The Wesley Pottscast
Tuesday 02 July 2013 Wesley Potts broke his neck bodyboarding Plett 3 years ago. It’s been a long road to recovery, but Wesley is back and boosting just as hard as he always has. David McMaster has put together a brilliant multimedia account of this underground talent.
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Wesley Potts grew up bodyboarding the waves of the Eastern Cape and seven years ago came to Cape Town where he obtained a degree in chemical engineering from UCT. He has since made the city his home and has been in love with the place and waves ever since!
Wes is a stand-out in the Cape's beach-breaks and reefs. He is always busting out big tricks and as a Cape Town based videographer it is through this flare that he caught my attention.
Inadvertently Wes had already appeared in some of my clips before we even knew of each other but via social networks we got in contact and agreed to start collaborating on surf missions.
Over time and beyond just the surfing it was found that he had a harrowing story to tell, one where he had broken his neck surfing Plett Wedge in 2010. Wes took off on a wave and got sucked up and over the falls and landed head-first on his board, breaking his neck at his 5th vertebra. These types of injuries result in a 90% chance of either being paralyzed or even worse, death!
Wes fought for the following 10 months and describes them as being the most frustrating of his life. A thing as little as a slip or any knock to the head during his recovery period could have rendered him paralyzed. Fortunately things went according to plan and today Wes has found his way back to normal. The injury has left only an emotional scar as he describes himself being a lot more calculated than before.
As a result of this story the following clip, "The Wesley Pottscast," was put together by David McMaster Productions and is the result of 8 months of filming around the Cape, with some extra footage from a trip North of the Border.
It seems hard to believe that Wes is "being a lot more calculated" as he puts on an impressive aerial display over some of the best waves the Cape has to offer!
Wes, like many South African bodyboarders, has skills that are world-class, and the resilience and fighting spirit that he embodies is shared by all of those who follow their love of the sport of bodyboarding. It was my mission to portray this to all and share the stoke.
