Watch: Return to Tathra

Craig Brokensha picture
Craig Brokensha (Craig)
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This great short video provides an insight into Kai Otton's life after leaving the World Tour, settling back into the country lifestyle and slowing things down on the far-southern NSW coast.

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Sprout's picture
Sprout's picture
Sprout Monday, 20 Sep 2021 at 5:12pm

Living the dream.

SA Wetdog's picture
SA Wetdog's picture
SA Wetdog Monday, 20 Sep 2021 at 5:55pm

What a legend!

quokka's picture
quokka's picture
quokka Monday, 20 Sep 2021 at 6:45pm

That's the life!

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Monday, 20 Sep 2021 at 10:15pm

What more could any man want in life?

Well done.

conrico's picture
conrico's picture
conrico Monday, 20 Sep 2021 at 11:15pm

Great refreshing vid! Beautiful spot tathra

groundswell's picture
groundswell's picture
groundswell Monday, 20 Sep 2021 at 11:51pm

Yeah Tathras great, good vid.

bluediamond's picture
bluediamond's picture
bluediamond Tuesday, 21 Sep 2021 at 1:41am

Lived in the area for a too little while. It's a magic little stretch of coast, fickle, cold, but insanely beautiful and bountiful on it's days. Kai was one of those surfers whose heat's i'd always watch. His style matched his homelands.

Island Bay's picture
Island Bay's picture
Island Bay Tuesday, 21 Sep 2021 at 7:53am

Win win win!

BD's picture
BD's picture
BD Tuesday, 21 Sep 2021 at 9:30am

Great little slice, classic guy "I won one from 110"

Island Bay's picture
Island Bay's picture
Island Bay Tuesday, 21 Sep 2021 at 9:47am

That's still one more than Kolohe Andino.

Not to be sniffed at.

BD's picture
BD's picture
BD Tuesday, 21 Sep 2021 at 9:53am

haha I'm a fan i liked how self deprecating he was, i watched him and Dayan charge Deadmans when groms, always blew me away how comfortable he was at that spot

wax-on-danielson's picture
wax-on-danielson's picture
wax-on-danielson Wednesday, 22 Sep 2021 at 11:06am

Yeah way better than most which is 0 from 0.

Queef Jerky's picture
Queef Jerky's picture
Queef Jerky Tuesday, 21 Sep 2021 at 10:08am

His dad probably remembers it before the National Fence and Gate Authority

tango's picture
tango's picture
tango Tuesday, 21 Sep 2021 at 10:22am

Nice to see The Grommet in his natural habitat, and that they didn't expose anywhere.

I'd like to hear Slim's opinions on the NFGA, too.

Lachlan Isles's picture
Lachlan Isles's picture
Lachlan Isles Tuesday, 21 Sep 2021 at 12:21pm

Awesome. 2 hours away and your getting fresh tracks at the snowy mountains or marlin in the summer time .

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Tuesday, 21 Sep 2021 at 3:42pm

He’s landed on his feet. Good on him. Keep it simple and keep yourself grounded. That life isn’t for everyone- just the lucky ones.

I was of the belief that he was a tube pig specialist till I shared a fun beachie session with just him and another pro. Sure he wasn’t Toledo in those waves but he really surprised me how much he lit the session up. Proper ripping.

sorrentoden's picture
sorrentoden's picture
sorrentoden Tuesday, 21 Sep 2021 at 4:24pm

I think Kai was just a baby in nappies when I stayed at his dad's home with my ex wife ---would have been 1985/6 I think. Dr George mtn --I got to ride a quarter horse there..amazing forests. Funny time. I played in the Tathra pub cricket match the first day we arrived there. I think I played for Top bar vs bottom bar. I fluked a hat-rick of wickets and hit the winning runs!..so I was immediately asked to stay and live there, get a job and marry the kings daughter...ahhh no...anyway...their home was great. We stayed upstairs and it was summer...hot up there...especially as the oven below had the chimney/flu going through that room! I remember going on weekends to help make mud bricks with a local owner builder on a nearby property. Great community feel there. Surfed a few beachies out in front of their place - awesome to come out of beautiful forest straight onto the beach. The memories from Kai's family and his home are etched in my mind. Special people.

bluediamond's picture
bluediamond's picture
bluediamond Tuesday, 21 Sep 2021 at 6:30pm

Awesome story!

Island Bay's picture
Island Bay's picture
Island Bay Tuesday, 21 Sep 2021 at 6:17pm

Will never forget this photo:

goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot Wednesday, 22 Sep 2021 at 7:17am

shoulda gone, pussy….
:-0

Craig's picture
Craig's picture
Craig Wednesday, 22 Sep 2021 at 7:19am

An incredible moment that! The same even Dion Atkinson just charged and made some crazy ones as well!

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Wednesday, 22 Sep 2021 at 8:35am

Remember Kai at macking Cloudbreak charging and getting scorpioned on a real meaty one. Can't remember if it ended his heat but I remember it as a total guts effort.

blackers's picture
blackers's picture
blackers Tuesday, 21 Sep 2021 at 6:24pm

It’s a doozy IB, can totally understand the “think I’ll pass on this one” look on his face.

Island Bay's picture
Island Bay's picture
Island Bay Wednesday, 22 Sep 2021 at 6:12am

"Yeah, naaah..."

thermalben's picture
thermalben's picture
thermalben Wednesday, 22 Sep 2021 at 7:26am

Love stretches of coast like that - there's certainly a deficit of A-grade surf spots, but a lovely conglomerate of unusual locations that fire on their own day.

Great video too, nice laidback vibe. Good to see Kai's found an ideal work/lifestyle balance exiting pro-surfing, that must be pretty hard to do after years of living the dream.

rogerdodger's picture
rogerdodger's picture
rogerdodger Wednesday, 22 Sep 2021 at 11:13pm

Talk about one very likeable and very chilled fella. You can get the man out of Tathra but you'll never get Tathra out the man. God's country.
Not sure if I agree with your last comment re the pro circus Ben. It seems to me he is living the dream right now, and has plenty more great years ahead. He's worked this thing called 'life' out I reckon. Good on him.

Stef_Olly's picture
Stef_Olly's picture
Stef_Olly Friday, 24 Sep 2021 at 1:25pm

Legend Otts! Great to see he's doing well post tour

groundswell's picture
groundswell's picture
groundswell Friday, 24 Sep 2021 at 8:01pm

Last time i was in Tathra was on a mission to MP and phillip island in vico and on the way back scored better waves in three days than a month of living in a panel van in vicco. excellent beachies was learning to standup as i was getting bored of the lid in waves other than slabs and got some memorable barrels on a beach near bunga head. lots of empty perfect beachbreaks and couldnt quite find bunga head walking from south of it as the cliffs are trouble but the beachies were A grade. no corwds too but this is like 98 or 99 after my mate inherited 250 000 dollers and shouted me a trip to vicco instead of going solo to the phillipines.

groundswell's picture
groundswell's picture
groundswell Friday, 24 Sep 2021 at 8:07pm

And it looked like that monster slab Otts is paddling over was a cleanup set he just made it over as you can see the paddle strokes. no chance in taking off on that one. he needed momentum under the lip from outside.

belly's picture
belly's picture
belly Saturday, 25 Sep 2021 at 6:51am

Clean this up please Ben. Same as recent Vic notes. Cheers

Jamyardy's picture
Jamyardy's picture
Jamyardy Sunday, 26 Sep 2021 at 3:06pm

Had a few fun sessions at Tathra beach.
NYE at Tathra pub, now that is an event you cant miss.