William’s one of those guys; a friend of a friend on the radar doing rad things, and hey, you might have even seen him sat deep in a barrel smiling ear-to-ear at your local. Like many of us, he enjoys spending his free time on the coast, floating out in the deep, fishing, or purely just avoiding the rest of the world.
He recently flew across the seas to meet up with some like minded individuals, took some AK gear along with him, and we shot him a few quick questions below to see how things went & catch up…
Questions: Graham Wiles
Answers: William Ferreira
What’s happening in your life at the moment?
Currently sitting on a Dairy Farm up in the Eastern Cape where the hills meet the sea contemplating either a surf or a fish, so life’s pretty perfect at the moment! We’re currently on a road trip to show a mate from Australia (who we met in the Mentawai’s and invited to SA) the South African coastline.
Not bad, not bad… How long have you been surfing, and what got you into it? Any other watersport interests or thing’s you’d like to try?
I’ve been surfing for nearly 5 years. Before surfing I was into the competitive bodyboard scene, but once I surfed a right-hand point on a fish for the first time, I was hooked and haven’t looked back. Most of my interest lies around the water whether it be fishing, surfing, spearing or diving; most of my recreation activities rely on the sea. I’ve have been tickled at the idea of giving the surf foil a go after seeing Kyle Cabano shred one around the coast in small waves…
Tell us a little about Hunger Society?
Hunger Society is a surf and outdoor brand that I own with my mate Brandon Volbrecht. It’s inspired by the wild outdoors and the raw ocean. We do limited release clothing and apparel, hand shaped surfboards, accessories and our flagship product is a 100% natural and organic, Rooibos infused, Sunblock.
What’s your favorite product in the Hunger Society line up?
Our zinc for sure. It’s been a long time in development, trial and error, to get to the point we are at now. But it’s finally hitting its stride by becoming fully tested and certified for SPF, UVA, UVB, Waterproofing, certified natural and organic as well as reviving endorsements from the CANSA Association, which was a huge point of recognition for us!
We’ve had the sunblock and zinc kicking around the office, great stuff! So, the Mentawai’s trip: What’s the vibe, and what were the highlights/lowlights for you and the crew?
The Mentawai’s trip has become a bit of a tradition and yearly pilgrimage. This year’s trip was extra special, managed to get a crew of some of my best mates who were scattered across the world to meet up in the Mentawai’s. We had guys come from Australia, Switzerland, Vietnam, and SA. We managed to score pumping waves as well as some epic fish on both the spear and rods. The vibe is absolutely electric out there, it’s still super rural, so you disconnect from your daily habits, and you truly get 24hours out of a day out there. There are so many highlights, but the peak has to be the waves, fish, and freedom. The only lowlight has to be the day you get on a boat and start your journey home until the next trip haha.
How’d you find the fins & traction in the water?
The traction was insane out there, having double traction pads on my go to short board was epic. In 28-degree water, your wax melts quicker than a lit candle, so it was a treat not needing to wax up my board every session. Those fins were epic in my step up too, the bit of flex through the fin went so good through a few very memorable waves!
Famous last words?
Thanks so much for the epic product to use and test! Absolutely loved it and frothing to see the AK journey continue!