On Sunday, September 14, URBNSurf Sydney hosted the annual Heavyweight Rumble, with 27 boardrider clubs from across the state going head-to-head. Among the teams were Sydney Adaptive and the Northern Beaches Para Surfer Boardrider Clubs, proudly competing as equal members of the Surfing NSW community, without concessions or special treatment.
For Sydney Adaptive’s Chris Astill, the event was another chance to showcase the growth of adaptive surfing in NSW. Chris grew up surfing on the Northern Beaches before a paragliding accident left him with a T10 complete spinal cord injury. Just six weeks out of hospital he was finding ways to get back in the water.
But he didn’t do it alone. He credits Psillakis Surfboards for supporting how he reimagined he would be able to surf again.
“I rolled up to Mike’s place in my wheelchair and told him what I was chasing,” Chris recalled. “A week later he rang me back and said, ‘I’m in. Let’s make you a board.’”
During the process, Mike and Chris talked philosophy, style, and possibility. And when it came time to pick a color, Chris knew instantly.
“He asked me what colour I wanted. I said, the same colour as your door I knocked on when I came to see you. Blue. And so blue is everything to me now.”
That one door, set off a chain reaction. With his custom board, Chris has since surfed the world stage, competed on the Adaptive World Tour, and, most importantly, created space for others. He went on to found the Sydney Adaptive Boardriders Club at URBNSurf. In just over a year, it’s grown to more than 100 members, hosting monthly comps where each sticker on Chris’s blue board represents.
“The Psillakis family have done a lot for me and the community,” Chris said. “Him giving me a board led to starting a boardriders club. Some people have a big effect on their community and the Psillakis family are one of them.”
Joining them at the Rumble were the Northern Beaches Para Surfers, Australia’s first para surfing boardrider club. Established in 2023 out of Mona Vale, the club fosters a shared love of surfing while supporting surfers with disability to take on unique challenges in the water.
Full Heavyweight Rumble results and event gallery here.