“We Convinced Them To Extend Our Trip And Raise The Budget”

Noah Hill, Hunter Jones, and Mick Davey were two weeks into their Oaxacan surf mission — with very little to show for it.

Which is weird. Salina Cruz is normally the “old faithful” of surf trips, especially in the summertime, with south swells kissing every nook, point, and cove of that chiseled Mexican coastline.

But, the crew had gotten skunked. “It was a tough trip in terms of waves. The entire middle of the trip was almost flat and there were a couple of days we didn’t even surf,” explained Noah Hill. “Pretty much all of the barrels you see are from the very last session of the trip. It’s that classic surf trip thing — you’re there for two weeks but it’s that one day of waves you get that make it all worth it.”

A professional surfer’s life seems like the mix between a rock star and a trustafarian — until clips aren’t being got and a company’s investment isn’t generating a return.

“That’s the thing about Salina Cruz though, the waves are so perfect. All you need is a little bit of swell,” Noah said, “and it’ll be fine. You’ll get the clips you need. And that one day made it all make sense.”

In between the trio’s first days of turn-and-air-friendly waves and last-day tube heroics, they had some time to indulge in some local delights.

“We were hanging with the Mexican crew down there when it was flat and we ended seeing places we never would’ve seen normally.” Noah explained. “We went to these secret little beaches where the true Mexican people vacationed at and just drank on the beach and ate these like delicious little Mexican pizza things [they’re called “tlayudas” and are a Oaxacan delicacy] all day and it was really fun.”

But, after a few days of exiled exuberance, the three amigos finally locked into the kind of surf they had traveled so far for (and that Rusty had sunk some healthy coin into).

I then asked Noah if there’s anything else about the trip he’d want to comment on. “Hmm I’m trying to think if there’s anything about the boards or something like that I could say.” Noah pondered, “But nah, I don’t want to force anything cause then it might sound stupid. I’m just grateful for the trip.”

An honest man, we can get behind that.