An Interview With The Sole Australian Out At Teahupoo Yesterday 

“It feels like a bus hit me. I’m just cruising today.”

Dom Walsh spent his youth playing rugby league. Was in the Gold Coast Titans U21 squad. As in, he was legit. “When I was 16 I moved up to Snapper playing football for the Titans. I was a really impatient kid and I just wanted to play first grade then and there. Long story short, I realized that the sport wasn’t for me and I began traveling and chasing swells across Hawaii, Indonesia, Fiji and Tahiti. Eventually, I found this place (Tahiti) and fell in love with it. I’ve subsequently made it home base.”

Thanks to hard work, smart investing and not spending money on materialistic possessions, Dom has managed to carve out a lifestyle that allows him to chase swells across the globe without working a day job. “I try not to live anywhere if you get what I mean… I like to be on the move a lot. The best part about this place is its slowness and simplicity. They look after their land here, there’s no development. That’s how I like it. Then there’s the power and the energy of the waves over here. In my opinion, the local boys over here Gilbert, Eimeo, Kauli, Matahi etc… they’re right up there with the best tube riders on the planet.”

“Yesterday the local boys were paddling into proper 12 footers. Gilbert (see photo below), he’s 16 years old paddled into the biggest wave I’ve seen out there. The mental state and ability you need to throw yourself over the ledge out there unassisted is something I doubt I’ll ever have the balls for. I love watching them do their thing. The stuff they’re paddling into is unbelievable – the pinnacle of surfing in my view. My wave yesterday was a tow wave. 95% of the work is already done with tow. I just stood there and enjoyed the view. I would like to extend my thanks to Tupuai Alvino for putting me in the spot.”

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A post shared by Matéo Pouhaër (@ride.picture)

“When you’re paddling you almost have to commit to it when you see it. You need to make sure the local guys don’t want it, and then you’ve gotta put your head down and forget everything else. Once you decide that you’re going there’s pretty much no turning back because you’re going over the falls anyway. Nothing compares to a wipeout there. Not in my experience. The water draws so hard off the reef. It’s like a shorebreak but 10x bigger with coral below. The waves the local guys go for don’t look surfable. When they do make it, it is mind-melting. Yesterday in the morning was mostly paddle. There was the odd tow bomb but the local guys were all over it. By the afternoon it was getting right to that borderline where you need a ski.” 

This Dom guy is a pretty interesting fella. Despite deflecting praise to everyone but himself, he is a fair-dinkum charger who’s found a way to live the ‘dream’ without major backing from sponsors. 

You can follow his movements here.