Kevin: King of the Air Surf Guitar: It's about belonging

By Mike Davis

Kevin: King of the Air Surf Guitar is a coming-of-age tale steeped in the salt, soul, and sunburnt sand of the Australian coast. Set against the backdrop of 1970s and '80s coastal New South Wales, it follows Kevin Cousins, a skinny, self-effacing Koori teenager whose life changes forever when he discovers surfing - and himself - through the mentorship of a rugged ex-surfer, Old Mick, and the friendship of Angus, a natural wave rider.
Born to a working-class Indigenous family on the Shoalhaven River, Kevin has always been an outsider - too quiet, too gentle, too thoughtful for the rough-and-tumble world around him. His sister Amber is his only real ally: smart, fiery, and endlessly loyal. When tragedy strikes their family - first their father's death, then their grandmother's - the siblings are uprooted from their country home and thrust into the "Big Smoke" of Maroubra.
There, they find solace in the ocean's rhythm and a surrogate family in the surf community. Kevin's journey becomes one of identity, courage, and belonging as he learns the sacred flow of the sea from those who've lived it - men who bridge Indigenous culture, surf counterculture, and working-class wisdom. But when Amber's life takes a tragic turn, Kevin must paddle out over the ledge - literally and figuratively - to find the strength to continue.
Told with warmth, humour, and deep respect for Koori culture and Australian surf heritage, Davis captures the heartbeat of coastal youth, the kinship of the waves, and the bittersweet ride of growing up. Kevin's story is as much about resilience and reconciliation as it is about surfing - a lyrical celebration of belonging, loss, and the human spirit's relentless search for connection.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1673821502
• ISBN13: 9781673821505
• Release Date: December 2019
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 218 Pages
• Weight: 0.53 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.0" x 8.0"