Andrew Johns has cut short a surfing vacation after informing his family that the local monkeys were conspiring against him. Known for his passion for surfing, the former Newcastle Knights premiership icon is often spotted catching waves at Sydney’s popular Bronte Beach.

Johns has previously shared his favorite surfing destinations on the Howie Games podcast, highlighting spots in Indonesia, Fiji, and New Zealand. The Rugby League Immortal has caught waves alongside notable figures such as All Blacks coach Scott Robertson, ex-NRL player John Sutton, and pro surfer Mick Fanning.

He counts surfing legends like Kelly Slater and Matt Hoy among his friends. Just last year, he sustained a significant hand injury while surfing on a reef in the Cook Islands. Adding to his surfing adventures, Johns tied the knot with his current wife, Kate Kendall, at the famous G-Land surf spot in Java in 2024.

So there is very little that will keep Johns away from a good wave – except for monkeys. That’s right, the gladiator of the State of Origin arena and NRL premiership winner has called time early on a surfing trip because he was afraid of being ganged up on by monkeys.

At least that is the story his brother Matty, his wife Trish and their children Jack and Cooper told on their family podcast. ‘Speaking of people camping at the moment, Uncle Joe rang me for my birthday this morning,’ Jack said. ‘So he’s in G-Land at the moment, so that’s like Java in Indonesia. So he had to fly in and then beach it across.

‘He’s staying in this village and he looks like it is driving him mad. ‘He wished me happy birthday and I could tell, just by looking at him, he was a bit off. ‘He reckons he has to walk around with a stick because the monkeys have just got it out for him. ‘He’s coming home a day early because he honestly believes the monkeys are teaming up on him in groups of three.

‘One will distract him and the other two will try and circle around him to try and steal stuff from his room. It gets better. Jack said that the Eighth Immortal was also convinced the village he was staying at was haunted by ghosts. ‘So he was saying that his village is secluded because apparently there’s rumors of like ghosts.

‘Although he’s not very spiritual, I think it’s starting to turn him. ‘It’s like a ghost-infested village while they’re surfing over there and I think it’s driving him pretty mad.’ However Jack revealed that Johns sent him video footage proving the monkeys were ganging up on him.

‘He just sent me a vision of like him on his patio outside his room,’ Jack said. ‘And there’s a monkey – I’m going to add (the vision) in to the poddy this week – it’s a monkey just staring at him from the roof and in fairness it does look like this monkey has it out for him.’