Father and son tearing it up
Many parents will do a double take when they see the Griffins at the skate park. While most mums and dads are there just to watch, Palmerston North father Von Griffin is in the action just as much as his son, Felix – both are padded up and pulling tricks on their boards. Felix, 14, is a rising star and holds dreams of reaching the Olympics, while his 52-year-old father is a longtime skateboarder. And if their involvement isn’t enough, Felix’s mother, Sonia, is on the board of Skateboarding NZ. Felix and Von regularly skate together at the Palmerston North and Feilding skate parks but also compete together at many events around the country. ‘‘It is so much better skating with Dad,’’ Felix said. ‘‘He tries to teach me new stuff and pushes me.’’ Von said it was ‘‘really good’’ skating together and they were the only father and son competing but they knew Felix was on top in the family’s skating hierarchy. Felix, who attends Manukura School, has been skating since he was 7, the same age his father started. Von spent part of his youth living at Ventura, California, in the United States, and was keen to go back one day. ‘‘I grew up there from 11 to 14. That got me into the skating and surfing scene.’’ Most of the time they go to the skate park together but Von said Felix often got the jump on him because he could go after school. Von said recovery was important in a sport where there can be some nasty spills. ‘‘You get a few beat downs, but you get up and carry on.’’ Their summer calendar is packed, with events most weekends around the country, and they both had success at two recent national competitions. Felix won the under-16 grade at the national bowl championships in Wellington this month, called Bowlzilla, and placed third in the open men’s division at the national park and street championships in Gisborne two weeks ago. Von won the masters’ division at the bowl championships and was fourth at the national park and street event. For Felix to place in the open event was significant, as he was competing against older athletes. He said he was stoked. Felix, who is coached by Bowman Hansen from Wellington, recently attended an Olympic development camp in Gisborne. Getting to the Games is his dream, and Sonia said the next step was for Felix to skate overseas, hopefully at a training institute in California. ‘‘In his trajectory, there is Australia next year for a few camps over there. Following that, California when he is 15, 16, then start to aim for the Olympics after that.’’ Sonia took Felix to a couple of training camps in Australia earlier this year, including a 19-day trip to the Gold Coast where Felix skated every day.