FORMER South Coast surfer Dylan Longbottom will swap the chilly climes of Wollongong for balmy Tahiti, taking to the famed Teahupoo break to film the remake of cult surf movie Point Break.
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The original 1991 movie starred Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze.
Longbottom, a former Bendalong surfer, has his own board shaping workshop in Wollongong, and will act as a stunt double for the movie’s stars and film scenes surfing Teahupoo, among the biggest and most dangerous waves in the world.
“There is a huge swell predicted for next week, and the film wants the biggest surf possible,” Longbottom said.
The world’s best surfed three-metre waves at Teahupoo’s Billabong Pro last week.
“The waves are so heavy and fast, you can’t paddle in. You need to be pulled in on a jetski,” he said.
But riding big waves is nothing new for Longbottom. In 2005 he took out the Monster Tube Award at the XXL Ceremony in California, pocketing US$5000 for his huge tube ride at Shipsterns Bluff off the southern tip of Tasmania.
He has also produced 20 surfboards for the new film, including heavy designs for the huge waves and smaller, lighter boards for more technical manoeuvres.
Longbottom left last Thursday to spend three weeks shooting but will not travel alone.
His 11-year-old daughter, Summa, will be an extra in the film.
Father and daughter have travelled to Teahupoo before and Longbottom said Summa was likely to be the youngest person to surf the monster break.
“We’ve travelled all over the world already. It’s great experience for her as a surfer,” he said.
The Point Break remake stars Ray Winstone, Gerard Butler and Delroy Lindo, with plans for a 2015 release.