Noa Deane talks post-Hawaii and burning too bright

Story by Ali Klinkenberg

It’s easy for armchair critics to dismiss the current crop of freesurfing media darlings as contrived. But, the Machiavellian ruthlessness required to become a professional freesurfer is monumental. It just so happens that the lifestyle element of the equation is marketable, so we’re given that, too. Noa Deane’s forever been a Stab favourite. So outspoken, and brimming with youthful enthusiasm! If you’ve been living low for the past three years, and still aren’t sold on him, then wait for Noa’s closing section in Kai Neville’s new film, Cluster. Jamming with Noa’s like playing with a wind-up toy. All you’ve got to do is crank him up, and watch him go! A few gentle redirections when he’s close to hitting the wall, and what you have is (surprisingly) profound gold! The day after the Sydney premier of Cluster, Noa dropped by the Stab office looking fresh and sprightly (more on why, later). We talked ambition, and the lingering ghost of past mistakes.

Stab: What’s changed in your life since Hawaii?
Noa: Probably just five people a day hitting me up about what happened. Mostly positive, but some negative. I don’t really say anything to them. It was me, I said it, so I just have to deal with it.

Getting high over Rocky Point, pre-Surf Poll awards. Photo: Laserwolf

You’re off the booze at the moment. Talk to me about the beautiful clarity of sobriety. Yeah, nearly two months. It’s sweet. At the Sydney Cluster party I was just watching people who were out of their minds, it was so funny. I used to go out and spend like $500 bucks a week on piss, then I’d think, “What am I doing?” But I feel that if you travel as much as I have been, you can’t mentally get through it without doing something. It’s terrible though, because I came back from all those trips just completely torched. I had to go and see someone about it. Just try and comprehend how I’d just done what I’d been doing for the last two years straight, and not, like, had a nervous breakdown.

Even the brightest of flames can’t burn forever! I’ve had two years of hanging out with everyone that I’ve ever wanted to hang out with, and everything falling into place. And always having in the back of my mind, “when am I gunna trip up?” and, “how bad’s it going to be when it happens?” But it could’ve been a lot worse.

Few can tweak a slob like so. Rocky Rights. Photo: Bosko

It happens to everyone growing up, that occasion when you misjudge a moment. But most people don’t have the public profile you do when it happens. That’s the thing that was hard about having the public profile. I was home for one month, in the whole of last year, and that was just to pick up boards. I felt like it wasn’t that bad because I was just away, doing my thing, and then everything I started doing started to filter out. Now I try and totally avoid bad shit.

Do you feel like your actions follow you around? I’m starting to get really nervous about being in the public eye. I was nervous when I was up on stage for the Cluster premiere, thinking about what I was going to say. Every second of every day I’m thinking about what I’m going to say to people when they come up to me, because I feel that if I say something stupid then they’re just going to spray it all over the walls. Especially with all the shit that’s happened lately, all eyes are on me. If I slip up it’s the biggest deal. It’s hard to be 20 and to have that.

So then, how does 2015 look for you? I want to put out another part, a really solid web part, depending on how much footage I can get. The same work ethic though, I like working hard. Even though it fries you, and turns you into a bit of a mincer… It’s pretty cool when kids come up to you after films though, and tell you that your section was the sickest thing that they’ve ever seen. I don’t really care if some dude’s saying that he fucking hates me, if a kid thinks it’s the tits, then that’s good enough.

A spring fling at South Straddie from a short time ago. Notice the brace holding together a recuperating wrist. Photo: Shane Fletcher