GIANT Nick Haynes has opened up about his career as a semi-professional skimboarder on the latest episode of The Footy Phil.
The defender joined co-captain Phil Davis and GIANTS Media's Alison Zell on the latest episode of podcast and talked about his short but successful career in the extreme sport.
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The now 26-year-old was once ranked amongst the best skimboarders in Victoria.
“I loved football growing up… and I got to under-13s and I kind of lost a bit of interest in football,” he said.
“I got a hold of some board sports, skateboarding, snowboarding and all that stuff.
“I grew up on the beach, which in Port Phillip Bay is a nice flat beach and I’d like to have gone out surfing but the only thing you could do there was a thing called skimboarding.”
Haynes’ mother gifted him a board at 14 and after initially being “horrendous” at the sport and despite taking a lot of falls, he persevered and eventually topped his age group.
“I worked on my craft over a year or two and I became friends with a few people I admired (in the sport),” he said.
“Then we started to push each other and at the Frankston Foreshore Festival each year there was a skimboard competition, which is the one day of the year that Frankston comes together.
“First year I was bottom aged 18s and I came 10th I think, I got into the finals and was pretty happy with that.
“The next year I was at the top of my year and had really improved and I came first.
“That’s when the sponsors started flocking in."
After winning the open grade competition the following year Haynes went back to football as a 17-year-old and by 19 he was drafted by the GIANTS with pick seven in the 2011 NAB AFL Draft.
The GIANTS' win over the Swans in Sydney Derby XVII is also discussed in The Footy Phil, as is booing in football and how the GIANTS are shaping up ahead of their return to UNSW Canberra Oval to take on the Saints in round seven.
Podcast Summary
1:00 - Haynes' Skimboarding Career
7:30 - Haynes goes back to footy
9:40 - Haynes' dog Lenny
11:30 - Winning Sydney Derby XVII
13:40 - Booing in Football
17:20 - Davis missing down back
18:30 - Returning to UNSW Canberra Oval
21:50 - Haynes on his videography career
