A charity formed in the memory of late Australian snowboarding champion Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin has deleted a post about what happened to $500,000 raised in a marathon surf event, admitting it was wrong about how the money was spent. 

The Chumpy Pullin Foundation announced in March 2024 that ‘all’ of the half a million dollars raised by surfing legend Blake Johnston in a world record 40-hour surf had been donated to a business he runs, Swellbeing. 

‘We can’t believe it’s been a year since our legend (Johnston) achieved his awe-inspiring feat,’ the post read.

‘And if $500k in donations and 707 waves caught wasn’t enough, all money raised has been donated to Swellbeing, a youth empowerment program immersing young individuals in nature-based experiences.’

Mr Johnston, a well-known local identity in Cronulla, south of Sydney, runs a business that hosts surf camps involving cold water immersion sessions, technology detoxes, and breathwork.

But when the Daily Mail asked questions about the payment, it set off a series of events culminating in the charity admitting only $10,000 of the $500,000 had been paid to Mr Johnston’s business and that its announcement was ‘clearly a mistake’. 

The Chumpy Pullin Foundation was founded by Pullin’s partner, Ellidy, and accountant Ben Johnston, after Chumpy – an Australian snowboarding champion and Winter Olympics flagbearer – tragically drowned while spearfishing on the Gold Coast in July 2020.

The foundation was initially formed to ‘address the barriers experienced by financially and socially disadvantaged individuals wanting to progress in (snowboarding) to become world-class athletes’ and held a series of lavish gala celebrations.

Ellidy, Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin and their dog Rummi are seen before his tragic death aged 32

Ellidy welcomed Chumpy’s daughter Minnie after posthumously harvesting his sperm and conducting IVF 

Blake Johnston smashed a surfing world record to raise funds for the Chumpy Pullin Foundation

The charity closed in December 2024, asserting that funds raised would be dedicated to youth mental health initiatives.

Earlier that year it had cheerily announced surfer Blake Johnston – brother of the charity’s founder – had raised half a million dollars with a marathon surf. 

Mr Johnston’s surf stunt garnered a wave of positive publicity and netted a $15,000 donation from NSW Premier Chris Minns, who donated from his official Premier’s Discretionary Fund.

But when the Daily Mail asked questions about the $500,000 in donations, it was contacted by a well-known Sydney media personality, who revealed that the Facebook post claiming the money raised was donated to Swellbeing was wrong.

The source, who requested anonymity, said Mr Johnston and Swellbeing were concerned this article would insinuate the funds had been in some way misappropriated. The Daily Mail does not suggest this is the case and accepts that the reference to the $500,000 payment to Swellbeing was made in error.

The post that triggered our questioning was deleted soon after our enquiries. Later that day, Blake Johnston’s wife Lauren emailed Daily Mail to confirm the social media announcement was incorrect.

‘Just to clarify, the caption on that Facebook post is wrong,’ she said – revealing the total donated was $490,000 less than $500,000. 

‘Only $10,000 was ever paid to Swellbeing by the foundation, which was specifically to support a Swellbeing Youth Camp on the (NSW) South Coast,’ Lauren said. 

Snowboarder Chumpy was an Australian Winter Olympics hero 

He drowned while spearfishing on the Gold Coast in 2020

Chumpy was a flagbearer at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea

‘This contribution helped reduce barriers to entry, allowing more participants to attend.

‘A total of 25 young people attended. It was an incredible few days where participants learned essential ocean safety skills and took part in early-morning trail runs, ocean swims, breathwork, ice baths and surf lessons.’

The remainder of the $500,000 covered the costs of running the world’s longest surf event, administration, staff, and funds contributing to an unspecified documentary about mental health, which is yet to be released but is said by several sources to feature ‘one of the Hemsworth brothers’.

‘It (the post) was clearly a mistake,’ Ms Johnston said. 

‘I am unaware of who was looking after the socials for the foundation at the time but the caption should have said the funds (were) going to youth mental health initiatives’. 

Mr Pullin’s widow Ellidy has said publicly that she had little to do with the running of the foundation in his name. 

In her statement to Daily Mail, Lauren Johnston said: ‘Blake and I are super proud of what we do in our community’.

‘I would hope that your article celebrates the courage and commitment to change the mental health epidemic in our society and support people such as ourselves whom go over and above to go good (sic),’ she said. 

Money raised by Mr Johnston has gone directly into his surfing business Swellbeing – but the charity now says it was only $10,000, rather than $500,000 

The Johnston brothers’ father died by suicide around 2013. 

During his world record surf, Blake caught 707 waves and risked dehydration, possible blindness, infected ears, sleep deprivation, hypothermia, shark attacks and drowning.

When he was helped from the water after his feat, Mr Johnston admitted he was ‘pretty cooked’ and was taken to a nearby hospital for observation. 

Lauren revealed Blake did not personally know Mr Pullin, but that they ‘shared a deep passion for the ocean, the outdoors, pushing what’s possible and mentoring the next generation’.

‘We can only assume Chumpy would have been stoked to know that funds raised in the name of youth mental health have been used to support a program that gets young people into nature, out of their comfort zone, trying new things, and sharing his love of the ocean, along with a documentary dedicated to shifting the narrative around youth mental health in Australia,’ she said.

When the foundation announced its closure in December, it released a statement thanking contributors for ‘keeping Chumpy’s legacy alive’.

It said the foundation supported initiatives such as the Chumpy Scholarships, Shred for Chumpy Day, Indigenous Camps, Making Never Possible Podcast, ALL IN Challenges, SBX Junior Series, Project Shred, Boarding House Camps, and Swellbeing Workshops and Camps.

‘As the Foundation closes, we are proud to announce that the residual funds will be directed toward mental health initiatives, continuing Chumpy’s commitment to making a meaningful impact for years to come.’

Mr Johnston personally leads small groups on surfing trips which use other new-age mental health techniques

Swellbeing received a $10,000 donation for a youth surf camp 

Five years ago, Mr Pullin was found unresponsive on the ocean floor by a snorkeler who rushed to shore and raised the alarm with the on-duty lifeguard.

Lifeguards gave Mr Pullin CPR until Queensland Ambulance paramedics arrived and took over for about 45 minutes, but were unable to save his life.

He had suffered a shallow-water blackout.

Mr Pullin was born in Mansfield, Victoria, where he began snowboarding aged eight and was the first Australian to defend a winter World Championship title.

He spent summers with his father Chris and mother Sally – who died of cancer this year – in the New South Wales south coast town of Eden.

He won gold medals at the 2011 and 2013 World Championships and represented Australia at the 2010, 2014, and 2018 Winter Olympics, where he was the flag bearer.

He and partner Ellidy, whom he was not married to but who took his surname when he died, had been trying for a child. 

In 2021, 15 months later, Ms Pullin welcomed his daughter, Minnie Alex Pullin, after taking her husband’s sperm posthumously and undertaking IVF.

Ms Pullin recently revealed she is in a new relationship, going ‘Instagram official’ with Blake Wadsworth.