Cronulla-based surfer Blakey Johnston plans to break the world record for longest surf session. The current record is held by South African surfer Josh Elsin – who surfed for thirty hours and eleven minutes (a time during which he caught 455 waves). Johnston plans to surf for 40 hours solid and catch 500 waves. It might sound mad – but there’s a method to it.
Former WQS pro surfer, and now surf coach/business owner at the Cronulla Surfing Academy, Blakey Johnston is set to break the Guinness World Record for longest surf session. He’s doing it to raise awareness around mental health.
“I have (mental health) battles. I’m not nice to myself. I do these things to prove to myself I’m worthy,” Johnston told surf news website Beach Grit. Johnston is also a big runner, and prior to deciding to try and break this record, was going to do a six-hundred mile run to Queensland (with the same goal: to raise awareness for mental health).
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Johnston figured, given he can run for forty hours, he’ll be able to smash this surfing record (telling Beach Grit: “This way, I can surf with people I like and make a difference”). Mental health awareness is important to Johnston. Johnston’s dad took his own life, and while Johnston was surfing for Quicksilver, one of the company’s employees died after a battle with depression.
Johnston reportedly plans to break the record in a spot in Cronulla called The Alley, where companies like Red Bull are set to sponsor him, providing things like lights, water safety; judges (people might be able to donate to the cause and surf with him, we’d imagine).
“You don’t have to be a superstar to live a full life. You just gotta make an effort. You gotta go after it,” he told Beach Grit.
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