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Steve Ryan has been photographing surfing in Victoria for the better part of half a century. He’s captured Bells and Winki in every kind of mood and shot famous sessions at mythical locations on the wilder stretches of the southwest coast. Meanwhile, his lifestyle images reflect all the colour and flamboyance of Torquay, a quiet, coastal town that became the epicentre of the surf industry. Below is an excerpt from the ‘Full Circle’ feature on Steve’s life in Issue 591; where the revered photographer shares a classic story of the time hosting Kelly Slater at his home.
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Getting The Jump On Kelly
Back in 2003, Kelly Slater was making his return to professional surfing, goaded back to the competitive arena by the wrecking-ball impact of Andy Irons. Despite the all-consuming rivalry with Andy, Kelly was still hungry for free- surfing diversions. In the lead up to Bells, he was exploring the waves on Victoria’s southwest coast with filmers Chris Bryan and Tim Bonython. Steve had spent half a lifetime roaming the region and was happy to tag along, driving down muddy tracks and scaling cliffs with Kelly to shoot him surf. However, by the time the Rip Curl Pro kicked off, one softly whispered wave still had Kelly intrigued. When the contest relocated to Johanna, Kelly and Shane Dorian reached out to Steve again, and professed their desire to surf the mysto left slab that was known to break like a kind of scar-faced Teahupo’o. Kelly had done his homework and knew Steve had a place down the coast.
When he asked if he and Shane could stay there overnight and check the left the following morning, Steve was obliging but hastily explained that it wasn’t exactly The Hilton. “He said, ‘Don’t worry Steve, I’ve slept on floors all around the world’.” Steve vividly recalls the inauspicious drive back from the contest with Kelly and Shane in tow that night. “The hills were ablaze because they were back-burning. Then I almost hit a big kangaroo that leapt out in front of me and Kelly was driving so close he almost rear-ended me when I hit the brakes.”
En route to Steve’s place, they stopped off at Port Campbell where Kelly shouted dinner at Nico’s, a regulation pizza joint. While they ate, Kelly made it apparent Bells was far from his favourite wave. Steve tried to highlight the wave’s virtues but Kelly wasn’t buying it. Steve drops into a classic Kelly take-off as he recreates the conversation. “I remember him saying, ‘Come on Steve, you know it never gets any good’.”
Overnight, Kelly received the news that he was in the first heat at Johanna and unfortunately this put the kibosh on plans to surf the heavy left. The next morning a low fog hung over the bush as Kelly raced off with Shane riding shotgun. Mean- while, Steve went to check the left slab. “It was pumping,” he says with conviction. “About eight foot and just sheet glass with spitting barrels.” About fifteen minutes after Kelly and Shane had left, Steve pulled up to the austere corner shop at nearby Laver’s Hill. There he found his two, overnight house- guests looking rattled as they stood over a small Nissan 4wd with the bonnet caved in and the headlights bent sideways. “It was just smashed,” explains Steve. They explained that shortly after leaving Steve’s place Kelly had collided with a kangaroo. Steve laughs as he recalls Dorian’s wide- eyed response when he asked him about what exactly transpired. “He said, ‘I don’t know Steve, I just saw this big blur go over the windscreen’.” Dressed in his fir- trimmed jacket (probably faux-fur) and shorts, Kelly was good enough to pose for a photo with his beaten up ride. In the background you can see the fog hovering low over the setting. Well aware that Kelly was still rattled by the Kangaroo incident, Steve declined to tell him the left was all-time. “I didn’t want to get in his head before he surfed a heat,” explains Steve. It was an old-school shop that didn’t take cards so Kelly asked Steve if he could borrow ten bucks to get some breakfast. “When he came back from inside the shop I remember he tried to give me the change and I waved it away,” recalls Steve. The car was still driveable so Shane and Kelly then headed to Johanna with a story to tell the rest of the tour surfers. As it transpired the contest was put on hold because the low-lying mist had obscured the lineup. With the delay, Kelly would have had time to pit his skills against the mysto left, but by the time Steve reached Johanna the sting had gone out of the quest. “It was a missed opportunity,” laments Steve who at least has the story to recount and the fabled photo of Kelly and the car.
In the end Kelly got knocked out, Andy went on to ring the Bell at Johanna (and win the world title) and no one ever found out what happened to the Kangaroo that got the jump on Kelly.
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