BETH

THE SANTA SUIT SURFER

It’s one thing to wear a Santa suit in the North Pole, but it’s another thing to wear a Santa suit on the west coast of Australia in the middle of summer.   

In the month leading up to Christmas, Beth did everything in costume: skated, climbed, cooked, slept, ran. All for the fun of it - a true Christmas enthusiast.   

She went about most of these activities alone, failing to convince anyone to join her everyday red-suited antics. Amused nonetheless, people asked how she intended to spend Christmas Day. She was going surfing, she told them. Anyone was welcome. 

“I organised it like a week before. I didn’t think anyone would join,” Beth said.    

But apparently something about this activity was more appealing than the traditional routine of stuffing your face with food until you’ve induced yourself in a coma. Come Christmas, Beth’s holiday enthusiasm had rubbed off onto fifty-plus avid surfers. Friends and friends who had told friends arrived at the beach suited up and ready to get in the water.

A cameraman was quick to the chase when he spotted all of this.  When approached, Beth shrugged off his questions with a few awkward laughs.  

"We’re just going for a surf", she said. And bada-bing, they were on the worldwide news.   

With his probing questions, they realised it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to turn it into a means of goodwill. The crew gathered their coins and notes and labelled a jar ‘Donations for Destiny Rescue.’   

It wasn’t the best surf. Turns out cheap Duvetyn fleece suits can really drag you down out in the water. But the thrill of having accidentally pulled together money to help get kids out of human trafficking was pretty cool. So, they decided to run it again the following year.    

The hype was huge the next year with 5,000 people confirmed to join the hoorah. Unfortunately, good old Cyclone Yvette swung through and crashed their party. 

They’re aiming to make it an annual thing with talk of Santa’s very first water-approved suits and businesses jumping onboard to help with advertising, sponsorship and water safety. 

"All its missing is Ashton Kutcher," Beth said with a laugh, but being one hundred percent serious... Ashton is right on board with the Destiny Rescue organisation where the funds have been going each year. 

And that’s Beth. She gets a badge for her Christmas spirit and a gold star for being an accidental humanitarian.