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“If you can, try and grab a handful of hair. That way you can free up your other hand to punch the bloke across the chin. Hopefully rendering them unconscious,” he said.

“Fighting in the surf is very difficult, but not impossible. With enough focus and dedication, anybody can do it. Even you.”

The final pep talk Betoota Ponds surfing coach, Adam Rutland, gives his students isn’t one that inspires confidence, it’s designed to help them overcome the first big hurdle that surfing a new break.

The locals.

The Lake Betoota Surfing Complex opened late last year and was almost immediately claimed by a local surfing gang.

While it attracts a number of tourists each year, police and council have had to explain time and time again that the artificial wave generator belongs to everyone – not just ‘the locals’.

The complex has been the scene of surf-related violence in the past and students often feel the brunt of it.

“Which is why I teach them how to fight while sitting on a surfboard,” says Rutland.

Adam took time out of his busy afternoon of smoking bongs and complaining about the onshore breezes today to speak to The Advocate about his controversial surf school.

“Getting bashed by the locals for repeatedly dropping in on them is a rite of passage for every new surfer. I want my students to have the best chance of winning,”

“So I give them a few pointers.”

More to come.