Do Surviving Summer's Actors Surf In Real Life?

Surviving Summer is all about teens riding the waves of emotion and surfing competitions. But which of the actors does their own board work?

Summary

• The characters in "Surviving Summer" are heavily involved in surfing, and the show's focus on the sport sets it apart from other teen dramas.
• While some of the surfing scenes are performed by professionals, most of the actors in the show do their own surfing, adding authenticity to the series.
• Lilliana Bowrey, who plays the character Poppy, is a professional surfer in real life, and her debut as an actor in the Netflix series has been a challenging but rewarding experience.

In Shorehaven everything revolves around surfing, but do the Surviving Summer actors really surf in real life? Unlike many teen dramas where the concept of the series is the backdrop for the melodrama happening in the community, surfing is the primary focus of the Netflix series. When Summer Torres (Sky Katz) arrives in the fictional Australian town and transitions from being a rough-and-tumble skateboarder from New York City into a surfing protégé, the surfing is every bit as important as her interpersonal relationship with the talented group of surfers she befriends.

From waxing poetic about how catching a wave mirrors the challenges of life to paddling out for competitions, the lives of the characters in Surviving Summer revolve around surfing and its lifestyle. It can be difficult to know if the actors are doing their own surfing given the tight editing in closeups and the long shots where they're meant to look like professionals dropping into a pipe. With quality cinematographers and stunt performers, it's easy to fake that they have the talent to look like surfing champions, but some of them really have what it takes.

Most Of Surviving Summer's Actors Do Their Own Surfing

For most surfing movies and television shows, the main characters will stand on the beach looking at the waves before the shot cuts to a professional surfer somewhere in the distance actually surfing. The Netflix show is cut in such a way that makes it look like the Surviving Summer actors are the ones doing all their own stunts on the water. Pros take over for the more difficult surfing at the competitive level, where actors could actually risk injury that might prevent them from finishing the season, but the transitions are as seamless as possible.

According to The Sydney Morning Harold, Kai Lewins does the majority of his own surfing, Lilliana Bowrey does her own board work completely, and Joao Gabriel Marinho represents the talented South American surfers who've made their mark on the sport in recent years. The authentic representation of both surfing and the lifestyle on location in Fairhaven,Torquay, Anglesea, Bell’s Beach, and Airey’s Inlet makes the series seem more genuine, thus making it more successful than other series that don't make an effort to get their concept right. Surviving Summer therefore comes across a lot less gimmicky.

Surviving Summer's Poppy Actress Lilliana Bowrey Is A Professional Surfer In Real Life

While there are many shows like Surviving Summer, few boast actresses like Lilliana Bowrey, a professional surfer in real life. Bowrey has been a Queensland junior surfing champion five times, and like her character Poppy Tetanui, the 18-year-old is determined to become a surfing World Champion. The Netflix series marks her debut as an actor, and while the surfing parts came naturally, performing in front of the camera didn't, and according to SURFER Magazine, the burgeoning actress didn't even want to watch herself; "It was my first time, so I was nervous to see how I was. I was wondering what people were going to think of me."

It's been a difficult transition for the surfer who never expected to be recognized for her acting. These days, her surfing career might have taken a slight detour, but she doesn't have any plans of exchanging her board for Hollywood. Bowrey's committed performance in and out of the water, along with the rest of the young cast, is what makes Surviving Summer such a refreshing change from current teen dramas, and why it's being respected by demographics like surfers who ordinarily might not have taken time out from the waves to tune in.

Source: The Sydney Morning Harold, SURFER Magazine