Kyuss King won his first World Surf League event taking out the Oakberry Tweed Coast Pro at Cabarita last Friday. The Byron Bay surfer celebrating his 21st birthday this week is on his way of becoming one of Australia’s faces of surfing. King, well known in the surfing world since he was an 11-year-old, blowing people’s minds with his raw talent possessing skills way beyond his age.
King is identified as a free-surfer with his unique style and approach to surfing, but possesses a hyper-competitive streak to him that see him want to win every time he competes.
The win may be the confidence builder needed to advance King’s dream of being on the WSL tour. The natural-footer defeated tour competitor Ethan Ewing scoring a near perfect ten (9.33) with a huge straight-air-slob-grab-before beating in-form Joel Vaughn in the final.
“This is my first-ever WSL event win, and I can’t even explain how stoked I am right now,” King said. “I’ve been dreaming of this day my whole life and it feels like the hard work has paid off. I live just down the road and feel really comfortable here, so I’ve just enjoyed this week, having fun and taking it easy and that has seemed to work for me.”
Tracks contributor Alex Workman spent some time with King earlier this year, where they spoke about the natural-footers’ upbringing, surfing influences, his love for surfing, being born in the wrong generation, creative endeavours outside of the water and future goals such as competing for a world title.
Premium subscribers have been reading the article since the issue dropped in February and now to celebrate Kings win the article is available to non-premium subscribers below.
It’s Good to Be the King
The many faces of Kyuss
// INTERVIEW BY ALEX WORKMAN
SPEND TIME WITH KYUSS KING AND YOU QUICKLY REALISE THE 21-YEAR-OLD IS MAKING BOLD STEPS IN ALL KINDS OF DIRECTIONS. THE BYRON BAY NATURAL-FOOTER HAS BEEN A MAJOR PRESENCE IN SURFING EVER SINCE HE HIT THE SCENE AS A PRODIGIOUS GROM WHIPPING THROUGH TURNS TRAILED BY A SHOCK OF BLONDE HAIR.
Blessed with Nordic good looks (his mother is Danish) he’s been raised on a diet of perfect right-hand points and heavy metal since he could crawl. Kyuss was named after one of the coolest stoner rock bands in the world. Their baking hot-riffs, languid, serpentine grooves, and go-slow nonchalance seemed to encapsulate the vastness of the California desert that spawned them. As a counterpoint, Kyuss was born and raised in Byron Bay, a town famous for its eclectic mix of creative influences. Now the Australian, who spends plenty of time in the States, is borrowing from both worlds, formulating a path that transcends all stereotypes.
In the water, Kyuss can unleash a full-fury rail game or make a steezy statement above the lip. Toss him a singlet and he summons a ruthless streak and calls on a decade of contest experience. The 90s may be back in vogue but Kyuss has always been dialled into an era when surfers had a little more daring and dash. He takes his cues from virtuosos like Archy, Christian Fletcher, and Pottz. They weren’t exclusively freesurfers or comp surfers they were a 24/7 act.
When it comes to Kyuss’ quest to make the CT there’s little doubt he has Pottz in his corner. “You know, the guys I watch now, the Morgan Cibilics and Conner Coffins – two guys that are in the top five going into that last event. I think Kyuss’ surfing is right up there with those guys without a doubt. You know, so if they’ve got the ability to make it there, so does he…”
Pottz has kept an eye on Kyuss since he was as a grom and his connection with the family runs deep. In the 90s, Pottz lived in Avalon on the Northern Beaches with Kyuss’ dad Justin and the pair have remained close friends ever since. Pottz sees a unique set of traits in Kyuss’ surfing.
“You could tell straight away there was a maturity in the way he approached a wave,” says Pottz of the first time he saw Kyuss compete. “You look at all the kids, all the mini groms, all they want to do is airs. Kyuss was different to me in the sense that it was all rail game from a very young age, there was a lot of maturity in how he could read a wave and put it all together. That to me is the deciding factor I think, whether you are going to be a successful surfer or not.”
However, there’s more to Kyuss than his razor-sharp surfing. He’s also a talented musician, visual artist, vintage collector, and more recently, actor. He and brother Rasmus both have movie credits to their names and solid roles in ‘6 Festivals’ and the forthcoming ABC drama ‘Barons’, which is loosely based on the rise of the Australian surf industry. Meanwhile, on the surf screen, both Kyuss and Rasmus also feature alongside a litany of surfing all-stars in Justin Gane’s recently released ‘Re-Pulse’.
Kyuss’ suite of creative pursuits and extensive travel time means he has many tales to tell for one so young. As the interview below reveals, he is anything but a pre-packaged, homogenised pro-surfer.
Tracks: Your dad told me a story about taking you to The Pass and standing you up on the front of his Mal for the first time and from that point on you were hooked.
Kyuss King: Yeah, definitely my earliest memories are riding that wave with dad. We still have the Mal so it’s pretty funny because it brings back those memories. The Pass is such a perfect wave to learn on and I kind of lived down there for my youthful years as a grommet.
As you got better and turned pro, were there certain people who were guiding you or was your dad a big influence in helping you out?
My dad has always been a big influence on me, he’s always helped me out and he’s surfed his whole life, so I took a lot from him. As a micro grom, I was just a full frother and loved watching surf movies. My dad raised me on the old-school stuff like Archy, Pottz, and Wave Warriors. Then Dane Reynolds and Kelly were on fire when I was seven, eight, and nine. So, I was always kind of a surf rat frother and going to school with wet hair, a crazy sun-tanned head with neck tan line, and no shoes on.
The style of Californian Godfathers like Archy, Christian, and Nathan Fletcher and that Dogtown era seem to be deeply ingrained in your overall act.
Yeah, I’ve definitely been pretty heavily influenced by the old-school guys like Pottz, Archy and Alva. I take a lot from their style for sure! That raw aggression and that flair they have. Metal or punk songs blasting and driving around in these old cars, and the whole Dogtown era I was really into that whole vibe too. From a young age, I was always into muscle cars and underground metal and punk bands that no one had heard of [laughs]. That’s definitely morphed into the person I am today.
Your whole approach and interests are a lot different compared to other up-and-coming pros who adhere to a prescribed formula for success. Has it been a conscious decision of yours not to follow the status quo?
Nah not a conscious decision, I just took an approach that felt right for me, and I guess it stems from how I grew up. I’ve always been intrigued with people that made their own path, their own noise whether it was surfing, art, or music so I guess that’s influenced my approach to some extent. I’ve always loved poppy-coloured boards and wetties, and I’m still today going through old mags from the 80s and 90s for inspiration on so many levels, colour, art, music, stories etc. Even these days, I hardly know anything past the 2000s music-wise because I’m stuck in the 70s 80s, and 90s genres [laughs].
Most would peg you as a freesurfer but you’re also hyper competitive. When did you throw on a rashie and realise you loved surfing heats?
As a micro grom, I did a lot of events. I did all the Wahoos and BL Blast Offs, so I was always into it. I was really competitive as a micro grom and I kind of always have been in life. I think my first real big result as a micro was at the BL Blast Off, a Barton Lynch comp down on the Northern Beaches. I think ever since then when I was eight or nine I kind of got the bug and the taste for that sort of competitive surfing and was stoked to finish out my teen years with an Australian Title and 2nd in the World Junior Champs at Portugal.
You banked some results on the Regional QS this year and finished just outside the cut-off for the Challenger Series. Is your main goal right now to qualify for the Challenger Series and then try and land a spot on the CT?
It’s definitely a goal of mine to get on the CT. I had a good run at the start of this year but right now with everything that’s going on it’s a bit strange. Once it all opens back up and I can do events again I’m going to put my head down and give it a good crack. I had a lot of fun those last few QS events and had some pretty mental big-name heats and results, so it was pretty sick.
Outside of surfing you have a lot of hobbies. Tell me about your art – that’s been an interest of yours for a while. Can you describe it for people?
I’ve always been a fan of art and have been drawing since I can remember. I do a lot of metal and punk-inspired art. I’m heavily influenced by Venice beach side of things with the Suicidal Tendencies punk scene and Rick Clayton art and that kind of vibe was definitely my kind of style and it influenced my art onto a lot of my boards. If the board goes good, I like to do my skull art or a Zephyr type tape up spray job or airbrush sort of thing as well. Art is a big part of my life; I’m always doing art at home and was stoked when Vans asked me to do some art for tees and boardies a few years back and I just recently released a collab range with Skullcandy with some of my skull art on their headphones. So that was pretty massive and amazing for me this year.
I’ve gotta ask about your classic vintage car parked out front. What is it?
Yeah, so, on our little California trips with dad and the family we’d always go hunting for cars. The first car I ever bought was a 1969 Cadillac Coupe DeVille in metallic pink. At the time, I couldn’t even legally drive it in Oz, but I was like, ‘If I’m going to have a car why not make it a beast?’ I bought that over at Riverside California and then we shipped it out here. I’ve just been tinkering on it over the years and it’s like a land yacht, it just cruises the highways. My dad’s got a 52 Dodge, a 62 Chevy, and an 84 Suzuki Sierra. So, we’ve always been rev heads and into wrenching on old cars.
What’s it like cruising through Byron in a dusty pink Cadillac?
Yeah, it stands out for sure. It’s got a pretty massive 472 engine in it too so you can hear it from a mile away. It’s about 80 bucks to turn it on the fuel is pretty gnarly [laughs] but it’s a beast I love it. I can fit a 6’6” in the boot. It’s kind of crazy they made cars that big back then.
You have a serious collection of vintage boards and I know that you and your dad like trawling through Craigslist when you’re in the States. What’s one of the best finds you’ve had when you guys have been travelling together?
We’ve always kind of collected vintage boards and old stuff and over the years we’ve scored some Pottz boards, some Christian Fletchers, MP, a couple of Lazor Zaps, but yeah, this one time we were in California, and I was swiping through Craigslist and I came across this Lightning Bolt and it just had a blurry photo. I thought, ‘This is sick it must belong to an OG could be an actual one. I ended up calling the guy and was like, ‘Is it an actual Lightning Bolt? And he’s like, ‘Yeah, I think, I’m from South Shore Hawaii, this has just kind of been under my house for years.’ We were like, ‘Has it got any names or writing on it or anything?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah I think, I’ll just pull out the board bag and I’ll have a look.’ And I could hear him kind of ruffling around in the background, like, what’s going on? He pulls it out and then he comes back to the phone. He’s like, ‘Yeah, I think some like Mexican dude shaped it or something.’ And I say, well what’s the name? He goes, ‘I think it says, Lopez.’ OH MY GOD! And we’re like, ‘Ok cool, we’ll get that for sure.’ It was like 120 bucks. It was a crazy find. So yeah, we bought it on the spot, wired him the money and said just put it back in the board bag and we’ll be in Hawaii in a couple of months, and we’ll come pick it up. Can’t believe we scored that gem, it was kind of nuts, so hard to find one that isn’t 1000s of bucks and in good nick for that price is rare as these days! Some Mexican guys called Lopez huh? [Laughs].
Wow. That is wild. When you picked it up did you just play it cool?
Nah the guy was cool, he was just stoked to sell the board, it wasn’t being used in a board bag and covered in dust for many years, I don’t think he was big on surfing otherwise he would have known the Lopez and Lightning Bolt connection. It was definitely a bargain. It was kind of too good to be true. And it’s a blade, I can’t wait to ride it soon. We have another two Bolts in California my dad bought off a mate. We’ve got a storage shed full of vintage stuff over there. So next Cali trip we’re trying to get another vintage car or van to load up and ship that stuff home.
I wanted to talk about the acting gigs. You’ve got a role in an upcoming eight-part series on the ABC called ‘Barons’ which is a story that follows two young surfers who become fierce rivals in their pursuit of surf industry billions. Your brother was involved, do you want to tell me about it and how you got involved?
Yeah, so my brother just finished a big film called ‘Bosch’ and ‘Rockit’ which went amazing for him. He’s had a few industry people kind of blown away with his performance and is getting a few more roles. The ‘Barons’ TV show is set on the surf scene back in the 70s and he’s just a little ratbag grommet who just surfs and gets up to mischief. I’m doing another movie with him at the moment too called ‘6 Festivals’ and we’re doing some acting together which has been pretty fun. The people from ‘Barons’ called me up and asked if I wanted to try out for a role and I ended up getting a part as a surf hippie, which I guess I fit straight into the long locks and seedy mo [laughs]. It’s been awesome being able to jump back into that period and re-enact some of the stuff that was going on. I’m heavily influenced by that era, so I was pretty pumped to be a part of it. I’ve seen some little short cuts and it’s looking pretty mad.
Did you do any acting lessons or did you just kind of wing it?
Well, me and my brother just kind of winged it. It was pretty crazy how it all came about. No acting lessons, they just sort of hit us up through Instagram after seeing us surfing, working on cars, doing jams together and I guess always filming and documenting our adventures they figured they’d throw some scripts at us, and we just felt pretty comfortable with it. It’s pretty awesome being able to act out a role, jumping into someone you’re not, you know, being able to play a different person it’s pretty sick. It’s awesome.
Now that you’ve had some acting experience under your belt, do you think this might be another avenue you’d like to pursue?
If it fits in around my surfing, Yeah, totally, it’s definitely a fun creative outlet for sure! watching Ras and how he was performing I was like, ‘Woah’. There’s obviously that brother/brother rivalry so if he can do it then I’m doing it too. [laughs]. Haven’t put too much thought into it though, it kind of just happened naturally, we both fell into it, and yeah, it’s an adventure and who knows where it takes us.
