The Grind: Harry Bryant

Coastal living with our favorite postie in training.

Photography by John Respondek. 

Harry Bryant has been around the water as long as he can remember, so it’s no surprise his whole life revolves around chasing waves and surfing. Nowadays, the Australian surfer has built himself a perfect slice of life down the Far South Coast of New South Wales. Even when waves are shit and surfing’s a grind, Haz has plenty of tools in his arsenal to stay busy ’til he retires as the local postie. It’s all about that positive outlook, right?

‘When I was about 17 or 18, I wasn’t really that keen on competing anymore. I moved down the South Coast and a lot of the body boarders down there were showing me around, and I just started surfing for the love of it.’

‘It can definitely be a grind. I spend a lot of hours in the car driving around, looking for surf, sleeping in cars and motels, and batting down the hatches when storms are rolling through. And it all adds to the adventure.’

‘The Draggers saved my life. They scooped me out of the gutter and took me in and fed me pies and baked beans and cans of tuna. And here I am.’

‘Being in the water is such a natural thing for me. It’s just where I feel comfortable. And I’ll always have the ocean as a comfort zone, given the planet’s made up of 70 percent water.’

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