Duncan McNicol Hacks Life

Duncan McNicol rips at living. He’s tall, broad, surfs loose and free. Nothing seems to rattle him. He’s cruising on every level. Maybe it’s the Byron in him? Maybe it’s just the confidence of being a vagabond legend? Whatever it is, one thing’s for sure… He can’t play the didge.

SW: What’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever spent a buck on?
DM: Full impulse buying a digeridoo. I don’t even like music. Never listen to it. I just got one, and practiced for like a month and a half. I met some Indigenous dudes and they showed me how to practice circular breathing… all these different techniques. That’s the most random thing I’ve ever bought. I tried to play it the other day and I fully couldn’t.

Ridgey didge. What would you say is your most outlandish credit card experience?
My mate used to have this expired credit card and he was still able to use it. For some random reason it still worked! He wasn’t even getting anything good, he was just getting food, like maccas and stuff. I guess that’s pretty cool.

So where are you living right now Dunc?
I’ve got a warehouse in the Industrial estate in Byron. I live with my chick and Jack down there. We’ve got some random spaces downstairs we rent out to people who want to do art. We just built a bar the other week.

Who’s the weirdest person you’ve ever lived with?
I’ve lived in a bunch of share houses. I used to live with my mate Damo. No one’s spoken to him in three years. He had an upside down antichrist tattoo on his forehead. We used to say he’s the nicest guy that will punch you in the face, lend you a hundred bucks and steal twenty cents off you. A good bloke. He was a computer hacker. He could hack phones and computers and do the wildest shit. He’s definitely the weirdest, but also just a really nice guy. He’s got dead babies tattooed on his legs and shit, he’s a pretty tripped out dude, but it’s cool.

Talk us through a day in the life of Damo…
His whole thing was eating cheese pizzas for dinner, and dare ice coffees throughout the day. That was his setup. He was always at the forefront of new fashion genres that would be coming through. He’d be this hip kinda guy wearing super awkward getups because no one else was wearing it. He’d be wearing clothes, then a year and a half later everyone was wearing those sorts of clothes. He wasn’t into setting trends, he was just somehow so deep into the net he was forward thinking all this shit and running with it. Super tripped out. He used to create all these psycho memes, and apparently there were these memes about him creating all of the memes. He was a full meme god. And this was before memes were even a thing!

Whats your favourite meme that he ever created?
There’s iconic memes you would have seen before that he created. He’s full underground.

Is there a hashtag you’d live and die by?
#surfhardplayhard

Would you get it tattooed on you?
I’m going to.

What do you think about the full human canvas thing? Like Hoyo?
I reckon it’s sick that he could be fucked to do it. I couldn’t. Heaps of my mates are covered in tattoos. I like the people who are into it for doing it.   

Name me one WSL surfer you’d cop as a housemate…
Caio Ibelli.

Why?
He won Bells, so he can probably pay the rent.

Name me one person who could really use some drugs right now…
I reckon they could all do some drugs and free themselves up for a moment. But I dunno, maybe they have done them? Drugs are bad for people with fragile minds or people with addictive personalities.

What car do you drive?
Holden commodore.

What do you think about when you’re alone in your commodore?
I’m probably playing Pokemon Go, but it’s sketchy if you’re driving and you nearly crash. Other than that I’m thinking, “Wonder what the surf’s like,” “Fuck I’m hungry,” and “Can’t wait till four o’clock to have a beer.”

Do you share a birthday with anyone famous?
Google says Ice Cube. That’s pretty sick!