Mr Mills first picked up a surf board when he was a teenager 45 years ago.

For the past 20 years he has been body surfing.

"I used to be a keen surfer, I love the ocean and the water," Mr Mills said.

"There were some decent waves, but you were competing with a number of people in those waves.

"I'm not a competitive person so it turned me off it."

While kayaking at Lady Bay in October, he saw something that caught his eye.

"I saw this thing in the distance above the water and I'm thinking 'what the hell is it?'."

After doing some research he discovered it was a Fliteboard, a motorised surfboard allowing its user to hover above the water.

Byron Bay kite surfer David Trewern had the idea for the board in 2016.

By November, Mr Mills had a board of his own.

"It's rekindled my passion for surfing," he said.

Mr Mills said being out on the waves on his new board every day helped better his mental health.

"I had anxiety and depression, and this has been very therapeutic," he said.

Mr Mills said it had also become a social outlet.

"It's helped me a lot because I was getting to a point in my life where I was really isolated," he said.

"My social network broke down because it was related to my former employment."

Mr Mills has started his own YouTube channel and planned to visit Byron Bay to document his journey with the board.

"It's been great meeting other surfers using the Fliteboards; I'm part of Facebook groups and a guy from Sydney came down to Warrnambool," he said.

"There's a great community out there of Flite surfers."

Mr Mills moved to Warrnambool in 2022 to be with family.

"I came down to support my uncle in a difficult time of his life and he's ended up supporting me, so it's a win-win situation," he said.

"I help him with the gardening and fixing things around the house and he supports me with what I'm doing, so it's been a very positive arrangement."

Mr Mills said it took him about six weeks to learn how to use the board.

"It's very different. Having the balance helps but the board, like a normal surfboard, you're on it on the water and as you increase speed and lean back the whole board lifts out of the water," he said.

"It can be half a metre out of the water.

"There's a main wing and a stabiliser wing."

He said the motor could be turned on or off to surf.

IN OTHER NEWS

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: