“I’m Always Hot, Dusty, And Sweaty”

THE_GROVE from Michael Fairbairn on Vimeo.

Each time I talk to another blue-collar Australian wave-destroyer I leave feeling like a phony.

They are always so laconic — like John Wick but saltier and with accents.

They are grateful for the exposure and always extremely kind, but you really have to push them to get them to talk about themselves. Their humility stands out in sharp relief to my California pseudo-intellectual vanity.

Kurt Lovegrove was the same way.

Kurt is from Wollongong, just south of Sydney. He’s friends with Noa Deane and a lot of the Drag Surf Co. characters. He works at Creative Laminating Surfboards, a core surfboard manufacturing facility that works on boards from some of Australia’s most prominent board-builders — including Dylan Longbottom.

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“I do hot coats, sanding, and ding repair mostly,” Kurt said, “I’m always hot, dusty, and sweaty. Luckily, it gives me a lot of free time and I can base my work around how the waves are… I still feel like I’m 16 but hopefully I’ll grow up someday.”

I asked Kurt if being a professional surfer was ever in the cards for him. It turns out he has a similar story as the rest of us, “I never did very well in comps, I knew early on I wasn’t good enough. I knew I was gonna have to work for a living. [laughs]”

We get a few emails a day from surfers and filmers sending in their edits. A very small amount of them make it onsite. Kurt’s did. If you click play you’ll see why. Poppy, Chippa-esque surfing on odd surfing utensils combined with a Turnstile soundtrack. It’s worthy of 1 minute and 48 seconds of your time.