How old are you?
27.
Where do you live?
I live in a place called Avalon which is about 45 minutes drive from Sydney. It's a cool place 'cause you can surf when it's good or enjoy the city life when it's small.
Is Movement your full time job?
I started Movement about two years ago with my friend Murray; he is my best mate and we just click with things and we wanted some way to be creative so we started it up.
What sort of media stuff have you done since winning the title?
I wanted to achieve this goal so badly and it has eluded me for so long. I wanted to do it for myself not for my sponsors or anyone else. Some people have been asking me that question a heap and to be honest I have been pretty lazy - not lazy, just busy doing other stuff and I just can't justify spending hours on the phone selling myself when the reason I tried my hardest to win was for me. Some people say, "You should do it for the sport," to which I reply, "What do you think I have been working on for the past two years?" It makes me kind of angry when people say that, as it makes me feel like all of the work I have been doing has gone unnoticed.
It must have been a roller-coaster of emotions going into the Maui event; how competitive was it between you and the others in contention?
It was so, so competitive the whole year. I remember back to the Shark Island competition when we voted to run that round the last day of the competition period and it was only Mitchell and myself that voted to run the event so winning the title was a pretty big goal of his as well and he fought the whole way to the end.
When you got to the semis of the Pipe event and you realised that you had a very real chance of becoming world champ, how did you deal with the pressure?
I had a pretty good feeling and felt comfortable in all of my heats. It might sound really bad but I kind of felt really confident that I was going to make it that far. In the final where I knew I had to get second, I aimed for first and focused on the heat and I guess just let everything else fade away.
After coming so close with a couple of second places in the past, how did you keep your motivation to compete over the last few years?
To be honest I was over-competing. Then this year I broke up with my girlfriend of five years and I reclaimed my independence and realised and re-evaluated a lot of my goals. Winning the title was one of the goals; this year I said to myself it was going to be my last campaign and it worked.
I heard that in the Pipe comp a couple of years ago Hubb snaked you and it caused you to be knocked out. Do you think that the Paper, Scissors, Rock game is the fairest way to work out priority?
I hated the Paper, Scissors, Rock thing. I mean, the truth is that catching a set wave in conditions like that can make the difference between winning or coming last, so I didn't really want to play as I had a lot riding on that heat, unlike the other three guys. A major helping hand to Kingy winning the event was because he won Paper, Scissors, Rock and he waited patiently for 12 minutes for his Backdoor wave, on which he got the highest scoring wave of the final. I was in position for the wave and he was saying like, "If you go, I am going to get an interference on you."
How did the confusion occur with the tallying in the final of the Pipe comp? You must have nearly had a heart attack when you heard that they were changing the result?
Basically they misjudged one of Ryan's waves as being my wave, but it didn't really alter the outcome. Imagine if it did and I got third in the final after being announced the winner…I would have had to be on suicide watch.
An Aussie 1-2-3 in the Pipe comp is a first; do you think it's fair to say that Aussies are now taking control of bodyboarding's top flight?
I think there are so many guys out there. I think the Aussies have a pretty damn good opportunity to chase it a lot harder than anyone else as our industry and sponsorship is so strong here.
Were there any riders in the two Hawaiian events who really impressed you?
A Hawaiian guy called Vag f--king ripped. He was surfing so, so good. He looked like he was performing the best out of anyone and I started freaking thinking like, "Who is this dark horse? I hope there are no more of these kind of guys."
How is your clothing brand Grand Flavour going? Any plans to release it in the UK?
We are looking to release Grand Flavour in the future, but we just want to grow it really slowly and make a kind of exclusive demand for the brand.
Can you describe what you did on your scoring waves to win the final?
To be honest I don't know what my scoring waves were in the final.
Do you have an opinion about the European bodyboarding scene and do you have any plans to head over here and check it out?
I really want to check out France, I want to spend about a month there this year, eat some frogs and snails and hopefully meet a wife…(Laughs).
With Cedric Dufaure making the Pipe final and after seeing some of the Euro crew in Portugal this summer, what did you think of their riding?
From what I can see, Europe is going to take over in a few years. I really respect some of the stuff the guys are doing and they are all really cool dudes. Pierre Louis-Costas is a wonder kid.
Who are you sponsored by these days?
NMD, Grand Flavour, Creatures of Leisure, Dunes Wetsuits and Bodyboarders Surf co.
So you surf for yourself, what has given you that attitude?
On 23 November 2000 I got a phone call from my friend Mez who told me that my sponsor Broady (manufacturer of Morey Bodyboards in Asia Pacific) had gone bankrupt and I was basically not going to get the $35,000 I was owed and not going to get anything from the next year's contract. Later that day I spoke to Quiksilver, my wetsuit and clothing sponsor, and they also decided they wanted to pull out of bodyboarding. So by the time I tried to get to sleep that night I had pretty much lost above $100,000.
I was quite a spoilt kid and was given a lot of money from a pretty young age and I guess that day I got a good kick up the arse. I had to make the decision to either pursue a different career and bodyboard part time or use all of my savings to fund myself to achieve my goals. I went to Hawaii thinking that there was a pretty good chance it would be my last season there. I actually felt the most comfortable and ambitious I had ever felt and ended up getting second on the world tour, so I decided to fund myself for a year and see how it went.
My old mate Mezer started up NMD bodyboards and hooked up a pretty good deal for me, which made it a lot easier and I picked up sponsorship slowly, but since that day I have changed my outlook on my whole career. That day in November helped sculpt who I was and my ambition today; I realised that my career wouldn't be there forever and also figured out just how important bodyboarding was to me. It was an important life lesson and I am glad it happened to me as I wouldn't have won the world title and started the magazine without it.
Are you making money out of bodyboarding?
I make some pretty sweet cash out of bodyboarding. There is money there, I guess you just have to make sure that you work hard at getting it. It seems to me there are a lot of people who expect money for doing very little, and fundamentally bodyboarding is like any other job where you have to work hard to get the cash. Fortunately I love my job and would be doing it regardless of the pay.
What advice would you give to a young bodyboarder who's trying to come up through the ranks?
Just do what you want to do and do it for yourself, the sponsorship and media will follow if that is the direction you want to go in. If anyone puts 110% into anything it is only a matter of time until you get what you want. This rule works with everything except girls; I actually think it is detrimental with girls.
What are the most important things in your life?
Bodyboarding, magazine, friends and health.
What's the best place you've travelled and why?
I love so many places. I love Hawaii, I love Tahiti, Indo…so many places. My favourite would have to be Mexico.
What's your philosophy on life?
Never look back, always look ahead and strive your hardest for what you want. NEVER LOOK BACK.
Who is the best bodyboarder in the world?
I think it is a tie between Ryan Hardy and Mitch Rawlins.
What did you think of the Hawaiian season?
I thought this year was one of the best seasons I've seen in 11 years. It was big nearly all of the time.
Which top three riders totally killed it in Hawaii and why?
Um, I would say that Dave Winchester, Mitch Rawlins and Ryan Hardy were the best. Those guys are so consistent.
What is your opinion about the whole localism thing that went down in Hawaii?
I agree with most of it. I mean, it sucks seeing mates getting beat up, but he did drop in on the guy and in circumstances like that it is pretty dangerous and serious things could happen as a result of over-crowding and drop-ins.
What's the future for you?
Take it as it comes and just basically try to push myself as much as I can. I want to still achieve so much this coming year. I have a heap of goals that are so much more achievable since winning the world title.
What do you plan to be doing by the time you're 35?
I hope to have kids and a family, but I guess I need to find a girlfriend first so it might still be some way off! I will never stop bodyboarding, it's part of my life and I love it so much.
|
