TIME

SURFERS

PHOTOGRAPHY

5 min

Oliver Hartkopp

Tom Pearsall

How and when did you start surfing?

It was actually because of my 4 year older brother. He took a beginner surf lesson on Lanzarote and got totally hooked! He then figured out that there where waves every now and then in Kattegat, the place we grew up. He got himself a surfboard and a wetsuit, and just started surfing at home. I was the four year younger annoying little brother, who had to copy everything he did. This led to me trying surfing for one day and I never stopped again haha!

What do you do to relax?

Either go search for some good sandbars somewhere along the coast at home or just the complete standard thing - Netflix, sofa, snacks etc. haha!

What does a typical day in your life look like?

Currently, I'm on the road to recovery from a nagging knee injury that has persisted for some time.
My days are filled with dedicated sessions at the gym, focused on rehabilitating my knee through targeted exercises and stretches. Additionally, I devote time at home to perform supplementary exercises on the floor, striving for incremental progress each day. 

What is your favourite surf movie and why?

Probably John John’s View From A Blue Moon, it is just next level cinematography! That or some of the old Campaign surf flicks are super sick!

"My days are filled with dedicated sessions at the gym"

Why do you surf and what do you love most about it?

I think surfing is just so hard wired in me that it would be weird for me not to surf. It’s such a big part of my life, that I can’t imagine myself not doing it. 

What I really love about surfing is the progression part of it. I love to work on getting better and better for each session, and it’s something that really drives me to go surfing as much as I can. Furthermore, the search around for novelty and uncrowded waves are also pretty epic and something I really love.

Who or what inspires you and why? 

I think my home inspires me the most. It inspires me, being a surfer from Denmark and all the people surfing here. This is mainly due to the fact that surfing in Denmark is not easy, it’s always cold and windy and the waves are often pretty crap too. Yet, people really froth about it and just love it! Doesn’t matter how cold or miserable it is, people are still out there enjoying the ocean and just surfing in general. That gets me really stoked!

Name one thing the world could use more of right now?

I often think the world would have less problems if every human was a surfer. Yet, then again, all the spots would be super crowded, so maybe that’s not a good idea either haha. But, definitely just more peace and stoke about nature and our planet. I feel like it’s easy not to appreciate how lucky we are just to be here, enjoying life, that should be enough.

Do you have tip for people who want to build a life around freedom (and surfing)?

I think the best advice I can give is just to do it, don’t think too much, just go on that trip, take that chance. Opportunities will come as soon as you just let go of the fear of not knowing what’s next. Even if you just have enough money for the first 2-3 months, just go, things always work out magically when you let go of that everyday modern society stress.

What’s the worst job you did so you could surf?

I've had a lot of really weird temporary jobs to earn some money for the next surf trip. But the worst one I can think of is probably when I was working night shifts at a butter producing factory. The whole factory was just all butter slippery and the smell of just really intense butter was pretty crazy. Yes, that one was pretty rough for sure haha!

What is your favourite surf destination and why?

My favourite destination would be home when the conditions are 10/10, Denmark is the best place ever. There is no place I would rather be than right there when the conditions are on. But the 360 other days of the year when it’s shit, I like to go to Portugal, it’s packed with good waves, close to home, cheap, good weather and just always good times.

Anything you want to share with our readers?

Thanks for following along the journey! Keep the stoke alive, take that chance and hopefully see you in the water one day! All the best Oli :)