I was born in the Free State, on a hippie commune called Rustlers Valley, just outside Fricksburg on the border of Lesotho. We lived on the top of the valley in a cob house next to the mountains and produced all our own vegetables. I grew up running around naked with my friends. Everyone was messy, we danced, made art, and there were lots of festivals. My mom trained wild horses and sold tie-dye tops. It was free.
We moved to Joburg because I needed a proper education. We stayed there for primary school, and then I moved to Hout Bay and eventually Kommetjie, where I live now. I had been coming to Kom all my life because my dad’s best friend lives here.
Growing up, we went to St Francis every year, and I’d try to surf but always ended up frustrated because I got so smashed. Then I went through a rough time and on my 18th birthday, I decided to go surfing. From that day onward, I went to Muizenberg every single day. No matter what the weather, I went until I learned to surf.
I was in such a dark space and felt depressed for a long time. All that I had been suppressing in life was coming out. I was dealing with my first heartbreak and navigating past situations with my parents. When I started surfing, it kept me wanting to live. I would be struggling the whole day and then force myself to go because I knew it was the only thing that made me keen on carrying on.
You get addicted once you catch your first wave. I would go home and dream about waves and about getting barreled when I could only stand on a wave. I feel like I was reborn during that time. Surfing helped me be this person and come out of that space.
