Note submitted by Vissla - Photos in Ours by @Joselo_aqua

Studying in Australia, Chilean barrel and heavy wave specialist Andro Crvik doesn't miss the swells when they come in and doesn't shy away from the challenges either.

He had the chance to surf one of the most feared waves on the planet: Ours at Cape Solander, Sydney, and there he went. He responded to the advice of the legendary Chilean bodyboarder, Edgard, who urged him to go and become a man.

Accustomed to riding the heavy waves of his Iquique, Arica and all of Chile, Crvik faced the challenge with “fear” but did not hesitate to take the plunge and got some good ones.

He also had to pay the price of surfing one of the heaviest waves on the planet. Now he doesn't stop: He wants to go to Cyclops, Shipsterns and The Box, among others.

Below is the story of what was his first surfing experience on one of the most feared waves on the planet.

What are you doing in Australia?
Right now I'm studying Business, finishing my university degree and at the same time I'm surfing as much as possible, I'm learning. Australia is obviously a strong power in surfing and a country with a surfing culture, I'm trying to learn all the knowledge and try to fulfill one of my dreams which is to surf all of Australia.

How would you say the pandemic has affected your beloved Chile?
This country was not affected much. When the virus hit, the state, the government, the entire country, took things very drastically and all jobs were cancelled, everything was closed. All the students and all the people who are here were able to take it in a good way because the country was paralyzed for a month, many people were unemployed, many people returned to South America to their countries, more than three million students and working holiday makers returned to their countries.

I was one of those who didn't want to go back because I started to think that the virus was going to hit South America harder, too, in my country, because it's a bit of a mediocre country. They allow things and at the same time they don't allow healthy things, like skipping supermarkets, like everywhere else you should skip that, but here you could surf from the first month, everything was calm. Many people couldn't surf the first month, I'm in Sydney right now and you couldn't surf for a month, but now everything is legal.

There were a couple of amazing swells, what were you able to surf?
Yes, I had the opportunity to surf one of the most incredible swells, the first cyclone that hit the Gold Coast, I was able to surf Snapper Rocks, a very incredible wave, and at the same time I was able to surf Kirra, which I think I got one of the best tubes of my life, there I saw the level of strength that is needed to be able to surf that type of wave. Thank God I feel a little capable, I think it is because where I come from, I feel that I can do anything, I come from the north of Chile. I was able to surf a couple of incredible swells, the swell that passed was a swell, not with the most perfect conditions that were expected, but I was lucky anyway.

"There I saw the level of strength that is needed to be able to surf that type of wave. Thank God I feel a little capable, I think it's because where I come from, I feel like I can do anything, I come from the north of Chile"

In these photos we see you surfing at Ours, the feared wave of the Bra Boys. How did you come to surf it? Did you follow a local or did you just go with the flow?
Yes, I surfed the last swell on a wave called Ours, better known as the Bra Boys wave, but its real name is Cape Solander. I got there thanks to a great Peruvian bodyboarder friend, a world-renowned bodyboarder, I think. He is a very wise person, his name is Edgar, he has lived there for six or seven years, a great friend of mine, we have many friends in common from Iquique and Peru.

He sent me the coordinates, told me to go there and be a man, otherwise he will sell my sponsorship (laughs), and well I left, a very cold day, we arrived early, 6:30 am, we were there already looking at the wave before dawn. The wave is very scary, you can see it from outside and it is very scary.

"He told me to go there and become a man"

How was it?
It was very, very, very good, we learned a lot, it was an experience that was both comfortable and uncomfortable because obviously you can see it in the water, there were 20 or 25 people in the water, of those 25, there were 22 surfboards and two or three bodyboards. It's a very good wave, very good.

Did you get hurt?
Yes, I hit myself, I hit the reef, the rocks, in one of the waves that I wanted to get into from behind, I couldn't get in properly, I got in too fast, I had to open up and the backwash fell on me with the lip on my back and I ate a whole set down below, I almost started to get shellfish, but it's something that has to happen, just like the wave gives you, you also have to give it something in return.

Let's say the stones look pretty good up close, does it seem impossible?
Yes, the rocks look pretty close, I mean, they are very close, they are right there where the peak is, you can see the rock slab below, that is what you have to go through, if you go through that section, you are a little bit freer, you also have a rock wall ahead, which is where you jump and where the backwash happens, it is very dangerous. In my last wave I was a meter and a half from that wall, I was very scared, but luckily nothing happened, a few cuts on my feet, but luckily I was very calm.

"I almost started to fish for shellfish, but it is something that has to happen, just like the wave gives you, you also have to give something in return"

Which was the best one you took with you?
The best one was one where I put on a really nice tube, but you know, my first time surfing that wave, I was a little scared, I didn't want to give it too much because I was on a very small board, with a 5.9” epoxy, much lighter, the board was more jealous.

Are you already preparing to return or do you think it would be better to go surfing somewhere else?
I'm preparing myself, I'm waiting for a swell, God willing, depending on how things go I'll see if I can continue training, mentally and physically. One of my dreams is to surf Shipstern (Bluff, in Tasmania), I have several here in Australia, Luna Park, Cyclops. In the north, in the west, one of my dreams is The Box, I want to go there, so those are the things I'm thinking about.

A few months ago you surfed a great swell on the Gold Coast, tell us a little about that.
Yes, a couple of months ago, in February, I was on the Gold Coast, a friend and a girlfriend who wanted to surf, told me that a good cyclone was coming, the banks are great, there are not many people and just now the Gold Coast championship had been cancelled, the Snapper Rocks and there was no crowd. I packed my stuff, I left, the first day I arrived, Kirra was incredible, I think the best tubes of my life on a long point. Lots of famous people in the water, a lot of crowd, but a crowd of locals, I had no problems with the locals thank God. All good.

How's your life going there?
My life here is very calm, almost everything is returning to normal. For a while now, you can go to restaurants, everything is normal. The only thing that is not allowed is the clubs, a little party is not allowed (laughs), but my life is going well here, thinking about the future, I would like to stay here in Australia.

"I think that life here is as it should be, above all, I don't want to return to Chile because of everything that is happening, the repression, the corruption of politicians."

Do you have plans to return to Chile?
That is a very strong question, I mean I want to go back to Chile, that is something confirmed, because for me there is nothing better than Chile for surfing, my home, being able to wake up in the morning, being able to surf four or three different, perfect waves, but at this moment I am not thinking about going back home, I think next year for the QS, but I would go, compete and return to Australia., I think that life here is as it should be, above all, I don't want to return to Chile because of everything that is happening, the repression, the corruption of politicians, based on the political ideology of the people, it is better not to talk about the subject because for me all politicians are different shit, but with a different smell (laughs).