CHIP: The Latest From Jacob Willcox

CHIP tells the untold story of Jacob Willcox’s rookie year on the Championship Tour (CT).

According to Jacob ‘Chippo’ Willcox, his latest edit explores not just the physical side of surfing, but the mental battles that come with it. Filmed and edited by Tom Jennings, CHIP seamlessly blends audio and visuals to capture the intensity of navigating the highs and lows of competing on the world’s biggest stage.

“This project captures my search for an escape, while also striving to find reconnection with myself,” says Jacob.  

From a young age, Chippo was always a standout. After signing with Rip Curl at age 11, he quickly became one of the best junior surfers in the country. He went on to secure countless wildcards into CT events around the globe, with ambitions to qualify for the tour and compete against the world’s best full-time.

However, the journey to the top wasn’t always easy. It took years of grinding (coming heartbreakingly close to qualifying multiple times) for Chippo to finally realise his dream. After an impressive year of competition on the Challenger Series, Jacob finally clinched his spot on the CT at the Ericeira Pro, Portugal in 2023. 

And that is where CHIP really begins.

Rookie errors, mental battles, and Chippo getting extremely barrelled.

Cuts of free surfing are spliced against intimate moments from his journey. From learning to surf as a kid on the picturesque beaches of Western Australia to making his CT debut at Pipeline.

The edit follows as Chippo struggles to find his feet in his rookie year, falling off tour at the mid-year cut and failing to requalify. It captures the reality of finally achieving your childhood dream, only to have it not work out the way you had hoped, and the doubts that inevitably ensue.

“I started questioning my love for competing. I just needed to escape it all. Get into the real world. Off-grid and away from pro surfing.”

It was from this desire to escape that the idea to create CHIP was born.

“It felt like a lot of things around me were falling apart… Working on CHIP was my way of piecing it all back together, making sense of my year, and my purpose.”

Filmed across iconic surf destinations like Hawaii, the Gold Coast, Bells Beach, and Western Australia, CHIP weaves together Jacob’s past and present to tell the full story. As for the future, one thing is for sure: whether he’s in the competition rashie or not, Chippo’s surfing will continue to make people want to stop and watch