Ben Anthony of Greenfield is a man on a mission – to bring more young people to skateboarding, one lesson at a time. 

“Skateboarding is not what people think,” he said. “Skating makes kids think linearly. It makes them focus; it forces them to be in the moment. When kids are skating, they are driven and focused, and it’s good for the brain. It takes away all that distraction which is just with them all the time.” 

Anthony also sees skateboarding as a way of getting children who might not be into traditional team sports outside and active. 

“When I look at the way kids are now compared the way I grew up, I’ve seen the change. The amount of time kids spend on screens is crazy; the screens are so bad.  Skateboarding gets kids outside for hours. They get a workout, and they’re exhausted afterwards! We’re actually chipping away at screen time. We’re having an impact, and that’s really cool. We don’t talk about it, but that’s what we’re doing,” he said. 

Anthony and his business partner, Jason Fiore, teach indoor skate camps at different locations, including in Amherst during the school year, and run camps at the Nashua’s David Deane Skate Park throughout the summer.

Anthony says he has seen children and teens from diverse backgrounds and with a range of needs “find a home” at the skate park. He’s grateful for his team of volunteer coaches who are able to provide attention to every student, no matter their needs.

“We get a lot of kids in our camp who don’t have parents. I teach a bunch of kids who are foster kids, and some of these kids do not have a safe place in their lives, and we provide that safe space.  It’s go at your own pace; you don’t have do anything you don’t want to do, and we will support you the whole time,” Anthony said. “Recently I have been teaching my first (student on the autism spectrum), and once it clicked in with him, he was just like, ‘Let’s go, I can do this’, and it is pretty amazing to see.”

Anthony reflects that the challenges of learning to skateboard are good preparation for life. 

“We teach the kids, you are going to fall; that’s part of it. The question is, how are you going to prepare for it? Are you going to put all your pads on and be safe, or not?” Anthony said.  “It’s all about confidence-building, and it’s about figuring out how to solve problems, and you can relate those skills to real life.”

Anthony says he works closely with parents, especially around safety, and always follows up with parents on students’ progress as they go through the camp. 

A three-season varsity athlete at ConVal who also played college soccer, Anthony says skateboarding is a whole different ballgame. 

“I played competitive team sports my whole life, and skateboarding is by far the hardest thing I have ever learned to do,” he said. “What is amazing about skateboarding is you are only competitive with yourself. You’re competing with your own head; that’s your limitation. Your own fears are what you’re trying to overcome.” 

Anthony became interested in skateboarding after working at the Vans store in Nashua,  spending time with older skaters and learning about the skateboarding community.

“I used to have a bad association with skaters because I was a jock. I used to think the kids who hung out at the skate park were the weird kids. I never knew how amazing the community is with skating. It’s cool that it’s come full circle, because that’s where I hang out now,” he said. 

Anthony first started running skate camps with the help of former X Games bronze medalist Nolan Monroe, who he met through Vans.  

“Nolan helped me get the camps off the ground and helped me promote them, and then after a few years I took over. It’s totally amazing  to me that we have now taught over 1,200 students in the past seven years,” Anthony said.

Anthony says that while he does not like to stereotype by gender, he has observed that on a general basis, “the girls are absolutely fearless.” 

“Especially under age 10, they’re more courageous. They’re less distracted, follow directions way better,” Anthony said. “We have a camp that is an all-girls week, and it is definitely the calmest. After high school, it flip-flops, and not a lot of the girls stick with it, which is too bad, because when they’re little they just absolutely rip it.” 

Anthony recently started partnering with Bruised Boutique,  a Nashua rollerskating shop which has a strong presence in the LGBTQ community. 

“I walked in there to talk to them about maybe partnering on some stuff and they said, ‘Are you an ally?’ And I didn’t even know what that meant! And they explained it to me and I was like, ‘Whoa, of course I am an ally.’ I am all about that. I am all about creating a safe space for any person, for any kid,” Anthony said. 

Anthony’s next venture is to expand skate camp and lessons year-round by launching an indoor skateboarding facility.

“I’m looking at warehouse space now. There is no indoor facility within 60 miles! New Hampshire has skiing, it has every sport, but not skateboarding! It’s is a huge void, and I’m trying to fix that. Skateboarding is in the Olympics now,  its on ESPN. This isn’t like a sport for criminals. It takes a lot of skills. No other sports can even compare to skateboarding as far as how hard it is.”

Anthony said that in all his years of athletics, skateboarding is by far his favorite sport.

“Even if you get hurt, it’s worth it,” he said. “I never found this peace and serenity in any other sport.”

For information about Ben Anthony and Jason Fiore’s skateboarding camps for children, youth and adults,  go to facebook.com/nhskateboarding603.