It’s the Friday after the Challenger Series event at Narrabeen, the Harbord Hotel in Sydney is packed with hundreds of people for the Tracks Party and Northern Beaches band The Good Kids are getting the crowd riled up with their punk riffs and pub sing-a-longs. They invite Narrabeen boy and winner of the recent comp, Jordy Lawler, on stage to skull a beer and jam out with them on guitar for their popular hit ‘Lean In’ – a fitting celebration for a young man who has just enjoyed a career defining moment and become a local hero.
Despite killing it on stage in front of close to 500 people, Jordy is not one to chase the spotlight. Trying to avoid being the centre of attention is difficult when you’ve just won a Challenger Series event at your home break in front of hundreds of elated friends, family and supporters.
“I’m not really good with attention, I’m not one to put it on myself and so it actually felt really challenging to have people supporting me in a way that I wouldn’t ask for. But in saying that, I’m trying to learn to feed from that and I know that the support really helped me get the win. It was crazy, I really had to just try and stay calm and focus on what I had to do next,” said Jordy.
Earlier this year Jordy finished 11th on the Australasian QS regional series, three places short of making the cut for the Challenger Series. This was the first time since 2016 that the 29-year-old was not going to be competing for a place on the Championship Tour.
However, being a North Narrabeen local and finishing so close to those CS spots, he was granted a wildcard into the second stop on the Challenger, which was being held at his home break.
Jordy went on to win the event, drawing on all his local knowledge in the zippering beach break lefts he has surfed more than most. He insisted the victory is the highlight of his competitive surfing career so far.
“I want to say a CT win would match it but it would be tricky because winning in front of friends makes it way more prestigious for myself.”
After beating Alejo Muniz in the final, the local boy was greeted on the beach by elated friends, family and members of the North Narrabeen Boardriders who all continued the party long into the night just up the beach at the Mexicano restaurant.
“It probably took three days to sink in. That night after winning was crazy and the next day I was pretty hungover. Things were really cloudy for a few days but I think once everyone left and things got quieter around town, people would come up to me and congratulate me and those were definitely moments were I was like; ‘woah this actually just happened’.
“Also my first surf back at Northy was a bit of a moment. When you win a comp and you go back to the same place, it’s got this weird but really nice feeling about the whole area. I already had that feeling here but this was just an added bonus which is crazy and really special.”
On his way to victory, Jordy took down big names such as Levi Slawson and Eli Hanneman, who were both in-form surfers throughout the comp. However, Jordy proved he was right where he belonged.
“When I enter an event, I always want to win. With the free surfs I can usually gauge where I’m at and when we were free surfing before the comp I could kind of tell I was at the top of the line, especially in terms of finding waves and that gave me real confidence.
“Having it at Narrabeen helped so much. Fuck, it was so funny because I felt like I was fucking around with a lot of people in the water. I knew in the free surfs that people were watching where I was sitting and that’s cool because I would do the same to others at different places. So in the man-on-man heats I would sit in random spots and I would see them looking over and I could tell they were thinking whether that’s the spot they should be in. So I was able to mess with them in that way and that was so fun. That’s competing at its finest when you can fuck with other people’s heads.
“That’s competing at its finest when you can fuck with other people’s heads.”
“Even under priority I knew exactly where to be and it’s a weird thing because it’s something happening spiritually and it sounds pretty crazy but when you’re in that moment and waves are coming to you exactly where you need them to be, you feel so in touch with the ocean, nature, everything.
“I’ve won comps before and when I do it always feels like there is something deep down I can tap into. With that, there wasn’t a moment where I was sitting there thinking I was going to lose. I always thought the waves were going to come to me, I’m going to be in the right spot and I’m going to surf the wave as best I can.”
Following the victory, Jordy now sits fourth on the Challenger Series and has been granted another wildcard into the next event at Ballito in South Africa which starts on 1 July. While it has not been 100% confirmed that he will be given a spot in the events that follow, you would think a decent result at Ballito would secure him another wildcard as he would be in good stead to make the cut.
“I’m just trying to stay calm about it all. There is some sort of process happening and it’s out of my hands in a way. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been thinking about the future. I’ve just been thinking about each stop on the CT, picturing myself surfing those waves and manifesting it that way.
“I’ve never done that before [manifesting], I’ve been so close to qualifying in the past and my mindset has been a little cloudy. So now, I’m trying to work around how I dealt with things in the past and I’m thinking about the future in a positive and confident way, rather than a nervous one.”
Jordy said it’s now ‘CT or nothing’ for him and his full focus is on the upcoming event in South Africa. The emotion and mindset of not making the CS earlier this year now feels a million miles away for the Australian.
“As I grow older I’ve come to understand that life works in a certain way and not making the Challenger was a moment where I wasn’t too bummed. It got me thinking about doing other things and exploring stuff outside of competitive surfing and that was actually pretty fucking shit. That was the thing that fucked with my head the most, rather than the actual outcome. At the same time, it’s all good and it is what it is. Everything happens for a reason.”
After losing his major sponsor Vissla and not making the CS, the goofy-footer recently took up his first ever full time job outside of competitive surfing working at a nearby café in Brookvale.
“That was the thing that fucked with my head the most, rather than the actual outcome. At the same time, it’s all good and it is what it is. Everything happens for a reason.”
“Getting a job was actually one of the best things I’ve done. Losing my sponsors was tricky and I needed to make some income and since I’ve started working I’ve met some amazing people and I’m still surfing every day.
“Losing my sponsors sucked. But at the same time, as I grow up I understand how these things work and I just look at it now as room to move massively. Since the win there have been a couple of people on the phone. I don’t want to sell myself short, I’ve just got to roll with it and if something happens I think it’s going to be special.
“This goes not just for sponsorship, but everyday life – as long as you’ve got good morals, you’re doing your best and that’s all you can ask for. There’s not much to it, other than just trying to be a good person.”
This is not the first time Jordy has made a big push for the CT. In 2021 he finished one spot and one heat away from making the big time.
“It was weird being so close. Again, everything happens for a reason. I remember the day Haleiwa started I made my first heat and I thought I was going to get on a roll. The next day it was fucking massive and everyone was trying to surf while trying to not cop 12-footers on the head. I remember in my heat, I paddled from the channel towards a wave and Cody Young was deeper than me, he swung last minute and went. I then copped the next one on the head and next thing you know I’m doing a run around at Haleiwa. Mother-nature was not playing ball, she did not want me to make that heat. I got fourth in that heat and if I got third I would’ve made the tour.”
Jordy used that moment as a time for “growth” and explained that he always tries to learn from his experiences in competitive surfing. Despite the ups and downs in his career, he tries not to take for granted the life he is able to live.
“You hear people on the challenger whining and I’m like nah wake up this is still a dream. We might be cutting things fine on money but at the end of the day, you go to six different places around the world, surfing and hanging out with your mates. There’s no reason to call it a grind. I get why some people might try and call it that but, fuck, get on the tools and give that a go, that’ll feel like a grind.”
For now Jordy is cruising at home, working his new job and can still be found every afternoon in the car park at North Narrabeen checking the waves. He’s putting in the practice rounds as he prepares to fly to South Africa, to chase a dream that only a few months ago seemed to have slipped away. With a little confidence, an ounce of luck and continued focus, Jordy just might turn his second chance into a CT promotion.
