Skaters are on the right track
When he’s on a skateboard Kadin Wallace-Elliott knows exactly what’s ahead of him and where he’s going.
And after the pitfalls of a life away from the strait and narrow, he’s using the lessons leaned with that board to point Waikato kids in the right direction.
Each drawing on a lifetime’s worth of experience, not all of it good, Wallace-Elliott AKA ‘‘Kadin Maniak’’ and Eden ‘‘Fast Eddie’’ Winstone, are bringing their passion for skateboarding to youth in the Waikato, instilling pride and integrity as they ride.
The names Fast Eddie and Kadin Maniak are well known in New Zealand skateboarding circles and at one time they could have been pro skaters, but both men said after suffering from sexual and physical abuse as kids, and making some poor life choices as young adults, things did not turn out the way they intended.
However, after running their first Kids On Boards (KOB) skating competition in Tokoroa last weekend they know they’re on the right track.
Drug and alcohol abuse affected both of their lives, with Winstone spending time in prison, and while they admit they were no saints, both are now clean and sober and want to do their best for the sport and the kids they are teaching.
‘‘I was in and out of boys’ homes in the ‘80s, and I can tell you they were not the place you wanted to be, it was diabolical,’’ Winstone said.
After escaping from social welfare care in his mid-teens, Winstone found himself homeless, living in a container near a skatepark in Auckland, and at age 15 was injecting heroin.
‘‘Most of the people I was in there with are now either dead or still in jail,’’ he said.
Becoming, and staying sober, has been a challenge for them both, but those days are long gone said the pair.
‘‘For me, it was either get sober, go to prison, or die,’’ Wallace-Elliott said.
‘‘I had to get back on the right path and skating has always been there for me – when you’re on a board the only thing you focus on is what’s ahead of you.’’
Now, kids in the Waikato towns of Tokoroa and Morrinsville are getting the opportunity to learn the Olympic sport of skateboarding with the Kids On Boards crew.
Winstone, 48, said the idea for KOB came to him after he was asked to teach a young girl how to skate about two years ago.
‘‘After a couple of lessons she picked it up really well. I thought I could do this with other kids looking to have some fun and