Buderim dad Jayden Lawson hits the mark in GoPro Challenge

A Buderim dad’s incredible display of archery has landed him a five-figure cash boost, after scooping a share of the $1m global grand prize offered up by GoPro. SEE THE VIDEO

A Buderim dad says he is “still buzzing” after his video finally hit the mark in the GoPro Million Dollar Challenge, landing him a five-figure cash stash after five years of trying.

Avid golfer and GoPro hobbyist Jayden Lawson won the grand prize last Thursday, scoring an equal $27,539.90 share of the total $1m grand prize.

Filmed on a GoPro HERO 11 Mini, the winning footage depicts the incredible vision of an arrow shot from a bow soaring through the sky to hit a bullseye at a Buderim sports field, with the clip featuring about halfway through the three-minute 100 per cent user-generated highlight reel.

The annual challenge received over 40,000 video clip submissions from more than 126 countries.

“One of the head media creators at GoPro talked about the process of culling and selecting all the footage and just reading how enormous the whole task for them is and for my clip to get to through to the actual end is quite unbelievable,” Mr Lawson said.

GoPro Million Dollar Challenge 2023 winner Jayden Lawson.

Other footage he submitted this year included vision of a golf ball being hit and followed through the air until it bounces on the green which he filmed on a racing drone.

“I just love trying to make unique concepts happen,” Mr Lawson said.

“A few years ago I learnt how to build racing drones back when you couldn’t buy them off the shelf, you had to learn how to solder and use electronics and I did that specifically so I could film this golf shot.”

With an interest in videography passed down from his grandfather, a missionary who lived in Samoa in the 1950s who had the first colour video camera in the Pacific Islands, Mr Lawson said he similarly finds himself “trying to use the current technology to film unique things”.

“Right after Queen Elizabeth became Queen my grandfather got the only colour footage of her in the islands which was pretty crazy,” Mr Lawson said.

“So I guess that’s influenced me with videography and now here I am.”

One of Jayden Lawson’s other entries in to the GoPro Million Dollar Challenge 2023 captured his daughter Addie having fun at Mooloolaba. Picture: Supplied

A snapshot of “incredible, positive moments happening all around the world” Mr Lawson says there are a few elements to consider when entering the competition he describes as depicting “the peak of humanity”.

“One of the things is coming up with unique camera angles,” he said.

“I’d never really seen anyone film the perspective of the arrow being shot.

“I had it in mind for years but cameras have just been too big so when the Mini came out I thought, ‘wow, maybe it’s possible to get this shot of mounting it on the arrow and shooting it’.”

The complete reel features “high quality, crisp footage” filmed using the GoPro HERO 11 Black, with other submissions ranging from swimming with humpback whales to footage of the aurora lights to hot wheels racing, and a POV shot of a dog catching a ball.

Mr Lawson – a former Holey Moley winner – said he plans to spend his winnings on upgrading his computer so he can edit videos faster.

He said he would also like to give 10 per cent to charity, take his family out for a celebration dinner and give a local creator a GoPro HERO 11 Black to give back to the GoPro community.

Mr Lawon previously nailed a hole in one on TV show Holey Moley. Picture: Channel 7