Meet Ben Godwin. He does nice aerials.
Ben Godwin is 23 years old from Forster on the mid-north coast of NSW. He is one of hundreds of this country’s pros to originate in rural Australia. Forster, like many coastal enclaves, produces amazing waves, amazing surfers and houses an assortment of problems for the youth of today. Boredom, racism, homemade amphetamines, weekend brawling and nil working opportunities are just some of them.
Surfers from such a place will reach a fork in their life at some point. They will either remain, surf the waves, punch out a kid and fall in line behind their old man working the family business, or flee for the city. There they will find will find anonymity, opportunity and dreadful, dreadful waves. Ben stayed.
Tell us about yourself, Ben.
I’m just a cat from Forster. I got back from three weeks in Nias the other day. It took us five flights just to get there. It was heavy. It never got over six foot.
Anything notable happen?
I got a couple of stitches in my hand. My leggy sling-shotted and I used my hand to stop it hitting me in the head. I got it stitched in a childbirth clinic.
At least if you contract a yeast infection in your palm, you’ll know why.
Imagine if I got pregnant and had a big a big foetus growing out of my arm. They had uniforms on so they looked like they knew what they were doing. It only cost me 80,000 rupiah (Aus $10).
You’ve got some aerial game. You heard the ASP are gonna start doling out tens for anything better than a double grab?
It’s about time. When I’m in a heat all I do is airs and I always get underscored. I hate getting beaten by guys that do six turns to the beach and they’re all the same turn. That fucken shits me.
You might wanna start enrolling in a few ‘QSs?
I do a few. I won a one star in W.A once, the Sunshine Surf Masters. It was my best result. I won it twice in a row, actually. It’s on a crumbly left and I just set if off like I do at home. They were scoring up airs over there.
Tell me about your native hood. Country NSW can be tough as a youth.
Everything shuts at night. Forster is 70% full of retirees. The RSL is the only thing open. You start downstairs at the beer garden and pokies, then go upstairs to the auditorium where there’s a band or DJ mixin’ some shit up. The bouncers are heavy. They know us by first name, so if we’re loose before we get there they don’t let us in. They have bashed a couple of people. A few of my mates have been thrown out and had their faces grazed up.
I did time in Forster as a teen. My enduring memories of the place were of many undesirables and frequent melees.
It gets super vicious at New Years. I’m trying not to be there for that anymore. Crew come down from [neighbouring] Taree to get loose and there is a turf war every year. I was trying to break up a fight two years ago, one of eight I’d seen that night, and I got my head punched in. My mouth scabbed up into a black scar because of being in the sun all the time. It looks like I’ve pulled a bong and there is a black smudge there.
Is that what people say to you?
Yeah, they’re like wipe your mouth man. I’m like ‘Na dude that’s a scar.’
Who are the offenders?
There’s a big aboriginal contingent in town but they’re cool. It’s the guys who don’t surf, wear Adidas and spend all day at the skate park. They can’t even skate. Their only outlet is fighting.
You just ferment out there, huh?
Forster is the worst because it’s full of retirees. You can’t have a party in your backyard. Even if you let the cops know, they will come round at nine or ten and shut it down because the oldies whinge.
There is an aboriginal mission in Forster isn’t there. What’s that like?
Most of them are pretty cool. I grew up living next to the mission where they live. Quite a few of them surf so we’re pretty tight with those guys. They’re down on surfing. [Fellow Forster pro] Joey Haddon is our connect with the koori guys, he’s a half-caste, and they respect him for what he’s doing. We’re tight with Joe, so we don’t have beefs with the kooris at home. I can see how Forster scares people. You become desensitised to it. It’s just another fight. On a Friday or a Saturday night there’s always something going down because everyone is so bored.
I noticed you said on your weeds profile 'the result of the recession will be people beginning veggie gardens and selling ganja.' How easy is it to grow weed plants?
Easy, if you plant them at the right time of year. I think the saying goes ‘plant them on mothers day, pick ‘em on fathers day.’ A lot of my friends at home grow weed. So if I needed some pointers I’m sure they could help me out.
You got any tips for backyard entrepreneurs hoping to produce their own crop?
Buy a bit at the start of the week and divide it into seven, to ration it out.
No, growing it?
Try not to use too many chemicals. A bit of sunshine and some T-L-C (Tender Loving Care – not to be confused with THC, the active ingredient in hooch). Good drainage is a big factor and if any of the leaves look like they’re dying, get rid of them.
You’re a brickies labourer. I did a bit as a youth. Tell me, have you found the elusive perfect mix of cement?
I have. I’ve got an immaculate creamy mix. The bricklayer is my uncle and he taught me the finer points of mixing mud. I use six shovels of sand, two cement, and two small buckets of water. Then I go by feel. I stick my finger in to detect lumps and add a touch of Bicol or water.
Quite the connoisseur. Do you rub it on your gums as well?
Na never tasted it. I imagine it would be horrible.
Describe your working environment.
My dad’s the builder and he employs fifteen guys who are all local surfers. My dad lets us go surfing twice a day. If it’s pumping we get the day off and just catch up on the weekend. I work alongside Joe Haddon who’s finished his apprenticeship. Joey is a laid back cat. We grew up two streets from each other. You’d think we’d get over each other but we have a ball. He doesn’t try to pull rank on me but I’m the bitch who gets sent to get smoko. If I forget his Snickers bar he gets up me.
School?
I was asked to leave in year 12 because of low attendance. Some teachers who surfed were cool but they all wanted me out by the end of the year. My final marks were in the mid 70’s - not too bad.
Twenty three years old, entering a recession, money is thin - how long you giving yourself to crack it?
Six or seven more years, if I stay healthy. I’m a bit of a binge drinker and I don’t mind a party so hopefully my health stays with me. I’m surfing better than when I was twenty. I’m just aiming at getting footage and photos. - Jed Smith
Benny Godwin - Hi Res from riley blakeway on Vimeo.
Posts: 16
Reply #16 on : Tue October 20, 2009, 14:25:07