Few people could consider themselves as unfortunate as Luke Dujic over the last three years. The 20-year-old surfer from Avalon on Sydney’s Northern Beaches has spent 25 months out of the water since 2021 through various injuries, which have wreaked havoc on his surfing, social life and a large portion of his teenage years.
“I couldn’t surf or socialise during various parts of my recovery. I couldn’t work and I found myself at home watching TV, stuck in my own head. There was a period where I didn’t even want to go outside, I isolated myself from a lot of my friends as they were all surfing and I wasn’t able to. Luckily, my family noticed the change in my behavior and have constantly been there to support me,” said Luke.
His first injury happened in August 2021 when he broke his ankle while surfing. Luke required surgery and screws and pins were put into his ankle. This led to a four month recovery process.
“The next injury was in September 2022 while surfing Bingin in Bali. I was stalling for the tube, the wave threw my arm back and I dislocated my shoulder. I went to the hospital in Bali and they told me I would be out for a few weeks. When I got home I decided to see the doctor and he told me I’d be out for a few months. In February 2023 I dislocated my shoulder for a second time while free surfing before a Pro Junior event in Newcastle. This led to me having surgery in April and I was out of the water for three months.
“After that, I was cleared to paddle but every time I tried to do so, I still felt a lot of pain. After consulting with a specialist, I was told it was possibly from the screws in my shoulder. In November 2023 I underwent a second surgery and spent another four months out of the water.”
After such a prolonged period on the operating table, Luke finally returned to surfing in March this year before a knee injury kept him out of the water for a month. He got back in the water in May but pulled his Achilles in the same foot he broke his ankle. This led to another four weeks high and dry.
When he started surfing again in June, Luke booked a trip to Sumatra and scored some of the waves of his life. When he returned to Sydney in the middle of September he was forced to have eye surgery on a pterygium, also known as surfer’s eye, which will keep him out of the water until early 2025.
“Mentally, the whole process has taken a big toll on me. I’m hoping to get back in the water in the new year. They told me the eye surgery is up to 12 weeks recovery, which is nothing compared to what I’ve been through, so I’ve just got to be patient.
“During my ankle injury I was still at school and so I just focused on school work, but once I finished school, it sucked because I was injured and couldn’t work. I’ve just started doing a bit of labour work recently though and am going to keep that up for now.”
Once Luke can surf again he’s hoping to book another Indo trip for 2025.
“I’d be keen to go back to Krui, that was my first solo trip overseas and I scored so many sick waves. I’d love to chase some right hand slabs. I’d also like to try and do a few of the QS events and start competing again, as I’ve not been able to give them a proper crack.”
Whatever Luke decides to do in 2025, we wish him nothing but health and happiness. If his attitude throughout our interview is anything to go by, we are sure he will tackle whatever comes his way in the New Year with great strength and resilience.
