Tim Bunckenberg has broken bones and “lost quite a bit of skin” over his years as longboarder. “You fall off quite a bit, but you learn to fall properly eventually.
“That kind of reduces your injuries after a bit,” he says. “It’s not ideal – you don’t really like it, but it’s just part of the sport – kind of like a runner getting blisters.”
Bunckenberg, 20, is from Timaru, but is currently studying physics in Wellington (useful only for working out how hard he can hit a post, he says). He has been longboarding for a little over three years and “absolutely loves it”, but says others close to him have their reservations.
“I don’t think the parents quite like me doing it too much when I come home with all these scrapes down my legs and stuff like that. The girlfriend doesn’t like it too much when I come home injured, either.”
There’s a massive adrenaline buzz at the time, and at the end you’re kind of gasping for air because your heart’s beating so fast. It’s just amazing, eh
Bunckenberg got his first longboard when he was about to finish high school, after seeing videos online. “I thought, ‘I want to get into that. That looks awesome’. And then I did, and it hasn’t really stopped.
“The first time I went down a decent hill I was like, ‘Well I’m at the top of the hill, I may as well go down it’ ... Fortunately – I survived.”
He says he’s reached speeds over 80km/h but knows of others who’ve broken 100. He says the rush of adrenaline is both amazing and, perplexingly, “quite relaxing, really”.
“You’re going down a hill, you’ve got tunnel vision and your head’s just totally clear as you’re focussing on what’s ahead of you and what you’re doing,” says Bunckenberg. “It sounds weird, I know, but when you’re focused on this one thing, everything else is out of your mind. You just have to do it I guess.
“I mean, of course there’s a massive adrenaline buzz at the time, and at the end you’re kind of gasping for air because your heart’s beating so fast. It’s just amazing, eh.”
Last year he successfully took on Aro Valley hill in Wellington: “That was quite satisfying because that was a bit of a goal I had for a while.” When he’s home down south, Mt John near Tekapo is one of his favourite spots. “It’s annoying because it’s quite busy during the day, but it shuts at six o’clock. When I have the time to get out there I like to try and skate that.
“It’s quite cool seeing people cheering you on and getting excited when you roll past. Obviously I don’t do it for that reason – I skate by myself quite a lot – but is quite satisfying.”
And that, he says, is the main reason he does it: satisfaction.
Tim Bunckenberg got his first longboard when he was about to finish high school. “I thought, ‘I want to get into that. That looks awesome.’" Photo: Supplied