Blinded By A wave
NZ SURFING MAGAZINE|Issue 186

We’ve seen it on the news, a traveller paraded before the worlds media as an example of what happens when you break certain countries laws.

Blinded By A wave

Over the years there have been many high profile cases, with those caught up in a seedy underworld attempting to plead innocence to a world that has already judged their case. But for one particular kiwi surfer being blinded by the ultimate opportunity to surf the kind of waves that we often jokingly make the statement “I’d give my left nut to surf a wave like that!” Almost resulted in the loss of not only a left one but his life! For reasons of anonymity, and to protect the local people of the region involved and to avoid being hunted down by hitmen from the underworld, we have kept names and locations a secret. But this is indeed a true story, that could have ended so very much differently.

Sitting back on a dreary Aotearoa winter’s day, Mr X a electrician by trade, received a phone call from across the ditch, he had never met or spoken to this person ever before, but a mutual friend couldn’t do the job so had put forward his name, feeling that he would fit the job description perfectly “I couldn’t believe my luck! Out of the blue this random guy called me up and offered to fly me to the work on his resort which sat out in front of some of the best waves on the planet, he offered me $200 a day, all flights and expenses paid, and pretty much sold me the dream that I would have my own boat to go surfing as much as I could. I had just finished a big job back home and had a gap in my workload, so I thought, this is the dream job! I’d always heard about mates scoring jobs like this every now and then and I had never had an opportunity like this come up, so I was in!”.

This story is from the Issue 186 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.

This story is from the Issue 186 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.

MORE STORIES FROM NZ SURFING MAGAZINEView All
Theshapeshifter - Roger Hall
NZ SURFING MAGAZINE

Theshapeshifter - Roger Hall

Ever heard of a Mini Simmons?

time-read
6 mins  |
Issue 187
The Half Time Report
NZ SURFING MAGAZINE

The Half Time Report

On the surface travelling the world from one epic surf destination to another seems like a dream you’d never want to wake up from, yet when that travelling is fixated around the World Qualifying Series, at times it can be more of a nightmare.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Issue 187
Back Beyond The Horizon
NZ SURFING MAGAZINE

Back Beyond The Horizon

On October 12th, 2009, out beyond the horizon an elite group of NZ’s best surfers arrived at a remote reef after motoring in a straight line 25km out to sea.

time-read
9 mins  |
Issue 187
Back In The Hood
NZ SURFING MAGAZINE

Back In The Hood

WITH JAY QUINN

time-read
3 mins  |
Issue 182
The Shapeshifter
NZ SURFING MAGAZINE

The Shapeshifter

All things surfboards brought to you by the mastermind of design

time-read
7 mins  |
Issue 182
Mangamaunu - Under Threat
NZ SURFING MAGAZINE

Mangamaunu - Under Threat

It was the year 1960 and the sport of surfing was sweeping the world. Surf breaks had become iconic and the search was on across the seven seas for new discoveries.

time-read
5 mins  |
Issue 182
NZ SURFING MAGAZINE

Winter Survival Guide

Let’s face it, while our Kiwi summers can be pretty legendary, we are hardly a tropical surf destination - despite our location as an island in the Pacific. Winter time can be harsh here. Yet, at the same time, winter can offer up some of the best waves of the year, although enjoying such sessions can sometimes be a battle. So with that in mind, we have gathered a range of winter surfing tips from the hardiest of southern Kiwi surfers, who through trial and error, and over generations, have become experts at getting the most out of a pumping winter session.

time-read
4 mins  |
Issue 182
Scholastics Score!
NZ SURFING MAGAZINE

Scholastics Score!

The very first scholastics surfing champs kicked off way back in 1989 with the purpose of pitting the best groms, as well as the best regional teams, in the country up against each other to ultimately select a team to attend the World Grommet Titles.

time-read
3 mins  |
Issue 184
On The Road With The O'Bro's
NZ SURFING MAGAZINE

On The Road With The O'Bro's

We join two icons of New Zealand and Australian surfing, now mentors and industry leaders, on an old-fashioned road trip to wherever the wind may blow them.

time-read
8 mins  |
Issue 184
The Shapeshifter Roger Hall
NZ SURFING MAGAZINE

The Shapeshifter Roger Hall

From Splendid Isolation to Social Media Overload: The quirky evolution of surfboard shapes.

time-read
7 mins  |
Issue 184