Surviving Summer has become a fan-favorite on Netflix, a series that follows a rebellious teen that is sent to live in Australia where she meets the local teen surfers in a surf-obsessed small town. So, do any of the characters *actually* surf on the show? Keep reading to see which actors actually do!
Does the ‘Surviving Summer’ Cast Actually Surf On the Show?
Surprisingly, the entire cast really does surf on the show! While some of the stunts are done by professional surfers, every single actor has gotten on a surfboard IRL and on the screen.
The cast of Surviving Summer includes Sky Katz as Summer, Kai Lewins as Ari, Lilliana Bowrey as Poppy, Joao Gabriel Marinho as Marlon, Savannah La Rain as Bodhi, Annabel Wolfe as Wren and Josh Macqueen as Baxter.
According to the The Sydney Morning Harold, Kai does most of his stunts in the water, while Lilliana does all of hers. This makes sense, since Liliana is literally a professional surfer IRL. No, seriously. She’s a a five-time Queensland junior surfing champ!
Did the ‘Surviving Summer’ Cast Go Through Surf Training?
Sky revealed that the entire cast of Surviving Summer was put through surf training in order to prepare for the show, during an interview with CherryPicks. “They trained us so well for our surfing scenes with two weeks devoted to just that with amazing instructors. I’ve always been athletic and assumed surfing would be easy for me, but I was very surprised to learn just how taxing it is on your body, and it’s definitely not easy!”
During an interview with Celebrity Nine in June 2022, the leading lady explained that the “girls are the stars of the show” in Surviving Summer, which was something Sky really connected with.
“Surfing is such a male-dominated sport, as most are,” she explained. “So I love how normalized the [sense of female talent] is in the show — because yes, Ari [the male lead] is a talented surfer in the show, but Poppy [female character] is just as good. They all have their own personal struggles and battles, of course, but I love that they’re all equal when it comes to competition.”
And when it comes to learning how to surf for the show, Sky said she was more than ready to get started.
“Surfing’s not very popular where I’m from at all, and then coming to Australia, I realized it’s sort of all they did,” she explained. “But I am super athletic and I love sports, so it was a challenge I was ready to take on.”
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