Presents Vissla 

A few months ago Andro Crvik surfed for the first time the famous wave of the Bra Boys called Ours, and in an interview he also talked about the big hits he had taken on the Gold Coast.

Last Sunday, the Chilean, who has been living in Australia for two years now, went for a new session in Ours but received a call from a very good friend who gave him directions to get to a precious place: A secret slab that on more than one occasion in this interview he made sure to say that it was “friendly.”

Judging by the photos, the Iquique location has so many waves up there that it dares to call it “friendly.”

Although he still had to pay, hitting the bottom and breaking the board, he did take some good ones.

In the following paragraphs, he comments on his experience, reviews Covid in Australia and his plans for a year that no one has much idea of ​​what it will be like.

How did you come across this slab?
I got there because last Sunday morning I went to look at Cape Solander and the conditions were not optimal, there was a lot of water and it was not good.

A friend called me and told me to go south, get to a boat ramp and look around.

Suddenly I arrived, I saw his truck, I also saw Dylan Longbottom's truck and suddenly I got to the tip and I started looking and looking and looking and suddenly I saw a jet ski and I saw the wave in the distance. It's like an outer reef.

I changed my clothes and went to the water.

In the photos you don't see many people around, how secret is it?
It's well known to people from the south, but it's not so well known to people from Sydney. I had never heard of it in my life in the two years I've been in Australia. I thought it was a really good wave, a really friendly slab, so to speak. It was a really nice experience.

And yes, it is a secret wave, the locals don't like people going there too much because it's like a bodyboarders' sector.

How did you manage to find such a secret place?
Thank God I have a friend who is a photographer who is good friends with a couple of local photographers and bodyboarders and he was the one who invited me to go there, as long as I arrived alone.

It tells what the wave is like, its dangers and advantages.
The wave has its level of demand but it is reliable and the problem is precisely that: getting too confident and that is when things happen to you. It is a very nice slab and thank God nothing happened to me. Although I did break a board and hit the bottom.

Having grown up and learned to surf in the north of Chile gives you a lot of confidence to surf these waves.

"There was Dylan Longbottom, Ryan Callinan and Laura Enever, plus a couple of juniors from the Billabong team and me. Making a name for ourselves in Latin America and northern Chile"

Who else was in the water?
There was Dylan Longbottom, Ryan Callinan and Laura Enever, plus a couple of juniors from the Billabong team and me. We were defending ourselves in Latin America and in the north of Chile. You always have to defend your homeland and ride the waves, always with respect.

You've been seen surfing a couple of slabs like Ours, how do you compare it to this one? Better than Ours?
They are two very different waves. Ours tests you 100% mentally, in terms of endurance and technically because of the backwash. This one was friendlier, but it still serves as good training for Ours, but it is not better.

And, with all this time in Australia, how do you compare the land of kangaroos to Chile in terms of waves?
Australia is a country with many waves, but in terms of the consistency of the waves, accessibility, wind... In Chile, in winter, the swells come from the south, in summer, those from the north; the truth is that we don't have much to envy this country.

When it comes to slabs and outer reefs, perhaps they are a little envied.

But, Chile is a wonderful country, with all styles, points, beach breaks, slabs and everything.

And on a social and economic level?
That has a lot of influence; here if you don't have a job they support you, they help you find one and if you don't get one they give you a subsidy.

What is it like to live with Covid in Australia?
Super calm, there is not much social distancing anymore, bars have already opened, shopping malls too… In reality everything has always been normal because people have always had a bit of criteria with distancing and prevention. They have always been very ahead of the curve in that regard, for some reason they closed the borders, and even the borders between states, you couldn't travel even here within Australia; it had never been seen before.

Thanks to that, it is the country with the fewest weekly cases in the world… In one week, for example, there are seven cases.

"Waking up and being able to surf one of the waves that I like the most, such as Punta 1, El Colegio or La Intendencia. That's what I miss the most."

What are your plans for 2021?
I would love to be able to go back to the QS, I am training to be able to compete again. Here in Australia the QS have already resumed and I would like to be able to compete and represent South America.

Those are my plans and if possible, I will travel to Chile to surf and be with my family and see my people who are missed… Waking up and being able to surf one of the waves that I like the most, like Punta 1, El Colegio or La Intendencia. That is what I miss the most.

When will we see you in your beloved Iquique again?
As soon as possible. The important thing now is to be healthy so that I can finish the missions or projects that I set myself. One of them for me is to return to Chile and go visit my family and see my people. But I would like to stay here to live, more than to become a professional, to learn about surfing so that, if one day I get to return to Chile or any country, I can teach what surf culture is and the love of the sport of sliding on the wave.