The Crew
Hi I’m Nicky Hayes and I’m a proud Arrernte man and Traditional Owner for Ltyentye Apurte. I began skating in Alice Springs at the age of 11 and continued to skate throughout my adolescence when I lived in Adelaide.
Skateboarding came naturally to me and I fell in love with everything that came with it. The self-determination, the community, and the adrenaline. Now in my mid-30’s and I’m still skating. I also work as a Youth Worker and I am passing on my skills to the younger generations of my home community.
The notion of Spinifex Skateboards, for me, has a real sense of place. It makes me think about country, about the scrub, the red sand, and the yellow spinifex. It’s a little symbol to remind me about where I’ve come from and who I am, and it’s made up of what’s been there from the very start through to what and where Spinifex sits on now.
On country and on home, the physical and the idea, and where I sit amongst it all. And then I put that together with my skating.
That’s what Spinifex Skateboards is. I want to achieve a lot with this business and I wanna share it all with everyone, especially those young ones.
I wanna build something that supports the kids and young people who decide to take on something new. I want to achieve something that can grow and to show these young people that they too can achieve big things. I want to be able to look back one day at what I’ve done and who I am and be proud about where my passion has taken me and what it’s done for my community.
It’s my way of giving back.