By Goya Dmytryshchak
Altona North’s Nick Buchanan lives to skate. He speaks with Goya Dmytryshchak.
What’s your connection to Hobsons Bay?
I lived in Newport/Williamstown on Melbourne Road in a double-storey Victorian-era house until I was about 10 years old. Then we moved to Mornington Peninsula and I lived there until I was 21 when my mother split up with my father and I moved back to Newport and Altona North, but I would often go to my father’s house on the peninsula.
Then in 2011, I moved to Altona. For six years, I lived near the beach and Kooringal golf course. I attended Williamstown North Primary School until grade 4. But it’s the beach at Williamstown and Altona that keeps me tied to the area … and the quality of skateparks – Newport, Yarraville, etcetera.
What do you like about Altona North?
I like the proximity to the CBD. You can get to and back from the Melbourne Riverslide Skatepark quite easily whether in a car or taxi or public transport.
It is ideal for attending the big Melbourne competitions, and I enjoy the Williamstown beach and Altona beach – they are both easy access from Altona North. And I like going out to Ferguson Street and Nelson Place in Williamstown for the cafes and ice cream parlours on the waterfront. And, of course, the skateparks in the local area are quite good.
What’s your favourite cafe and/or restaurant?
That’s easy – Crowded House on Ferguson Street or the big ice cream parlour on Nelson Place.
Can you tell me about the hightlights of your skating career?
Winning the best trick comp at Riverslide Melbourne Skatepark when I was younger – the trick is frontside air late shuvit over the fence, it is still the best trick at Riverslide until this day.
Earning sponsorship from Trigger Brothers in 2010. Being given shoes from Vans in 2013-2014. Another major achievement is having a major article on a big USA skate website, slapmagazine.com, which has over 85,000 viewers.
