I was 7 and my brother Joel taught me
how to surf when I was 10. In high school, it
was surfing that got me many friendships.
Everyone would call me early in the
morning before school to check the surf
for them because it was only a one minute
walk from my house. Through those years
it was nothing but surf, video games, surf,
school, surf, partying on the beach and
surf. Life was sick in high school. It was in
year 10 that I got my first video camera
and filmed my friends surfing, and made
countless home surfing clips.”
Your brother was the subject of the short
film Our Guru Of Surfing you made when
you were just 17, that won you Best
Director in 2007 at the Young Filmmakers
Festival of Queensland, then Best Film in
2008 at the Reelife Short Film Festival – we
know it’s a heavy topic but can you share
a bit about this with us?
“My brother Joel passed away at the
age of 26 in 2008, when I was 19. He was
diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis when he
was 16 and through the years it got worse.
He was a very keen soul surfer and soccer
player but because of his tremors he
was not able to surf or run anymore. Joel
passed away unexpectedly in his sleep.”
(You can check the heartfelt and uplifting
tribute Beau made on the opposite page)
Where does your passion stem from for
making surf docos and what makes you
put in the effort and go that extra mile?
“My passions are travel, surfing and
wildlife. Hopefully one day I will combine
the three. After my brother Joel’s passing,
the grieving was pretty bad so my Italian
friends encouraged me to go over to Italy
and stay with them for a couple months.
Got some good waves there as well. That’s
when I discovered that travel was my key
to being happy again … so pretty much
like the Endless Summer films, I want to
make surfing adventure films in the most
cinematic way and try to encourage the
viewers to get up and travel. Because
I believe the only reason why you are
unhappy is because you choose to be.”
How did you end up here on the Gold
Coast and how does it compare with your
home turf?
“I moved to the Gold Coast in midOctober this year to work as a presenter at
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, hopefully to
be a bird of prey trainer soon. The lifestyle
here is awesome too - lots of things to do.
Comparing the Goldy to the Sunny Coast,
seems that the Goldy is more a place to
party, whereas the Sunny Coast is more
relaxed. There are good surf breaks there
but the Goldy has more variety. I surf
mostly Snapper and Burleigh - they’re
great right-handers.”
And how’s the localism here, had any of
the Burleigh Boys send you in yet?
“I usually don’t have problems with
the locals because I do wait in line sometimes I do give a wave to someone
(especially if it’s a hot babe) who’s waiting
beside me because they’re having
trouble. I do believe waves are meant for
sharing, no matter what, local or not.”
What’s your next step regarding the
Maldives doco you’re up to your neck in?
“I’m personally not sure when my next
trip will be there however if we feel it’s
necessary to get more footage and cover
any rallies then we might have to get
back over there. We have been awaiting
the outcome of the presidential elections
in The Maldives before actually submitting
a copy of the doco to the tourism
department so they can understand and
consider the impact of the development
at Thanburudhoo Island and privatisation
of surf breaks. We have interviews with
local surfers, local boat owners and
tourists and surf guides whose livelihoods