Meet Mick - “You surf bums have made me change my mind."

A man who needs no introduction in the beautiful island of Tasmania, we hear from Mick Lawrence, a surfing elder, activist, President of Surfrider Foundation Tasmania & Co- Producer of our latest film "Southern Blast".

“It’s not often my island home gets to take the lead in a national conversation, so the premiere of Southern Blast was pretty exciting - especially since we had a sell out crowd at the State Theatre in North Hobart. Ironically in 1964 I came to this very same theatre to watch a film called Slippery When Wet.

"I was into competitive swimming at the time and had never seen surfing before. I sat down an aspiring Olympian and stood up a surfer. A ride that’s gone on now for 60 years.

“You surf bums have made me change my mind."

"The turnout was a much broader mix than I expected, interestingly surfers were out numbered. The audience were totally captivated, I even saw some shed tears. As the credits rolled to a close the audience erupted. After the show the foyer was abuzz for 20 minutes. One hard rusted capitalist friend of mine even conceded: “You surf bums have made me change my mind. And that ain’t easy. Well done.”.

"Next a 700 kilometre mission up the midlands and across the northwest coast. A trip of laughter, playlists and jam sessions. 

"Stanley is one of my favourite spots in Tassie. A coastal town locked in a time warp, mostly unchanged for over a century. The premiere drew a crowd from as far away as Burnie and Marrawah. Again an interesting mix who were eased into the night with a welcome by the local palawa who put on a smoking ceremony, followed by song's from Dusty Rusty who wove his usual magic.

"The folk of Stanley reacted the same as those in Hobart. And once again I was approached by a fence sitter that we’d won over. 

"Next morning we loaded the van in the throat of a fair dinkum southern blast. The Roaring Forties were doing their thing and dogged us all the way to Scamander. For the drivers it was a six hour full gym workout just to keep us on the road. Fortunately the gale abated by evening, which was just as well, since the Scamander screening was outdoors and being autumn was bloody freezing. It was a pretty laid back crowd around the fire who were once again captivated - the response to both the film and forum very gratifying.

"With the Tassie leg over we now had some time to reflect and - we were stoked. Our message was clear, precise and powerful. The audience love it and we’re winning people over. Victoria, here we come."

 - Mick Lawrence (President Surfrider Tasmania /Co-producer of Southern Blast.)

 WATCH THE TRAILER HERE

CLICK HERE FOR A SCREENING NEAR YOU

Australian Ethical Joins in on tour

The good folks at Australian Ethical are joining us on our Southern Blast film tour. They are supporting us on our quest to educate and engage communities around the threat of the largest fossil fuel exploration plans in history in the Southern Sea.

It’s critical that we fight offshore fossil fuel projects from every angle - including making sure these destructive projects don’t get funded. This is why we believe Australian Ethical is such a strong partner for us in the fight for our oceans. Australian Ethical’s vision is to create a world where money is a force for good, meaning they invest in sustainable and ethical investments that contribute to long-term systemic change. Crew who have their super or investments with Australian Ethical won’t be unwittingly funding companies like TGS who are doing the blasting. 

Given their mission, we are stoked they are joining us on the road - keep an eye out for Australian Ethical on tour to hear from their sustainability experts about climate justice solutions we can all embrace!