"It wasn't really what I had envisioned, to the point where I wasn't even enjoying surfing, I was just doing it because it was my job. I was taking it too seriously because I was on the world tour."

Jacob 'Chippo' Willcox qualified for the Championship Tour in 2024. Despite his prodigious talent, promotion to the top tier wasn't pre-ordained, it took eight years of hard graft and when Chip finally made it the feeling wasn't utter jubilation but, in his own words, "almost a sense of relief" - at 26-years old he was "becoming this journeymen on the QS."

The Pipe Pro was where it all started - "it" being the big career he'd envisioned since he was a grom. That was February 2024, yet just four months later, at his home event of Margaret River, it was all over. Needing to make one heat to escape the mid-year cut he came up short and the tour moved on without him. 

Ego bruised and with time on his hands for introspection, Chip sought desert therapy - the answer to many surfing problems.

Did he achieve clarity? Was the path to his future illuminated?

Not sure, Chip doesn't say if he'll return to the Challenger or he'll simply tick the freesurfer box from now on. Sure does get some throaty Tombstones barrels but.

'Chip' is filmed and edited by Tom Jennings.