Tom Drury just like Forrest Gump
September 2021
‘Yes. I have done that plenty of times. For example, I made a 50k trip with about 15 beers. I was in a great mood. I had a lot of fun but skating with a hangover is hard. You can sweat it out, but I prefer not to.’
Tom Drury skated 4’200km along the Australian coast from Melbourne to Cairns in just 2 months. For Laos. And also for himself.
If you look at the map, the obvious question is why didn’t he start from Cairns and cruise down to Melbourne?
‘I have heard that so many times. I swear I get that three or four times a day. The altitude is about the same.’ ‘I was probably skating 90 to 95% of the time. When it was too steep, I would walk because I had to be careful being just by myself. If I heart myself that would mean the end of the trip. However, the fastest I was going was about 55km/h. The road as so smooth and there was not much traffic. I was on the board for about 15 minutes without pushing. Sometimes I was going so fast I could not get my foot off to break so I just had to roll it out.’
Tom is from a small town in rural NSW called Broken Hill. Only 20’000 people live there. It is very isolated. There is a skateboard community, but it is small, but it does have a skate park. The only skateboard culture that he ever saw was with American movies and skate videos, internet and Jackass.
He was working underground in a mine digging for diamonds. He got bored and needed a new purpose. As he lived 6 years in South East Asia being an English teacher and working in tourism, he found his love for Laos.
‘I was teaching English and managing this guesthouse at the border to Myanmar. I spent so much time there it is now my second home. I have some many good friends over there which I consider part of my family.’
Did you ever try to push your board with the other foot? Switch stance?
‘At the start of the trip I thought about it. I tried for about 20 seconds and stopped because it was too ridiculous. I was having a break every 20 to 30kms which is about every hour or hour and a half.’
If you think Tom was doing stretches and yoga moves during his break, then you are completely wrong.
‘I was stopping and having beer at the pub and cigarette breaks all the time.
Did you ever skate drunk?
‘Yes. I have done that plenty of times. For example, I made a 50k trip with about 15 beers. I was in a great mood. I had a lot of fun but skating with a hangover is hard. You can sweat it out, but I prefer not to.’
What about cigarettes?
‘I nearly smoked a pack a day.’
Really?
‘I am not a fit person. I weigh 100kgs and eat so much crap food. I drink and I smoke. You do not have to be a fitness person to do those long distances. You just need to want to do it.’
About your weight though. Did you lose any?
‘I did not lose any weight at all. Chicken Schnitzel, pies and so on. It is difficult to eat healthy when you are on the road. In Queensland they had all this deep-fried food with gravy. My feet feel a bit stronger, but my body stayed pretty much the same. This goes to show that anyone can do it.’
Apart from riding drunk I am sure your broke some traffic/road rules on a daily basis.
‘I got pulled over three times in Victoria where people called up complaining about a guy on the highway with his skateboard. However as soon as I told them I am doing a fund raiser and asked them for money they let me go straight away.’
Any encounters with the police?
I never lost my balance on the skateboard but as soon as this police guy in Queensland pulled up behind me and I fell. The cop screamed at me what I was doing. As soon as I told him what I am up to, he offered me a cigarette and gave me feast bump.
What about cigarettes?
‘I nearly smoked a pack a day.’
What is the funniest story that you can share from your trip?
‘Oh. Let me think. I just met this family at the pub and they wanted me to stay at their place for the night. They had a big marihuana farm and about 30 french bull dogs. All legal but it was really crazy to see. The whole family like grandma, grandpa, their kids and their grand kids were all smoking weed. When I first entered the house I saw grandma with this massive bong. I have never seen anything like this before.’
Was both legal? The marihuana and the bulldogs?
‘Just the bulldogs I think.’
‘I want them to have the best
skatepark possible and also I did
not want anyone to pay for my
skateboard adventure.’
Any scary stories?
‘A few times I have seen deadly snakes and a lot of times I was almost hit by cars. Also, there are big distances between towns with nothing in between them so I had to carry a lot of water. So, few times I was running out of water. But I was lucky to spot farm houses and ask for water. This one time was I was very dehydrated, and my phone was about to die but I was too proud to call the police so I pushed on to the next village. Also there was a trip of 110km with nothing in between and 38 degrees. I kept sweating and I was really dizzy but I had no water. I was on the highway. All of a sudden, this car in front of me blew his tyre. He had an esky full with water and powerade. He needed help fixing the car and I needed water. Perfect timing.’
All the money Tom was able to fundraise goes to a skatepark in Laos. He reached out to ‘Make life skate life’ in Germany. The project will be kicked end of this, beginning of this year. The actual park takes about 4 weeks to build. Tom’s plan is then to stay there for one or two years to provide skate lessons and making sure the park is well maintained. All the savings he had went into this trip and all the money that was donated goes straight to the project.
‘I want them to have the best skatepark possible and also I did not want anyone to pay for my skateboard adventure.’
