The Outer Banks Is Not Just A Teenybopper Show On Netflix

“Everybody has a nickname here on the Outer Banks,” Bo Raynor tells us.

“I’m Bo Grom, yes, still grom. I’ll probably never outgrow it.” You might not have seen Bo before, but you’ll see him soon. 24-year-old Bo Grom was one of our lucky(ish) Stab Highway tour guides who chauffeured us through their homes. Bo took his job so seriously that one team started referring to him as their “mascot.” He said he wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not. “I think we had too much fun, I might’ve fed em’ too many beers,” Bo said.

“The Outer Banks feels significantly different than anywhere else in the U.S.,” says Bo. “It actually feels like you’re on a different planet sometimes. It’s just sand dunes and old restaurants and occasionally fun waves. And it really is a melting pot, with people from all over the place coming here for the fishing and to get away from things. And then there’s the creatures — and I don’t mean the animals. I mean there are some classic characters around town.”

Speaking of occasionally fun waves, the 13-minute edit you’ll see above is full of them. Aside from having plenty of good surfing, there’s also some original claymation (that features an example of a “creature”) and a little backstory on Bo’s life — from East Coast child prodigy to working class, semi-professional surfer. Bo still surfs for Billabong, but he works winters as a painter with his dad and summers teaching surf lessons.

“There’s definitely some mixed feelings about the Netflix show around here, but personally, I think it’s a good thing for the town,” Bo said. “Tourism is super important for the economy in the summer here and if the show brings more money in and more people to look at (laughs) then that’s a good thing.”

Since Bo still has a Bong sticker on the nose, I had to ask him what his surf plans were like for the rest of the year. “The past few years I’ve kinda been limboing in terms of contests. Sometimes I feel that fire to do them and sometimes I just don’t,” Bo admits. “But this year I have some trips planned and I just want to keep filming, saving up clips, and hopefully I’ll be able to throw up another edit like this soon. I want to push myself in bigger and better waves — situations I’m not as comfortable in. I’m also just trying to get the surf school dialled in. I’m learning how to actually be punctual and professional now and not just a little kid.”

You’ll catch Bo very soon on Stab Highway East Coast. The first episode drops next week, Thursday, January 23rd at 5 PM PST.