EVAN PUMA
ALWAYS EVOLVING
Hailing from the island paradise of Barbados, young Evan Puma is no stranger to heavy water. He has built his lifestyle around the pursuit of travel, exploration and hunting waves. We caught up with Evan in between working boat charters, to see what he has been up to.
Tell us a little bit about growing up in Barbados?
Growing up in Barbados is epic, the locals and the island have something special.
I was actually born in Toronto, Canada but made the move down there when I was around 2 so I consider myself a "bajan". We have some sick waves there like "Soup Bowl '' or "Box by Box '' that go absolutely psycho on their day! After spending most of the summer season in Indo, I always go back to Barbados for the winter season and am so surprised at the power and energy in the waves there. Other than that there are some seriously fun other waves around. I am super grateful to grow up and learn from a small island community vibe, it definitely has molded me into the person I am today and i'm stoked to carry that around with me as I travel around.
How did you get into working on yachts, how's the Below Deck Life treating you?
I got into the industry through a couple friends telling me about it, when I was 16. Me and two other friends from Barbados somehow got our parents to send us to Australia to do a STCW95 course, which is a Basic Safety Sea Survival course and a Fire Fighting course. It actually took me about 3 years to get into it because I ended up living and working in Aus and was loving it! So it was hard to get out of there. Anyways yeah, now I'm two years in the industry and I am working my way up the ranks to become an officer one day. It's a crazy industry, definitely has its ups and downs, but whatever makes the bread, so I can go on some cool surf trips. Some below deck drama vibes do go down haha!
What's next for you?
I have been working on a short film with my friend Peter, it's definitely going to be the best edit I have ever released! I was lucky enough to get to Indo in 2021 and get some of the best waves I've had, so super stoked to share when its released. Other than that I want to spend any holiday I get from work to score some sick waves and keep getting clips! My goal is to keep making edits and pushing my limit surfing.
