Beyond the Break

CHAPTER 4AUSTRALIA: Know your purpose

Back in Australia from Europe and England, and in the last year of my teens, I decided it was time to start taking my surfing career more seriously if I was going to make a living from it. So, I started training with my personal trainer, Nev, three times a week, and I ordered some top-quality boards.

Many of the world's top surfers buy boards from Simon Anderson in Brookvale, right around the corner from where I grew up. Simon's craftsmanship is legendary in the industry. He's dedicated to crafting the perfect board to suit each rider. As luck would have it, we surfed the same beach and, after seeing me surf in my early teens, Simon became one of my sponsors.

I was always stoked to receive boards made by Simon (and still am to this day) because each board would be better than the last, improving my performance in the surf. I'd give him feedback on how the last board handled overall and through specific manoeuvres, and Simon would make little adjustments to the shape of the next board. Whether my goal was speed in small waves, the ability to drive harder through turns or big wave riding, Simon would craft a new design with little changes based on my feedback. The average person likely wouldn't notice these subtle differences, but in the water, they changed my approach.

So, before the next round of surfing events, I talked to Simon and ordered custom-shaped boards, allowing plenty of time for me to test and get a feel for them before the ...