As the cover implies we turned our roaming gaze to the ruler-edged lines of Victoria for this issue. While our Editor goes rogue at Bells and reveals another side of Pro Surfing, Tom De Souza explores the more isolated corners of the Vicco coast. It’s not all rubber-clad reading. Matt George’s story on the Wilcoxen family might inspire you to abandon the western-world grind and move to Indo’. Meanwhile, Anthony Pancia’s piece on Mark Healey details how the shrewd goofy-footer embraced an entrepreneurial streak to keep his big wave lifestyle afloat. See below for a more detailed synopsis of Issue 591.
HEALEY INC.
Mark Healey always wanted an adventurer’s life that revolved around fun stuff like riding big waves, spearfishing and hunting wild boars. While Healey’s bold feats earned him handsome sponsorship in his early years, he had the foresight to see the crash of the surf industry coming. So he figured out how to become a one-man business and keep his dream alive…
WRITTEN BY ANTHONY PANCIA
SEA DREAMS – WILCOXEN FAMILY
Many of us have dreamed of living on a tropical island surrounded by perfect waves. Find out how Ray Wilcoxen built a lodge and life for his family on Kandui island in the Mentawai. Meanwhile, Ray’s oldest son Dylan has been raised on a staple diet of draining barrels and roping lines, and is now on an accelerated trajectory to becoming a world-class surfer.
WRITTEN BY MATT GEORGE
ROSS CLARKE JONES
Words of wisdom from surfing’s loveable wildman. Like, RCJ on Wipeouts: “Enjoy the ride. Just pretend you’re in like a nightclub or something like that. You’re like, thinking about all the lights going on, the music and all these details. That’s the trick. Relax. Enjoy the ride. All of a sudden, you’ll be up. That’s like, a minute later – sweet.”
WRITTEN BY LUKE KENNEDY
NOT SURE ABOUT THE GHOSTS
Did you know England has it’s own version of The Box and waves that resemble a brown-water G-land? Perhaps the North Sea is the last place you’d expect to go looking for perfect waves, but Wil Banks and Al Mackinnon’s revealing feature will have you spellbound by the landscape and the surf. culture.
WRITTEN BY WIL BANKS
WORKING THE FRINGES
Viewed through the prism of a WSL webcast, the modern surf contest can seem like a conservative endeavour. However, the webcast doesn’t reveal how much happens around the fringes of a surf event. The Tracks editor goes off-piste at Bells and takes you on stage with Tom Curren and onto the V.I.P deck with Occy. He lunches alongside Slater and hits the dance floor at Doug ‘Claw’ Warbricks 80th where The Sunny Boys play their last ever gig.
WRITTEN LUKE KENNEDY
FULL CIRCLE
Steve Ryan has been photographing surfing in Victoria for the better part of half a century. He’s captured Bells and Winki in every kind of mood and shot famous sessions at mythical locations on the wilder stretches of the southwest coast. Meanwhile, his lifestyle images reflect all the colour and flamboyance of Torquay, a quiet, coastal town that became the epicentre of the surf industry.
THE PHOTOGRAPHIC ARCHIVE OF STEPHEN RYAN
THE RAZOR’S EDGE
Tom de Souza generally prefers the less-publicised corners of the Australian coast. After ticking the Bells box he and his mate Dan explore off-grid tracks and scale sketchy cliffs, to ride some of the more obscure waves on Victoria’s coast. Click here for a video take on their adventures to where the wild things are.
WRITTEN BY TOM DE SOUZA
