National Skateboarding Championships 2023: Ben Nordberg on skating and modelling

Ben Nordberg at the Gucci show during Men's Fashion Week in Milan

Skateboarder Ben Nordberg looks confident when modelling for some of the world's biggest fashion brands, but when it comes to competing in his sport he admits he is a "nervous wreck."

The English professional skater-turned-model will swap Los Angeles for London when he competes at this month's National Skateboarding Championships, which you can watch live on the BBC.

"For me, I'm very patriotic. If I was able to just be on the national team then that's a great achievement for me," the 33-year-old told BBC Sport.

Nordberg has been sidelined from training for six weeks with an ankle injury but remains positive he will still get to the contest.

British skateboarders were invited to enter the National Championships last month by sharing a video on Instagram that showcased their abilities.

The park event, which showcases tricks in the air in a bowl-shaped ramp, takes place on 15 and 16 April in Hemel Hempstead and you can watch the finals live on Sunday 16 on the BBC Sport website and app.

Meanwhile, the street event in London on 29 and 30 April - which Nordberg is scheduled to compete in - involves riding rails, jumping steps and doing tricks on the ground.

Recently-crowned park world champion Sky Brown will not be competing at the nationals, but GB's Jesse Thomas and George O'Neill are entered in the men's park event and Lilly Strachan in the women's park.

Nordberg's (right) first professional modelling job was with DKNY

'I'm not the most confident person in general'

Picking up a board for the first time, aged 11, with his school friends, Nordberg soon became hooked on the thrill of honing his talent.

"As I started to do it more, I started to enjoy it more," he said. "I started to sneak off down the skate park away from my mates and the next thing I know, I'm down there for eight hours a day!"

He moved to LA to pursue his skateboarding career and, once in California, "modelling just randomly happened" through his agent Mimi, who got him signed to an agency.

"I never went out with the intention to do it but I've ended up doing a lot, which has been great," he added.

"I never in a million years thought I'd work with some of the companies that I have, like Gucci, Burberry, DKNY and Diesel - it's a lot of cool stuff and that's mostly because of skating.

"I'd usually get booked as a skateboarder but not to do skating, I wasn't doing tricks, I guess they just liked the whole skating aesthetic."

But despite shooting for some of the most prestigious names in fashion, Nordberg says he's "probably more self-conscious now".

"I'm not the most confident person in general, I've always been a nervous wreck when I skate. I'm not sure why, there's no reason but it happens."

'People can see how you can make a career out of it'

Skateboarding made its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 and due to its popularity, will become a permanent sport at the Games from 2028.

At the age of 13, Great Britain's Brown became the youngest Olympic medal winner of all time when she won skateboarding bronze in Tokyo.

On the now-14-year-old's achievement, Nordberg added: "To see what Sky Brown is doing is pretty incredible.

"I think once people do it and realise how hard it actually is and how much commitment it takes to get to that level, it's up there in terms of difficulty.

"It's amazing how many skaters you see in England now and the facilities are much better too. People can now see how you can make a real career out of it."