Ok, so we all get a little window into the inner-workings of pro surfing via the WSL broadcast. We’ve seen Italo spit the dummy (a couple of times), watched Kelly get teary and followed Tyler Wright’s brave comeback, but what if a slick, independent crew of filmers, editors and producers went deep behind the scenes of pro surfing to follow the stories of several of the world’s best. To scrutinise their tactics, unravel their rivalries and shed some light on the forces that are moulding them as surfers and people.
The new, Apple TV doco’ series Make or Break has been produced by Box to Box, the same production team that made the fabulously popular Formula-1 series Drive to Survive for Netflix. The award winning Box to Box team are serious operators (Maradona and Senna are two of their better know projects) and have thrown a massive budget at the project, well beyond anything seen in surfing before. Make or Break is being promoted as a ‘character driven’ take on Pro surfing and is scheduled for release on Apple TV on April 29.
The first season zones in on the 2021 season when the pandemic-skewed tour went out wide to waves like Narrabeen and Newcastle, the WSL introduced its new finals series at Trestles and Gabriel Medina and Carissa Moore smoked the field.
Not every surfer will get equal billing; instead the production team likes to work with a core cast so that certain backstories can be explored properly. However, you can expect to see Kelly Slater, Jack Robinson, Kanoa Igarashi, Steph Gilmore, Tyler Wright, Morgan Cibilic, Tatiana Weston-Webb and the Brazilian trio – Gabriel Medina, Italo Ferreira and Filipe Toledo – featuring prominently.
Tracks bumped into WSL CEO Erik Logan, aka ELO, at a Bells after-party and he assured us that it would be a portrayal of pro surfing unlike anything seen before. “You get emotionally invested in what it’s like to be on tour,” ELO has said.
Tracks editor, Luke Kennedy, features in the series as a pundit who is called on to offer a media perspective on the machinations unfolding in pro surfing, and the personalities driving the sport.
Tracks hasn’t watched any sneak peaks because we didn’t want to spoil the surprise of what is one of the most anticipated productions in modern surfing. Like Drive to Survive, Make or Break is most certainly made with a view towards attracting a broader audience, but it should also offer the kind of content that keeps core surf fans locked in. Season two is already in production. You will be able to binge season one from April 29.
