Willow Hardy + Ellie Harrison Decimate West Oz in ‘Wilson’s Home’

Made in partnership with Rip Curl.

You might remember Willow Hardy from the Margaret River Pro highlight reel—where the Trials wildcard paddled into a wave that looked like it was trying to gargle bricks. She made it to mid-face, then got obliterated. “It didn’t look that big when I paddled in,” she laughed. “But when I fell, I didn’t penetrate the water and just got rolled forever.”

It was gutsy though. I’d wager, had the women’s event run at The Box—as nature and ratings intended— she would’ve gone a little further in the draw. 

Box shamanism is hereditary in Willow’s case. As BodyboardingMuseum.com put it, Willow’s old man Gene “was the first bodyboarder to push the boundaries at The Box and other heavy wave locations in West Oz.” Her uncle, Ryan Hardy, was a slab-slaying booger with more cover shots than a royal baby.

Ask any of the Aussie freesurf rat pack—Noa, Harry, Shaun, etc—who first showed them how to launch over dry reef, and there’s a decent chance “Hardy” comes up.

Ellie Harrison also made a notable CT cameo this season—rinsing Molly Picklum and Vahine Fierro in the opening round at Bells. She’s riding one of Julian Wilson’s old boards in this clip after breaking all her own and looting Willow’s garage. “It was either that or a bodyboard”. Checks out.

As a side note: while striking Vicco for Mikey February’s EAST project this year, several of the crew returned with rave reviews of Ellie’s rail game on the Bells bowl.

Both are hitting the Challenger Series this year—Ellie’s third lap, Willow’s first. They’ve got opinions. Surf dads, damp wetsuit interviews, and tragic WSL profile pics didn’t pass the vibe check. “I hate the neck tan too,” Ellie added. “The full poo-head.” Willow’s gripe? “The whole surf culture content panic. One water photog shows up and suddenly it’s an influencer pile-on.”

Anyway, here it is. A short film born out of burnout and a shared desire to flee the circus. Which makes WA perfect — getting anywhere is a faraway mission.

“We were kind of cooked,” Ellie says. “We just wanted to surf and remember why we even like it.”

And if nothing else, it’s worth a spin just to see two surfers who can actually laugh at the thing they’re half a foot away from joining.