GET TO KNOW SURFER LOUIE HYND
Hailing from the Gold Coast, Luke 'Louie' Hynd has been surfing since the age of ten after being given a board for Christmas. He was taught by his Dad, and although it was a close call, (he was almost given a motorbike) since then has travelled to over thirty countries - solidifying his love for the ocean, passion for travel and creating captivating content with his best mate.
He was kind enough to take the time to answer some Q's.
Photo by Darcy Ward
Let's start with Cosmic Shift, your most recent film release with Darcy Ward. So from what I’m aware it was eighteen months in the making, correct?
Yeah it was a while in the making. It was amazing that Ripcurl gave us the opportunity to really give it our best shot in allowing the vision to come to life without feeling too pressured from deadlines or needing to put it straight on the internet. That time allowed the film to take shape organically rather feeling like we were forcing it or having to put out something we’re not entirely content with.
That's awesome. Did you have an idea of where you wanted the film to go when you started?
The film evolved as time went on and we had to adapt as plans changed, but the main inspiration stayed the same. Capture surfing in light that shows it’s beauty and document the adventure of making the most of the present doing what you love.
I love that, and I think that was definitely evident. Some of Cosmic Shift was shot on Norfolk Island. That's a place very close to my heart as I grew up there on and off. What did you love about Norfolk Island? It was definitely your favourite part, wasn’t it?
I loved Norfolk Island, i had no idea what to expect but I felt such a connection to the place. Especially at the time we went there, dealing with so many restrictions and covid chat everyday that I just felt this insatiable desire to escape and find some inner peace. Then I’ve arrived in this place that felt as if id travelled back in time 20 years. A sort of country town community vibe but in an island paradise. We made friends with some epic humans that welcomed us into the community and made us feel really comfortable.
Loved the fact you could drive 5 mins out of town and experience blissful solitude in raw nature which was exactly what I was craving.
I was just in awe of the huge ancient trees and cliff top vistas the entire time. Getting sunrise and sunset over the water never gets old either. We were going for a 1 week, swell hit and ended up staying for 6 weeks so I think we liked it haha
You and Darcy have known each other for a long time now, did you ever imagine that you’d be travelling and shooting with your best mate?
It’s been a fun journey. You always imagine your dreams but it’s pretty trippy when you pause and go shit it’s actually happening! We shot our first little clip when we were 15 and ever since then we just wanted to keep evolving and creating films. So grateful I’ve had sponsors that supported us to make all happen.
I'm 100% positive you two have gotten up to some mischief on your trips. What is the craziest travel story you have from one of your adventures?
Haha you’re not wrong! What mischief brings up for me is when we were 19-20 we went on a pretty spontaneous trip to Ireland for a month. We flew there without booking anything or even knowing much about the place, we just knew the town we wanted to stay, where we had heard there were good waves during winter.
We ended up borrowing a van that some mutual friends had left over there after their euro travels. The car was untaxed, uninsured, unregistered, first gear didn’t work and Darcy was on his learners. We just ran it because someone told us you rarely get pulled over by cops in Ireland with English plates because it’s heaps of paperwork for them. That was good enough for us, but every car trip was riddled with anxiety. We would have been looking at massive fines or jail time if we were caught. Darcy taught me to drive manual that trip so if we did get pulled over at least I had a license to show them. We had a few close calls doing u-turns before police roadblocks but we made it in the end.
We went back two years later bought a car with English plates and did the same thing again for two months haha.
Haha, that sounds pretty ballsy!
Are you usually a meticulous planner or a go-with-the-flow kinda guy?
My style is definitely winging it and going with the flow.
Hence the car situation haha. When packing for a surf trip what are your five must-haves?
- Couple surfboards and accessories
- Wetsuits to suit different temps
- A quality Book
- Bluetooth Speaker
- A warm waterproof jacket
What is it that draws your desire for travel?
To wake out of that monotonous auto pilot mode we sometimes slip into when we were so comfortable in our surroundings and everyday life. Theres something about the sensory overload of travelling to a new land that just really excites me. You become that inner child again that is experiencing the joy of something for the first time. Everyday is an adventure and you create memories that last forever.
"Theres something about the sensory overload of travelling to a new land that just really excites me. You become that inner child again that is experiencing the joy of something for the first time. Everyday is an adventure and you create memories that last forever."
If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
Tally/Currumbin valley or Milton/Ulladulla on the south coast of Sydney. In a quiet forest abode away from people and close to nature.
That sounds like the dream. Although I was expecting you to say something like Portugal.
Ok, someone tells you that you can never surf again, you're allowed one more wave - where do you go?
Either Greenbush in Indonesia or Skeleton Bay in Namibia on their days.
How many countries total do you think you've been too?
30 something or more!
It can be a mental escape or the rush of adrenaline. What do you love most about surfing?
Surfing has given me so much joy. It’s so healing spending time in the ocean. Love that it’s an active meditation that takes me out of my head and into my body. Great practice for the mental state. Then the natural high that you get from getting barrelled is like an intense roller coaster ride. It’s just so much fun. I think that’s why you always see such happy old surfers, they just never stopped playing.
Who inspires you most?
People that go out of their way to help, original thinkers, truth speakers
If you weren’t surfing what path do you think you would have taken?
I almost got a motorbike instead of a surfboard for Christmas one year so that would’ve taken me on very different path
What do you do during your time off? (other than surfing)
I like to go on hikes, hang out with my mates, read books, cook, otherwise I just sit around in contemplation
What does the perfect day look like to you?
Start with a banging brew at sunrise into a pumping session trading waves with mates. Delicious wholesome food. Little nature hang, Good company margies and some epic live music to have a boogie to past into sunset.
You had me at Margies, and Boogie! Is there an artist that you love?
John Lennon, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, Alex Grey
You also mentioned you like to read. What's your favourite novel?
The dice man by Luke Rhinehart is one of my favs
Very nice, is there a favourite quote that you like to live by?
You are not a drop in the ocean, you are the entire ocean in a drop - Rumi
If you could choose one song to play every time you walked into a room for the rest of your life, what song would you choose and why?
I’ll end up hating whatever song I choose haha
Favourite meal? Too many delights too narrow it down to one.
Favourite brew? Will & Co bean double shot almond latte
What is your favourite board?
Loving anything with two fins at the moment
The world's about to end, you’ve just found out a zombie apocalypse is about to happen, what do you grab first and where do you go?
A big bottle of water then I’m going to Bunnings.
If you were given 1mil right now, what would you do with it?
Shout some mates a trip to Nepal via Amsterdam then I’ll buy a nice pad down the coast on a bit of land and kick back.
What do you have in the pipeline for this year? Any trips or more plans for filming?
See how things pan out, kinda hard to lock things in but definitely work on another film with Darcy. Spend some quality time shooting down south and road trip around chasing waves. I’d love to get over to Norfolk again for a few weeks. Throw a few multi day treks in there somewhere too.
And lastly, the pendant we sent you is the Nomad, which was created with the idea of embracing the unknown, to venture is to live. We couldn't think of a more fitting pendant that represents you.
When owning a piece of jewellery what stands out to you?
Love that, thank you. I’d say having the piece reflect something about you and feeling comfortable and confident rocking it.
