When we last left Luke Davis and Tyler Hallen in Breakaway’s June 2006 cover story, the two California groms had returned from Peru and were continuing their quest: travel to world hot spots in search of perfect waves and opportunities to minister to local people living in extreme poverty.
How did these guys score such an amazing setup? They were chosen by Walking on Water to star in the ministry’s next film project, Walking on Water. Why? Because they rip in the water—and because of their humble attitudes and love for Jesus.
Mission accomplished. The two young wave riders have returned from their world travels to Hawaii, Peru, Australia, South Africa, Indonesia, France and Spain. After all the different cultures they experienced, lives they connected with, evangelistic outreaches they participated in and waves they sampled, Tyler, 16, and Luke, 14, will never be the same.
Their video releases in October. We talked with the two to get the insiders’ view on living the surf dream.
Breakaway: What was your favorite trip and why?
Tyler: That’s hard, ‘cause each trip had its, like, magic spots. In Peru, we learned to appreciate life more, because we realized how gnarly it can be around the world and how unfortunate but stoked people are.
What were some other “magic spots”?
Tyler: Maybe being on the boat in Indonesia, just knowing we were gonna stop soon and jump off the boat and surf perfect waves. Or driving in South Africa for a long time, knowing we’d end up somewhere that was going to be awesome. It’s not just the fun when you are there; it’s anything that comes along the way.
For waves, I’d probably say Indo, ‘cause it’s perfect. And it’s always been a dream for me to surf J Bay [Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa]. After I got to surf it, I was stoked!
Luke: Indo. We didn’t really have to drive anywhere. We were on a boat, the Midas, with perfect waves everywhere and superclear, warm water. The people are supercool, too. [When we weren’t surfing] we’d snorkel, play games or watch videos, but most of the time we were surfing.
What set apart the waves in Indo?
Tyler: The quality of the waves, I guess. They were just the right size. They barreled and were easy to get into and ride. They allowed your full potential to come out.
Tell me about some of the pros you surfed and hung out with?
Tyler: We hung out with C.J. and Damien Hobgood. They’re really nice guys, and you could really tell that God works in their lives. They have pure attitudes. It didn’t seem like they get angry at all. They’re just calm and mellow. It seems like they could be really arrogant, kinda like, I’m better than you because I’m one of the best surfers in the world, but they don’t have that attitude at all. They have really humble attitudes.
Also Jesse Hines, Noah Snyder, Matt Beacham and C.T. Taylor. Those guys are awesome. They’re all from North Carolina—except C.T.—and they’re hilarious, Matt especially. He’s one of my favorite surfers.
Luke: And Tom Curren. Probably one of the best surfers there ever was. He won three world titles and has the best style ever. We were in the Singapore airport headed to Indo and ran into him coming back from a different trip. Bryan had invited him earlier to Indo; he wanted to come, but he couldn’t. Tom’s flight was delayed, so he got on our flight and came with us. He’s really cool.
Tyler: We had pretty much the same crew with a couple different guys each time. We laughed about anything and everything. We had so much fun with those people in each two week trip in a different place where we did stuff we’d never done before and saw stuff we’d never seen. Just sharing laughter with those people is something I miss when I don’t see them.
Speaking of snacks, what countries had the best food?
Tyler: The food was good in Australia. They had meat pies. In South Africa the food was horrible.
Luke: Australian meat pies are like chicken pot pies you eat like a sandwich. You can get chicken, beef, beef pepper steak, a whole bunch of different flavors.
Got any good funny stories?
Luke: The funniest was probably when Russell [Brownlee, a cameraman] got attacked by a baboon, and he was filming it the whole time. It was so hilarious. Russell was running and somehow holding the cam. He was screaming, and then he dropped the camera. A few seconds later on the video you see the baboon walking in the background. Everybody was laughing. I was in the car watching, ‘cause earlier a baboon had come galloping through the parking lot straight for us. Those things are so gnarly!
Tyler: In South Africa, we drove in this place where all the lions were. You can’t really get out of your car, ‘cause, you know, snack time. I was on one side of the car, and Noah was on the other side. I don’t know if it was he or I who pushed the button, but the automatic window goes all the way down, and the lion was staring at me face to face. We were freaking out.
Is there a best memory that stands out?
Luke: Helping in a local village in Peru and giving away clothes and stuff was really cool. And we got to meet up with some friends in Peru, Carlos Mario [Zapata] and Cristobal [de Col]. It was good to hang out and surf with them. But there were a lot of good experiences on all of the trips.
What was it like experiencing so many different cultures?
Tyler: In Peru I learned to be thankful and that I really don’t need more stuff, because what I have is fine. Australia is like the United States with better food and better waves. South Africa was even poorer than Peru. A lot of the [South African] kids’ parents had died, but many of them have faith in Jesus. There were 9-year-olds who were, like, preaching. God works in even the darkest places.
Luke: Those South Africans lived in a whole bunch of little box-like houses made out of whatever they could find: plastic, metal, brick, a little bit of everything. Probably about eight people live in one room. A lot of them don’t even have beds. They don’t have kitchens or fresh water, electricity, anything.
How did it make you feel seeing people live like that?
Luke: It made me feel like I was the richest person on earth. They hardly have anything, but they’re so happy. I have so much, but I take it for granted sometimes. They made me more thankful for everything in my life: all the food I get, where my home is, my bed, everything.
Were you able to give back to people?
Tyler: We gave clothes and accessories and sandals to kids in Peru, and we helped lead some Bible lessons for them. We went to a church in Indo and gave all the kids candy and hung out with them. In South Africa, we took the kids surfing. We pushed them into waves and let them use our boards. And we took them to a restaurant. I think it was their first time at a restaurant where they could order food and eat as much as they wanted. They were loving that.
What did God teach you through all these experiences?
Luke: That I’m really blessed and to be way more thankful. God is so powerful. He can do anything. This whole world He made is so nice. All I knew was California, where everybody is rich, or so many people are in Southern California compared to other counties. It was an amazing experience.
Tyler: I realized God is everywhere. We’re just humans, and we’re only so important. God has the world in the palm of His hand. He can do whatever He wants, and He works in places you’d never imagine. We got really lucky—not lucky; it’s blessed. It’s God. 
