Introducing

We're reserving this spot for those local guys & girls that adorn surf spots the length of Aotearoa, living for the purity and stoke of each and every surf at their local. They don't chase the limelight, nor really care what is going on amongst the world surfing scene. They're just surfing for the love of it, whenever they can. This issue we're introducing a man, who when it comes to being from NZ, has a rather unfortunate nickname of ‘Sheep.’ Mt Maunganui local, Alex 'Sheep' Sutherland shares some life facts.

Being from NZ and with most of the world dishing out Sheep jokes how did you come up with the nickname ‘Sheep’? 

Haha! Back at college I had a full fleece of golden locks that were relentlessly trimmed into a mullet during an English class. My mum took me to get a haircut that afternoon because she was too embarrassed to be seen with me. Everyone in our smart-ass surfing group had a nickname and sheep just stuck.

What’s being the best moment when you were introduced to someone as ‘Sheep from New Zealand” ? 

Haven’t had any memorable moments, Auzzies love to have a laugh but other foreigners think my name is ‘Shape’ because our accents are so cooked and we can’t say sheep properly.

When and how did you first get in to surfing?