Huntington Beach’s Brooke Benton, 6, continues to shred

Brooke Benton attacks skatepark courses with aggression, but her personality veers toward funny and giggly.

“Want to say hi to my cat?” she asked during a phone interview Monday, putting the phone up to her cat Xander. “Do you hear it? I’m going to make him talk.”

The 6-year-old from Huntington Beach, first featured in the Daily Pilot in March, continues her progression on the board. On Sunday, she finished in second place in street skating for girls of all ages at a competition at her home park, Vans Off the Wall skatepark.

“It was really good,” Brooke said. “It was my home park, so I was pretty comfortable with it. A lot of my family and friends came out for it.”

Brooke is entering first grade at Huntington Seacliff Elementary School. She also plays AYSO soccer and dances, but she is continuing on her skateboarding journey, competing in several California Amateur Skateboarding League contests recently.

Huntington Beach’s Brooke Benton took second place in girls’ street skateboarding at a local event over the weekend.

(Ruth Benton)

She finished second at an event in Fontana and fifth at an event in Vista, both in May, for girls of all ages. At the Vista event, each of the girls ahead of Brooke were ages 9 to 13, said her mom, Ruth Benton. At a June event in Costa Mesa, Brooke took second place in girls’ street skating and third place in park.

Even at the Huntington Beach event on Sunday, the first-place finisher was Jordan Fenigstein of Berkeley, who is twice Brooke’s age.

“I’m usually the youngest one, but I like the pressure,” Brooke said.

Over the summer, she spent time in Portugal and got to skate at some international skateparks there.

Others also are noticing Brooke’s skills. Triple 8 Helmets and 187 Killer Pads, big-time players in the pro skateboarding world, have picked her up as sponsors. And she now has more than 6,000 followers on Instagram — more than double what that number was in March.

What is next for her? Well, she’s working on mastering the kickflip pop shove-it.

“I’m trying to ollie over a lot of skateboards,” she added. “I’ve done five at the most.”

Her parents continue following her progress proudly.

“It’s pretty incredible to see,” said Brooke’s dad, AJ Benton. “It’s amazing that she has such a drive, but also a focus, at this age ... It seems to come natural to her. She works really hard.

“It’s weird to be in awe of a 6-year-old, but that’s definitely the case.”

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