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Yeah, it was good. Obviously, a lot going on with relation to the contest. But yeah, it’s good fun in Hawaii; such good waves over there and just such a historic place when it comes to surfing. I love going over there. And yeah, I had a good time. Obviously, it all panned out for me. But yeah, it’s always pretty cool coming into that last event. And there’s a lot on the line. And, you know, everyone, just giving it their all, trying to scrape onto the tour is always a cool environment, but there’s a lot of pressure that goes with it.
How was that 24-hour period when you were just about to qualify and then it got halted after you lost the heat? And then you had to wait till the next day? How was that?
Yeah. I thought I would have been more stressed out to be honest. But I think the fact that I just got that close after getting injured and everything, I was just so content with that. I just felt like I’d given the year my all and that heat in particular, my all. And I kind of thought, oh, that’s pretty much all I’ve got to give, so if that doesn’t get me there, then that’s fine, I don’t feel like I’ve messed up anywhere, or kind of don’t feel like I was left wondering. So I was just kind of content, and it ended up coming down to being between me and a few of my mates Morgan (Cibilic), Jacob (Wilcox) and Dylan (Moffat ) as well. So, I mean, I was like I obviously wanted to get on, but I was going to be happy if they got on as well. So it wasn’t as stressful as I thought it would be.
Were you at the contest site when you heard the news?
Yeah, it was a weird one. I was down the beach because it was the heat that Morgan lost that qualified me. So, it was kind of bittersweet in that like I got on, but then he had the heartbreak of losing in that heat. So, it was sort of weird. It was like, I wasn’t super fired up or anything. I was kind of like commiserating Morgan at the same time. It was a bit of a shame in that respect. But yeah, I was at the beach watching, and it was so odd. I wanted him to get through, but then I wanted to get on at the same time. So it’s a bit of a weird one.
How was it having such a big Aussie crew with you on the Challenger Series and then in Hawaii?
Yeah, it was such a cool crew all year. I travelled with pretty much the same group of guys at every event. And it made a huge difference just to have that bit of friendship and camaraderie on the road. It can definitely get pretty lonely if you’re just doing it by yourself. So, it was cool to travel with those guys. They were such legends. Everyone had each other’s back. So yeah, it was really cool to have that sort of Aussie support behind you and to give that support to other people as well.
What were your overall thoughts on the Challenges Series? Are you a fan of the new circuit, or do you think it still needs more development?
I really liked the Challenger Series. It’s really cool that they’ve sort of streamlined the old 10,000s into one tour, but a bit more easy to consume, and then as a surfer, it’s cool to just know that you’re going to be on this tour for the year. You know where you’re going. And I think they’ve made an effort to have all the events at pretty quality locations as well. So your kind of surfing, you know, depending on swell, that you’re going to be surfing reasonable waves, and it teases out, you’d hope it teases out the best surfers for the tour as well. The only tough thing is that they run these regional events at the same time making it pretty tricky. When your kind of doing Challengers and then if you’re not going too crash shot on the Challengers, you can’t really do the regionals either because they’re being run at the same time, but that’d be my only criticism of it at this point. But now, other than that, I think it’s pretty cool.
How did you keep level-headed in 2022? It doesn’t get any unluckier than that before Pipe? And were you bitter or frustrated with where the injury wildcards went? Or did you just kind of accept it?
Look, to be honest, after I got injured, I think I was pretty quick to resign myself to the fact that I wasn’t going to get to surf a tour event. And I wasn’t just kind of really holding my breath for a wildcard. I don’t know why I just sort of switched my focus to the Challenger Series as quick as I could. And yeah, through that rehab period, I just got right into my training to kind of keep me sane. Yeah, it was definitely pretty tough to achieve your dream and then not be able to surf the tour, especially being so hard to get on there. Like I didn’t know if I was ever going to get back and get another go. So I was kind of like ‘fuck!’,
but, I mean, there’s not much you could do about it, like, injuries and things happen in sport. And yeah, I just tried to make the best of what I had. And yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, I still had, if I didn’t, even if I didn’t qualify, I still had an epic year to travel on the Challenger Series. Got to get some pretty good waves throughout the year. So I guess I just tried to look at all the positives and just control what I could control.
Are there any surfers you’ve been getting advice from who are sharing info about Pipe and competition in general?
Yeah, I guess like I just kind of soak up any info I can get from any of the people that have surfed events over there. But I always worked with Rainos Hayes in Hawaii, I’ve known him for a while through Billabong. And, yeah, he’s got a wealth of knowledge. So it’s just trying to be a sponge and soak up all the information when I’m around him. But yeah, other than that, I just, I don’t know, try and surf the wave as much as you can and, and listen to any little tips and things that people might impart on you.
What are your goals for your rookie season?
Um, to be honest, I haven’t even thought about it too much. After this year, I kind of just want to enjoy being able to be at that level. And I don’t really have any results-based goals, I just want to try and put on a good performance and, hopefully, do my best surfing and I think if I can do that. I’ll be pretty happy. Irrespective of the result.
Are there any events that you’re looking forward to?
I’d love to surf Pipe. So hard to watch it last year, it was fucking pumping. Yeah, if I can surf it half as good as that with a couple of guys out. I’ll be pretty stoked.
Are you still studying (engineering)? (LOB’s acknowledged as one of the smartest blokes in pro-surfing)
I’m kind of on and off. I’ve been deferring for the last year just because it was a little bit tricky with the Challengers. And then I thought I was gonna be on tour as well. So yeah, I’m all over the place on the studying front. But yeah, I take my hat off to those surfers that do it. It’s pretty tricky with the schedule being so hectic and sort of having such an erratic travel itinerary. So it’s pretty tricky to keep up with. But yeah, it’s kind of just been all over the shop.
Looking back on 2022. How can you sum the year up, and what were the lessons from a year with serious highs and lows?
Yeah, I guess just to persevere would be the biggest lesson. At the start of the year, after injuring myself, I had no idea if I was gonna surf as good as I used to or if I was even gonna, you know, be competitive again. And then there are so many frustrating moments along the way, or it just, you know, my ankle still felt shit, and I couldn’t surf how I wanted to. And so many times, I just thought it’s never going to get good again and never going to be able to do this again and that and blah, blah, blah. It took a long time but just persevering through it all ended up paying off, which was actually really satisfying and a really cool journey to go on.
