Surfing rather than rugby has been the sporting thread that's flowed through Hurricanes hooker Ricky Riccitelli's life.
Riccitelli has become something of a cult figure in a Hurricanes jersey since arriving at the club in 2016 and playing a key role in the surge to the Investec Super Rugby title.
An image of his bloodied, but smiling face after the 2016 final at Westpac Stadium summed up the positive never-say-die attitude that has endeared the nuggety No.2 to his teammates over the past two seasons.
However, there is a lot more to the 22-year-old than just hitting rucks and packing down scrums and his story can be traced back to Durban's beautiful beaches where his American father John met his South African mother Gail.
"We moved over to the Naki [Taranaki] from South Africa when I was four years old from a place called The Bluff," Ricctielli told C60 during a Hurricanes exclusive interview. "The lifestyle in Durban at the time was a bit rough in terms of the gap between rich and poor, so we moved to New Zealand for a safer lifestyle and struck gold with the place I grew up in."
That place was Oakura, a small town on New Zealand's west coast, 15km from the city of New Plymouth where Riccitelli's father found work as a teacher and his mother as a psychiatrist at the hospital.
Nestled next to State Highway 45 with a population of less than 2000, Oakura's main attraction was a north facing beach known for its consistent left and right hand breaks.
"Part of the reason we moved there was dad is a big surfer," Riccitelli said, noting his dad's lunch breaks are still spent sneaking off to catch a few midday waves.
In his younger days Riccitelli's father also excelled at baseball, basketball and American football and he has passed on his sporting genes and love of the water to his son.
"Living on the coast you love being in the water, especially with dad," Ricky said. "He would take me out most days and if the surf wasn't there then we'd be in the nets throwing cricket balls around or down the local golf course hitting a few balls. We just loved connecting that sort of way.
"At school I played a bit of basketball, but predominantly it was cricket and rugby."
Ricctielli attended Francis Douglas Memorial College in New Plymouth where his peers included the Barrett brothers Kane, Beauden, Blake and Jordie and many believed he would pursue a career in cricket after he excelled in the first XI as a middle order batsmen.
"After I left school I had to choose and at one stage I was leaning toward cricket, but I got to Dunedin [University] and joined the Southern Rugby Club down there and learned so much through the Otago Rugby Academy system. I loved my rugby so much down there and it just went from there."
Riccitelli's reputation grew during his time in Otago and he secured a provincial contract with Hawke's Bay in 2015 before being selected as a loose head prop in the New Zealand Under-20s team which won the World Junior Championships in Italy that year.
A year later he got an opportunity in the Hurricanes wider training group and took it with both hands as captain Dane Coles' back up.
"When I first moved to Wellington I was a bit iffy. I haven't really lived in a big city before so to come here and go straight into preseason was a bit daunting," he recalled. "I lived with Michael Fatialofa and we learned the ins and outs together and became a bit of a duo."
The pair transferred their chemistry to the field where 2016 became a break out year for both.
Riccitelli made his debut against the Brumbies in Canberra in week one, ended up starting in the semi-final against the Chiefs as Coles battled broken ribs, then started 12 of 17 games in 2017 to earn a call up to train with the All Blacks squad during the Rugby Championship.
As 2018 begins, Riccitelli is ready to paddle into his next rugby wave.
"Every time I come back [to Wellington] now I get excited. To get the chance to wear the swirl on my chest and to pull on the Canes jersey... I can't wait to get back out there in 2018."