A former meth addict is using surfing to help turn around the lives of others. Photo / Brendon Keenan
A former meth addict is using surfing to help turn around the lives of others. Photo / Brendon Keenan
A former meth and heroin addict who says surfing saved his life is now using the waves to help others turn their lives around.
Brad Sparrow, 44, launched Surf Ora - a charitable trust in collaboration with the Christchurch City Mission - last year to support people recovering from addiction through surfing.
Sparrow’s journey to sobriety has not been easy.
His addiction started in Australia. By the time he was 19, he was homeless and heavily reliant on meth, heroin and alcohol.
“I went through a lot of childhood trauma,” said Ashburton-born Sparrow.
Surf Ora creator Brad Sparrow at New Brighton beach. Photo / Supplied
“I guess I started swimming and had my first surf lesson in 2020, with Brittany Andrews at Learn to Surf over in Sumner … it just took off from there,” he said.
Now a surf instructor and mental health support worker, Sparrow is determined to help others. He believes surfing saved his life.
“The first lesson with Brittany, something sparked inside of me, and it just went from there,” Sparrow said.
Without knowing it, Andrews helped trigger a ripple of recovery for Sparrow.
“I definitely didn’t think that at the time … I think I really was just a small cog in a wheel that contributed,” she said.
Brad Sparrow at Sumner beach after his first surfing lesson with Brittany Andrews, July 6, 2020. Photo / Supplied
Andrews watched as Sparrow progressed from surf student to teacher. By then, Sparrow had observed the tangible benefits of surfing for his recovery.
“I sort of had this idea going around in my head of how to use surfing and my journey to hopefully help others,” he said.
“If it worked for me, maybe it might work for another person that’s battling out there,” he said.
He pitched his idea to Peter Mannix, who runs Surf-able, a surfing programme for the disabled community.
From left, Peter Mannix, Brad Sparrow and Brittany Andrews at Scarborough Beach after a cold water dip fundraiser. Photo / Supplied
“Brad was talking to me one day and he said he was interested in running a surfing wellbeing programme…he started talking about his background and what he was trying to achieve, and I was in,” Mannix said.
“His story is quite remarkable, you know, his transformation.”
Sparrow then approached Harriet English at the Christchurch City Mission to see if they would collaborate.
“First of all, Brad came here and gave a talk to the City Mission about his journey … then later on he approached me and said he wanted to start this charity. And of course, we said absolutely,” English said.
The pilot programme was a runaway success. Mannix, Sparrow, and Andrews worked together.
Brad Sparrow, pictured in orange, instructing at Learn to Surf at Sumner beach. Photo / Supplied
“They’ve got the experience of Pete from the business side. They’ve got Brad with his love of surfing and his lived experience. They’ve got Brittany, who’s passionate about surfing and as a young woman, so good at teaching and to see them together … it’s wonderful.”
A big part of the programme’s success is the integration of Te Whare Tapa Whā. Sparrow’s support worker, Lee, introduced him to the concept.
Te Whare Tapa Whā is a wellbeing model developed in 1984 by leading Māori health advocate Sir Mason Durie.
“So you’ve got your hinengaro, your mental health and emotions, you’ve got your wairua, which is your spiritual, you’ve also got your whenua from the land or the ocean and whānau,” Sparrow said.
“It’s about living in balance with all those things.”
Surf Ora functions by bringing together all the elements of Te Whare Tapa Wha. It’s not just about surfing.
“It takes all those elements, I’ve got friends now for life … so it’s sort of like whānau and passing the skill of surfing down to my whānau, my nephew, my nieces,” Sparrow said.
Brad Sparrow in his happy place, post surf coaching at Sumner beach, 2024. Photo / Supplied
“It’s really good for your emotions, just being out, out in the ocean … I guess spiritually, just being in something bigger than yourself, it’s a sense of calm.”
English said the results from the pilot programme were “incredible”.
“The buzz on the way back, the excitement of doing something that maybe they’d always dreamed of doing and never had a chance to … it was just pure joy,” she said.
“What we had straight away was people wanting to come on board and do it again and get better and improve themselves.”
One Surf Ora client said, “It was great to be connected to nature and learn a new skill that made me feel like I could accomplish anything”.
English said she noticed clients found a new desire to stay sober. They wanted to get better at surfing.
“If you’re using drugs, you can’t do it very well ... therefore, if you think ‘I want to get better at this, I’m not going to use so much ... I won’t drink so much, because otherwise, I’ll be useless next week’,” she said.
English said initiatives like Surf Ora give clients something to be sober for.
Sparrow told the Herald he knows surfing isn’t the “magical answer” to addiction. But he has witnessed firsthand how it can change lives.
“Surfing is one tool in a multifaceted recovery journey. I don’t think you can think, ‘I’ll just surf and that’s it, I’m all recovered’, but it definitely helps,” Sparrow said.
He has a message for people struggling with addiction.
“If I could say one thing, it would be just don’t give up … I’ve been rock bottom in Kings Cross in Australia with a needle up my arm, really low.
“I just want people to know there’s always hope and just hold on to that hope, don’t give up, and reach out to people.”
