Bodyboarding is one of those things that gets a bum rap a lot of the time, especially from surfers. “Dick draggers,” we call them. “F*ckin’ spongers,” we mutter, “why don’t those boogers stand up?” But my God, there is an entire contingent of lunatics on bodyboards, getting almost zero credit and consistently doing shit that no one standing up would do. For years, they’ve been the unsung heros of slabs – most of them were first discovered and ridden by bodyboarders. I like to think of them as a paving crew, of sorts, paving the way for surfers on surfboards, showing them that yes, this wave can be ridden. A paving crew full of some of the most insane people on any kind of board. “F*ckin’ spongers,” we mutter. We’re an ungrateful bunch, aren’t we?
Lewy Finnegan’s one of those guys. The film above follows Lewy from Northern Western Australia to the Southcoast of NSW from the ages 16 through 20. When he was 16, Finnegan was charging. When he was 18, he was still doing it, just a little harder. Now 25, he has turned into a full-fledged lunatic, throwing himself off ridiculous wedges with little to no regard for his own safety. And I love it. If Lewy Finnegan’s a dick dragger, then that should be surfing’s newest term of endearment.
