Pro surfer swaps California waves for life in the outback

Champion surfer Caio Ibelli takes on outback Queensland hoping to give back to community he loves Last month, Brazilian professional surfer Caio Ibelli was riding barrelling waves at the Surfing Champions Trophy in the Maldives. Today, he's at home, in the outback, almost 1,000 kilometres from the east coast. The 32-year-old is one of Mount Isa's newest residents, swapping surf and sand for the red dirt plains of north-west Queensland. "After living in so many different places, this is the best place in the world to live,"Ibelli said. Originally from Brazil, Ibelli moved to Australia after a stint in California. First picking up a surfboard when he was three years old, he said by the time he was seven, his talent was being noticed. By 23, Ibelli had qualified for the World Surf League tour, kicking off a nine-year professional career. "After that, I kind of retired … I wanted to have kids and a family," he said. Ibelli said although a move to the outback wasn't always planned, he was proud to be raising his son in the city, despite knowing little about what to expect. "It is getting a little bit too hot. It's about 38 degrees right now, and I heard it goes all the way to 46 … I've never felt that in my life," he said. It was his wife's career that brought the family, including their one-year-old son, Thomas, to the region after completing her medical degree. "Every time I speak with my friends in the hospital and say that my husband is a professional surfer, everybody has the same reaction… 'Oh, how?'" Talie Ibelli laughed. "We actually love it here. We love the community, and it's a great opportunity for my son to be raised here … this is the real Australia." The family have only been to the beach about six times since moving to the bush, which makes his recent win in the Maldives all the more impressive. "I was playing with my son and then my phone rang and I'm like, 'What? Go to the Maldives in 10 days? I'm smelling the dirt here right now,'"he said. He said muscle memory along with his new-found "outback attitude" helped him snag the overall win. "The event was cool. Winning it was amazing, it was awesome," he said. "Seeing my son playing on the blue water, watching the sharks all day, it was just super special." Mount Isa has its fair share of athletic prowess, with tennis star Pat Rafter, golfer Greg Norman and AFL player Charlie Cameron all born in the city. Ibelli said it was a privilege to be among the mining city's claims to fame, including perhaps being its most famous surfer. "After I won the contest in the Maldives, coming back to Mount Isa, I've been going around in places, and people are like, 'Are you the surfer?' And I'm like, 'Yeah', and people are kind of tripping," he said. "I feel so fortunate to be here, Australia is such a good place, and Mount Isa is amazing." Even with the positives, he admits it is tough to be a surfer with no surf. "I'm really missing some kind of water, so sometimes I go to swim, or I'm just hoping Mount Isa Council will build us a wave pool sometime soon," he laughed. Ibelli's next dream is teaching bush kids how to surf. "I'm so grateful for being here with my family, and I feel like the least I could do is like giving back, and I would love to some day take local people to the beach and surf," he said. "Who knows, like one day we can bring like a Mount Isa Surf Club on a competition."