It's a question that British filmmaker Paul Martin and his team from Box To Box Films hope to answer as they follow the World Surf League Championship Tour from country to country, accumulating footage for a series to air early next year on Apple TV.

The affable Pom has made a career of sports documentaries including the Formula One motor-racing series, Drive To Survive, and features on footballers Ronaldo and Maradona.

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WSL announced the streaming series in December as a "behind-the-scenes look at the aspirations, failures and accomplishments of the world's best surfers as they battle for the WSL title and struggle to remain on the elite WSL Championship Tour (CT)".

Erik Logan, chief executive of the US-based WSL, was named as an executive producer but Martin says the series will not be a gloss hagiography.

He's planning six to eight episodes of up to an hour each. He said Box To Box had a crew of 13 in Australia and a production crew at home in the UK.

"In Drive to Survive we found the Formula One drivers a lot more protected [from outsiders].

"The money is enormous. Huge brands like Mercedes and Ferrari.

"The surf brands are global too, but it's not the same scale. The surfers have been a bit more open, very welcoming and friendly."

Newcastle was the first contest the crew had filmed.

"I'm sure they become different animals when competing," Martin said.

In December, WSL said each episode would be "a rich exploration of the characters who make up the 2021 WSL Men's and Women's CT, taking viewers on a journey to incredible surfing locations across the globe, starting in Hawaii".

"The docu-series will dive into different surfing cultures, as well as timely subjects tied to the sport including eco-conservation, sustainability and marine preservation," WSL promised.

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