DION AGIUS FOR ISSUE SEVEN

Every issue I always try to reach out to someone I feel may be a little out of range, just to see what happens. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, this time it did. Answering the questions in between surf comps somewhere in Indo shows the kind of person Dion Agius is. Mainly a free surfer from Tassie, Australia, but so much more. He just recently finished building a second home for holidaying in, he has an eyewear brand EPØKHE, as well as a sun and skin care brand, Standard Procedure. Fair to say he’s got a lot on his plate, although he took the time to answer some questions for us and was as humble as ever. Hope you enjoy the read and the insane photos by Nick Green.

Here is the full interview from issue seven, you can read it here or in print with the rest of the interview, which in my opinion is way more satisfying to read.

WANDERER: You grew up in Tassie, then moved to the Gold Coast and have recently made your way back down to Tassie. What drew you back there?

DION: I think the natural beauty of Tasmania drew me back. As a kid I think it’s something you grow up surrounded by but don't realise how much you really appreciate it and how much it becomes a part of you. So, when I started spending more time back there I felt instantly at home.

When you were younger and first started getting into the free surfing realm, did you ever receive any backlash from friends or family for trying to make a living out of something that not many people were doing?

I was lucky that I had such supportive sponsors who let me do whatever I wanted when I was young, which was pretty amazing because, at that time it was so much to do with competition surfing and getting results. But Globe, especially, just let me go wild. I never really got too much backlash, but I did feel really bad a lot of the time seeing my friends get dropped by their sponsors if they didn't get heat results. 

How did you go about doing things differently with sponsors, was it hard to get your ideas across or were they just on board with everything you wanted to do?

Globe basically wanted me to just start travelling and surfing and documenting everything that I was doing at the time. They gave me all the freedom in the world to do it however we wanted, which was so fun and exciting as we had no perimeters or expectations. They were pretty much into whatever we wanted to do.

You basically came up with starting a blog as a surfer and jumped in on social media before it was a thing. What do you think about the state of the internet now and the way that it’s fuelling trends and the way people use it?

I think the internet can of course be used for great things, it has so much power these days, especially social media. I love the way people are able to use it for good, whether it’s raising awareness for a cause, raising money for someone in need or just generally getting a message out there that might not be heard otherwise. There is definitely some really fucking cringy stuff in surfing but I’m sure its the same in every field. 

Where do you tend to seek inspiration from?

Recently I realised how much inspiration I get from travelling. I spent two months in Europe bouncing around and just taking in as much as I could, which was great. I came away feeling so refreshed and revitalised after two years of Covid. I also have a library at home with books I’ve collected over the past few decades and I reference those alot for various projects. 

Do you find that you always have to explain yourself when someone asks what you do for a living?

It's getting a little more complicated these days with multiple projects on the go, but I usually still just revert to telling people I’m a surfer. I think most of the time it just confuses people enough so they don't ask too many questions. 

What do you do when you feel unmotivated? Do you think it's important to have time to feel this way, or do you push through the feeling?

I think sometimes that’s just your body and mind needing a rest. You can be on all the time, and I do notice that sometimes if I am feeling super, super productive and inspired and creative, I’ll suffer a big slump afterwards, almost like I’ve drained my brain of all its creative juices and it needs some time to recharge.

What do you tend to do once you've hit that slump?

Watch movies, read books, go surf, go walking, I usually find anything that gets the blood flowing is a really nice way to get the ideas flowing again.

With all your creative pursuits happening, how do you know what you’re going to be doing each day?

Usually, I have no idea and take it day by day. I try not to plan anything in advance as I love being able to be mobile and do whatever I want at the drop of a hat. I try and take every day as it comes. 

Can you name a project you’ve been involved in that you're most proud of?

Proxy Noise was an online magazine that myself and two of my insanely talented friends, Warren Smith and Grady Archbold, put together. I am really, really proud of that, it’s still floating around on the internet if you dig!

What ended up happening to Proxy Noise?

We ended up icing it because we all got a bit busy and it was taking up quite a lot of our time; we wanted to give it the love it deserved. It would be a dream to fire it back up again someday soon. Maybe in a different iteration. 

With all your projects, are there many that demand more time on you than others?

At the moment Epokhe and Standard Procedure are definitely starting to take up more and more time, which is great. But also, I’m feeling pretty stretched to the limits with those, and surfing, and building a new place in Tassie at the moment. So, sometimes I feel like my head is going to explode, which sucks. But at the same time, I think there is some sick part of me that secretly loves the chaos and would be bored as hell without it.

What advice would you give to someone who may be struggling to find inspiration and getting out of the slump?

Read books, watch docos, go to galleries, see music, go for bush walks, get active. Surround yourself with other people doing stuff you enjoy and sooner or later something will click.

WM

CAPTURED BY: Nick Green

INTERVIEW BY: Amber-Rose Layton

Read through all of our interviews from our latest issue, grab your copy here or head to our stockists page to see if you can get a copy near you!