New Spot, the legendary Vancouver skate spot, went through its heyday back in the early days. It built the Vancouver skate scene and helped put many names on the map. Years later Ben Oleynik brought this same feeling to the Internet with his website SkateNewSpot.com. Over the past five years the site has been instrumental in pulling the Canadian skate scene together and gave many skaters their first taste of media exposure.

Ben is now living in New York City doing brand management for Zoo York, but still holds Vancouver and Canadian skateboarding close to his heart. As proof that skateboarding really can take you far from home - the Big Apple couldn't be more different than Ben's hometown of Wawa, Ontario - there's never a shortage of Canadian visitors making their way south to skate with Ben. Read up on skate life in NYC, Zoo York, and how SkateNewSpot was almost named SkateHotSpot.com.

What's up Ben? So you got your start by kicking off SkateNewSpot.com. How did that get started?
Basically, I wanted to start a site that featured what was going on in the Canadian skateboard world. There were so many people skating hard, filming, and shooting photos, but very limited places to showcase it. A site like mine just made sense, and here we are five years later.

Did you ever get to skate New Spot much in the glory days?
Unfortunately, no. I actually almost called the site skatehotspot.com, because Hot Spot is where I mainly skated when I first moved to Vancouver. I did skate New Spot a ton though and watched so much rad shit go down there first hand. Wade D [Desarmo] varial heel'd the big rail, Spenny [Hamilton], Wherry, and Trep kill the double 5's, Houli and Rod [Ferens] killing it, Cory [Beck] doing a handful of tricks over the big rail. I missed the glory days, but definitely had my share of good times there.

What are you doing for Zoo York now?
Brand management.

How did you go from living in Vancouver and doing SkateNewSpot.com to living in NYC and working for Zoo York?
My girlfriend Marianne moved to NYC, so I followed her, haha. I met the people at ZOO and they gave me a chance and a work visa. It's been over three years now. I got to say thank you so much to Nardelli, for starting this all off and doing whatever it took to get me set up in NYC, to Seamus for keeping everything going and always looking out for me and now to Jameel and Neil. 2012 is going to be a really good year for ZOO.

Still doing it based out of NYC? How is that?
Yes. I love NYC. It's amazing: the energy, the people, the culture, you know, all the clichés you've already heard. No matter what you're into, whether it's skating, music, finance, architecture, education, food, politics, advertising, fashion, whatever, New York is a leader in that space. You can find a thriving scene here for whatever it is you want to pursue or be involved in. Some of the people you meet here are so motivated it's amazing. They're all trying to get theirs and they know the possibilities are endless.

Your website helped grow the Canadian skateboard scene. Was it hard to leave?
It means a lot to hear that. Yes, it really was hard to leave. I love Vancouver and Canada and all my friends and family there. I miss the people very much, that's what makes it hard. It's always great to go back to visit or have people come out here though.

What are some of your best Canadian skate memories?
Skating my funbox in front of my house in Wawa, Ontario, in high school with all my old friends. Those are some of the best memories period.

How is the NYC skate scene different than Vancouver?
There are tons of ledges here. Not like Cali, but way more than Vancouver.

Many similarities?
Just tons of kids out everyday having fun and getting crazy good. Both cities have really good things going on.

Do a lot of Canadians end up rolling through NYC?
Yeah, I see homies from Canada here all the time. Kevin Lowry was just here killing it. I mean, really killing it. Can't wait ‘til the weather gets better and visitors start rolling through again.

What do all the skaters in NYC do during the winter in NYC? Any good indoor spots?
There are a couple indoors just outside of the city. Vans has a park that you can skate sometimes. Mainly though, everybody just bundles up and gets it in when it's dry.

Andrew McGraw is the only member of the Zoo International Team. What made him such a good fit?
McGraw has a long history with the team. He knew Zered and Eli really well when he lived in Boston. I was also homies with him for a while before he officially got on. He rips and is chill, so it just made sense. It's definitely been rad to have him involved.

Any plans to add more Canadians in the future?
Yes.

Is Max Fish dead? Where are the skateboard hotspot hangs these days?
I don't know.

Harold Hunter was a huge part of Zoo York and NYC skateboard history? Is his name still a big part of the brand?
Harold will always be a big part of ZOO and skateboard history in general.

How do you go about choosing who to do Monthly Features on for SkateNewSpot?
Whoever is ripping.

What are the best parts about skateboarding right now?
Same as when I started, just being able to go out and skateboard no matter what.

What has skateboarding taught you?
So many things, but one major thing is to pursue what you love. If you love skateboarding, maybe you won't ever be sponsored and that's completely fine. There are a million ways to still be involved. Look at your favorite company. They have people that design the boards, design the clothes, manage the team, make the videos, run events, update the websites, come up with marketing plans, sell the shit, etc, etc. Or, you can even start your own shit. If you want to be involved, you can find a way. I think that goes for anything you're into, not just skateboarding.

Thank you's?
To my dad, my brother, Marianne and all my family and friends. I can't thank you enough.

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Related:
Ben Oleynik's Features on Push.ca
Open House: SkateNewSpot.com
Ian Twa and Robbie Pellack In NYC