Thom Pringle, Tuncurry, Australia

How good’s Thom Pringle? The 19-year-old from Mudjimba, QLD pays for his own surfing career by bricklaying all day with his old man, then comes home with aching knees and goes shooting surf photos all afternoon. On rainy days (like the one you see above), Thom gets to surf all day, but misses out on a day’s pay.

Thom’s also an introspective and thoughtful person. Back in issue 45, Stab did a ‘Confession Box’ with the young man, in which he revealed his deepest secrets and fears. Maybe Thom’s up-and-at-’em attitude can be attributed to the way he feels when he’s falling asleep:

“When I’m lying in bed awake, I think about why I’m here. I over-think it way too much. I think it over and over. I get to sleep then in the morning I wake up fine. It doesn’t worry me at all in the morning, but at night I’m like, “I better do something tomorrow morning.” I think about my purpose in life. I think I’m running out of time sometimes.”

Then when Thom wakes up in the morning, he gets up, goes out, and does things like this.

THOM IS LIKE, SO GENERATION Y from Riley Blakeway on Vimeo.