Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Surf boss on struggle he shares with actor Willis
THE man who created Britain’s first inland surfing venue has spoken candidly about his battle with aphasia – the condition that forced Bruce Willis to retire from acting this week.
Nick Hounsfield, who created The Wave at Easter Compton, near Bristol, and has ambitious plans to expand across Europe, said he developed the condition after suffering a devastating stroke in early 2020, which nearly cost him his life.
The businessman said aphasia, a condition that affects people’s ability to speak, meant English now felt like “a second language” to him.
Hollywood star Willis’s family shared the news that the Die Hard actor would be retiring, after a recent diagnosis of aphasia.
In the statement posted on Instagram, the Willis family said it had been a “really challenging time” for them and thanked fans for their “continued love, compassion and support”.
“To Bruce’s amazing supporters, as a family we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities.
“As a result of this and with much consideration, Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him.
“This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion and support.
“We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him. As Bruce always says, ‘Live it up’, and together we plan to do just that.”
The post was signed from “Emma, Demi, Rumer, Scout, Tallulah, Mabel, & Evelyn”.
For many people around the world, Willis’s aphasia diagnosis was the first they had heard of the condition, which is thought to affect around 350,000 people in the UK. It affects people’s cognitive abilities, in particular communication, and is very often triggered by a stroke or head injury.
It is not known what might have led to Willis’s condition, but many in Hollywood are speculating it came from a stunt that went wrong in a film 20 years ago, in which he suffered a significant head injury, and later sued the filmmakers.
For Nick Hounsfield, the creator of The Wave, a stroke led to the long-term diagnosis of aphasia. The surfer and entrepreneur spent seven years creating The Wave, which opened in October 2019, but then suffered the devastating stroke in February 2020, a month before the Covid lockdown.
He made a remarkable recovery, and The Wave is now fully reopened, and also offering surf therapy to young people.
After Willis’s announcement, Nick posted on Twitter about his experiences with the condition.
“I didn’t really understand aphasia,” he wrote. “It’s not just an inability to speak properly. For me, being able to get words out was just the start.
“You just assume everything you want to say spills out of your mouth. English is now a second language – everything I say is very deliberate. It is insanely tiring. Under pressure it is worse,” he said.
“Friends and family finish off my sentences – easy to end up not bothering to speak, as it is exhausting,” he said, adding: “Be patient with stroke survivors. Give them space, there is gold in there bursting to get out.”