Nick Carroll
Nick Carroll (born 1959 in Brisbane, Queensland) is an Australian surf journalist, former competitive surfer, author, and editor. He is the older brother of two-time world surfing champion Tom Carroll.
Early life and surfing career
[edit]Nick Carroll was born in Brisbane in 1959 and relocated with his family to Newport, New South Wales, in 1961. He began surfing at the age of 11.[1]
He emerged as a standout competitive surfer, winning the men's division of the Australian National Surfing Titles twice—in 1979 and again in 1981—and finishing as runner-up in 1977.[2][3]
He was also a founding member of the Newport Plus Surf Club—a powerful force in Australian surfing during the early 1980s.[4][5]
Journalism and editorial career
[edit]Following his surfing career, Carroll turned his talents to journalism, beginning with Tracks magazine. He served as editor of Tracks from 1984 to 1986.[6]
His editorial career continued internationally when he worked in the United States as editor-in-chief for Western Empire Publications—the publisher of Surfing Magazine.[3][7]
He later edited Deep magazine from 1997 to 2000.[1]
Carroll served as Surfline’s Australian editor—a role he assumed after Surfline acquired Coastalwatch in 2019.[8]
Carroll has written for publications including Financial Review, The Australian, and “Real Surf”, and hosted an "Ask Nick Carroll" feature offering surf advice.[2]
Books and media projects
[edit]Carroll is the author of TC, the biography of his brother, two-time world surfing champion Tom Carroll.[7] TC won the Surf Culture Award in the 2014 Australian Surfing Awards for "a project that captures and explores a quintessential element of Australian surfing culture".[9]
He has also contributed to television media, co-writing the ABC's documentaries Bombora and Wide Open Road.[7] Through Bombora, Carroll suggested that "surfing is the ultimate expression of Australiana".[10]
Beyond surf media, Carroll authored Out the Back with Bondi Rescue: True Stories Behind the Hit TV Show, offering behind-the-scenes perspectives on Bondi lifeguards.[11]
Recognition and style
[edit]Nick Carroll has long been regarded as one of the surf world's most knowledgeable and respected writers.[12][7] From the mid-1980s onward, he was widely recognized for his in-depth journalistic output.[1] Carroll's biography of his brother Tom Carroll, TC, was partly an attempt to write about drug use in surfing, a topic he felt guilty about avoiding during his career as a journalist.[12]
Carroll was interviewed by Caroline Jones for her Radio National radio program 'The Search for Meaning',[13] expressing how riding a wave could bring about a catharsis akin to those described in practices such as Zen Buddhism.
Recent projects
[edit]In 2019, Carroll was invited to address the Global Wave Conference on surf crowds.[14][15]
In 2016, following a spate of shark attacks on the New South Wales north coast, Carroll, in his role as Coastal Watch spokesman, became a prominent advocate of shark nets to reduce attacks,[16][17] however, many of his arguments were criticised for being inaccurate.[18]
In 2019 Carroll created a set of videos to teach surfers how to help save drowning swimmers without endangering themselves in the process.[19][20]
In 2025, Carroll teamed up with Hannah Anderson to launch a surf-culture podcast titled “We Shouldn't Be Friends”, described as "a playful, quizzical and highly informed look at modern surf culture."[21]
Personal life
[edit]Nick Carroll grew up surfing alongside his younger brother Tom Carroll on Sydney's northern beaches.[1][3] He resides in Sydney with his wife Wendy and their two children, Madeleine and Jack.[7]
Bibliography
[edit]Next Wave of World Surfing (ed) 1991 ISBN 978-1-558-59162-2
Complete Guide To Surfing Your Best 2008 ISBN 978-0-957-73353-4
Fearlessness 2007 ISBN 978-0-811-85481-8
Visions of Tropical Islands: A Journey into the Exotic Surf Zone 2008 ISBN 978-0-957-73355-8
Out the Back with Bondi Rescue: True stories behind the hit TV show 2009 ISBN 978-1-741-75908-2
TC (with Tom Carroll) 2014 ISBN 978-0-957-73353-4
The Carnival of the Animals: The Unlikely Story of Professional Surfing (with Sean Doherty) 2024 ISBN 978-0-143-78511-8
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 Warshaw, Matt (2012-05-10). "Carroll, Nick". Encyclopedia of Surfing. Retrieved 2025-09-08.
- 1 2 "Pittwater Online News". www.pittwateronlinenews.com. Retrieved 2025-09-08.
- 1 2 3 Classic, Brought to you byABC (2015-01-23). "Nick Carroll". ABC Radio National. Retrieved 2025-09-08.
- ↑ Mauro, Chris (2019-05-21). "Nick Carroll". People Who Surf. Retrieved 2025-09-08.
- ↑ "ABOUT". Newport Plus Boardri. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
- ↑ Elliott, Tim (2020-10-02). "The surfing bible that's still riding the wave". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2025-09-13.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Carroll, Tom; Carroll, Nick. "Nick Carroll". www.penguin.com.au. Retrieved 2025-09-08.
- ↑ "Surf world in mourning after legacy journalist Nick Carroll disappeared in Surfline's "Night of the Long Knives" - BeachGrit". beachgrit.com. 2025-01-28. Retrieved 2025-09-08.
- ↑ "Australian Surfing Awards Incorporating the Hall of Fame" (PDF). Surfing Australia Annual Report 2014: 34–35. 2014.
- ↑ Pawle, Fred (21 Mar 2009). "Surf Side Story". Weekend Australian. p. 24. ProQuest 356148649.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Carroll, Nick; Morris, Bill (2009). Out the back with Bondi Rescue: true stories behind the hit TV show. Crows Nest, N.S.W: Arena/Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-74175-908-2.
- 1 2 "Breaching surf's inner sanctum". 2013-12-06. Archived from the original on 2017-06-15. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
- ↑ Jones, Caroline (1995). The Search for Meaning Collection. HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd. p. 128. ISBN 978-0733304477.
- ↑ University, Southern Cross. "2020 - Surf's up for Global Wave Conference 2020 - Southern Cross University". www.scu.edu.au. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
- ↑ McKinnen, Andrew (20 Nov 2019). "Big names on board for wave conference". The Gold Coast Bulletin. ProQuest 2315595571.
- ↑ Arylko (Oct 29, 2016). "11 shark net myths debunked as pro surfers freak out over attacks". The Daily Telegraph.
- ↑ Keene, Neil (3 Nov 2016). "Shift on netting beaches". The Gold Coast Bulletin. p. 13. ProQuest 1835106137.
- ↑ Claudiaj (Nov 1, 2016). "Surfer creates more shark myths, says marine ecologist". The Daily Telegraph.
- ↑ Power, Julie (2019-02-18). "New videos teach surfers to survive mortal danger when they save others". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2025-09-13.
- ↑ Power, Julie (19 Feb 2019). "How to save a life in the surf". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 12. ProQuest 2182468623.
- ↑ SW (2025-02-17). "WE SHOULDN'T BE FRIENDS". Surfing World Magazine. Retrieved 2025-09-08.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
