Dusty Payne scything towards victory. Pic: ASP

If you wanted a tip on who was going to win the Drug Aware Pro, Margaret River, you should have asked local surfing prodigy Jack Robinson. Before Dusty paddled out for his heavily anticipated semi against Julian Wilson, Jack told Tracks that he thought “Dusty was ripping” and he wanted him to win.

Dusty lit up the six-ten foot bowls against Julian in the semis, amassing a heat total of 18. Wilson finished less than a point behind on 17.16 but Dusty always looked a shade better, consistently projecting vertical turns well beyond the lip and kicking the tail out where it counted to add variation to his attack. “This was the new improved,” Dusty Payne suggested John Shimooka in the commentary bay, zoning in on the fact that Dusty has undergone something of a reinvention since missing much of last year’s tour with an ankle injury.

Dusty has subsequently become very methodical about his approach to contests. He trains intensively with Wes Berg, the same guy responsible for Joel Parkinson’s physical preparation, and at contests his right-hand-man is the colourful Volcom team manager, Matt Bemrose. If Dusty has lacked anything in the past it’s been self-belief and confidence, something Bemrose has never been short on. At last it seems Dusty is learning by osmosis.

“We had the same pre-heat routine every time,” stated Bemrose in his rapid-fire prose. “ Same walk down, same everything, every time. Just a few words, I don’t want to fill his head with too much bullshit.”

Dusty Payne claims his first major victory at the Drug Aware Pro, Margaret River. Pic: ASP

In the final against Josh Kerr, Dusty was slow to get going before smashing one of the waves of the event – a dynamic 9.23. If Dusty wasn’t surfing beyond the lip his fins were living in the wave’s Penthouse suite and as he approached manoeuvres there was no deceleration. Dusty’s highly specialised training has also helped give his body great form through turns, without forgoing certain stylistic features – like a limp-wristed bottom turn that has shades of Richard Cram.

Towards the end of the heat, an exciting exchange put Kerrsy back in contention, the judges choosing to score Dusty’s back-up 7.13, just low enough to keep Kerrsy out of a combination situation. However, Kerrsy who had been very lucky to make it past an in form Jay Quinn in the quarters, couldn’t find the final minute flair that won him this event in 2010.  After the final, Josh suggested he hadn’t put on the kind of show he wanted to, while Dusty most certainly had.

Josh Kerr dumps fuel on a solid Marggie right. PIc: natesmithphoto.com

As Dusty dealt with the press he sounded more like a lottery winner than a professional athlete who had skilfully engineered their own victory. “ I never really won anything before, it’s pretty cool,” he commented, waiting for someone to step forward and pinch him, so he could be sure the whole thing was real.

As previously mentioned, Dusty’s problem is not ability, it’s overcoming the demons of self-doubt.

“It’s good to know I can compete against those top guys and win,” he told Tracks, a few moments after hoisting his first major prize cheque above his head.

Hopefully Dusty draws enough confidence from this win to realise that, based on his ability, he is the kind of surfer who should be in the race for a world title. The WCT tour is definitely a much more interesting place when there are multiple world title contenders. Ultimately, Dusty’s victory at the Drug aware pro should put an end to his painful self-doubt and make him realise he has the panache to out-class the world’s best.

Jay Quinn goes around the house. Pic: natesmithphoto.com

2013 DRUG AWARE MARGARET RIVER PRO – MENS FINAL from Surfing Western Australia on Vimeo.