The Bare Essentials.

Airline companies are tightening their belts on baggage limits. Surfers are prone to getting stung by their excess charges and in some cases they’re even charging 100 bucks per surfboard. It’s not easy carting your whole quiver around the globe so in a new weekly segment, we’ll be looking through the contents inside pro surfer’s board bags. First up is Sunny Coast surfer Chris Friend…

1. Laptop

“It’s everything. I use it for communication, entertainment and if I’m in trouble. If I’m hanging at my accommodation I’ll plug my hard-drive in and watch a movie just to pass the time. If I’m stuck somewhere I’ll jump on the net and book flights. It’s been my savior on numerous occasions.”

2. Noise Canceling Headphones

“Planes are so noisy and I chuck these bad boys on and zone out. I don’t hear the crying baby or old blokes snoring…. I put them on with some good tunes and go into my own little world.”

3. Tennis Ball

“If I’m heading to a contest I always like to take a tennis ball. I use it to warm up before my heats and to take away the nerves. I put in a sock and give my self a massage with it. It’s like a good luck charm because I’ve been traveling with it since I was 15. It’s been everywhere from Europe to Brazil to Hawaii.”

4. Boards

“I always use to travel with four boards, but now I’ve reduced my quiver to three. I got over trying to lug around a massive board bag so I worked with my shaper to whittle it down. It was becoming so hard and expensive to take so many boards, especially with consecutive events.”

5. Towels

“I always take two towels with me everywhere. I hate it when you can’t dry yourself because your towel is wet and dirty. In humid places they just don’t seem to dry. It sucks when you come out of the water and you can’t get yourself dry. With a spare towel you know they won’t end up smelling like your wetsuit.”

There you go, Chris Friend’s board bag contents. If you bump into him, don’t try and knock anything off cause he’ll karate chop your arm into pieces. –Sam Paterson