Last week Byron Bay surfer, Johnny Abegg, walked out of the cloistered dim of his local bank and into the Autumn sunshine, a great weight lifted from his shoulders. Johnny, you see, had just made the final payment on a debt struck up seven years earlier.

In the throes of chasing a longheld dream he chalked up a sizeable tab to follow the Qualifying Series around the world. In 2005 he went further into the red buying a handycam and filming his travels. The result was a high 100's rating and the lo-fi movie, On Credit.

If Lisa Simpson is to be believed the Chinese use the same word for crisis as opportunity ("Crisitunity" - Homer Simpson). True or not Johnny's story fits the dictum; as one dream went off the rails a new one was born:

Swellnet: How much did you borrow for On Credit?  Johnny Abegg: When On Credit began in 2005, I was already $20,000 in debt across four credit cards from two previous attempts at the WQS. The cards ranged from a low interest Mastercard at 12% to a rewards Visa of 18%. Over the years they obviously went up which sucked! How'd you swing it? Your bank manager must be a soft touch... I was actually coming home over the summer months and working two jobs, sixty hour weeks, so I used that employment to get the credit cards. Then those companies just offer you more when you almost max them out. A bit of a vicious cycle really.

Any tax breaks along the way? I ran at a loss for four years if you call that a tax break?

At the time did you think you'd repay it quickly? I mean, were you even thinking about future payments? I was so immersed - or maybe disillusioned? - by my surfing dream that I would do anything to make it as a competitive surfer, so the credit card debt was secondary. I didn't really think about how long it would take to pay off, I just had a belief that everything would be OK at the end of the day.

Where did you come that year on tour? I ended up being ranked 192.

And how much did you make in prizemoney? Ummmm... I remember my best result was a Quarter Finals in Atlantic City in New Jersey, USA, which coughed up $1000 US. I also had a couple other round of 32 results which paid a couple hundred US here and there. It wasn't enough to sustain nor pay off the debt.

How was On Credit received? Did you recoup much of the debt with sales of it? The movie went surprisingly well. Way beyond my expectations. For so many years I had tried to make it competitively and obtain some sort of recognition for my surfing, but it was funny that when I started to let go of it all and make the film, that's when things started to turn around. A new dream was also born in filmmaking. I did make a few dollars back for sure in premieres, so that eased the weight on my shoulders financially.

Ever look at it philosophically, like 'the travelling was my education and the $27K my HECS debt'? I've always had a deeper outlook on this experience. I always knew things were going to be OK if I stayed true to my dream. I learnt so much about myself through the process, I taught myself how to make films and edit, and feel lucky to come out of a surfing career so fortunate. I wouldn't take back a dime of that $27,000... maybe just a few dollars in interest off the banks would be nice.

Do you have any regrets for doing it? It might sound cliche, but I don't. Even when the times were tough, that made the better times more rewarding. I feel like I'm one of the lucky ones. I actually had the foresight to be creative with what I was seeing around me on the competitive circuit. Most films were glamorising pro surfing, I just filmed what was happening to me with a shitty little handycam. I'm so glad I went through on my instincts.

On Credit just happened. Once I started filming my journey on the qualifying circuit a little story began unfolding. I'd entwine some of the people I met, the places I visited and found I was more interested in the simplicity of travel, rather than the  twenty minute heats at every event. I found my very hollow dream of becoming a pro surfer was being blown away by having a creative voice through what I was filming, and all the amazing places I was visiting. The title of the film came to me half way through the trip when I thought 'why not glue it together with my current financial situation?' It all happened very spontaneously and organically.

What are you working as now - financial advisor? Ha! You want some advice do you? Like I said earlier, a new dream and passion was born through surfing and that was filmmaking. I've since kept doing that. I could rabble on about all the stuff I've done but it's easier to checkout my blog: http://www.johnnyabegg.com