Why surfing?

To be perfectly honest, when I was younger I was just like all the chicks like surfers. But since then, I think just the peaceful vibe, sitting in the ocean you have no control over it, it's inconsistent. Everything changing all the time so you have to be aware of what's going with the waves, the tides, the currents. You have to be switched on a lot of the time, I used to do a lot of spearfishing and there was a time when I swam to the bottom of the se and just sat there. And the smallness it brings, like man we're only tiny in this world. And it keeps me humble I guess. That would be one aspect of why. And the other is relationships, hanging out with people and the roadtrips. There's always something you have to adapt to and it keeps you on your toes which is nice.

Have you struggled with any mental health issues in the past?

Um yeah, for me, I wouldn't say I have struggled with it but when I was younger there was a sense of feeling isolated or lonely a lot of the time. Even if you have a solid community around you, you can still feel like no-one cares. I went through little stages of that. But last year, one of my youth workers actually committed suicide. And then there's been a whole lot more [suicide attempts] in the last couple of weeks as well. That was my first glimpse, a reality check that this is something serious that people talk about but they don't talk about it enough. Going through the stages of grieving someone I was close with and worked with, that was the most emotional I've ever been in my life.