Noa Deane has been on a tear since he nailed the final section of Kai Neville’s Cluster. In fact, Noa ended up with so much good footage for Cluster that they decided to use some of the extra for another short film. Those leftovers, some surfing at home in Oz and a trip to New Zealand became his latest solo flick, Tuff. As one of the breakout free-surfers of the past few years, even Deane’s throwaway footage is gold – Tuff is 13 minutes of pure entertainment.
After his expletive speech at the 2014 Surfer Poll Awards, Noa became somewhat of surfing’s bad boy – outcast by those who wear jerseys yet respected for his raw talent. And so long as he produces stoke-stirring footage like this, who cares if he ever puts on a jersey? His frontside airs alone – the way he tweaks them out to the point of pulling a muscle – set Noa apart from the pack. The guy surfs so fast and with such reckless abandon, he’s like Sid Vicious on a surfboard.
