00:00Newcastle surfer Josh Levy is hoping to complete a mammoth challenge today.
00:09He's trying to become the first person to catch 7,000 waves in just one month.
00:16Now, the 21-year-old set out with the goal to catch 5,000 waves when he started this challenge at the start of January.
00:23However, about two weeks in, he upped that goal to 7,000 waves.
00:28It's meant, on average, each day he's had to serve 225 waves.
00:33He's been out in the salt water in the sun for about 6 to 8 hours every single day to meet this goal.
00:41And he's doing it all in the name of charity.
00:43He's hoping to raise funds for Newcastle homelessness charity Soul Hub.
00:47I believe the fundraiser has ticked over that $70,000 mark.
00:52And he's hoping to raise $100,000 for the charity over the coming days.
00:57Now, Josh is on wave 6,850.
01:01So, he's got about 150 waves that he still needs to catch today to reach that goal.
01:06He's expecting to do so around 2 o'clock this afternoon.
01:10He's chosen a beautiful day for it here at Dixon Park in Newcastle.
01:14It's going to get to 32 degrees.
01:16The sun is shining.
01:17The waves are looking good.
01:18However, it hasn't always been like this.
01:20He's had gruelling conditions from tiny surf, huge swells, cyclonic rain, all of the above.
01:28And he's put himself through this for charity.
01:30I spoke to him about a bit of the mental and physical toll that this has had on him.
01:34This is what he had to say.
01:35It's quite easy to surf good waves for six to eight hours because it's fun, right?
01:40But right now, we're not really surfing good waves.
01:44So, it can be a real mental challenge to be able to still have fun even when the waves are bad.
01:50That is such a mental challenge of still trying to control your mind to make sure you understand why you're doing it.
01:58And what is the core, you know?
02:00So, it's not necessarily about you, but it's about how I can serve someone else.
02:05Now, hundreds of people are expected to come down to Dixon Park Beach later this afternoon to cheer on Josh as he catches that 7,000th wave.
02:13We're all here watching and hoping he makes it to the end.
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