Watch: Holly Wawn in ‘Orange in Mexico’
Breezy music, clean surfing, shot post-machete fight seen in Repeater.
It’s hard to ask your mate sincere questions when 99% of your interactions are a pisstake.
Hol, who’s lived with me since January, is rarely not tongue in cheek. Our ‘interview’ went as expected, up in giggles. In this instance, proximity was probably a point of failure. Here it goes anyway.
Born in Newport to Bill, a “pink housepainter, who’s surfed forever”, and Jos, “a brown (Syrian-Peruvian) bookkeeper and mother of three”, Holly was the youngest of three girls, seven and nine years her senior.
Bill was delighted when she expressed an interest to surf, bit of an estrogen tank at home. Plus they could see Bungan from their living room. She “flogged the joint” growing up, often surfing with Ozzy Wright, who lived down the hill. “I remember babysitting his kids whenever he’d play Goons of Dooms gigs down at Mona pub.”
“I loved competing as a kid. I did all the BL’s blastoff comps, came second about five times. Then I won the Skullcandy Oz grom comp, three state titles, and an Aussie title when I was about 15. Did Worlds a bunch, representing my country and that,” she says with a bogan twang.
By the time Wawny had turned 20 she’d added two Pro Junior victories and three QS’s wins to her resume. Her best year she finished 14th, a couple of heats from qualifying. A combination of things contributed to a love lost and her eventually hanging up the jersey. Injuries, ennui and a general distaste for attaching self-worth to accomplishment.
While the competitive career appeared to be going down the gurgler, Wawny who’s now admittedly “gay as anything”, was finding joy elsewhere. “I was seeing boys in High School, then all of a sudden this beautiful girl kissed me on the lips at a party when I was 19 and it was all over. It’s probably the best coming out story ever. No one gave a fuck, because she was so beautiful and it was young love.” Their innings lasted 12 whole months.
“I probably have better relationships with boys than any of my girlfriends that are straight because I don’t want to fuck ’em,” she laughs.
“Bloody beautiful,” is how Hol describes finding her groove in the freesurf world, doing commentary gigs for Stab High, The Pickup and as the roaming beach commentator for the forthcoming Vans Pipe Masters. On the side, she’s been working on designing a Pride Collection for Vans.
Between that and all the traveling, partying, surfing and fun happening at home, she’s pretty content with how things are for the time being. “Just don’t sit on your fingers.”
Here’s her clip shot in Mex, which Wade Carroll filmed, threw on a timeline and popped a nice tune on top of. It was shot right after a machete-wielding lunatic was tackled, hogtied and disappeared in the back of a black sedan. You might’ve seen some snippets in Quiksilver’s film Repeater.
