Hunter Williams: Shapes + Templates

Who's your youngest friend? 

We just met one of ours: 11-year-old surfer, shaper and filmmaker Hunter Williams. 

This year, Hunter won the grom shorts category at the Noosa International Surf Film Festival with his movie Heirloom. 

Informing an impressive depth of knowledge about surfboard building and design, is Hunter’s spectral surfing skill – he talks us through peak moments of tube time and critical hang tens. 

We meander with Hunter through the way he gathers inspiration from the living world, his startling phone call with George Greenough, and what it meant to meet Jack Mccoy at the last film screening of Jack's life. 

When was the last time you had your mind blown by a young person's refreshing take on life? 

Hunter’s infectious wonder and curiosity are a potent reminder of the importance of intergenerational relationships in all of our lives, for all of our lives. 

...

This episode is made possible by our generous partners:

Patagonia is in business to save our home planet. 

...

Primal Water, by Alkaway, is an at-home water filter that mimics nature and is boosted with molecular hydrogen. 

Head to Alkaway.com and use the code waterpeople for $50 off your first purchase. 

 

Send us a text

...

Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich

Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander

Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll

Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander

Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast

...

Get monthly musings and behind the scenes content from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter.

You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox.

You can stream every Waterpeople episode from your desk.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Actually, at the moment I'm planning out a film
and it's going to be about likeshapes and how surfing shapes
you and how you surf, and thenhow you surf shapes the boards
you ride, that shapes like whoyou are, and then the coastline
shapes also how you surf andwhere you live.
Yeah, it all just goes straightback into shapes, like it all

(00:22):
fits in there pretty well backinto shapes.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
It all fits in there pretty well.
Welcome to Water People apodcast about the aquatic
experiences that shape who webecome back on land.
I'm your host, lauren Hill,joined by my partner, dave
Rastovich.
Here we get to talk, story withsome of the most interesting
and adept water folk on theplanet.
We acknowledge the BundjalungNation, the traditional
custodians of the land andwaters where we work and play,

(00:48):
who have cared for this seacountry for tens of thousands of
years.
Respect and gratitude to allFirst Nations people, including
elders, past, present andemerging.
This season is supported byPatagonia, whose purpose-driven
mission is to use business tosave our home planet.
Today we're in conversationwith our youngest guest yet

(01:12):
11-year-old surfer, shaper andfilmmaker, hunter Williams.
This year Hunter won the GromShorts category at the Noosa
International Surf Film Festivalwith his movie Heirloom.
Informing.
An impressive depth ofknowledge about surfboard
building and design is Hunter'sspectral surfing skill.
He talks us through peakmoments of tube time and
critical hang tens.

(01:33):
Hunter's infectious wonder andcuriosity are a potent reminder
of the value ofintergenerational relationships
in all our lives.
So we've had a bit of a busykind of eventful last couple of
months.
What have you been up to?

Speaker 3 (01:50):
Well, at least I think it was two moons ago.
I was on the road with JackMcCoy and his daughter's husband
, Luke Campbell, and we weretravelling around Oz sharing his
film Blue Horizon that Jackmade 20-odd years ago, and
myself and Andy Irons were inthat and Jack was in his, you

(02:13):
know, mid to late 70s.
He had been touring and makingsurf films for decades, Like, I
think, one of the theatres weshowed at.
He showed a film there 50 yearsprior.

Speaker 2 (02:26):
Wow.

Speaker 3 (02:26):
Like incredibly long career of making films and so
anyway, we were on the roaddoing that and I was a bit
reluctant at first and that'sjust.
I don't know, through hypersocialising and stuff I can get
a bit tired and a bitoverwhelmed by that sometimes,
but generally it's really funand when it's happening.

(02:47):
You've seen me be in that sortof situation and step into it
and really enjoy it, but Ialways get a bit sort of
hesitant beforehand, and thatwas the case with this with Jack
.
But you know, he'd had a prettyserious lung issue for going on
a decade just over a decadeactually and the last year or so
he definitely struggled morethan that previous decade of

(03:09):
hardship with breathing inparticular.
And so when he was saying comeon, dave, let's get on the road,
let's do this.
I was like, all right, let's doit.
And so as soon as it started, Iwas so stoked that we were
doing that.
But do you remember when wecaught that Jack, the first
moment?
Was down in St Kilda, in thecold streets of Melbourne.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
I almost thought he was joking.
He was so winded, belaboured byhis body, he was barely walking
.
He was asking not to walk andtalk at the same time because he
was having a really difficulttime with his health.
So it was a shock.
It was a total shock, for, likehe is a big personality and a
big man.
A big man and a big talker likewraps you up in his world

(03:52):
immediately.

Speaker 3 (03:53):
Usually, that was my experience of him, so it was a
big change to see him like that,yeah, definitely Very tired.

Speaker 2 (03:58):
And then a huge transformation.
Exactly To see him on stageyeah transformation, exactly, to
see him on stage, yeah, to befilled with mana, with life,
with the energy of doing what heloves, to do.

Speaker 3 (04:12):
Yeah, that was radical, yeah, it was, wasn't it
?
Yeah?
So he would literally be asleepand kind of in and out of
consciousness and then, you know, the lights would go on and the
cinema's screen would turn onand all the people were in their
seats and we would get undereach of his armpits, wake him up
and say, all right, jack, it'stime.
And he would just come to lifelike a flower to the sun in the

(04:33):
morning.
He'd just stand up and unfurland then he'd sit there and
probably, aside from being inthe tube with his camera
shooting pictures or hugging oneof his family members, I think
his favourite place was being ona stage with one of his films
behind him and a full packedtheatre in front of him and a

(04:55):
captive audience, and he would.
Just, he just loved it and hewas so good at it and so, yeah,
he would just come to life andhe would talk story and he would
speak.
He had a very clear sort ofslideshow presentation and it
was his sort of backstory spiel,he would call it, and he loved
to give people a bit morebackstory on the film he was

(05:17):
about to show and so it reallyfelt like you were in on
something special that night bycoming by, making the effort to
come and get together, and hewould reward you with these cool
backstories, you know.
And so he started those nightswith talking about his story of
when he was around 12 years oldand he was in Hawaii growing up.
He went down to body surf oneof like Makapu or Sandy Beach,

(05:40):
one of the really heaving,crystal clear beach breaks in
Hawaii and he stuffed his headin some tubes and just couldn't
believe what he was seeing.
And he raced home afterwardsand went to his mom Mom, mom,
you're not going to believe thisworld that's out there.
And she was just sort of likeyes, dear, very nice, that's
good, I'm glad you're having fun.
And she didn't get it.
And he spoke of how, in thatmoment he realized he wanted to

(06:02):
get a camera, get back in thatspace and show her and then
everyone else how magical andfleeting that space is.
And then he did it and he neverstopped until he was 77.
And the day before he left hisbody he was showing Blue Horizon
.
He was showing his waterfootage because when we shot

(06:23):
Blue Horizon he was stillfilming with high speed film
cameras huge, massive lumps ofold but incredible technology.
He was still able to swim rightinto the pit at Chopu and be
this big, incredible water manin those powerful spaces.
So he really loved showing BlueHorizon and all of those shots.

Speaker 2 (06:44):
Before we get to the wrap up that I feel like you're
getting to, I wanted to ask youhow it was for you seeing Blue
Horizon 20 years later.
I know it was an especiallyspecial experience for me
because your dad is in the filmand our little boy, minnow, got
to see his grandpa moving andtalking in a way that he never
got to because your dad diedbefore he was born yeah, yeah,

(07:06):
there's just so many intertwinedthreads here in this
conversation and I hope to beable to touch on all of them
because they all feel reallystrong, but that was definitely
the highlight of seeing bluehorizon again.

Speaker 3 (07:20):
I hadn't watched it since 20 years ago, so it was
really cool to be in the theatre.
Have you next to me, minnow onmy lap, and my dad, come on
screen and say the things thatwere captured, which is his line
.
You know, if you think, if youfeel in your heart that you want
to do something, you think inyour mind that it's possible,
then the only thing left to dois go out and do it.

(07:41):
And you know, think it, feel it, do.
It was his line in that film.
And there were nights whereespecially actually in our local
area at the Lennox HeadScreening, where the biggest
audience reaction to the wholemovie was that moment when my
dad said that and it blew meaway.
Minnow was on my lap and I wasbawling my eyes out, of course,
because I cried every time thatscene came on out of joy and

(08:04):
just gratitude, and I just waswhispering in Mino's ear listen
to that, mate, that's your,that's your Dita, your
granddad's spirit, like lightingall these people up.
You know, 20 years later he'snot here now in his body, but
look at that, listen to that,everyone's cheering.
That was so special.
I hadn't heard that term reallybefore he, before that was

(08:24):
captured, and it certainlywasn't a mantra.
And what I mentioned in BlueHorizon was that my dad taught
me a meditation technique and hedid.
It was like mind focus, theimportance of being able to have
long sustained focus onanything and once I felt that in
one regard it would besomething I could apply to

(08:45):
anything.
And I don't know is that?
Do you see that with me?
Do you think that's something Ihave?
You know, because I feel like Ican pick up an instrument I can
write when I need to.
I can learn things that Ihaven't been able to do before,
and I all bring it back toactually to that being able to
have long sustained focus.
So and just not get in my ownway andthink things, just feel
like I can do it and do it, andif I can't, we'll just learn.

(09:06):
And so that was true.
But just the clarity of it,jack really brought that out of
my dad and it was amazing and itwas hilarious to see two big
alpha males together.

Speaker 2 (09:15):
I would have loved to see them in a room together.

Speaker 3 (09:18):
Fantastic yeah.

Speaker 2 (09:18):
One of the reasons we wanted to chat with Hunter at
this point in time was becauseof Jack's recent passing and the
fact that Hunter happened to beat the very last screening of
Blue Horizon on the sunny coast,near where he lives, and was
able to connect with Jack, whichis a really special kind of

(09:40):
full circle moment.
In the few screenings that Igot to be at, the thing that
probably lit up Jack the mostwas seeing all the Groms there,
the Groms that he'd invite uponto the stage and give away
free gear to.
He really had a strong sense oflegacy and making sure young
people were connecting with hiswork.

Speaker 3 (09:59):
Yeah, and the past and learning from others' lives
and hardships and the past, andlearning from others' lives and
hardships.
And what's interesting to meright now, looking back through
all this period, the last fewmonths and then this story in
general, is chatting with Hunter.
I just see a little me, I justwas so blown away by his

(10:23):
curiosity and his completeobsession with surfing and
seeing everything as surfing.
And I can really relate to thatand remember back to being his
age but existing in a surfingworld when I was that age so the
early 90s where if you werequirky and had other interests,
like I did, it was really notthat supported and I was pretty

(10:44):
much felt ostracized most of thetime or like a weirdo or just
didn't fit in and I remembermost of the time it didn't
really faze me but it did still.
And there were times that werehard and there were times where
I felt really lonely, especiallyas a young sponsored surfer,
around other sponsored surfers.
I just did not feel like I fitin and could really be myself

(11:05):
around others.
So when sitting and talkingwith Hunter and realizing he's
growing into a surfing world nowthat is not like that so much.
There are places that are stillvery monocultural and
singularly focused, but ingeneral he feels comfortable
being himself.
And that's amazing to look at.
To look at a young boy about tobecome like a teenager and move

(11:29):
into that pretty turbulent timein our lives, to see him feel
supported and to see him beinghimself and not so scared of
that is so heartwarming and itmakes me think about our
legacies and what we pass onthrough being ourselves.
And if we do make art, thenwhat we pass on through our art,
like Jack did Because for me Irecently and this was like the

(11:53):
week or two after Jack passed Ilistened to the In Excess song
Disappear.
There's a remix of it byMorales and it's a song that is
in Bunyip Dreaming.
If people can look that upsomehow or get it.
Actually it's not on theinternet, so you have to find a
DVD or a VHS of it and watch thesequence.
It's this incredible song withLuke Egan and Munga Barry

(12:15):
surfing a remote, beautiful partof Australia and the lyrics in
the song are about a woman.
It's about Michael Hutchinssinging about a woman who he
says you're so fine, you blow mymind and you make the world
disappear.
And then he says disappear,disappear, disappear.
He says it over and over.
When I saw that I was 12 yearsold.

(12:37):
My sister got me that moviethat Jack made in 1992 for
Christmas and I watched it likeI was a Buddhist monk repeating
a mantra just over and over, andover, and over and over.

Speaker 1 (12:45):
And so, like I was a Buddhist monk repeating a mantra
just over and over and, overand, over and over.

Speaker 3 (12:47):
And so when I was a kid I interpreted that sequence
as the world is what the singerwas singing about.
It's so fine, it blows yourmind.
And the word disappear meant tome, if we didn't look after
this coast, these beautifulplaces that were in the images
in the film, the coast, thislife, this way of being surfing,

(13:09):
would disappear.
And I thought all of thatbecause Jack paired those lyrics
and that music with images ofawe, like it was Jack, like he
was a kid again in Hawaiiwanting to show his mum how
beautiful this world is, howbeautiful that world of surf and
coast really is.
And when he coupled that withthose lyrics and also the line

(13:32):
don't destroy what you came toenjoy, which was a final sort of
graphic print that came on thescreen at the end of Bunyip
Dreaming, I interpreted that asan absolute like love sequence
poem, love letter to the worldof the ocean and coast and
surfing.
And I hadn't thought of any ofthat.

(13:52):
Right, I just never.
I hadn't thought of any of thatsince I was 12, until Jack left
his body.
I heard that piece of musicagain because I inherited all of
his CDs and DVD collection andthat was in it and I realized
how malleable we are when we areof that age.
When we are 11, 12 years old.
We're just like wet clay.

(14:13):
You can just shape us so easilyand you can have moments that
traumatize you and make lifereally hard and can continue on
making life hard for a long time.
Or you can be inspired and litup and supported, and I felt
that from Jack's films.
And then here we are 30 yearslater and little Hunter is that

(14:33):
same age and he saw one ofJack's films, got to shake his
hand, say aloha, hi, jack, andall of that, and then he gets
lit up by that experience andall of that's really sweet and
it's kind of poetic andbeautiful.
But it's also made me reallythink about being able to cope
with struggle and hardship andespecially being able to cope as
a young man.

(14:54):
When we look at people takingtheir lives, young men are a
real high number.
So 75% of all suicides inAustralia are young men.
75% of all suicides inAustralia are young men.
Males are obviously notlearning how to navigate
emotional turbulence, navigatelife and hardship very well, and

(15:15):
so taking your life is a reallycommon route for a lot of
overwhelmed men.
My dad took his life, and so Ilook at all these things we're
talking about right now like,wow, look at all these entwining
lines you know, like how todeal with your life so you don't
get so lost and so traumatizedand struggling so much that

(15:35):
that's your only route is totake your life.
And I just think all of thosethoughts and just feel so stoked
for someone like Hunter that heis growing into a world that
will equip him with more toolsand more comfort too, to just be
himself.

Speaker 2 (15:51):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (15:52):
And they're all just to me.
That's just, I guess, probablyquite common type of reflection
you have when death has occurred.
You start to really reviewthings and go, oh, who am I?
Who was I when I firstencountered this person?
So I'm thinking who am I when Iencountered Jack McCoy's surf
films?
Well, I was a 12-year-oldgrommet who he moulded through
his art just by sending it outinto the world.

(16:15):
It's just wonderful.
I really have enjoyed this lastperiod of time in terms of all
of the real conversations I'vebeen able to have with surfers
of such a varied age, from theWayne Lynches and Morris Coles
and Rusty Millers and Dick VanStralens all the way down to
Hunter who's, you know, juststarting a surfing life.

Speaker 2 (16:36):
And really picking up the threads of the legacies of
surf, filmmaking, design andpaying close attention to the
patterns in nature andinnovating with them.
That's what I found so excitingabout chatting with him and
connecting with him is imaginingwhere he's going to take all of

(16:58):
these threads next.

Speaker 3 (17:00):
Yeah, so wonderful.
I don't know about you, but Ijust feel so hopeful in meeting
young people who have reallyattentive ears, really wide eyes
and are supported.
That's the biggest thing, likeseeing his parents lovingly
support but not push, you know,just be like okay, you've got an
interest in storytelling andfilm and design.

(17:21):
Well, hey, let's Dive rightinto it.

Speaker 2 (17:24):
Let's make space for it.
It's just fantastic, I know.
Didn't we all want that?
We all do, and we got it.
We still do and we get it insome ways and we don't in others
, but it's just so heartwarmingwhen you see a child supported.

Speaker 3 (17:35):
Yeah, it really is.
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (17:37):
We had such a lovely chat with Hunter and we hope you
feel the stoke and the fizz andjust the pure joy for this
incredible surfing life, like wegot to feel when we were
sitting in the room with him.

Speaker 3 (17:49):
Agreed.
You know there's waves inNorthern Territory.

Speaker 1 (17:55):
There is.

Speaker 3 (17:56):
Arnhem Land Point waves Point.

Speaker 2 (17:58):
Longboard waves.

Speaker 3 (17:59):
Noosa style.
Actually, yeah, you just got tolook out for crocs.

Speaker 1 (18:03):
And does anyone surf Occasionally?
Do you need like a big swell toget there?
But and does anyone surfOccasionally?
Do you need like a big?

Speaker 3 (18:08):
swell to get there, but there's waves all over this
big island, which is cool, andyou know who's probably come
across.
So many of them, but maybedidn't ride them, was Malcolm.

Speaker 1 (18:18):
Oh yeah, malcolm Douglas, your buddy, malcolm
Douglas, I can't believe youknow his name.

Speaker 3 (18:22):
That's just the coolest thing ever.
My guy when I was 11, whoinspired me for adventures like
that, was Albie Mangles.
And when my friends and I woulddo little adventures when we
were kids, which were sillylittle adventures around Burley
Headland or something like weweren't really in the wild but
we were pretending that we were.
If we came across a challenge,we'd be like I'll be right, I'll
be Albie Mangles.

(18:43):
And that was our mantra, thatwas our line that we'd always
say to each other I'll be right,I'll be mangles.
Have you got one like that fromMalcolm?
Does he have any sayings where?

Speaker 1 (18:51):
No, not really, I can't remember his show?

Speaker 3 (18:53):
Does he start or end in any particular way?

Speaker 1 (18:56):
He starts with a car driving through the massive-est
puddle.

Speaker 3 (18:59):
Yeah, puddle.

Speaker 1 (19:01):
And then, like, all the stuff goes everywhere.
Really it's quite, quite funnyis he a fisher like?

Speaker 3 (19:08):
is his main thing fishing?

Speaker 1 (19:09):
no, just anything.

Speaker 3 (19:11):
Anything is he like a hunter is his is most of his
things he does on his shows,like catching animals or freeing
animals or catching things toeat he does usually do that, I
mean, but then he also bringsalong like stuff for damper and
oh oh just cooking up.

Speaker 1 (19:27):
Yeah, just.

Speaker 3 (19:28):
Yeah, I just can't remember him.
There was another one calledthe Leyland Brothers.

Speaker 1 (19:31):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (19:32):
You seen them?
Yeah, they're adventurers too.
I feel like there's a historyof that in Australia, which is
really cool, of people who, like, have just got real bush skills
or ocean skills and then alsoare really good at telling the
stories of those adventures.

Speaker 1 (19:47):
Yeah, and then also are really good at telling the
stories of those adventures.

Speaker 3 (19:48):
Yeah, is that something that interests you too
, like the storytelling bit?

Speaker 1 (19:51):
It's really interesting.

Speaker 3 (19:53):
Really why.

Speaker 1 (19:54):
Well, you kind of get different stories from
different places and often ifyou get quite a couple of
stories from different places,then you can pretty much imagine
exactly what it's like in allof the stories.

Speaker 3 (20:11):
it's really cool.
So you you reckon that like thestorytelling part of it is like
the way you can share yourexperience with people so they
get an idea of the place like,or the thing that's happening
definitely that's what we'vecome to see with you and your
work.
Well, I wouldn't call it work,I'd call it play, but the way
you have played and made someshort stories through your

(20:34):
surfing experience.
Lauren, do you remember when wefirst saw Hunter?

Speaker 2 (20:38):
I do.
We first encountered Hunter'splay work.
I'm on the jury for the NoosaInternational Surf Film Festival
that just started last year andyou were one of the inaugural
filmmakers, one of the firstfilmmakers to enter a film into
that festival.
And we all sat down in thisvery living room with the

(20:58):
projector on, with our littleboy, minnow, who was six then,
and we watched you surfing thebeautiful points of your home
break and just perched on thenose.
And not only that, but you werejust so stoked and so frothy
and that was conveyed sobeautifully in the film that you

(21:19):
made.
It made us want to go surfingand for me, as someone who
aspires to tell stories aboutsurfing and make films about
surfing, like that's the highestcompliment If you make other
people want to go surfing.
With what you make, you've,like nailed it.

Speaker 1 (21:32):
Yeah, that's kind of like the interesting thing about
like surf films.
You get to see different placesbut it also makes you want to
go and surf those places Likeit's really quite interesting.

Speaker 2 (21:45):
And where do you live , Ante?

Speaker 1 (21:48):
I live out at Karam, which is in the Noosa hinterland
.

Speaker 2 (21:51):
And how long have you been surfing?

Speaker 1 (21:53):
Nine years.
I think around that what?

Speaker 2 (21:55):
do you mostly ride?

Speaker 1 (21:57):
Well, up at Noosa it's usually quite small, so I
ride my log, but then also whenit gets like hip to shoulder
I'll ride like a fish orsomething wider, and then
sometimes it gets big and lowtide and just square running
kegs.
That's a really great time tograb a single fin oh wow, a
single fin, I like this.

Speaker 2 (22:18):
That was unexpected.
That was an unexpected choice.

Speaker 3 (22:21):
Why would you choose the single fin, you reckon?

Speaker 1 (22:23):
I find them like really good because you've also
got like the um sweep rowingright down the beach.
They're so thick and you canget in a lot earlier than the
rest of the people on thethrusters.
Gotcha, so like.

Speaker 3 (22:34):
And what about in the tube on a single fin?
Have you felt that yet?

Speaker 1 (22:38):
Yeah, they're like so thick and they just point.
It's like point and shoot andthe wave and the board does
everything for you.
Point and shoot, the wave andthe board does everything for
you, point and shoot.

Speaker 3 (22:46):
I can't believe you've already come across that
term as an 11-year-old.

Speaker 1 (22:50):
Point and shoot.

Speaker 3 (22:51):
That's like adult surf experience.
When you ride big waves a lotof the times the boards you ride
are real pointy, they're reallong and they used to always be
single fins, but now there's allkinds of things that you can
ride.
But that is one of the coolfeelings of big waves is that
there's so much energy comingfrom the wave that all you need
to do is point and shoot and youdon't have to wiggle, you don't

(23:13):
have to do any up and downthings, you just I actually was
at the surface point at PhillipIsland and it might have been
four foot, probably about that.

Speaker 1 (23:25):
And I remember there was this one bomb that came
through and I paddled for it andI took off and I was on my 20
and it was really funny becauseI dropped in and I was going so
fast that very luckily the wavesare fat one and I was just
going straight and I was goingso fast and I feel like on a 20

(23:46):
they're really fun because youcan go super fast, but I feel
like on my single fin you cancontrol the speed really well.

Speaker 3 (23:54):
Wow, I mean not saying that wasn't fun, that was
really fun yes but um, I feellike if I was on my single fin I
might have been able toactually turn not well, I would
say that it's probably takenLauren and I, you know, about 30
years of surfing to get to thatepiphany, so you're miles ahead
of most of us when we were 11there Definitely me.
I just learned about the speedof twin fins about two years ago

(24:16):
that was after me saying Lauren, you need to try a twin fin,
you need to try a twin fin, youneed to try a very annoying lead
.

Speaker 2 (24:23):
I was one fin all the way for the first 20 years of
my surfing life yeah, single fingal Yep.

Speaker 1 (24:29):
Yeah, singles are pretty good.

Speaker 3 (24:30):
They are, I think so too it's all great, they're all
so wonderful Speaking of suchthings as fins and design.
We just learnt from you tellingus that you had the opportunity
to chat with George Greeno.
Yes, how did that come about?

Speaker 1 (24:45):
Well, I was, you know , my mum like worked out that he
could get his number I don'tknow where from, but somewhere
or another and I was alwaysthinking like I'd better call
him one stage or another.
And then we were actually justat the car park a little bit
down from Surfies Point atPhillip Island and we just

(25:06):
thought that's a really greattime to call because, like, it's
going dark and I just I don'tknow why, but it just came on I
thought I need to call him yeahand I did, and the first time it
just went to his voice messagethingy, and then I left him a
little message and then I triedagain and this time it went like
bring, bring, bring, bring.

(25:26):
Oh hello, I really did, I got afright.

Speaker 3 (25:30):
Because that was him.
Yeah, it was him.

Speaker 1 (25:35):
He said oh hello, I nearly jumped.

Speaker 3 (25:36):
I was like what did you say?
Who's that?
Did he say who's that?
Who are you?
You're calling me.

Speaker 1 (25:45):
I was like oh hey, George, my name's Hunter
Williams and I'm 11 years oldand I like to surf and shape all
my own boards, and it kind ofwent off down that path for
quite a little bit.
Wow, I was really stoked.

Speaker 3 (25:57):
And was he stoked?

Speaker 1 (25:59):
Yeah, he sounded pretty stoked.

Speaker 3 (26:00):
I bet he did.

Speaker 1 (26:01):
And then we had a little chat about like
hydrodynamics and differentthings like that.
And like, like he said he waswriting a short book at the
moment about, like, how we canget inspiration from nature, and
I actually was like that'scrazy, because I've just made a
movie about how that happens.
Like with the Cormorant's wingsgot concave in it, so like when
the wind comes up off the wave,it pushes into the concave,

(26:24):
lifting the Cormorant up.
And like, like a platypus's tail, with like flex as it pushes it
up and down.
It's like on his super speedyspoons how that thing flexes
like off a bottom turn and getsflying down the line.

Speaker 3 (26:37):
Exactly Variable rocker.
Do you remember him saying that?

Speaker 1 (26:40):
Yeah, that was crazy, he would have said Hunter, it's
all about variable rocker.
That's exactly what he said.

Speaker 3 (26:47):
That's so great, you would have stoked him out so
much.
So George's daily routine ofsurfing in the morning, having a
big lunch, having a kickback,so his thing of having a siesta
sleep every day.
He's 84 and he's still surfingevery day.
So these are like tips on howto live a long, great surfing
life.
So he grows his food, hecatches his fish.
He'll go surfing every morning.

(27:09):
He doesn't make plans more thana couple of days out.
And I learned this a few yearsago when I said to George one
day it was like a Sunday orsomething I said, George, what
are you doing on Thursday?
I'd love to come and have a cupof tea.
And he laughed.
He said Dave, thursday, that'sfour days away.
I don't know what I'm going tobe doing.
The wind could be north, thewind could be south, there could
be some fish, there might be anew soil.
Four days, why are you askingme four days?

(27:31):
He got all angry about it and Iwas like I got embarrassed and I
was like, yeah, what am Ithinking?
Why am I thinking so far intothe future?
So that's another one ofGeorge's tips on how to stay
happy is to stay in the moment.
Just whatever's happening then,and there live it exactly so he
would have been so stokedbecause he lives alone and he is
84 and he's lived alone verylong time.

(27:51):
But he loves reaching out andtalking with people and he does
that every afternoon.
After his kickback he'll wakeup at 2 132 o'clock.
He'll have a cup of tea andhe'll have some sort of sweet
cake or a cookie and then he'llget on the phone and he'll talk
to his friends all over theworld.
And now you are one of thosefriends and I reckon you would
be the youngest friend he has.

(28:12):
So, you've got to keep callingGeorge.
He'll be stoked, especiallywhen you're saying things like
cormorant wings, concave,platypus, tail flex, so good.

Speaker 1 (28:20):
So good.
I mean, it's all pretty easybecause the answers are just
sitting right there in front ofyou and all you have to do is
look at them and read and getinspiration from nature, and
you've got the key to the doorOpen into your shaping bay.
You go.

Speaker 3 (28:39):
Yeah, that's right, exactly.

Speaker 2 (28:41):
Hunter.
I heard you say today thatGeorge is someone who has
inspired you.
Why?
What is it about George and hiswork and his play that means
something to you?

Speaker 1 (28:50):
I really find that George is just a wonderful
person and also the life thathe's lived and like all the
inspiration you can get from him, like he's even like filmed
dolphins for 20 years to make a20-minute movie just because of
the inspiration from the actualdolphin Like it's really amazing

(29:12):
and he's pretty inspirational.

Speaker 2 (29:15):
I feel like he's a master at what you were talking
about, at paying attention, likepaying attention to the world
around him and using thatinspiration to make new things
like to get creative in a freshway.

Speaker 1 (29:26):
Definitely Like.
Even when I was on the phone tohim he was like, oh, I'm making
a lure to go tailor fishing offmy boat.
I was like you're gonna bedoing that quite late into the
night because, this is like waylater than now.
And he said oh, I'm just goingout off my in my boat, I'm just
driving down to the um jetty toget my boat and go fishing.
I was like wow Over the phonecall.

(29:50):
At first he was painting thelure, he added the eye into the
end, he tied it onto his rod, hepacked his car and then he
drove off down to the thing.
So it's like it's really funny.

Speaker 2 (30:03):
That's so great.
Well, try this question, hunter.
It's the question that wealways ask of our guests about a
time or experience that changedyou, after which you were never
the same.
Do you have a moment like that?
I feel like you really do.
I absolutely do, oh yeah, oh,wow, you set us straight.
All right, all right.

Speaker 1 (30:19):
So I don't know, I might have been three or four
years old and we were surfingCrescent Head with my dad.
I was on the front of his boardand it was really fun.
Like there was waves and it wasa really long wave that day,
like it was going right from thehead of the point all the way
into pretty much the river mouth.
It was a perfect day and all ofa sudden, out of nowhere,

(30:42):
there's massive whales popped uplike no more than 50 metres
away from us, and they werelaunching and breaching and
spraying and playing and rollingwow like.
It was really amazing, because Iwas already having like the
best surf I've ever had and then, all of a sudden, these
gigantic animals start floppingand playing in their interesting

(31:05):
way.
It was really, though, becausenot many people have surfed and
had that close-up.
I only know one guy that's hadlike such a close-up.
It was actually sitting out theback somewhere in Torquay, and
it was quite far out, and thismassive whale came up from
underneath him and breached, andhe got flung to the tail.

(31:25):
There's leg rope wrapped aroundthe actual tail of the whale,
and the whale dived back downagain, and somehow it just
managed to pull the leg rope offand float back up to the
surface.

Speaker 3 (31:36):
Wow, that was pretty.
I'm glad that didn't happen toyou that day, because he
wouldn't have even noticed thatyou were on his tail little tiny
guy.
So how do you think you weredifferent before and after that
experience?
What changed for you after that, do you think?

Speaker 1 (31:51):
I mean for me before then, surfing was surfing, like
you know, you do a piece of artand you paint, you go to the
beach and you go surfing.
But then after that my wholelife has pretty much just
evolved around surfing, like Ionly go to school four days a
week because on the fifth dayI'm like shaping boards, getting
inspiration, calling George,all different things, and it's

(32:16):
really helped me through life,like different things, different
situations, and it's alwaysjust been there.

Speaker 3 (32:24):
Yeah, that's amazing.
Well, I think too, I can seethat for you, having that
experience and we've experiencedthis as a family is that
surfing is wave riding, but it'salso all the other things that
happen around it, and we canthink that, but when you
actually experience it, like youdid with the whales, it's
another thing.
So that's so cool that you feltthat I have to think, now that

(32:47):
you're in the world of tellingstories and making short films
and that kind of play, surelythat's tied into that experience
where there's so there's justso much going on, isn't there
with a surfing life.
What are the other things thatreally excite you when you think
about a surfing life?
So it's not just the waveriding, but all the other parts
of it.
What?
What pops up for you in yourmind when you think of that?

Speaker 1 (33:09):
I actually think like a lot about different boards to
experiment with not a lot ofpeople think that.
No, a lot of people get reallystuck in doing it one particular
way and I like writing anything, like I said earlier fishes,
fishes, singles, body boards,surf mats, long boards.
Give me something and I'll rideit.

Speaker 3 (33:30):
Great.

Speaker 1 (33:31):
I'll try my best.

Speaker 3 (33:32):
When you're eating your cereal, do you eat like one
flake at a time, one day, andthen the next day you'll have?
Like you won't use a spoon andthe next day you'll use a fork?
Are you to that degree?
Do you do that like witheverything in life?

Speaker 1 (33:45):
Experimentalist.
Without meaning to, yes, I do.

Speaker 3 (33:54):
That's just you then.
Yeah, totally.
That's so great.
I'm so excited to see wherethat goes for you because we
live in such an exciting timenow as surfers, where there's a
lot of us are really excitedabout having different ways of
wave riding available Because,like you said, when you live on
the Sunshine Coast, you go downthere and the waves are small.
If you only ride a pointy nose,little thruster, that's hard to
get some speed in those wavesyou're probably going to get
pretty bored pretty quick.

(34:14):
Yeah, so what happens for youwhen you go to the ocean?
As an 11 year old in the year2025?
What's in your mind when you'regoing to the beach?
What are you thinking about?

Speaker 1 (34:24):
well, I think of what the beach could be like, like,
and then I think, okay, so I'mgonna grab that board for that,
I'm gonna grab that board forthat, and that board for that,
and usually I have at leastthree to five boards in the car.
Wow, I just pack them all inthe boot and, uh, when I get
there I'll usually start off onone, like my log or my um
plastic machine which is likeone of bob's transitional v

(34:46):
bottom.
He um made it with me and it'ssix foot two.
It's got the craziest V in thetail Small version.
Oh yeah, Can I ride?
That one day Can you share thatwith me one day?
Yeah, okay.

Speaker 3 (34:56):
There was a little bit of hesitation there I go
with anybody.

Speaker 1 (35:01):
It's very special.
I even sometimes am like oh,should I be riding it now, yes,
you should, you should, yes, Ishould.

Speaker 3 (35:08):
They're made to be ridden and not to be hung on
walls.

Speaker 1 (35:10):
No, I'm definitely not going to hang mine.

Speaker 3 (35:11):
Well, that's really special.
So you have them out of likereclaimed seconds.
Blanks too, hey.

Speaker 1 (35:17):
Yeah, so a lot of the boards you're talking about are
ones that office here andthere's a place with all the
stacked up blanks that we don'treally want and you can come and
grab one any time, go up to thebay at the back so long as
there's nobody in there, andstart shaping.

(35:37):
And when he said that, I wasreally excited and then so
that's what I do now.
So like I'll go in, I'll belike, oh, so I want to make this
board and I want this rockerand you know whatever, and I
just go and I'm like I've got topick the blank and the blanks
are pretty much perfect for meanyway.

Speaker 3 (35:53):
They would just have a little nick out of them
somewhere or something.
Yeah, just like somewhere.

Speaker 1 (35:56):
You know, maybe a dog's accidentally knocked into
it and it's fallen on the floorand it's got like a tiny flat
bit, two centimetres long orwhatever isn't going to affect
me.

Speaker 3 (36:04):
No.

Speaker 1 (36:04):
There's some that I could pretty much get glass in
and there and you wouldn'tunderstand what's wrong with it.

Speaker 3 (36:09):
Yeah that's amazing.
That's really cool.
So does that come into yourmind when you think about things
?
Like you know, we live in aworld where there's lots of
plastic in the ocean.
We live in a world wherethere's a lot of things that we
need to fix in terms of, youknow, sick rivers and different
issues.
Is that something that's onyour mind as an 11 year old, or
not so much?

Speaker 1 (36:27):
it is in ways.
I mean if I go down to thebeach and after a big swell,
often there's like millions ofmicroplastics along the shore
and I'm not happy, or if I findlike a washed up bottle.
I'm not all that happy, butotherwise it's pretty good.
I mean, like even my dad usedto make boards like the Eco

(36:48):
Blanks, which were made out ofalgae, that's another way that
we can do it.
And then even you like you gotflax on your board instead of
that plastic resin strands.

Speaker 3 (37:00):
Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 (37:01):
When you think of all the offcuts.
Well, hundreds of boards getmade a day, so there must be a
bit of waste going on.
And all the new blanks andstuff.

Speaker 3 (37:10):
Yeah, great point.

Speaker 2 (37:11):
What's it like, hunter you paddle out into the
lineup and what's the vibe likewhere you surf.
What's the culture like, what'sgood about it and what's not so
good about it.

Speaker 1 (37:20):
What's good about it is when you paddle out.
Usually the waves are, I mean,300 days of the year.
I reckon the points are prettygood.
You sound like Bruce Brown andso like I'll paddle out and
there's at least I don't know 10people that I'll know out there
and like even on a good dayyou've pretty much got like a

(37:45):
whole surfing family out there,like your surfing grandparent
family.
You've got I don't know otherpeople like your age and then
all the way up to 80 years old.
It's really amazing and youpaddle out and you all have such
a good time.
And then there's people thatyou probably haven't seen before
and you give them a good go andthen they can either become
friends or, you know, they cango surf and just, uh, keep

(38:07):
surfing on their own.
You know, stay open, stay happyit's pretty nice.

Speaker 2 (38:12):
What's not as good about the lineup?
When you paddle out into itsometimes?

Speaker 1 (38:18):
that's a hard one.
I mean, noose is pretty perfectmost of the time, it really.
I mean, sometimes you have theodd person that's come from the
Gold Coast and thinks they'relike a Go-Hung, like they're
just they really want to catchas many waves as they can, don't
care if anyone else actuallygoes nuts, and I feel like the

(38:40):
thing, that's the only bad part.
But then there's always so manylocals out there that then
they'll sort it out and say, hey, you, you're not from here,
wait your turn.
And I mean, even if likethere's one or two like people
that live there and then there'sa whole thing of people that
don't live there, we wait ourturn and we respect.
And like we won't just gostraight around someone just

(39:02):
because it's our home break, Imean everyone there's like
really happy, they shareWildlife's great, I mean
everyone there's like reallyhappy.

Speaker 3 (39:08):
They share wildlife's great.

Speaker 1 (39:09):
What wildlife?
Turtles, dolphins, sharks,whales, cormorants, gannets,
everything.

Speaker 3 (39:16):
And koalas in the trees right there on the rocks.
Oh yeah, I mean like you know,not just out in the water, eh.

Speaker 1 (39:21):
Oh no.
And then, like, you can look inand walk up and you've got
kookaburras, koalas.
You know, there was one timewhere, like for about a week,
you'd walk up and down thefootpath and nobody would know.
But we think there was, likethere was this massive python up
the tree.
We think it must have eaten,like a small wallaby or
something like that, and it wasjust digesting its meal and it
was just sitting there, curledup in the tree, just looking

(39:44):
down at the people that didn'tnotice it, just looking down at
the people that didn't notice it.
So it was pretty funny.

Speaker 2 (39:50):
If you've enjoyed listening to the conversation so
far, consider also subscribingto Water People on Spotify or
Apple Podcasts.
It'll help other people findthe show and, if you're feeling
inspired, leave us a review.
We love hearing from you.
And now a word from the folkswho help make the podcast
possible.
Patagonia is in business to saveour home planet.
Founded by Yvonne Chouinard in1973, Patagonia is a surf and

(40:15):
outdoor apparel company based inVentura, California.
As a certified B Corp and afounding member of 1% for the
planet, the company isrecognized internationally for
its product quality andenvironmental activism, as well
as its contributions of nearly$230 million to environmental
organizations.
Its unique ownership structurereflects that the Earth is its

(40:35):
only shareholder.
Profits not reinvested backinto the business are paid as
dividends to protect the planet.
Learn more at patagoniacomau.
Many of us look to supplementsand special diets to maintain
our health, but ignore theobvious we are water, it's what
we're made of and it's whatsupports every bodily function.

(40:57):
Primal water, the water ourancestors thrived on, is
energized, alkaline and made forreal hydration.
It doesn't come from theindustrialized, often
contaminated water systems mostof us rely on.
For the last 25 years, Alkawayhas been researching and
refining ways to mimic naturalwater systems.
We invite you to learn moreabout Primal Water and support

(41:18):
their charitable work withBirdLife Australia.
Head to Alkawaycom to score a$50 discount using code
WATERPEOPLE.
That's Alkawaycom.
You got to see Jack McCoy'sfinal screening of Blue Horizon

(41:39):
Did you yeah.

Speaker 3 (41:40):
So did you go to the Sunny Coast one?

Speaker 1 (41:42):
No, because it's beautiful, I'm going to cry.

Speaker 3 (41:46):
I'm so glad.
What did you think?

Speaker 2 (41:48):
What did you think?
What did you think of thatmovie?

Speaker 1 (41:50):
It was like the best movie I've ever seen.
And like to see the twodifferent like pathways, and
it's so amazing to see likethey're so different but they're
the same in one way.
But like also to see like yourway of like having like a great
time in the water always, youknow, being happy riding
different boards.

(42:10):
But then you also see the otherside where it's like you know
quite 90s and it's like you knowyou win, you lose.
If you don't do well in this,then you can't do this.
You know it was quite underpressure in that and then you
were surfing like so loose andjust having like the under
pressure in that, and then youwere surfing like so loose and
just having like the best timeever running all different

(42:32):
boards and searching fordifferent feelings.

Speaker 3 (42:33):
Did you hear jack speak at all?
Was he able to talk that night?
A little bit, a lot did he, yousaid a really nice thing to him
.

Speaker 1 (42:40):
Yeah, I said um, it's so nice to be able to see, like
, the two different pathways andsomebody actually able to
recognize the two differentpaths and have, you know, two
different lives.
Also, he didn't really say whatone he liked.
It was like take your choice,but personally really liked your

(43:00):
Way.

Speaker 2 (43:01):
That was really.
Will you take any inspirationfrom that film into your own
filmmaking?
Was there anything that youfelt inspired by in your own
storytelling?
Maybe?

Speaker 1 (43:13):
Really there's quite a lot.
Yeah, like I really liked ithow it was kind of like choose
your own way.
That was really nice and letthe audience have full control
of what they do.

Speaker 2 (43:28):
Yeah, I liked that too.

Speaker 3 (43:29):
Well, I have to say that, knowing Jack for a long
time and then being with him forthose last few weeks, I wasn't
at that show, but the nightbefore we did it at Lennox and I
just know that he was gettingsuch a kick out of how many kids
were coming to his screeningswhen he toured out around
Australia.
And to know that at his lastone you would have stepped up

(43:51):
and said that it would havereally hit him in the heart and
made him and his spirit veryhappy.

Speaker 1 (43:57):
He said it's actually worth more to him than a room
full of gold bars.

Speaker 3 (44:02):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (44:04):
Which was pretty nice .

Speaker 3 (44:05):
I know it is.
That was his reason for living.
He'd made his whole life aboutshowing people how special it is
to be in the water and lookingat and feeling the things that
we feel it was also prettyspecial to see him because he
had so much life left in him.

Speaker 1 (44:25):
He was planning future films and all this
different other stuff and it waslike I can't believe I actually
saw him.
Was it that night?

Speaker 3 (44:32):
The next day.
The next day, he left his body,yep.

Speaker 1 (44:35):
He like drove home, went to.
Well, he got driven home, wentto sleep, yep, and that was it,
that was it, yep.

Speaker 2 (44:42):
One of the things that I really appreciate about
you, hunter, is you're veryphilosophical about your surfing
life.
You're thinking about it indeeply meaningful ways.
Can we talk a little bit aboutthat, some of your philosophies
behind surfing?
Maybe that you've drawn frompeople like Tom Blake or others
who have studied nature and thejoys that we get from nature?

Speaker 1 (45:04):
I mean, for me, surfing is really the greatest
joy and art form and every timeyou paddle out it's like you've
got a blank canvas and you justdraw lines on the canvas and it
turns out to be a beautifulpiece of artwork.
And I kind of think that'sreally a gift that we're able to
ride the waves and because,when you think about it, they're

(45:26):
like moving lumps of water andthen we've adapted in a way to
be able to ride them and havefun with these waves.
I mean they're reallyinteresting also because like we
are something from land andwe're able to share with the
ocean and we get these beautifulwaves through.
And I think like it's prettycrazy that these swells are made

(45:49):
and the winds are perfect andjust make these beautiful things
that roll in in the form of awave, and it's really quite
wonderful how you can paddle outand catch those waves all the
way to shore.
And also that like it's such abeautiful place that, like tom
blake said, it's like the churchof the open sky.

(46:11):
It's like a place foreverything pretty much.
Even if you have like a bad dayor something, you can go in,
wash off and you'll feel a lotbetter when you come back out
100%.
That's pretty good.

Speaker 2 (46:23):
Where does competitive surfing fit into
that church of the open sky foryou?

Speaker 1 (46:27):
I mean, I really don't mind it because the
camaraderie that you can getfrom it, like you know, you meet
people from overseas, and thenyou've also got like people from
the area coming in together aswell.
That's really nice.
You can meet friends.

Speaker 2 (46:43):
Yeah, good inspiration.
Where are the places thatyou're dreaming of taking your
surfing to in the world?
Are there any waves inparticular that you like are at
the top of your list to surf?

Speaker 1 (46:52):
I mean I wouldn't mind surfing Neas, That'd be
pretty good Indo through there,but mostly actually at the
points in Noosa.
I mean that would be prettywonderful, I hear you on that.

Speaker 2 (47:06):
Yeah, I'm sure that's the theme.

Speaker 3 (47:09):
So the other 1,000 million people who have
frequented that place.
It's just so beautiful.
It's so cool to hear how thatplace is rubbed off on you,
because I feel like being ableto be in the water as a kid and
look out behind the waves andsee, you know, a green sea
turtle or a leatherback orsomething big or a loggerhead.
Have you seen a loggerhead?

Speaker 1 (47:28):
up there.
Yeah, they're beautiful, youhave.

Speaker 3 (47:29):
Did you smell its breath?
No, have you ever smelt turtlebreath?

Speaker 1 (47:33):
Yes, it stinks, it does.

Speaker 2 (47:36):
It really stinks.

Speaker 1 (47:44):
You know, back to the thing with inspiration from
nature.
Like, actually we found aturtle, well River found a
turtle that was stranded in arock pool under a rock, like
stuck under there, and the tidehad gone out and the thing was
still alive.
But we pulled it out, wedged itout and somewhere or another
and it was breathing.
And I was quite surprised whenI went to walk back around the
point to find them sitting in arock pool with quite a small
little turtle.

Speaker 3 (48:01):
Oh, wow.

Speaker 1 (48:02):
And I had a look and I thought these things can go
through the water so nice, Imight as well have a look at it.
And I bent its fins and theywere so flexible, but then
they'd spring back.
So like I saw it using themlike when it was swimming, like
that it would like flex and thenspring and it would like leap,
leap forward.
And then also it's got like abig concave through under its

(48:25):
shell and, um, it's really funnybecause, like you know, when
it's like going over the rocksand stuff, the water would push
up and then push up off therocks and it would probably like
push it up and along more yeah,like a seed when you squeeze a
seed through your thumb and yourfinger.
Yeah, like that and then alsothe shape of its shell was like
rounded at the front and morepointy towards the back, like

(48:48):
the airplane wing.
Pretty much.
That's right.
You're right, man, spot on.

Speaker 3 (48:51):
That's so cool.
Have you ever noticed thattheir fins can look really
similar to humpbacks' fins inthat they have a wide bit near
to their body and then it kindof hinges, it comes in and then
it has a long tapered bit?

Speaker 1 (49:05):
that flexes a lot.
Yeah, it comes out, and thenit's concave taper.

Speaker 3 (49:09):
Yeah, so that is the fins I just gave you.

Speaker 1 (49:12):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (49:12):
Have that inspiration from them too.
Oh, wow so.
I'm hearing you when you'resaying all this.
All I can think of is just howmuch fun you're gonna have
looking at the world around you,like george, for I hope, your
whole life, because look atgeorge right, he's 84 84 and you
are 11.
Loves it yes, you got on thephone with him and he would have

(49:33):
been so excited to talk shoplike ideas.
Oh, what have you?
mixed that platypus thing withthis cormorant thing and this
like he would be going offbecause you know his fins, the
raked fin.
Yeah, that was back in the daythat blew everyone's minds when
everyone had those huge, stiff dfins.

Speaker 1 (49:50):
They were like coming from the fastest fish in the
ocean they were made from, likethe tuna and, like I was saying
here on the dart earlier, it'slike a miniature version.
When he said, when it's stillgot the oil in it, like and
juices in its fins, you can feel, if you push hard enough, that
it'll gently bend and getstiffer and stiffer and then
it'll spring back.
And I was doing that here,actually realizing what he was

(50:12):
talking about.
Like you can't usually feel itwith broom and stuff, but then
when you got like one of thosestreamlined really fast fish it
really kicks in because thosefins propel them so fast and
those fish are so fast that itall makes sense.

Speaker 3 (50:29):
It does, doesn't it?
It's reoccurring patterns.
Yeah, we had a chat with somefriends a while ago who are
master food growers and theywere talking about how surfers
have the potential to be reallygood at growing food because of
pattern recognition.
So when you can recognise thatthere's a pattern in the land
and you go, oh that spot, thereis going to have more water in

(50:49):
it, I'll grow these sort offruits there, and then that's
drier, and then you can look atthe land Down the bottom of our
property.

Speaker 1 (50:56):
Probably I think we might plant like tea trees all
along there, and then we've gotlike an area that gets like
moderate.
So we've got like a littleveggie patch there and then
we've got like a long line oflike fruit trees and stuff
around the drier area of it.

Speaker 3 (51:11):
Awesome, that's so great.

Speaker 2 (51:13):
What's your favorite sensation in surfing right now?
Like, what's the feeling thatyou're like?
Oh, I just want to do thatagain and again, and again, and
again, and again, and again, andagain, and again.

Speaker 1 (51:22):
Um well, I was actually kind of thinking,
because as soon as I got on thatfish I realized that, like
those fins are going to help mewith, I really like going fast
but having control, so likebeing able to like get speed but
then still go like up andaround and being able to control
your board in kind of everysituation being in like but

(51:46):
going fast, I mean I do stilllike the feeling of going out of
control really fast if someoneasked you and they weren't a
surfer what is tube riding?

Speaker 3 (51:55):
what would you say?

Speaker 1 (51:57):
I'd say it's where you get in, where you get put in
a cabinet of water that'stotally circular and it's pretty
much like a cone of silence andsound at the same time like
it's like silent and it's glassand it's you're in it, and then
all these sounds are echoing andit's silence.

Speaker 3 (52:18):
It's kind of out of this world yes, it is, and you
live in such a great zone forthat.
It's like you know, being ableto fit into those noosa tubes
while you're this age.
You should do that as much asyou can because that's just.
It's an experience that isimpossible to describe, really,

(52:38):
to people who haven'texperienced it, don't you think?

Speaker 1 (52:41):
Yeah, definitely.

Speaker 3 (52:42):
But it's fun to try.
I like that, the glass cabinet,the kind of silence.

Speaker 2 (52:45):
How do you compare tube riding to Hanging Ten?
Similar sensation, similar,yeah, why.

Speaker 1 (52:51):
Similar in different ways.

Speaker 2 (52:53):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (52:54):
I kind of find that like Hanging Ten, there's a real
art to it and when you get itright it's really exciting and
like, even when you're there, itkind of feels like you're
flying, like you're hoveringover the water and going along
on these waves.
It's amazing because, likepretty much sticking right out

(53:14):
of the wave and you're lookingover like nothing, and you just
see the wave, you can't see yourboard anywhere.
But then, like you hop in atube and it's like really quite
square and square and you'relike sitting and you can just
see the water going over andover and over and you're pretty
much underwater, but not wet.

Speaker 3 (53:29):
It's cool, like the same exhilarating feeling in
different ways if you could zoomforward in time 10 years, so
you'd be 21.
What would you like to be doingat that point in your life?

Speaker 1 (53:43):
Travelling around the world making movies and shaping
boards for people.

Speaker 3 (53:46):
Very cool.
Okay, what about 31,?
10 years further.

Speaker 1 (53:51):
I'd probably like to hang out around the points a bit
more and still shape all thetime.

Speaker 2 (53:58):
What do you see yourself making movies about in
the future?
Are there any big topics orplaces or people that are really
gripping your imagination?

Speaker 1 (54:07):
actually, at the moment I'm planning out a film
and it's going to be about likeshapes and how surfing shapes
you and how you surf, and thenhow you surf shapes the boards
you ride, and then that shapeslike who you are, and then the
coastline shapes also how yousurf and where you live, and,

(54:27):
yeah, it all just goes straightback into shapes.

Speaker 3 (54:31):
Like it all fits in there pretty well and you make
that like 400 hours long so wecan just whenever we are sick or
it's raining and there's nosurf and you want to sit down
and you want to watch a movie.
We could just watch that forthe rest of our lives.
Do you reckon there's enough inthat?

Speaker 1 (54:46):
there, there really would be there is a you could
pretty much make like part one,part two and then go all the way
into the hundreds yeah, forsure I've got so many ideas that
just pop up here and now whatdo you do with that?

Speaker 3 (54:59):
so, when you're inspired by something, what's
your process because I thinkthis would be a really
interesting one for other kids,like our little boy, minnow, and
other kids to hear you talkabout okay, how do you have a
hundred ideas in your head today?
How do you get some of themdown on paper?
Or actually happening in theworld?
What's your way of doing that?
How do you choose?

Speaker 1 (55:19):
First, I get them all and I just jot them down as
quickly as I possibly can.
You write them down, yeah, andthen, once I've got like quite a
couple, I'll start filming.
But also, while I'm getting theyou know ideas and stuff, I'll
also be filming just like littlesnippets here and there.
And then when I start actually,once I've got enough of both of

(55:42):
them, then I'll start filmingactually for the movie and then
I've pretty much got all thefilm and stuff.
I just put it together and addthe conversations and different
things like that into it andthere's your movie.

Speaker 2 (55:57):
Awesome, it's pretty good.
Who's been the biggestinspiration in your surfing life
?

Speaker 1 (56:01):
I almost reckon that's really hard I have quite
a couple.

Speaker 2 (56:05):
Give us a few.

Speaker 1 (56:07):
Thomas Bexton.
I mean he's been really niceand, you know, helped and given
me different ideas, and wheneverI really need help with
anything, he's up to help.

Speaker 2 (56:17):
And he's a shaper of beautiful surfboards up your way
.
Yeah, he makes some really niceboards.

Speaker 1 (56:21):
Yeah, yeah, he's always quite welcoming, like
he'll be like oh hey, you know,I've got this, how thick should
I make this, or what should I dohere?
And then he'll tell you andthen help you through it, and
then you, yeah, it's pretty easywhen you get his help yeah.
My dad's helped me a lot, likegot me quite into surfing and
then helped me shape my firstboards and made boards for me

(56:43):
and introduced me to, like youknow, new boards and different
things.
Like that I reckon George hasfor his ongoing inspiration for
surfing and surfing life alsoabout.
Like the different ideas thathe has come up with I often find
have inspired me to go on likeanother journey.

(57:03):
I remember him and I wasthinking about flexible boards,
when Tom Wagner said, oh, comedown to the beach and we'll have
a little mix-up with our boardsand I'll be like, oh, I was
like, wow, I'm stoked, and Iwent down there and I remember
the first day I rode a finless.
It was really fast, hollow, toofast for any other board kind

(57:26):
of wave, and on my first one Iwas like going so fast and I
didn't really exactly know howto control it and then I slipped
right out but then it grabbedits rail again and it brought me
back around in and that reallymade me think of the different
rail designs for those boardsand then the flex and stuff.

(57:46):
I mean I think before I heardabout George I would have been
like, oh, yeah, that'll beinteresting and I would have
gone down.
Oh wow, this board's a bitcrazy and had a little go, but I
think it really really got meinspired to ride some very
interesting boards.

Speaker 3 (58:04):
Well, it's endless, isn't it?
It's just endless, definitely.
Yeah, I'm so excited for you.
It's so cool that all thosepossibilities are ahead of you.

Speaker 2 (58:14):
And how lucky that you have parents who think that
surfing is so amazing and thatyou should be doing it.
I had parents who were likewhen I got into my 20s they were
like when are you going to stopdoing this silly thing?
Like you're not getting moneyfrom it, you're not like making
a career out of it, it's nevergoing to pay your mortgage.
What are you doing?

Speaker 1 (58:35):
That's like possibly the worst thing that I'll ever
hear in my life and I don'tthink I'm going to hear it.
I don't think I'm going to hearit.
I don't think I'll ever hear it.
I think I'll hear hey, hunter,surf's.
Good, today, go surfing.
I'll be like, oh yeah, time togo.

Speaker 3 (58:51):
What about when the veggie patch is really
struggling and you've got to dosome work in the garden, but the
waves are good?
How are you going to handlethat one?

Speaker 1 (59:04):
What I'm going gonna do is I'm gonna pick the best
time, surf and then when it, youknow, once I've had enough of
that, you know, does that happen?
Do you get enough?
I don't.
But when I feel like Iphysically have to go in, like
sometimes I'll surf for like sixhours straight and then go and
get food.
Or like there was one day whenI surfed for, I think it it was
about 10, 12 hours and I went infor one peanut butter sandwich

(59:25):
and I was cooked, but I was sostoked.

Speaker 2 (59:30):
Okay, okay.
What's the best thing to eatafter you're totally surf-cooked
?
What's the most delicious thingyou can eat?

Speaker 1 (59:37):
Wheat, bix and anchovies.

Speaker 2 (59:39):
Together.

Speaker 1 (59:40):
No, not together.

Speaker 2 (59:41):
Okay, I was going to say I've never heard that that's
your secret to success.

Speaker 3 (59:45):
That's how you're selling up.
Can you imagine?

Speaker 2 (59:47):
wheat bix anchovy sandwich.
Can you try it?

Speaker 1 (59:50):
you could not eat that no I usually like while
making the wheat bix, I'll pickout like half the thing of
anchovies and they're reallynice because they're salty.
Yep, and then you get somethingreally sweet like milk on your
Weet-Bix and not really.

Speaker 2 (01:00:07):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:00:07):
It's like, okay, okay , I've stopped surfing, just
calm down.

Speaker 2 (01:00:10):
Then is it nap time.
Is it nap time then, or no?
Then it's go home and read.

Speaker 3 (01:00:15):
Go home and read yeah , nice, good balance, that's a
great.
Or?

Speaker 1 (01:00:19):
like possibly even go fishing or something like that.
That's quite nice.

Speaker 3 (01:00:25):
I think you almost described one of George Greeno's
perfect days, right there I wasgoing to say I'm really seeing
the parallels here.
I've seen those cereal boxes inhis house and big lumps of fish
laying around.
It's such a treat to chat withyou, hunter, and one of the
things we love about being ableto do this podcast is have great

(01:00:45):
chats like this and also thinkabout how they can be useful for
other people when they listento them, that you might learn
something, and I'm sure a lot ofpeople will pick up something
that they hadn't thought ofbefore and something new from
listening to your stoke.
Yes, lauren.

Speaker 2 (01:00:59):
If you were going to put a message on a billboard
about surfing that you feel likeeveryone should know about what
surfing is or what it means.
What would you put on thebillboard Like a line or a
slogan or something?

Speaker 1 (01:01:11):
The exact thing that I put on my first surfboard the
best surfer is the one havingthe most fun.

Speaker 2 (01:01:20):
Time is precious.
Thanks for spending some ofyours listening with us today.
Our editor this season is themulti-talented Ben Jake
Alexander.
The soundtrack was composed byShannon Sol Carroll, with
additional tunes by Dave and Ben.
We'll be continuing today'sconversation on Instagram, where
we're at Water People Podcast,and you can subscribe to our
very infrequent newsletter toget book recommendations,

(01:01:51):
questions we're pondering,behind-the-scenes glimpses into
recording the podcast and morevia our website,
waterpeoplepodcastcom.