He wore Wranglers. Navy blue. A straw cowboy hat and a plaid button-down over a plain white Volcom tee. And boots. Real, honest-to-God, brown leather cowboy boots.

After flying direct from Minneapolis, Minnesota — where he went for three days of intense rehab (the doctors claimed Dusty packed about six weeks of therapy into three days of work on his mangled ankle) — Dusty Payne arrived to meet up with me and Blair Marlin for the Tim McGraw/Kenny Chesney concert at Anaheim Stadium.

Dusty has listened to country music his entire life and is one of the more committed fans you’ll meet. His résumé of concerts is legit — on our way to Kenny and Tim he produced another pair of tickets for Alan Jackson this weekend straight from the back pocket of his Wranglers. He doesn’t miss good country shows.

Once the music started, Dusty enthusiastically sang every song — including from more obscure opening acts like Jake Owen and Grace Potter.

After being out of the water for more than 6 months to mend his ankle, Dusty is finally making his way back into the surf and has a secret mission planned with his dad in the coming weeks to start his comeback.

‘Merica! —travis