Inside the Riptide

When twenty-two-year-old Joe flees landlocked Colorado for a gig at a remote Sri Lankan surf and yoga oasis, he’s newly out, hopelessly naive, and desperately seeking escape.

He expects a sun-drenched paradise and an adventurous new beginning, but comes to find so much more as he learns to surf in the Indian Ocean. Joe revels in the waves of life abroad, gay in a place where his love is technically criminalized, sharing a bathroom with fist-sized spiders, and waiting for his long-distance boyfriend, Hayden, to join him.

When Hayden finally touches down, the picture-perfect illusion starts to fracture. Joe finds himself at the mercy of two Instagram-obsessed bosses with highly questionable ethics, a devastating infidelity, and a tight-knit community shattered by a sudden, dark betrayal.

Written by the founder of Gay Surf Week, Joe’s story is a fierce, deeply introspective look at the messy transition into adulthood and the underbelly of paradise. Fans of high-stakes resort drama like The White Lotus will devour this gripping journey from the waves of a tropical island back to the mountains of Colorado, proving that no matter how fast you paddle, you eventually have to face the shore.


Joe Santini writes with the same endearing energy he brings to the surf—bold, unafraid to flail, yet full of heart. Originally from landlocked Colorado, Joe moved to Sri Lanka at twenty-two and is still sandy from its endless shores. He is the founder of Gay Surf Week and travels full-time as a retreat host for digital nomads. A 2024 Art House San Clemente resident, Joe has also released a collection of poetry. He is a 2026 graduate of the Lighthouse Writers Workshop. When he’s not writing or traveling, you can find Joe reviewing milkshakes or blasting Fergie’s “London Bridge” like it never left the charts.

© 2027 Joe Santini (P) 2027 DK Audio