"BeachGrit has been such a big part of Sean's surf journey, it gave him a place to relax, a sense of community, and connectedness with the ocean, even if he can't physically immerse himself in it."
A little over a year back, BeachGrit commenter Offrocker wrote about being hit with cancer, aged thirty-five.
His story Quit-Lit in the Face of Cancer: Reflections on my Last Surf Ever (Maybe) sure hit the buttons.
“I am four-fifths salt water and I may be going back to Mother Earth after my three dozen goes around the sun. I’ve done my time watching the tides. Sandbars form and melt away. Storms. Rock ledges. Learning winds, and how they swirl down valleys, equating it to long period swell wrapping around seafloor features. All little tidbits of info with no relevance to my now landlocked life, but it gives me joy to know the natural world by force of confronting it and understanding my place in it.”
Offrocker, real name Sean Mitchell, followed up his quit-lit with a story about getting a little taste of the ocean after being floored by his cancer treatments.
“The slow meat grinder of being poisoned every two weeks and watching your body break down in front of you. The chemo port implanted over your pec burrows down all the way into your heart. How the port tugs when you lift your arm above your head.
How to shower with a needle hanging out of your chest attached to a bottle of the same poison that’s killing you, and hopefully the cancer.
A thousand little adjustments.
My life is walking the dogs around and around the block, exercise bikes, core strength rehabilitation, hypervigilent handwashing. All very important, but monochrome.
No, not monochrome, but like when you adjust the filter on a photo… desaturated.
And then last week, out of the blue, I got the reprieve.
After a few rounds of chemo, my bloods were stable and my oncologist let me go in the ocean.”
A couple of hours ago, Sean’s wife Michelle wrote to tell me that he’s in a hospice, has a couple of days left.
He has been more drowsy but has periods of lucidity, however, these periods are getting shorter and fewer.
I just want to let you know that BeachGrit has been such a big part of Sean’s surf journey, it gave him a place to relax, a sense of community, and connectedness with the ocean, even if he can’t physically immerse himself in it. Thank you for creating such a great community.
We have set up a typeform for messages and photos, please feel free to send through a message and pass on the link to anyone who wants to send a message to Offrocker (click here for link.)
We read him messages from this form and show him pictures during his periods of lucidity. It will also become a keepsake for the family. Please pass on our gratitude to the BeachGrit community.
Jump in, say goodbye to a well-loved brother.
Thank you for your openness and perspectives. As SA well said, you made a real difference. Safe journeys man.
Thank you for the laughs and the tears. Om shanti Offrocker.
Ok, I’m generally a lurker on these sites, but I want to say that Offrocker’s article was one of the most profound pieces I’ve ever read on any website, and really gives me perspective on life. I did feel profound sadness yesterday seeing the update on his condition. Most of us will pass through this mortal coil with nothing to show for it, or having not touched many others outside of their direct circles. I hope our man here has some happiness in his final days, knowing that his words will be appreciated long after he is gone from us physically.
Just read this and teared up. I hope you get an eternal tube ride in the sky. Gonna miss your comments. Much love to the family.
Will miss ya!
Off rocker, Sean, although we’ve had but a little interaction here, I’ve always enjoyed your BG articles and the humanity you bring to the site. Godspeed, brother. May you enjoy perfect uncrowded line-ups throughout eternity.
Charge it mate!
For all the BG posts I’ve read, for all the BG comments I’ve enjoyed, for all the Grit podcasts I’ve tried to listen to, I’ve never left a comment; I don’t have any social media. And yet… Offrocker, your article last year & your news now is the wake-up call I needed. Thank you for your beautiful writing & what reads like a beautiful life. Tomorrow I’ll get up earlier in the morning and take my first wave for you, but your legacy will live much longer for me.
Thanks BG for your love. I have read a lot of these messages out to Offrocker in his times of lucidity. He is peaceful at this time.
Over the last few weeks sitting here, waiting for the call to the great beyond, we have relived the treasured memories of countless surf (and adjacent) missions; from the winding drive around Akaroa NZ looking for his ancestral Marae, befriending French backpackers at Parks Beach in Tasmania, “accidentally” driving to Bicheno on the morning of his afternoon ED shift, to him rescuing a surfer at The Spit on the Gold Coast who got barbed by a stingray and was bleeding out.
Everyday of the last 15 years I have have been with Offrocker has been a blast. Offrocker is a remarkable soul who has lived every day true to himself and without regrets. It is an honour to be his wife, to have lived this remarkable life along side him.
I will keep reading the messages to him as long as there are new ones. When this is all over, I will be taking my bodyboard out to Greenmount to feel at one with my beloved.
Sending you both love. Enjoy these moments you have left together as ceremony, and we are here to help with grieving if you need it.
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
And if you need anything reach out!! much love
What an eloquent couple.
Thankyou. What a beautiful and brave couple.
Offrocker, as you know sincerity is not traditionally the strongest currency on beach grit. a strange digital family of misfits, shredders, kooks, trolls, high school dropouts, CEO’s, tradies, illiterates, poets, pests, and creatives are accepted on a level footing (less of corse negs puts you in the naughty corner). Your short form contributions in the comments is one thing, but the honesty you shared in long form highlighted that beneath the surface one liners, dad jokes, sarcasm, cheap shots, piss taking etc of the commentariat , lies real people, with real lives. Your story breaks things down to what matters and brings out compassion and sincerity from behind the digital fasade. for many a wake up call, for some a gentle reminder to appreciate what you have while you can. I wish you a smooth transition onward and I thank you your company. Sean, you will be missed. Phat.
Offrockette, I hope the memories shared with your husband over the last 15 years give you the strength and light to navigate safely through the unruly seas that lie ahead. thank you for sharing Sean’s battle. I wish you well. Phat.
Peace, brother. Thanks for the wit and thoughtfulness. Best to your wife.
One of the very best, float on mate.
hey Sean , your story is amazing and inspiring , you leave us all here on BG as better people for knowing you and interacting with your comments …just to see all the heartfelt comments here is testimony to you having left an indelible mark on us all . You leave us , but have left us with your legacy ………that speaks volumes of who you were and are…..am saying a special prayer for you and your family….pray to see you on the otherside…..thank you for being you!
Thanks for being a valued member of this community. Won’t ever forget you or the piece you wrote last year.
Brother, your story last year stuck like perfectly cooked spaghetti to the wall of mine and many others memory. Until the time we all follow you, it wont fall either. Thanks for the heavy reminder of our mortality, and thanks for making all these hard heads round here go soft as puppy ears, extremely touching. Cheers now
Much love to you offrocker.
See you again on gods golden shore
Sean, thanks for sharing your love of surfing, you’ve inspired us all to be a little more core and way more stoked
We all hope to be a storyteller, and have a story to tell. A life well lived is your story. Your article written for BeachGrit cemented your legacy as a storyteller of immeasurable talent.
Rock on, Offrocker, to that great gig in the sky. Thanks for sharing truth and teaching humility. Made us feel more connected and aware. It is why we are all here, to learn and grow some more. I will catch a few for ya. Cheers.
You will be missed Sean. Thank you for sharing your story and time with us
Go in peace brother. Much love