Editor’s Note: Luke Davis’ new edit, Nowhere, accompanies a fundraiser dedicated to helping Morocco’s earthquake survivors rebuild. You can learn more about the campaign here.
Luke Davis loves Morocco. He’s delivered a healthy number of jaw-dropping clips from the place confirming for the rest of us exactly what we’ve heard for years: it’s full of reeling points and there’s no shortage of tubes.
But the importance of all that was put into perspective last month when a magnitude 6.8 earthquake took the lives of nearly 3,000 people. The disaster grabbed global headlines with stomach-turning footage of the quake and people running for safety into the streets of Marrakesh — many of them left sleeping outside in the nights following the event. On top of the massive fatalities, injuries more than doubled that number and now, of course, the country is left with the daunting task of trying its best to rebuild and recover.
Luke, being the guy that he is, wanted to lend a helping hand so he got to work on an all-Morocco edit he could use to spread the word about fundraising efforts. So with a fresh cut making the rounds and a GoFundMe campaign to accompany it, we checked in with the California native to talk about his love for the place and his desire to help.
So, jumping straight into this new edit, Nowhere, were you already working on it back in early September or was the disaster an instigator in putting this together and raising some relief funds?
I was working on the edit, kind of getting ideas together, and laying everything out when it happened. I mean, I’ve had so many life-changing trips over there. The place is so beautiful and the people have just had such an impact on me and my life over the years that I felt like I had to do it to give back. I felt like that was the right thing to do in that moment.
Morocco’s obviously a place you have a special connection with. I think we’ve all grown to associate you with it by now. Have you pinpointed what makes it so special to you?
I think it really hit home when I went over with Koa Smith and Billy Kemper. And that was the first time I met Jerome over there, who was Billy’s friend before but he and his family are just so inviting. And he kind of just showed us the way, brought us to all the best waves, and it was the first time we went all together. It was the biggest swell that hit there in like 20 years so we we kept pushing the trip back and back because of nonstop swells for two weeks. That was one of the best trips I’ve ever been on, so that kind of solidified my love for the place.
“The terrain is absolutely insane. It’s like a beautiful desert terrain with huge cliffs that fall into these crazy right points that are kind of scattered all over the coast.” ~Luke Davis
Outside of the waves, what are the people and the local culture like?
Like I said, the people are so inviting and the food is amazing. The terrain is absolutely insane. It’s like a beautiful desert terrain with huge cliffs that fall into these crazy right points that are kind of scattered all over the coast. And yeah, I’ve had such a good experience over the years and mainly, the people are just awesome and very warm and welcoming.
You mentioned you’re teaming up with Jerome Sahyoun. What has he shared with you over the past month from ground zero relief efforts?
He’s sent me some videos. He put out an edit of some of the (relief) efforts. The earthquakes really hit these little villages and communities — it sort of crumbled all their buildings and a few thousand people died, some inside of their homes. I mean, it’s truly horrific. So Jerome’s plan is to help build a school, just help rebuild in any way he can, and I trust him. He’s really connected there so I know he’s going to get the money to the right spots.
What else are you up to here on the West Coast right now? Any new projects in the works?
You know, not many projects in the works. California has been so slow this year. I think it’s just the smallest I’ve seen it and the slowest season I’ve seen in California since I can remember, so I’m just waiting around, seeing what the swells are doing, and hoping to go back to Morocco this winter. But I think for now we’re just kind of waiting for the winter season to engage and hopefully we get some more waves
Also, can we ask how your dad (and the whole Davis family) is doing? The news of his leukemia diagnosis this year was pretty heavy but it seems like a lot of people rallied around you guys to give some love and support.
He’s doing super well. As soon as he got the diagnosis, he got on a really good diet, sauna every day and hyperbaric chamber. So he’s been doing the sauna every day, got on a kind of keto/paleo diet, and he’s lost about 50 pounds. He’s killing it. He’s as skinny and healthy as he’s been since college. He recently got his bloodwork done and the doctor said everything’s very stable — all the blood work looks amazing. So yeah, it’s looking very positive for him. And I can’t thank everyone enough for helping out and donating. It kind of just shows how amazing the whole surf community is. When people need help, everyone really rallies.
Learn more about Luke’s fundraiser to help Morocco’s earthquake survivors.
