Meet the Man Who Slept in His Car for a Month and Recorded 108 Sessions at URBNSURF Melbourne

“I thought it was a perfect opportunity,” Ed Robinson, 45, tells me.

“I was working nights in Melbourne, by the pool. When I heard about the unlimited plan, it was perfect. I was working all night and saving money on petrol. I live in Torquay, so I saved money by travelling back and forth.”

The “unlimited thing” Ed is referring to is the URBNSURF Winter Warriors package – $1,500 AUD for one month of unlimited sessions, which we have touted as the most cost-effective way to quickly improve your surfing technique.

The reason I call Ed is because he set the record for the most sessions in a single month at the pool – winning the Winter Warriors contest for the month of May (and thus allowing him to obtain a free private session after normal hours for him and 36 of his friends.)

“I did 108 sessions in May, and I think I did 37 in one week,” he laughs. “My best day was nine. By the end of that day, I was exhausted, but I was running on foam. I couldn’t have done it without the magnesium and my massage gun.”

As a full-time commercial construction worker and part-owner of the Kingfisher Mentawai Resort, Ed is a far cry from the private, trust-funded wave-slinging entrepreneur I expected to speak with. With a few decades of Mentawai seasons under his belt, he’s had more barrels than most mortals will drink in a lifetime—and funded his dreams with old-fashioned manual labor.

“I was working all night, surfing all day, and sleeping a little bit here and there. I packed my car, I love sleeping in my car, so I was working full time at night and going to the pool first thing in the morning, exhausted, completely knackered from work. I would usually start with a session to get a session for the day, and then four or five sessions later I would be like, ‘Oh my God, I have to sleep before tonight.’ By the end of it, I was just running for a few hours here, a few hours there. Working nights, you kind of get used to it.”

“I had a lot of foils and had been neglecting surfing a bit, so when I heard about the offer I just wanted to get my surfing passion back. It was the perfect opportunity to let off steam and get my surfing passion back before I went back to Indonesia. I just turned 45, and yes, I am definitely a crazy person.”

Ed says he spent most of his time surfing the turning waves, riding a 5’7 McNeil twin and a few Slater Designs.

“I haven’t done a lot of barrel sessions. I’ve done a few, but I found the turns more rewarding. I do a lot of time in Indo, there are some real tubes there. The little fancy tubes are great fun every now and then, but a full session of that type is not quite the same.

“I really saw it as a workout, an attempt to improve. I know I’m not the best surfer and I’m probably not improving, but I really wanted to use it as a workout and a rehearsal. Plus, because there are FlowState cameras, photos and videos, you can go and see your stuff afterwards. I analyzed everything, looked at my hand and arm positioning and really tried to work on some things. By the end, I was definitely improving.”

“I saw it as a challenge. As soon as I heard there was a competition, I thought, ‘I’m going to win.’ When I saw other people I knew doing the challenge, I knew I wouldn’t get out of the pool until I saw them. I’ll always remember that month, for sure. By the end of the month, my surf fitness was at its peak. I’m pretty sure I know who came in second, but he was 40 sessions behind me.”

Although he takes the lack of sleep lightly, Ed admits it certainly wasn’t easy.

“Honestly, the worst part of the month was my productivity at work. I talked to my bosses about it. They were probably the ones who suffered, but I had the best month of my life,” he laughs. “By the second or third week, it had become a chore. I was still having fun in the pool, but my body was starting to feel sore and stiff and I was feeling the lack of sleep. By the end of May, I had a few days where I just didn’t need to do anything.”

He also says his girlfriend Millie has been incredibly supportive of his efforts, even coming from Torquay to share a session.

“She was great, when I said I was thinking about doing the Winter Warrior “The challenge, she said, ‘Yeah, do it. I’ll see you in a month.’

Making it to 45 and still maintaining Ed’s level of enthusiasm and gratitude doesn’t come without its challenges. In his case, four back surgeries and a handful of pessimistic surgeons have reinforced his appreciation for every moment spent on a surfboard.

“I was told I shouldn’t be walking and all that, so I’m just happy to be in the water, let alone doing this stuff. I actually took a picture of me doing a big bottom turn at Greenbush for one of the surgeons just to show him that I can still surf and that he shouldn’t tell people they can’t do things. He was thrilled. He said he’d never tell anyone they can’t do something again. I’ll never stop getting mad, growing up is a trap.”