When I catch up with Connor O’Leary less than a week out from the 2017 season opener, he’s not on the Goldy as I expected but at his girlfriend’s place in Lennox, having casually surfed his way up the coast en route to the biggest contest of his career. It’s a fittingly low-key way for the Cronulla lad to arrive on surfing’s main stage, considering his tendency to fly under the radar. Last year he finished number one on the World Qualifying Series while working at a mate’s surf shop between contests. He’s happy without the hype. He’s comfortable just cruising.
Which, funnily enough, has been his approach to preparing for the big leagues.
‘I’ve just been surfing as much as I can and hanging out,’ Connor tells me. ‘It’s the same thing I’ve always done.’
But while his approach may seem laidback, it doesn’t mean he’s not taking it serious. For his rookie year on tour, the twenty-three-year-old will be taking fellow goofy-footer and ex-world number two Luke Egan with him as a coach and mentor.
Check out Connor's section in Goodfellas
I ask him about the obvious cost associated with such a move, about the logic behind it.
‘It’s an investment,’ he says. ‘For me, I want to get as comfortable as I can as quick I can, and Luke’s been to every spot like twenty times, so he can tell me things I wouldn’t know if I was just there by myself.’
And come show time at the Quiksilver Pro, Luke won’t be the only one in Connor’s corner. As the first surfer to qualify from the Cronulla area since Kirk Flintoff back in 2005, he’s got an army of local support behind him, and that army will be lining the shore at Snapper Rocks wearing t-shirts with Connor’s happy grin printed on them.
‘It’s crazy,’ he laughs. ‘It’s been good. There’s been a lot of support.’
So what’s the goal for his first ever event on the world tour? Is he looking to ride that wave of support all the way to a podium finish?
Not exactly.
‘I’m not striving for a crazy result first up,’ admits Connor. ‘I just want to go in there and feel my way through at my own pace and hopefully get a few good waves.’
And it’s this same understated attitude that Connor plans to take to his whole rookie year. There’s no lofty goals of top 5 or top 10 or anything like that, but rather to get as comfortable as he can as quick as he can and to enjoy the experience.
‘If I’m feeling comfortable, the results will follow.’
Then keep on cruising, kid.
