Ben Barclay Joins The North Face Australia and New Zealand’s athlete team
Twenty two year old Ben Barclay is a NZ freeskier from Wanaka. He has just completed a Northern hemisphere comp season wowing audiences with some incredible trick rails including a massive misty 810 off the up rail and three beautiful tricks on the jumps with his trademark effortless style. Conditions during comps were definitely challenging with nearly every event affected by terrible weather but he lives the dream he’s been passionate about since a young kid in New Zealand, giving it everything he’s got.
“It was a roller coaster of a winter, there were lots of learnings but I finished on a high, I also achieved 6th place at the Grand Prix at Mammoth.” Past achievements include Winter Games NZ Obsidian Challenge, 2023 , Bakuriani World Championship 2023, Slopestyle Font Romeu World Cup 2022 in the Slopestyle.
His self-expression takes place in front of the lens and Ben’s repertoire of video parts grows each year. ‘I really enjoy dipping my toes into this aspect of skiing. I like to focus on the high end and just cool skiing. I like toying with the mental space of skiing, it’s very interpretative” (check out Never Never Seen a Bear, 2024 & Market’s Shut, 2023).
He is currently working on his first major film project for The North Face with teammate Ben Richards. “It’s an honour to join with such a prestigious brand. They really support their athletes, they’re really aware of the environment and give back a lot”.
For Ben who has been skiing since age 11 at Mt Ruapehu, he’s looking forward to next season’s competitions and film making and we wish him the best of luck this year.
Photo credits @markclinton @benbarclay123
