It’s no secret across the globe that New Zealand is a magical place, full of stunning scenery and friendly as people, and when it comes to surfing, untouched, uncrowded isolated waves set in a backdrop often compared to Never Never Land.
As Kiwis we are a proud nation of people, that hold our country of birth in high regard regardless of where life will take us. And for many of our country men and women who just so happen to have wound up working, living or growing up elsewhere on the planet, there isn’t a day that goes by that they aren’t thinking about the lifestyle back home or boasting of how great the Land of The Long White Cloud is! Often claiming to friends and colleagues that “We should do a trip home one day and you can see all the epic places and meet all my epic friends and fam.” Well that’s exactly the kind of prompt that saw kiwi lad Coby Perkovich throw together a little ‘Homecoming Tour’ and invite a few friends along for the ride to his birthplace and NZ surf hotspot Taranaki or Taradise as they so rightly refer to it locally.
We featured Coby in a recent issue where we profiled his life from growing up in Taranaki to heading over to the Gold Coast like so many other Kiwis. And if you’ve checked in to any surf media in the world in recent times you’d realise that Coby is being touted as one of the most exciting free surfers in the world, specialising in aerial surfing and releasing video clips in association with his sponsors to showcase his surfing prowess. Part of these film projects focusses on the life of Coby and his story, so after beating on for years to his surfing bro’s in OZ, all about how epic the Taranaki coastline is, he managed to twist the arm of another high profile free surfer in Chippa Wilson along with a few other mates and boarded a plane bound for Auckland and ’The Homecoming Tour’.
This story is from the May/June 2018 edition of NZ SURFING MAGAZINE.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May/June 2018 edition of NZ SURFING MAGAZINE.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Trigger Finger
Ask any top surf coach and the two elements they will concentrate on and recommend are a solid bottom turn and being able to develop speed - as they say, speed is your friend, and many of the best surfers on the planet also happen to be the fastest surfers.
THESHAPESHIFTER ROGER HALL
Ladies and Gentleman Choose Your Weapons: How to decide on your next surfboard.
The Olympians
Over 50 years ago surfing’s greatest ambassador of all time, the legendary Duke Kahanamoku, had a vision that one day surfing would become an Olympic sport.
The Gladiator Pit
Born from the era of the Roman Empire, armed combatants known as gladiators would enter the arena also known as the Gladiator Pit to face up against other gladiators, animals and criminals in fierce battle in what was seen as entertainment often ending in death to one or the other.
Rising Grom Asia Braithwaite
There are those young athletes that get into sport who possess natural talent, even the X-factor, yet as the road is usually a far-too-easy passage, they either take it for granted or don’t push beyond their capabilities.
Licence To Score
The adventures behind the wheel of Mount Grom Luke Griffin.
Land Of The Long Lefts
It was the year 1966 and the sport of surfing was sweeping the world.
Theshapeshifter - Roger Hall
Ever heard of a Mini Simmons?
The Road Less Travelled
Take a look at a map of our coastline and you will see thousands of kilometres of coastline, 15,000 to be almost exact, making it the 9th longest in the world.
Then & Now
It was the early 80s and the world of sport was evolving rapidly.
