TICKLING THE CLOUDS
For over a decade Chippa Wilson has beguiled us with his highly original take on riding waves. The wiry goofy-footer from Cabarita with the blazing yellow eyes and ink-splashed torso ushered in the kind of aerial hi-jinks that required observers to consult a dictionary of skateboarding tricks to figure out what he was actually doing on a wave. His tube riding prowess and rail carves are less frequently celebrated, but both are key elements of a dynamic act that has made him one of the world’s pre-eminent freesurfers; heavily in demand from sponsors, filmers, photographers, surf media and air contest organisers alike.
However, after 10 years of travelling, launching cloud-tickler airs for the cameras, and logging clips, Chippa Wilson decided he needed to find a retreat; somewhere he could indulge his slightly reclusive instincts, ride isolated peaks and work on his motorbikes. He settled on eight acres of bush covered land on the north east coast of Tasmania as his version of Arcadia. However, not long after Chippa committed to moving south, a lip-jump went awry in France, resulting in a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Surgeons clipped a piece of his hamstring to replace the injured ACL and told him to take it easy for a while. Rather than fall into a spiral of self-pity, Chippa embraced the opportunity to immerse himself in other pursuits. He renovated and landscaped the Tassie property, carved his own bush trail, met a girl, became a vegan and got lost in the Zen of motorcycle mechanics.
After recovering from his injury Chippa was more eager than ever to surf and recently invited his shaper, Matt Hurworth and myself to his sanctuary at the bottom of the world.
At Sydney airport I rendezvous with Chippa’s long-time shaper, Matt Hurworth, who has just flown in from the Gold Coast. Matty is in good form and has an aura of infinite energy about him. He’s just surfed pumping Kirra for two days straight and been up all morning crafting boards before his flight. At the airport bar he tells me that he’s known Chippa since he was eight through a family connection, “My stepmum is his mum’s cousin.” Matty has been making boards for Chippa ever since and chuckles when recalling his own early advice to his young step cousin. “He’d lose a heat in the juniors at Cabarita boardriders and I’d go ‘why did you race past sections, you could have done three turns’. Lucky he didn’t listen to me.”
Conscious that we may be on a vegan plan for
