Natxo Gonzalez’ latest clip from Ireland proves that the Basque charger is fast becoming one of the leading lights on the big-wave scene. Not bad for a guy who is yet to turn 22. But who is he and where did he come from? Here’s six things you might not know about Natxo.
He grew up at a beach with no waves
Gonzalez is from the Basque resort town of Plentzia located about 30 clicks from the city Bilbao. While his parents didn’t surf, the Gonzalez’ summers were spent at the beach in the sheltered shell-shaped Bay. He first stood up on a bodyboard, before saving his pocket money to buy a surfboard at aged 11. “It’s funny I am a big wave surfer,” he told Tracks, “because in summer in Plentzia there is nothing but tiny waves.”
Aritz Aranburu has been a key figure
“I always kept an eye him from an early age as you could tell he was an outstanding surfer,” says Aritz Aranburu, a former CT surfer and big wave charger. “We lived about one hour apart, but you get to know most of the big wave surfers in the Basque country. I’ve watched him develop into a great barrel rider and big wave rider.” The two now travel together and have good claims to be the most tubed surfers in the world.
He was the youngest ever surfer on the BWT
In 2013, at just 17 Gonzalez announced himself to the world stage with a win at the Punta Galea Challenge, a big wave event that earned him a wildcard into wildcard for the BWT event in Punta Lobos, Chile. At the time he was the youngest ever invitee to a BWT. He later backed that up with a start at the inaugural Pe’ahi Challenge. One of his airdrops was considered to be the wipeout of the event. ““I wasn’t scared, I was super motivated to get a bomb.” he says. “I tried, but all I got was one of the biggest wipeouts of my life,”
He’s not bad on a shortboard either
Since a grom he has competed and had considerable success in the shortboard competitions. In 2015 he was runner up on the European Junior Tour and after the Pe’ahi Challenge went on to compete at World Junior Championships. Until recently, until the big wave career took off, he seriously considered tackling the QS fulltime.
He wants to go all the way
“My goal is to go on be on the Big Wave World Tour and surf the gnarliest waves possible and surf with guys like Dorian, Greg Long and Twiggy,” he says. “I want to try to push the paddle barriers higher and higher. That’s my dream.”
Those black and white stripes
“We did the black and white stripes about five years ago,” he says. “The girlfriend of my shaper was doing some clothes with stripes and we thought it might work on a surfboard. We tried five stripes first, but it didn’t work, so then we did three and it looked great. Now whether I go to Hawaii or Mexico I’m the black and white stripes guy.
