Surfer Johnny Abegg Makes The Best Out Of His Suffocating Debt
January 30, 2009 – 1:21 am PT by MikeTags: ASP, Fontana, Johnny Abegg —
Surfer Johnny Abegg from Byron Bay has to be one of the most commited and hard working surfers in the world. His dedication to the ASP is so strong, he ended up accumulating $27,000 in credit card debt. Sounds like Johnny was a victim of predatory lending from greedy banks. But Johnny isn’t letting all that debt bother him. He’s got a new project in the works.
Abegg made a film called On Credit about his costly surfing adventure and discovered he had a bit of a talent for film-making. Just after Christmas he travelled alone to southwest Tasmania and spent two weeks in complete solitude. And trust me, that solitude is well needed. I remember when I was 18 and maxed out a credit card to make a film. Luckily my film got into the FONTANA EXTREME FILM FESTIVAL but i was left with major debt. I locked myself up in the bathroom for weeks.
Johnny reflects, “My aim was to challenge my current existence, having questions that needed answering and the only way I could get them (I felt) was by connecting with nature, being free to think pure thoughts, away from society’s rules and propaganda,”.
Over the coming months Abegg will release snippets from his journal on johnnyabegg.wordpress.com up until the release of 2 Weeks a film about his Tasmanian experience.
And no, he still hasn’t paid off his credit-card debt. Make sure you check out his SITE via www.goldcoast.com.au