QUINCY from Sean Slobodan on Vimeo.
Quincy Symonds came into the world with a rare talent.
The seven-year-old surfing wunderkind from Tweed Heads, New South Wales, is making waves -- not just with her talent on the board, but with her infectious zest for life.
The 'Flying Squirrel' has already drawn comparisons to Australian surfing legends Layne Beachley and Steph Gilmore. When you see her flying off the waves, it's pretty easy to see why.
And it's not just surfing; Quincy's day will include anything from rugby to ping pong to imaginary games -- she is a seven-year-old kid, after all -- and her doting parents Kim and Jake Symonds couldn't be prouder.
But even more remarkable than being touted as one of the world's best surfers for her age is her background. Quincy, featured in a beautiful documentary that bears her name, was born with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia.
It means she spent the first two-and-a-half years of her life in and out of hospital, and now she's steroid dependent and requires medical treatment three times a day.
Sean Slobodan, co-director of this short film, tells The Huffington Post Australia it’s hard to put into words how much energy Quincy has.
"Quincy is another level. She does not stop," he said.
"She’ll go from surfing, to soccer, to rugby, to skateboarding, to ping pong, to some made up game that includes all of those activities, all before lunch time.”
She’s also touted as possibly the best surfer in her age range, in the world, right now. Likely also because most kids her age would fear the ocean and the size of waves she tackles.
Kim Symonds said her daughter's condition didn't slow her down on the waves.
"It doesn't affect her sport at all,” she told HuffPost Australia. “It just means when she gets sick she can get sick very quickly.”
Because this little champion can react strongly to illness, it would be easy for her parents to hover over her and have her avoid adventurous activities like surfing.
But the family's philosophy is simple: do whatever it is in life that you enjoy most. For Quincy, that's surfing and living life to the fullest.
“Everyone’s touched on her health and it's becoming about her health, instead of her talent and love of surfing. This is the first surf film about Quincy,” Kim told HuffPost Australia.
Slobodan said he and co-director James Winegar made a conscious decision to focus on Quincy's surfing and not her health in the film. After lengthy discussions, they felt it would be the wrong way to define her.
"The kid is an amazing surfer and at the same time she’s just a normal seven-year-old doing something she loves to do with her dad," Slobodan said.
"I think that’s the most amazing part about her. She’s out there just innocently ripping the tops off of waves.”
The film came together after Winegar, a good mate of Quincy's parents, sent Slobodan some footage of Quincy surfing.
"It’s pretty easy to see that Quincy is a special kid and we both felt like we could tell her story really well," Slobodan said.
Kim said the filming was also a really special time for her family as the directors stayed with them for three weeks and travelled down the coastline on holidays.
“Quincy effectively got three older brothers. It wasn’t intense filming, just short bursts. The rest of the time was fun. Holidaying at the same time made it more special to us because it really was about who Quincy really is," she said.
“She's really, really shy, but once she knows someone she won’t stop talking. If someone new will sit with her and talk surfing, or sports she’ll open up, but she’s not really extroverted.”
Quincy's mum is excited about her daughter's potential, but at the same time she's keen to keep the vivacious seven-year-old grounded.
“She’s so young, and she also plays drums and guitar, she wants to play football and tennis," she said.
"It’s important for us to keep her real to herself and live the life she wants to live without the hype. It's really good because at the moment she's pretty oblivious to it all, she's just out there for the love of surfing and having fun.
“Life changes for everybody. You can be adamant you’ll be a lawyer when you grow up and then say 'hey, I don’t like this' and go off and do something else. I
"t doesn’t matter what you do so long as you can enjoy what you do, stay healthy and be a good person.”
To see more from the creator Sean Slobodan head over here.
You can also follow Quincy's surfing adventures on Instagram with @theflyingsquirrel__