Esquire Studio Sessions: pro surfer Dion Agius takes us behind the scenes of his first art collection

“HAVE YOU FIGURED it out yet?” It’s hours before the ‘Noid’ launch party is due to kick off inside Sydney’s Rainbow Studios, and Dion Agius is curious as to whether we have worked out the meaning behind the name of his debut art collection. Sheepishly, we admit we haven’t. “It’s my name spelt backwards,” he explains. “It’s kind of a nickname too. My mates at high school called me Noid.”

An inner-city art gallery like Rainbow Studios is an unusual place to find Agius – his natural habitat isn’t just on a wave, but soaring a few feet above it, as he pulls off an outrageous aerial manoeuvre. But recently, he was forced to take five months off surfing when he broke his leg after performing one such air. But all things happen for a reason, and during his recovery process, Agius began carving, sanding down and painting old broken surfboards – being an aerial surfer, wherein what goes up must come down, he’s snapped a fair few in his time. But he always felt guilty about throwing broken boards away, so when the universe made him spend time out of the water, he set to work finding another use for the material that’s played such a big role in his life and career. 

After posting a few test videos and photographs to Instagram (he’s also a talented photographer and videographer), Jade Gillett and Brent Gold of Sydney artisan showroom Rainbow Studios reached out to Agius, who bases himself in Byron, and asked if he’d be interested in working together on a show. The rest is more or less history. 

“Goldie and I are always on the lookout for undiscovered talent. When we saw Dion creating these works we knew that we had to collaborate,” says Gillett. “Not only to support our friend but to introduce this new world of homewares to our community. A unique collection like this expands our offering outside of selling traditional artworks, and we’re excited to step into this new realm.” 

Below, Agius talks us through Noid, how he made it and why sometimes, an injury can be a blessing in disguise.