Aside from a few standout performances, Mitch Crews’ maiden year on tour was a pretty tough learning experience. He gave it a good shot but at the end of 2014, like so many rookies before him, it was back to the ‘QS with you kiddo, thanks for coming. Except the twenty-five-year-old Currumbin upstart wasn’t ready to dive back into the grind.

‘After that year on tour, I kind of had a bit of an identity crisis and wanted to be a bit more of a nomad as opposed to the clean-cut competitive guy. My interest wasn’t there as much. I was more interested in trying to score good waves and do fun trips. So I let my hair down a bit.’

And where better to let down your hair than LA? The energetic natural-footer’s been residing in the freakshow metropolis for the past year with his beautiful Hawaiian squeeze, Kelia Moniz, and the kid’s been enjoying more than just the wild nightlife and close proximity to Vegas and Mexico and the Islands. ‘I’ve been really lucky,’ says Mitch of the footage that makes up his latest online offering. ‘That was the first time I did some time in California during the winter and it was the crazy El Nino season and I got to score some really fun waves. It was such a cool change after spending the beginning of every year on the hot Gold Coast with strong onshore winds and blue bottles.’

So after a year away from the more serious side of pro surfing, enjoying the freedom of being young and talented and in love, where does Mitch Crews find himself in 2016? Well, right now he’s back on the Goldy, surfing his arse off and cheering on good buddy Jack Freestone at the Quiksilver Pro. ‘It was epic to see Jack qualify!’ he tells me. ‘He’s going to do really good.’

And does seeing his old sparring partner make the big league bring back any competitive urges of his own? ‘It’s definitely got me inspired to have another hard crack. I’d love to be on tour with my best friends.’

Sounds like the gap year worked wonders. Now let’s see what kind of damage a reinvigorated Mitch Crews can do in 2016.