She’ll Be Right Spotlight Series

New Zealand Snowboarding teamed up with She’ll Be Right to spotlight the people that embody the spirit, vibe, and essence of She’ll Be Right. SBR isn’t a competition, but rather a celebration of incredible girls, women, and non-binary individuals in our snow community. SBR is about providing opportunities, community, and a platform for participants to progress in the industry.

The NZSB judging panel have selected Te Rina Adams as the standout videographer for She’ll be Right 2025. Te Rina captured every moment of She’ll Be Right—from the riding, to the hiking, to the falling, and all the laughter and smiles in between. Her edit captured the friendship, connection, and community that makes SBR special.

She’ll Be Right founder and organiser Cayley Alger sat down with Te Rina to dig deeper into snowboarding.

standout Videographer: Te Rina Adams

Interview by Cayley Alger

Te Rina has been coming to She’ll Be Right since its inception in 2020, and I’ve been lucky enough to call her a friend for even longer than that. So when NZSB named her this year’s standout videographer, it felt like the universe finally did something right. It’s about time this woman got a bit of the spotlight she’s been quietly earning for years. Te Rina wears many hats (and answers to just as many names) and has taken a colourful, non-linear path into filmmaking. She’s fuelled by strong coffee, an even stronger sense of community, and is on a mission to normalise hankies. As per usual, I got so much from my chat with Te Rina, including a reminder to brush up on my Te Reo. So, settle in as I’m sure you’ll take away some learning too.

Te Rina Adams taken by Amee Freeman @ameefreeman

Who are you, and what gets you up the mountain?

Ko Te Rina toku ingoa. My name is Te Rina, but I also go Reenie or Te. So, whatever you want to call me… just call me. I’m definitely a snowboarder, that’s become a large part of my identity over the years, but I’m also a creative. And I like to combine those two things where I can, which I have been lucky to do with SBR.

And what gets you up the mountain?

Honestly, a strong coffee, and the potential of a breakfast slider [really gets me out of bed]. But ultimately, getting up there and riding with people is what keeps me up there. You could have a shitty weather day and still have the best time if you're riding with your buddies. I'm a simple girl.

What is the best thing you've ever found in the pocket of your outerwear? 

The best thing I’ve ever “found” is probably my lost AirPod. Which was missing for bloody ages, but it was especially exciting because I just needed to zone in and I find tunes are a really good way to do that. If you're going into the day thinking you’ll have no music, then you realise you’re going to have Doechii blasting in your ear all day, that is a good surprise! But the thing I “always” always have in my pocket, is a hanky (or if I’m unorganised a shredded tissue). I just feel like that's my brand. I just want to normalise hankies, they're not enough of a thing! They’re sustainable, reusable. I've definitely had [too many] ‘comments’ pulling my hanky out my pocket and, like, I just want hankies to be accepted in society.

Yes, ma’am, normalise the hanky! They’re not just for old people. 
Now, for those of us who don’t know, how did you get into filming? 

It’s very disjointed, but I'll do my best with it. Film production was a component of my studies when I first went to uni. I went to media design school and part of what I studied was various sorts of media design, like photography, graphic design, and screen production. I have always, since I was very young, liked art and outdoor sports (snowboarding in particular).  Growing up, close to Mt Ruapehu, we learned how to ski at a pretty young age and then tried snowboarding. I just have known since I was  young that I like art and I like being in the outdoors but it took me a long time to hone in on filmmaking in particular. So, after I went to media design school, I eventually started doing some skate projects with you, which honed my skills.

Te Rina was one of the founding members of a female skate project called Refurb Skate. A group that encouraged women into skateboarding. A project that’s taken her to Nepal, Iraq, Palestine and India, to skate, meet the local community and document their tremendous stories.

When it came to filmmaking on snow, SBR had a large part to play in that. It created a space that had a framework for capturing not just snowboarding, but the women in snowboarding. I feel really lucky that you brought me into that, I feel like it’s had a big role in my filmmaking journey. I just don't know if I had the confidence or knew where to begin, so having that space provided and having somewhat of a guideline was really instrumental to building my confidence with shooting on snow.

I remember you reaching out to me about putting together a video for the first one. That gave me a really good sense of purpose with shooting on snow and I grew from there. I think too, when it's a friend, or someone you know and trust and they say, “I think you can do this”, it gives you like such a sense of, “fuck, maybe I can do this”.

Outside SBR do you remember a moment or a period of time where you were like, “yeah, this is for me?” 

I think it was quite an incremental thing for me. Like, maybe in the future, I'll think of a specific moment, but right now all I can think of is, I haven't had a very linear journey or career with shooting, it's not my full-time job or anything, it’s just an incremental increase of okay, “I'm learning more, I'm feeling more confident in my creative choices. I'm developing a style.” So even now and even at my age, it's still growing and developing.

Te Rina Adams & Sez Paddie hiking SBR taken by Nicola Sharrat @nicolasharratphotos

Equally, do you ever feel like you have moments where you question, “is this for me?” 

I used to. I've made lots of silly mistakes with videography. But honestly, the more I do it, the more I flex the muscle, the less I feel that way. I don't have those feelings come up very regularly anymore, where I definitely used to.

How was SBR for you this year? 

Oh, it was firing on all bloody cylinders. It was really amazing. It really felt like everything had come together this year in such a harmonious way. Everything just flowed, it was amazing.

And did you have a favourite moment from the day? 

I did. I had a moment when I stood down below the down rail, shooting up, and from that angle, I could see the whole group of people [standing at the drop in], it was a strong squad. I was like, “wow, look at our community, it's massive.” That was a cool moment just seeing everybody up there as like a big, Jumanji stampede in the best way. And realising that I knew so many of those people up there and they’re people I've got to know over the years [at SBR] so we might not see each other all the time, but we definitely see each other at this event and that’s so cool seeing how many people are up there and [how many of them I now call friends].

So, what does She'll Be Right (as an event or a phrase or a community) mean to you? 

I learnt a word coincidentally very recently, I’ve been practising my Reo. I feel like it really sums up SBR. It’s Whanaungatanga, pronounced roughly "fuh-no-na-tah-nga”. It translates to kinship and connection. So that has a large role to play in the community and that is what SBR is to me. All these amazing people, people like Christy Prior, Cool Wakushima, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, who've been there before. All these incredible heroes, in the snowboard world, are the most genuine humans as well. Meeting my heroes, some I may not have otherwise met, came through my connection with SBR and all the incredible people who make up the event, like Emma, Michelle, Doof, Zee, Amee, Kirsty, Dibby, Belle, Riley, Tove, my hype guy Fran, you of course, and Caitlin… the best MC in the game! To name just a few. I was chuffed when I came across that.

I’m chuffed you mentioned it. What do you want to see more of in this industry? 

I would love to see more accessibility to this industry. I think we all know what it's done for us and how special it is. But not everybody has access, it's very expensive. I think accessibility creates a lot of diversity, and that would be cool to see evolve more in the snowboard industry.

What's next for you? 

Hopefully, these plans are ‘pending’, but, Fran [my partner] and I are off to Japan for some soul turns and to hopefully shoot some beautiful scenery and snowboarding.

And beyond that, what's the dream for you? 

I feel like I haven't thought about [anything like this] for a while. I feel like my everyday and my algorithm is taken up by the state of the world right now, which is pretty crazy and turbulent. So I haven't really thought about this too much. I just keep seeing people in Palestine [and I really feel for them]. I guess amidst all that, I was talking with Bri at SBR about one big goal I’d love to put out [into the universe]. I would love to shoot for The Uninvited at some stage, and I would love, love, love to be on that media crew. That would be huge! 

Te Rina Adams follow cam on Emmi Parkkisenniemi taken by Ally Grace Moore @allygracemoore

I think we're all manifesting this for you. Speaking of goals and achieving things, what’s the best advice you've ever received?

This advice was not intended for me, but I heard it from Marama Pou, while filming a recent surf project, Wāhine Wave Riders. She said something really poignant that stuck with me, which was, “even when your body ages out of something, it doesn't mean that you're not part of it. You can always be part of something that you're passionate about in some capacity.” I was blown away by it, because I feel like that's sort of where my movements are naturally going. [Don’t get me wrong] I'll keep snowboarding for as long as my body allows. But that makes me feel like it's not all just a dead end and you can’t age out of it.

Equally, what’s the worst advice you've ever received?

Honestly, the worst advice is probably advice I've given myself. Something like “don’t be a weirdo” or “don't fuck it up” or “don't act like you normally do.” We’re always going to fuck it up, and there's nothing wrong with that, [because ultimately] it helps you figure it out. I think it's such a good learning curve, especially the big fails.

And knowing what you know now, if you could go back and say anything to yourself on your first day of filming, what would you say?

I think I'd just say, “trust your gut and just let yourself be vulnerable, even if that comes across as cringe,” because otherwise you might be too afraid to do the thing in the first place.

Sage advice.

Yeah, don’t be afraid to be cringe and fuck it up, because it's the best way to live. I know it's hard to do in this day and age with cameras everywhere, but yeah, just do it. 

Any final thoughts?

The last thing I want to say is ngā mihi nui to our community.  For creating a space that is incredible and that everybody looks forward to. So many people have said to me, “it's their favourite day of the season.” It's an important community that you and we have built. I just want to say thanks to everyone who's been a part of it, and for those who have been there year after year, the core ones who know who they are. Because grassroots events matter and amongst the polarising state of the world, they matter even more.

Ngā mihi nui