20 tonnes of snow from Mt Hutt to the urban arena of Sol Square for a down-town snowboarding event which Scott quotes “was a logistical nightmare”.
Although Scott began rolling on 8 wheels he now spends half his time rolling around on 4 and enjoys skateboarding just as much as inline skating. He also enjoys ‘bombing’ the steepest streets the Port Hills has to offer on his longboard and carving lines in the snow on his snowboard in winter.
In December 2009, Scott finished working in the Cheapskates store to launch the Cheapskates Skate Skool. He gets a huge buzz out of seeing others experience the thrill of rolling and feels that skating is the cure to boredom.
Nat Halliday
Skate Skool instructor Nat Halliday at home on any board and any terrain
Nat Halliday is a recent arrival here to New Zealand but has been skating a very long time. In the last 10 years, Nat has also been a teacher and is able to combine both these passions at the Skate Skool.
After being given a yellow fibreglass skateboard for his 7th birthday, he hasn’t ever put a board down. Years of his early life were spent at the legendary Southsea Skatepark in England and as has grown older he widened his skating horizons. Nat was a member of the UK slalom skating scene and last year came 2nd at the UK Slalom Skateboarding Association National Slalom Championships. Slalom is a very technical discipline and he loves combining his knowledge with straight out speed and competition.
Nat is the founder of skatefurther.com, a website dedicated to distance skateboarding. As well as having won push races in Canada, the UK, Europe and NZ, Nat was also the first person to skateboard the length of New Zealand in 2008. All 2300km of it.
Since arriving in New Zealand, Nat has set up and organised longboarding events through Garden City Sessions. Longboarding is becoming more and more popular and most weekends will see him putting on a race, a training session or a cruise through Christchurch’s streets. It’s a good thing Christchurch is surrounded by hills as Nat goes fast. He has raced on the International Gravity Sports Association downhill circuit in Europe and is also an active member of Gravity Sports New Zealand.
Nat is sponsored by Holesom Longboards, Decent Hardware and is working with Christchurch's Pulse Longboards on a prototype slalom deck. He has been featured in various magazines, numerous websites and even graces the front cover of a book; Lives on Board.
Skateboarding has been a huge part of Nat’s life without it he knows he wouldn't have the friends he does, seen the places he has been and wouldn’t have met his wife. His one-year-old son already knows how to push a board!
