Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hey, Adsy. So, cheeky Monkey's been on board for a fair while now and I believe they are doing a bit of a discount for our listeners.
[00:00:06] Speaker B: Yeah, mate, if you go up to the Vass Brewing facility in the industrial area there and you drop the name Barreled Surf Podcast, they said they'll do 10% off any takeaway sales and I assume 10% off over the woodwork too, but if you want to stop in there and grab some beer, yeah, 10% off. Tell them Barrel Surf podcast sent you.
[00:00:32] Speaker A: Just refresh my memory, what sort of situation have we got with Forester Estate? Long term supporters of the program?
[00:00:38] Speaker B: Mate, Forrester Estate will give you 25% off if you use Barreled in the coupon section of the Internet sales department.
[00:00:48] Speaker A: That's in the checkout coupon if you're not sure what that means.
[00:00:51] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly, mate. 25% off. It's actually a pretty massive saving. It's almost wholesale, apparently what the shops will be buying it for. So you get free local delivery. Margaret River, Buso, dunsborough. And if it's over $200, you get free delivery Australia wide.
[00:01:07] Speaker A: Sounds like a happy day, mate. Get them board, everyone.
[00:01:10] Speaker C: You.
[00:01:17] Speaker A: Have been ripping into the AG Ones lately. All the vitamins and minerals that you need, all in one convenient sachet or convenient scoop. What about you, mate? You've been on the AG One program?
[00:01:29] Speaker B: Yeah, mate, I start each morning with a little AG One. I go a little warm lemon water in the morning nice. Just to clean the liver of a few other sponsors and then ripping at the AG One and then in a breakfast and I'm out the door and on the building site ready to fucking go.
[00:01:45] Speaker A: Yeah, I'll tell you, one thing I've noticed with that as well is the gut health is what I was talking about, Azzy. But, yeah, get on board the AG One and get on to Athleticgreens.com Barreled. Get all your goodies, get all your bonus products there and they'll obviously know that you've come through us. So thanks for that.
I have been putting some sharkeye sticks on my boards lately.
[00:02:19] Speaker C: Ads here.
[00:02:19] Speaker A: Just giving Zing a little sense of security, I reckon, when I've got those.
[00:02:23] Speaker B: Stickers on, mate, those guys are watermen of the highest order. They were commercial AB divers down on the south coast. They know the ocean as well as anyone and if they reckon it helps, then it helps. So I put sharkeye's stickers on the bottom of my boards. That's where it all began for them. They moved in a wetsuit. Their wetsuits are awesome. We've talked about them get on them and yeah, can't hurt, man. It's got to be got to improve the ODS a little bit.
[00:02:49] Speaker C: Yes. Archives. Barrel surf podcast. Barrel surf podcast.
[00:02:52] Speaker D: Barreled surf podcast.
[00:02:53] Speaker C: Barrel surf podcast. Barreled surf podcast.
[00:02:56] Speaker E: Barrel surf podcast.
[00:02:57] Speaker D: Barrel surf podcast.
[00:02:59] Speaker C: Yeeha.
[00:03:13] Speaker D: We're on. Ricky Basnett. Welcome to the Barrel Turf Podcast. Mate, I know it's in the morning over there. How are you this morning? Have you had a coffee yet?
[00:03:23] Speaker C: Yeah, I've had quite a few coffees, actually. Maybe one too many. I've got a little bit of a jitter going on.
Yeah. Morning here. We're in kind of fucking monsoon season in Durban, so it's overcast and shitty, shitty waves. So this time of year, it's kind of all about the art and the tattooing. And Devin takes a bit of a sideline.
[00:03:47] Speaker D: Yeah, I was checking out your Instagram and I noticed you come up with a few philosophical sort of, I don't know, advice or quotes. Have you got one for this morning, for our Barrel podcast listeners?
Even an older one?
[00:04:06] Speaker C: Brand new quote for the morning.
I've got one for you.
[00:04:11] Speaker D: Okay, mate.
[00:04:11] Speaker C: This is actually one that I've been living by for the last while. And it's basically about non attachment in a way that at any point be willing to say goodbye to anything.
Basically means that instead of always because think about this, right, the universe is naturally disintegrating everything in front of our that's the fucking natural cycle of life.
[00:04:38] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:04:38] Speaker C: So if you understand that everything is already leaving us behind, you can't hold on to it.
And if you daily tell yourself, I'm okay with letting go of fucking anything, it makes you super peaceful.
[00:04:53] Speaker D: Yeah, I bet.
[00:04:55] Speaker C: I know.
[00:04:57] Speaker D: I think I remember there was one you're talking about how people get so obsessed with their possessions and work for possessions and then just that continuous cycle of wanting to upgrade the TV and upgrade this and upgrade that does it really.
[00:05:13] Speaker C: Exactly. I was actually having this conversation with my daughter on the way home yesterday and she's only turning six next month, so she's little. I think as kids, we understand she was saying something about Black Friday and I was like, oh, fuck it. Black Friday bought you making people spend money on things that they don't need.
[00:05:32] Speaker D: And blah, blah, blah.
[00:05:34] Speaker C: And she was like, I know, dad. Why do people always want more things and more things? So I think as children, we understand you don't need anything to make you happy. You can fucking find awe and wonder and just what's around you. You know what I mean?
[00:05:49] Speaker D: Yeah, exactly.
[00:05:52] Speaker C: I think all of us go through that stage of growing up. It's just in the society we live in, it's kind of pushed on us. Get this, get that. You need this, you need that. You're going to feel better with that.
[00:06:03] Speaker D: Yeah, exactly.
[00:06:07] Speaker C: Something I've always wanted is everyone to always get everything they've wanted. Then they'll realize, fuck, mate, not actually going to make me feel fulfilled.
[00:06:18] Speaker D: Yeah, now you're right. I've got two girls, six and sorry, eight and eleven, and.
[00:06:28] Speaker C: Trying to get.
[00:06:29] Speaker D: Them away from the iPad is quite difficult because I'm glad Summer is here. Put it this way and get them.
[00:06:35] Speaker C: Back down the beach because yeah, that's quite a difficult one.
[00:06:39] Speaker D: Yeah. So mate, you see you living in Durban now. Whereabouts exactly do you live right now? Currently?
[00:06:46] Speaker C: Yeah, so I grew up on a hill overlooking and basically I've lived here my whole life. I spent about two years down near JBay just for a quick change, I guess I was trying it out, but yeah, I'm from the Bluff cave Rock's, my home break and it's going to be pretty hard to get me away from.
[00:07:13] Speaker D: Got a there's a guy who lives in Dunsboro originally from the Bluff, Tony Van S. He's probably a bit older.
[00:07:21] Speaker C: Than you, but I know him well.
[00:07:24] Speaker D: Oh, classic. Classic, yeah.
[00:07:28] Speaker C: West ODS seems to be a little haven for South Africans who want to move over to Oz. I mean, it used to be Perth for a long time, packing for Perth Bar, but yeah, I think South Africans just feel super comfortable over there. It's really similar to here and only difference is that shit works over there.
[00:07:46] Speaker D: Yeah, I was in South Africa in the mid ninety s and I absolutely loved it. A six month trip turned into think about 16 or 17 months.
[00:08:01] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:08:04] Speaker D: It was the time where was that change of government?
The clerk was going out, mandela was.
[00:08:12] Speaker C: Coming in early 90s, Bob, and coming.
[00:08:15] Speaker D: From I was in Cornwall and UK at the time and I met a lot of cool crew from South Africa, especially down in Cape Town. That's where I ended up and it was a pretty amazing time. But coming from Australia where everything is just, you'd say, probably normal and remember seeing the newspapers there was obviously a lot of violence going on in that time and it was quite an eye opener back then, back in the mid ninety s of going to South Africa but had such a sense of being in such a wild country. Not wild as in wild, but just such a big yeah.
[00:08:56] Speaker C: I think, funnily enough, if anything, it's actually just got more wild over the years.
[00:09:00] Speaker D: Is that right? Yeah. I was always curious because I've always wanted to come back. I was always curious what SA is like now.
[00:09:09] Speaker C: Yeah, essay is weird.
You've either got let me put it this way, it's one of the best countries in the world because of the freedom it allows.
It's not 100% lawless, but you can get away with shit you wouldn't be able to even think about doing in Oz, you know what I mean? It's just like there's a semi lawless culture here where it's shit for some things, but it does allow you a lot of freedom as well.
So that was one thing I noticed coming over to Oz as well, is that you just had to kind of be on really good behavior, otherwise you're getting slapped with farms and exactly. Getting chucked behind bars and shit like that.
That was quite a learning coming over and spending a lot of time at ODS compared to here. As I say, a lot of shit doesn't work here and a lot of shit's dysfunctional. But at the same time, the country itself is phenomenally beautiful.
[00:10:11] Speaker D: Yeah, definitely.
[00:10:12] Speaker C: And we do get a lot of freedoms as well. So it's pretty cool.
[00:10:16] Speaker D: So you mentioned you went down and stayed in JBay for a while. You actually lived down in JBay?
[00:10:22] Speaker C: Yeah, I lived in St. Francis Bay, which is like 45 minutes from JBay, where Bruce's Beauties is.
[00:10:29] Speaker D: Yeah, epic.
[00:10:30] Speaker C: And yeah, I was there.
I needed a change at the time.
Went down there.
But there's something about there's like an energy to Durban that's kind of fucking tribal, the Zulu culture, and it's colorful and there's just like shit going on all around. And it's a complete and utter contrast to down in the Eastern Cape. Down, yeah. I did two years there, surfed JBay a ton, and it was cool, but my heart's in just I can't describe it, but that African energy here is kind of what keeps me here.
[00:11:13] Speaker D: Yeah. Amazing. So, cave rock, is that a pretty tribal surf spot or is it mallowed out over?
[00:11:23] Speaker C: It's always been kind of the.
[00:11:27] Speaker E: Sean.
[00:11:27] Speaker C: Thompson would surf here heaps back in the 70s, prepping for Hawaii, and I mean, all the any of the guys who have come out here from the States or Hawaii or I remember Wardo coming out here and he was like, fuck, dude, that is backdoor that way. So it's always had a quite a localized vibe. So besides the wave being fucking intense in the lineup, it's kind of calmed down a bit now. But yeah, back in the day, you don't live here, you don't surf, your type of deal.
[00:12:04] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:12:05] Speaker C: But yeah, these days there's only a small crew who surf it every winter. And God, I love it.
[00:12:12] Speaker D: Yeah, barrels is it like a rock bottom?
[00:12:19] Speaker C: Yeah. So there's kind of two different sections. You've got the tidal pool. There's an amazing rock that comes and breaks off in front of there, which is semi reef and sand can be super dangerous. I actually got fucking destroyed there this past winter. My shoulder is still recovering. Just like similar to backdoor in that there's caves and little bits you don't want to get caught underneath.
[00:12:44] Speaker D: Oh, seriously?
[00:12:45] Speaker C: So I got like ripped one way, my fucking knee is going the other way.
So then that's like in front of the pool, and then in front of there's a massive limestone cave rock. And in front of that is a straight up slab. And I mean, they're only separated by 100 meters, but they are two completely different animals. So it's pretty sick. I mean, besides that as well, there's an entire stretch of beach that's just dotted with peaks. So basically surf by yourself every day of the week if you want.
[00:13:19] Speaker D: Epic. Hey, we had Grant Twiggy. Baker on the podcast. I know he's from Durban, but is.
[00:13:24] Speaker C: He from a similar area to is currently he's living more coast. The Bluff is kind of the beginning of the South Coast.
[00:13:36] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:13:36] Speaker C: Plus the harbor is right next to us. Then it's the Durban City, and then he's about like that's half hour north. But yeah, he grew up as a boy at the Durban Piers, I'd say.
[00:13:50] Speaker D: Yeah, okay.
[00:13:50] Speaker C: And growing up here, there was always like a really distinct battle line drawn between the Bluff dudes and the town dudes. Is that right?
Don't fucking come here. We don't go there. Almost like, if I could describe it, like, this is like Bluff is kind of like Maruba, right? And then Town is kind of like, I guess what, maybe fucking UE or yeah, that's also it's kind of calmed down over the years, but there is very much still those lines drawn.
[00:14:25] Speaker D: Is that right? So if anyone's game just sort of come down or come up.
[00:14:34] Speaker C: It'S cool that's surfing, you know, we're a little culture, mate.
[00:14:39] Speaker D: It's I mean, not everywhere. Every spot know, has its locals. Probably like Hawaii, I'd say it's probably the most localized place in the world right these days.
[00:14:52] Speaker C: I mean, with the amount of surfers around. Fuck, it's just you kind of have to have some form of system in place.
[00:14:59] Speaker D: Yeah, exactly.
[00:14:59] Speaker C: Just a goddamn free fall.
[00:15:01] Speaker D: Yeah, exactly, mate.
[00:15:02] Speaker C: Agree.
[00:15:03] Speaker D: Yeah. Hey, you mentioned it's the monsoon season right now.
So when you're not surfing, mate, what's the typical day for you over in Durban?
[00:15:18] Speaker C: Yeah, fuck. I mean, I'm at a place now where surfing isn't my be all and end all focus.
I found fuck growing up and being forced into that competitive arena, and it was just surf, surf, surf. And I was actually saying to my wife the other day, I'm finally in a place where I feel like surrounded by the people that I get.
I never truly felt like a part of the surf culture.
I always was a bit of the Afcos.
I'm like a death metal dude. So always growing up, there was no one else that fucking was into my kind of music. And it seems also from growing up on the Bluffs, you're kind of that outcast, dude. So anyway, I always just felt a bit off in the surf world. And nowadays it's like art photography, and tattooing is kind of my creative outlet where I can really just basically these days, anything I can do that quietens my mind and just keeps me creative and chilled is what I focus on. So fuck, if there's no surf, wake up, meditate, go for a mission with the dog.
And then, yeah, kind of whatever. I feel like if I have an appointment for Tattooing, then I guys just come in and I do a hand poke style.
[00:16:50] Speaker D: What do you mean by hand poke style?
[00:16:53] Speaker C: So machine free tattooing just needle hand, dot by dot kind of, which is super meditative, because when you tattooing someone, you can't fuck up no thing with someone's skin, you know what I mean? So fuck, it's like very calming. It's just dot by dot by dot and it's like the whole process.
And then fuck, I can't yeah, at the moment I'm doing a project called Document Durban, okay? Which is like a ten year long street photography kind of capturing Durban in the wow. I started that in 2020 outbreak of COVID I'd been shooting a fair bit like a couple of years before, and then I was just like, fuck, man.
One of my favorite things is seeing old photos of places you've grown up or the country you've lived in.
There's something about capturing a moment in time and being able to go back and look at it. That to me, is just so fucking fascinating.
Especially in Durban, there's maybe two or three other photographers who are working in the city. There's very few people that are kind of capturing daily life where we live, and it's just, fuck, it fascinates me. And I get to spend a whole lot of time in the city where it's intense. Urban as a city is fucking.
[00:18:42] Speaker D: Sorry, buddy. You'd have a real mix of cultures in Durban, right? There's a lot of different nationalities, right?
[00:18:49] Speaker C: Yeah.
Outside of India, we have the highest population of Indians in the world. Like, Durban is mini India. And then in the city, I mean, there's people from all over Africa, Somalia, Malawi, anywhere you can imagine. So it's like there's this fucking melting pot of culture and smells and socks. And every time I go in and spend time in the city, I come out feeling like I'm a part of, you know what I mean? Connected. And it's very similar to surfing in that there's no plan. I go out, I got my camera, that's all I take.
I get out and I'm just aware I'm like in that moment and I'm looking for whatever is in front of me. So it's almost like hunting for a wake. You out there and you involved. So it's again, something where when I'm doing it, it's just complete focus, I guess.
And at the same time, it's super fucking dodgy. I never stop moving and I'm always looking over my back. And I've had it one or two Dodge incidents, but can you give us.
[00:20:04] Speaker D: A dodgy incident story?
[00:20:12] Speaker C: Fuck. Just two days ago, I went shooting in the one area that maybe you shouldn't go and take photos in, especially because I'm a white dude.
I don't see a single other white dude. When I'm going to town, I'm out there, I'm a very sore thumb that sticks out, you know what I mean? So I usually try dress appropriately. I don't take fucking nice clothes and I want to try and blend in with the crowd, sure, but sometimes you're just not welcome in a place. And I was shooting photos under the one bridge and I was looking up and a dude just came up to me and I often hear from behind, yay, the fuck are you doing? Type thing in bed in Zulu. And I always try approach it with a friendly fist bump and hey, I'm an artist doing my thing, not trying to exploit or whatever, but the dude wasn't having it and he just looked at me and he went, luckily there are other people around. And a dude was walking down here, he was like, what the fuck's happening here? And like, hey, I'm just taking some photos. There's been some other shit that my mom might see. This I don't want to.
No, I've been shooting this project for like three years now and there's like two incidents, you know what I mean?
[00:21:33] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:21:34] Speaker C: You just got to be aware of your surroundings.
[00:21:39] Speaker D: How does one see your work mate? These photographs you've been taking? So you're saying there's going to be a bit of a project? Is it going to be like a festival?
[00:21:50] Speaker C: Yeah. So what I'm working towards is a photo book, photo book that I'll be releasing in 2030. But for the moment I have an Instagram handle document underscore Durban.
[00:22:00] Speaker D: Okay, yeah, cool.
[00:22:01] Speaker C: I post a bunch of my work and I've really been focusing on film photography. Like I'd say, 90% of the stuff I do is film. Just again, we live in a world that is just go, you know what I mean?
Process of film photography and analog photography. And this is one of my things I've been shooting with class. It's like a medium format kind of thing and you really slow everything down. You really take time setting up your shots and then you got to wait weeks to get your film back. And it's so exciting.
[00:22:48] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:22:49] Speaker C: Just that feeling of like even I pick up a roll of film and I look at that roll of film and I'm like, there's already images that are in here, I just need to go and find them. And it's so interesting wondering what might come from those 36 shots.
[00:23:05] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:23:06] Speaker C: So I find it entirely fascinating.
[00:23:08] Speaker D: Yeah, that's awesome. Hey, have you ever been to other countries specifically to take photos of people and just everyday stuff or just mainly around home?
[00:23:20] Speaker C: Not yet. It's something, it would be an absolute dream.
I have very few regrets in my life and the only thing I wish is that when I did I was on tour and I traveled for fucking. I did everything. I just wish I had taken more fucking pictures. I just wish I had traveled more with the camera. But at the time, I mean, surfing was the be all and end all. There's nothing else that couldn't get out of that. It was competing.
I just want to see where photography and tattooing and surfing as a trio can lead me.
[00:24:04] Speaker D: It's a great trio, interesting trio. Hey, since you mentioned about surfing was your focus, I'd like to know, when did the whole competitive surfing start for you?
Was that just at your local board riders?
[00:24:20] Speaker C: I think I did my first delivery champs when I was ten.
[00:24:27] Speaker D: Young?
[00:24:29] Speaker C: Yeah. So I started surfing when I was like, eight, I guess, properly. I started before, and then I never really but from eight years old I was surfing. I think I surfed my first little comp at nine. And then, I guess back then, 95, I was ten years old.
It was kind of frankie and Karen were doing the free surf thing.
[00:24:51] Speaker D: True. Yeah.
[00:24:52] Speaker C: And then shortly after that, Bruce kind of started getting that free surf vibe happening. So there was no other option for me at the time but competing. And from my early teens, all I ever wanted to do was be a Free Surfer. I thought that was the fucking coolest thing in the whole world.
But unfortunately, competing was the career path. There wasn't really any other option.
[00:25:25] Speaker D: Was that because of Frankie Oberhalza that influenced you?
[00:25:29] Speaker C: Yeah. Frankie obaholzo to this day, I'd say, is my number one influence surf wise.
[00:25:38] Speaker D: Six star.
[00:25:39] Speaker C: Yeah.
His surfing is off the charts, but just him as a guy, I think has influenced me a hell of a lot.
He's so fucking humble and genuine. There's very few people who are like, real genuine dudes these days.
[00:25:59] Speaker D: Where is he then?
[00:26:01] Speaker C: He still lives at his little spot down at Warner Beach. It's about 25 minutes from me down Lake south coast. And he shapes boards in the garage there. And he's a fisherman, so, I mean, his main thing is just he fishes. But yeah, I guess in the way that he has never been a person who's strived for stuff. He's been a guy who's strived for a lifestyle, I guess. Well, that's the way I see it.
[00:26:30] Speaker D: Yes.
[00:26:30] Speaker C: And to me, lifestyle over stuff is a huge one.
[00:26:36] Speaker D: Yeah.
So you said you started competing like, eight or ten, did South African comps and stuff. When did you sort of realize that you could probably make a living out of this and start to chase some of the QS contests? How did you get pushed in that direction? And you would have had some yeah.
[00:26:59] Speaker C: My first international win was actually in Oz. I came over that same year that I said I came to Dunsboro when I was 15. I went over to the Goldie and there was a Billabong.
It was one of the Billabong junior comps, and I ended up making a final I think I was against I think Yayden was in the semis was Craig Rock. Craig was in the final with me. Yeah.
[00:27:26] Speaker D: Right. Okay.
[00:27:28] Speaker C: Can't remember. I was 15. I ended up winning under 16 comp at the Goldies. And that actually ended up getting me a bit of a recognizable name internationally.
And from then I'd say I would do hawai.
That year I did Hawaii. That year I did some other things.
And then I started the QS when I was about 17.
I was in high school. I did two years of high school. And fuck, I hated that. In South Africa, boys high schools are like the fucking army.
I did two years, failed, did home school, and that allowed me to start traveling pretty young.
And yeah, 17 was kind of my first semi crack on the QS. Ended up doing kind of well.
[00:28:30] Speaker D: Is that what you really wanted? Like, you were really enjoying the whole contest scene at that age?
[00:28:39] Speaker C: It's hard.
When I was a kid, I won a lot.
I was good at what was in front of me.
So, yeah, fuck, I enjoyed winning. That was fun. But at the same time, even though I was winning, it wasn't like you know what I mean? It wasn't actually making myself fucking happy and at peace. Because I think the whole thing of competition is that you win makes you want to win more, makes you want to win more, but you can't. You know what I mean? It lost, lost, lost.
So it was just one of those things where it never made me at peace.
It was just what the path was at the time. I didn't know any other way.
[00:29:29] Speaker D: Yeah, sure.
[00:29:35] Speaker C: Being so then and 18 was my first full year on tour.
But at the same time, from like 16 was when I started drinking quite hectically 16.
Yeah. So then by 18, I had a pretty good year. I was still managing to keep shit together. When I was 19, I had I think I was just trying the entire year. And I started doing other shit and it started getting a bit more intense.
And then that was like when my sponsors and shit started getting involved and I could see things were turning a bit south.
[00:30:19] Speaker D: Yeah, right.
[00:30:20] Speaker C: But yeah, then when I was 20 years old, I was like, okay, I'm going to train a bit. I'm going to try. I didn't stop drinking or anything, but I was like, I get that same Hedgy David mentality. Yeah, right, I'm going to go. I'm going to do.
[00:30:40] Speaker D: This. Were you sponsored by Ripkill? Were you in the same team as those guys?
[00:30:45] Speaker C: At that point, I was with Lost.
So I was like, growing up, those 519 and a quarter and what's really going on, what's really going wrong, those were like my fuck. That inspires me more than anything. When I got picked up, I lost. I was like, now this almost gives me I can act like one of those boys now. Wardrobe and Corey were like my ultimate.
Going over and staying with Matt Vialis and then getting to interact with those dudes and shit like that was quite profound for me as a kid.
[00:31:27] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:31:28] Speaker C: But yeah, then I did, I think when I was the year I qualified, the year I won that gunston Mr. Pross Pro thing. Yeah, I was still with loss. And then I ended up changing over to Ripcol once I joined the CT. And that was know, there was good money and stuff. But also then I really didn't feel like a part of the you know, I was, in my heart, one of those lost dudes.
[00:31:58] Speaker D: Yes, still.
[00:32:02] Speaker C: But I mean, it was cool. I got to travel with Fanning a lot, and he taught me a shit ton. And just getting to see how he operates, it was pretty wild.
[00:32:12] Speaker D: Super focused character. Mick Fernie, we went on to win.
[00:32:16] Speaker C: He was when it comes down to that kind of performance stuff, he was just like night and day compared to other guys. I remember the one year in France, he had like this fucking locust powder or some shit that was he always had these interesting little juices and things. And the one year was this locust powder. And I was like, what the fuck is this?
[00:32:37] Speaker D: Yeah, some magic stuff. But you know, one thing about Nick, he did turn into Eugene every now and then. So he knew how to blow some steam off as well.
[00:32:51] Speaker C: Right? 100%. Yeah.
The tour back then was, I think, quite a different animal to what it is now. Yes, it was still like the last end. Bits of you get fucking hammered before your heats and the whole event is a jaw. A party.
Yeah. So it was different times.
[00:33:14] Speaker D: So what was the preheat routine back in the day when it was at its height of partying? Was there a preheat routine?
[00:33:23] Speaker C: Personally, for myself, guys used to get so irritated with me because I never free surf before my heat. And I'd pretty much always go out the night before.
I remember Bells one year actually almost got punched out by Trent Monroe.
He was in my heat the next day. And there was some event the evening before and I was off my head and I thought I was joking, but obviously I wasn't. I was like, I'm going to fucking take you down tomorrow, Monroe.
And he wasn't having any of it.
And luckily I got pulled out of that. But then what was often the case while people were irritated because I'd go out and drink all night and come to the beach and not surf and then paddle out and end up making the heat. And I think the guys who were on the Focus mission were so fucking over it.
[00:34:18] Speaker E: How do you do that shit?
[00:34:21] Speaker C: But I think, yeah, it was funny. It was a weird time.
[00:34:26] Speaker D: I wouldn't have thought Trent Munro was on the Focus mission back then. I thought it'd be one of the guys partying up.
[00:34:33] Speaker C: Yeah, I think he was half angry.
[00:34:42] Speaker D: When you were traveling with Mick. Was that when he won his world title? Because I can't remember what year he won.
[00:34:49] Speaker C: Yes, it was seven, eight.
Yeah, he won the title in Brazil that year. I think.
[00:34:59] Speaker D: Hedgie?
[00:35:00] Speaker C: Yeah. I think at the time on the team it was myself, Taylor Knox, Fanning, Puncher Sullivan, and it was RYANI Montero from Brazil.
[00:35:13] Speaker D: Oh, yeah.
[00:35:16] Speaker C: It was wild. Yeah. So I was like a kid, I was like 20 years old, 21, traveling with like, Puncher and Taylor Knox and Fanning and Ben Dunn. Ben was like my partner.
[00:35:26] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:35:31] Speaker C: But it was good learning.
[00:35:33] Speaker D: All classic natural footers.
[00:35:36] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:35:38] Speaker D: Did you have any rivalries back in those days that you sort of had a competitor that you just wanted to beat, even though you were saying before that used to get in their heads a little bit because you were partying the night before. But was there anyone in particular that you just got a bit of satisfaction on? Boating in any of the hoops dude.
[00:35:59] Speaker C: I think the only real rivalry I've had was before Tour. I think myself and Jordy were like even though he was a bit younger than me, he would often surf in our age group and it was because he was just from a young age, extremely talented. And if you can just find that one other guy to bounce off, I don't think he ever beat me until I was like 19 or 20. So entire junior career, I'd always fucking.
[00:36:36] Speaker D: Beat him, had his number, and then.
[00:36:38] Speaker C: He stepped up a level once he grew up and shit and just went mad. But yeah, from two a days. Once I started QS and CT shit, I'd already begun losing interest in that, so I couldn't really care too much, you know what I mean?
[00:36:58] Speaker D: Yeah, fair enough.
[00:36:59] Speaker C: Getting into a rivalry or yeah, sure, sure.
[00:37:02] Speaker D: Hi, I'm Jamie Mitchell. I like getting barreled big waves and I just got barreled on the Barreled Surf podcast. You that's a pretty colorful coffee cup you got there, mate.
[00:37:13] Speaker C: What's?
[00:37:14] Speaker D: Your coffee. What do you like it with, milk or just like a classic.
[00:37:20] Speaker C: Whatever'S around? I don't care. Just instant spoon of instant. I'm done.
[00:37:26] Speaker D: If you ever came back to the southwest of WA, there's such a big coffee culture. I mean, there's a big beer and wine culture, but coffee culture is next level, mate.
[00:37:37] Speaker C: I know all about the beer and wine culture over do.
[00:37:42] Speaker D: I bet you do.
[00:37:44] Speaker C: My family actually live in OSNA.
[00:37:46] Speaker D: Oh, really?
[00:37:47] Speaker C: Okay. They live like an hour and a half from Sydney towards Newey.
Big old farm there.
[00:37:54] Speaker D: What's that, mate? You got a sister or a brother or what's? The relative?
[00:37:59] Speaker C: Older sister.
She's like an incredibly smart financial over. They actually moved to Maruba when they first went over, but now, yeah, they got a big ass farm and they built my parents a log cabin on there and it's mean. We've been planning to try and get back over there. I haven't been to Oz for years and I've been dying to get back over, so maybe next year, mate.
[00:38:32] Speaker D: That'd be mean. I guess a lot of people haven't been traveling due to the obvious reason during COVID I know one thing, you probably would have felt the same. It's nice to be somewhere where you call home that you really enjoy being home. Because we were locked down and it was actually nice just to chill out. We had less people in the area.
[00:38:56] Speaker C: Because it was amazing. Some ways it was fucking so good. We were super lucky here as well because there's a lot of little bush piles and shit where you can sneak down and go surf.
[00:39:10] Speaker D: Yeah, right.
[00:39:11] Speaker C: They closed up everything. The cops were at the beach. You couldn't do shit. We wake up in the dark, three in the morning, run down the bushes, surf for that 1st, 40 minutes before his property last, then see if the cop lights were there.
It was pretty intense. A few of the guys got arrested and shit.
[00:39:32] Speaker D: Is that right?
I don't think we had it like that here, but yeah, I've never been in the back of the pady wagon in South Africa, but I know that I wouldn't want to be in the back of the pady wagon.
[00:39:50] Speaker C: No, it's the absolute last place you want to.
[00:39:55] Speaker D: Hey, you mentioned before, I mean, he's obviously had a pretty long career on tour and he's been knocking on the door for a lot of years.
Do you follow Jordy when he's on the tour? Do you follow competitive surfing at all these days or are you not really that.
[00:40:20] Speaker C: Check? I guess I look at Stab Mad online and I guess whatever's been posted there keeps me up to date. But no, I don't watch any of the stuff online.
I follow Jordy's.
It's hard not to been a part of it for so long. Oh yeah.
[00:40:49] Speaker D: He'S been knocking on the door and it'd be good.
They give him a hard time sometimes. Jordy. They call him white chocolate. Well, there's another podcast calls him White, but he's yeah, I think he's insane. Especially at Pipe. I think his barrel riding at Pipe has definitely got so much better over the years.
[00:41:13] Speaker C: In the last like five years, his backside barrel riding especially has stepped up big time.
[00:41:20] Speaker D: I know. Last year, I can't remember. I don't think he got the best result at Sunset, but with Pipe and Sunset kicking off the tour, it's a good opportunity for him, hopefully get a good start. Did you surf competitively in Hawaii? Do you go in any comps over there? Did you surf at Pipe?
[00:41:40] Speaker C: I did. I did quite a few comps over there.
Both times I got to surf at park, it was small, I was super bummed. Yeah.
I loved sunset. I always did pretty well at sunset. It was quite similar to the ways we get out front sometimes. Like just big long walls. I love that kind of drawn out surfing where you can just put on rail and just feels powerful.
[00:42:08] Speaker D: Yeah, I guess growing up and surfing cave rock. I guess it would have been like you were saying before, a good training ground for potentially surfing waves like backdoor, right?
[00:42:20] Speaker C: Yeah, 100%. From when I very first went over to Hawaii, the only thing that I ever felt intimidated by was the crowd.
I was just so not used to dealing with that kind of crowd.
But the wave itself was I wish I could have just had it out there when it was in a heat.
[00:42:43] Speaker D: Yeah, I bet.
How were the locals to you over there? Do you have pretty good experience overall in Hawaii?
[00:42:53] Speaker C: Yeah, I never had a problem at all.
South Africans were kind of it was a weird one because back in the day, like busting down the door time, there was quite a lot of shit going on there. But from when, I mean, I was there in the heart of the wolfpack south vibe with the guys with the whistle on the beach and scary as hell, but I was luckily accepted by the heavS. Like kind of heavies over there, I think because I wasn't afraid of a party as well.
I remember the one night being at the Oakley House in front of park and I was upstairs and it was like Andy Bruce, Corey, Gary Poe, Kalar.
And it was like this little young me with all these dudes and I was like, this is kind of hectic, but just like a part of it. You know what I mean?
I was cool over there. It was fun. But I did see a lot of people get fucked up.
[00:44:16] Speaker D: Yeah, I bet.
You see anyone get their head beaten.
[00:44:20] Speaker C: In almost every day. When the waves were good at passive, something happened.
It was kind of the days before everyone had a fucking device. You could get away with a hell of a lot more now. I think if you try stuff like that, you immediately on film starts to change a little bit.
[00:44:43] Speaker D: Yeah. How about some of your best surfs in Hawaii? Do you get any big swells even though you didn't get it during the contest, but you get any decent swells, any surfs that you remember?
[00:44:54] Speaker C: Yeah, I definitely had a bunch of swells there over the know.
To be honest, the waves in Hawaii are incredible. But like I said earlier, I never really enjoyed my time just because of that crowd. It blew my mind.
I'm not really that kind of guy who forces and fuss and I'm just like, if the wave comes to me, yeah, I'll grab it.
I guess there were plenty of days where there was incredible waves but I've had way better times just up front by myself. That to me is like what it's all about.
[00:45:45] Speaker D: Yeah, I actually feel the same and I'm getting more and more like that definitely as I get older, happy to go somewhere else. Maybe not as good, but just get one couple of ways by yourself is more mean than hanging with the crew. Yeah, no, that's classic.
Hey, I hope you don't mind me asking, so you mentioned you did a bit of partying and drinking. What sort of led you in that direction? Was it just the environment, the product of being on tour that sort of got you into the partying and the drinking?
[00:46:27] Speaker C: Yeah, I think there's a bunch of factors involved.
I come from a bit of an alcoholic family tree history, which run quite deep. So I mean, I didn't it's in me, you know what I mean? Kind of genetic vibe.
And then obviously I was in a place where I was doing something that wasn't aligning myself, you know what I mean? So I was just in a constant place of being pulled. My head wants to do one thing. Everyone else is telling me, you got to do another thing.
Found that made everything go away.
[00:47:18] Speaker D: Yeah, sure.
[00:47:24] Speaker C: It was the absolute worst type of meditation. Yeah. Lightning the mind in the worst possible way.
But it's all I knew.
Drinking in South Africa and Oz. I mean, I guess worldwide is just a part of culture.
[00:47:41] Speaker D: Yeah, big time.
[00:47:42] Speaker C: Nowadays. I look at it and I'm like, I cannot fathom that the most dangerous drug is the legal.
Done. I've done most of them. And alcohol is the one that is the fucking danger.
Bum out and going into it like the tour. And it was just a party back then. That's what it was. And every event was sponsored by a beer company.
[00:48:14] Speaker D: Yeah, big time.
[00:48:16] Speaker C: And there was free beer at the event and every night there was something planned.
Also just being young and away from home and you've discovered something that makes you feel a certain way and it's like game over.
[00:48:30] Speaker D: Exactly.
Yeah. I think Corona are sponsoring quite a few contests.
I don't know if you ever saw the footage of when the tour that they're at G Land and there was no waves and what happens when you all get together in one spot, no waves in the jungle. And Corona is sponsoring you have a good time as spectators of that sport.
You don't get to see that anymore. And I think it's just real.
It was refreshing to see surfers having a good time and we I think.
[00:49:13] Speaker C: That'S the main thing about why I'm just so disillusioned with surfing at the moment as well. Or should I say competitive surfing, especially since social media, I guess everyone has just become this fucking cookie cutter.
There's just no emotion or fucking yeah, I know what everyone is trying to you know what I mean? It's all just about impression. Just what can I do that's going to make me fucking cool? I just wish people were just themselves. Just fucking be yourself and that's.
[00:49:52] Speaker D: But I guess the WSL truly, really trying to build it up as more of a media company than a surf company.
They're trying all different things for all the spectators and the fans to really get to see what the life of a pro surfer is. But I don't really think they're really showing their true selves.
[00:50:17] Speaker C: Personally. I think they should have sold to Netflix and carry on with it. That whole system, I don't know, it loses, what, like fucking close on 50 mil a year or something funded by the billionaire dude. I don't know. Just make it exciting somehow.
[00:50:35] Speaker D: Yes.
[00:50:36] Speaker C: I've always thought that the main downfall of surfing is that the format is in is just not conducive to spectators.
I find it similar in a way to Formula One where I'd rather watch the halas. I can't be bothered to I don't.
[00:50:53] Speaker D: Know, I'm the same. It really goes down to the wave location and the quality of wave that'll get my attention.
Obviously. I'm not sure if you watched the final of Pipe. Obviously. Kelly 50 winning pipe masters. That was pretty cool to watch.
[00:51:13] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:51:14] Speaker D: Did you watch it at all?
[00:51:16] Speaker C: Yeah, definitely.
[00:51:18] Speaker D: Good to see an old dog still dominating that guy.
[00:51:24] Speaker C: I don't know, he's like a freak. Kind of alien. He's an alien.
[00:51:29] Speaker D: You would have obviously been on tour with Kelly.
Any stories?
[00:51:35] Speaker C: I was saying this the other day. I remember being 17 and surfing against Slater. I got the wild card into JBay and I was like, fuck, I must be like one of the last guys to get to compete against Slater. That was like 2000 and fucking four or some shit. And now there's still 17 year olds surfing against this dude.
[00:51:55] Speaker D: Crazy.
[00:51:55] Speaker C: It's wild. 20 years later.
[00:51:59] Speaker D: That's awesome, mate. Hey, I'm sure you still don't mind getting on the road and doing surf trips. I noticed on your Instagram this morning you posted a photo about a trip in Senegal that sounded a pretty gnarly place to get to.
One of your favorite photos. You want to tell us a bit about that one?
[00:52:20] Speaker C: Yeah, pretty loose. So when I left the tour in eight so 2009 was my first year off tour and I just was, like, trying to come back from it. I got that record of losing every single heat the year before and I was like, just fucking nowhere. Anyway, luckily my rip calls still they stood by me and let me finally fucking do the pre surfing. So I spent the next five years, I'd say, traveling africa. Myself and my friend greg ewing, photographer, would plan these missions and just go and try find new spots around.
And yeah, senegal was our first one that we did, and it was god, after, like, a decade of doing the competitive side of things, I'd never felt so, like, this is what I'm meant to be doing. When I went and was exploring in Senegal, it just felt like I was home in a way.
And yeah, so it was mad. It was myself, Royden Bryson, and Greg just the three of us. And we stayed on a little island off the mainland. I mean, when we arrived there, we arrived in Midnight, had no idea where we were. Ended up in some back alley with like ten dudes surrounding us. And I was like, oh, my God, I'm going to die. But they were actually chilled. They wanted to help carry our board bags. There was like a whole bunch of shit that went down. It was wild, but the craziest place I went to was Lagos in Nigeria. We went and surfed at Wedge. That's by the harbor.
Man, that place is scary.
[00:54:23] Speaker D: So you drove up from Durban then?
[00:54:27] Speaker C: No, we flew all around to these different spots. I think if you drove from Durban, it would be like 40 hours.
[00:54:37] Speaker D: So what happened in Nigeria?
[00:54:41] Speaker C: There was a few incidents in Nigeria.
The first day that we rocked up to the beach there.
They have quite hectic factions, religious groups, and everyone seems to be armed and got some kind of shit going on there. So we rocked up with our guard that's there, John, and he's showing us this spot, and we're watching the waves. And then like 10 meters behind us, we heard a fucking huge commotion.
And we look back and there's this dude with an AK pointed at this woman's head, like right behind us. And I'm like, wow, okay. And just shouting and screaming.
And I was like, I'm going to fucking watch this lady's head get blown off. But here we are. And then the guy we were with, his local friend, ran up and kind of calmed the situation down. And it ended up being the dude's prayer got interrupted or some shit. Wow, that made an AK get whipped out. That was day one. There were a couple of other semi dodge things. And then I remember when we were leaving Rock up to the airport.
I mean, just getting in through the doors at the airport, there's just like 15 armed guys with their guns. So you walk in, you're getting pushed around.
Everything is just aggressive in Nigeria.
And like usual with board bags, you got to take it to an oversized or some shit like that. So they say, okay, go down these stairs. Go drop it off at the bottom. So I've got my board bag. I'm getting quite aggressively pushed down these stairs by two big ass dudes. And I'm going down and down. It's quite far away. And eventually I get to this basement, and at the bottom of the basement, there's like a fresh pool of blood about this size with a drag mark into a closed door.
[00:56:43] Speaker D: Oh, Jesus.
[00:56:44] Speaker C: Down there. And the guy's like pushing me, and I'm like, what the fuck is going on?
Was a I like, take my boards off to one side. There's a guy coming with a mop, and he's just mopping up the blood. And they don't say a word about who's been dragged off into that side.
[00:57:03] Speaker D: Jesus Christ.
[00:57:05] Speaker C: Yeah. Africa is full of stories like that.
You kind of just look one way and hope you're okay.
[00:57:15] Speaker D: Get the hell out of there.
Yeah, you would have had some stories during your traveling days outside of Africa. Do you have any life changing moments when you're traveling around the world? Have any situations? Holy fuck, how do I get myself into this? What about a couple?
[00:57:40] Speaker C: Yeah, definitely.
It I think there's yeah, I can't really say some of the stuff. No, that's what I mean.
[00:57:57] Speaker D: That's cool.
[00:57:58] Speaker C: But traveling with older guys and dude, there was okay.
No, there was one year I rocked up to Hawaii.
I think I was like 20 or 19 or 20, and I rocked up. And South Africa to Hawai is, like, the longest. It takes like, 30 hours of flying time, let alone the in betweeners and everything. So I was like I was so dead. I rocked up. Only got into the airport at about nine. So I got to the house at, like, 1030, and the team manager greets me at the door with, like, a six pack, just hands it to me. He's like, yeah. And I dragged myself, crack a beer, walk in, and there's I won't say where it was. It was in Hawaii at one of the houses.
[00:58:58] Speaker D: Sure.
[00:58:59] Speaker C: And there was, like 40 or 50 of the gnarly fucking dudes.
And, like, a live sex show happening in the middle and basically next to my room where I'm staying. So that was, like, my entrance.
Welcome to Hawai. Here you go.
Like the gnarliest ODS you've ever seen in your life. And this weird shit going on right here. Put your bags down. Come get involved.
That's a kid. Dude.
[00:59:35] Speaker D: That'S crazy.
[00:59:38] Speaker C: As I say, different times.
[00:59:40] Speaker D: Yeah, different times.
[00:59:41] Speaker C: You roll with it.
[00:59:44] Speaker D: If you don't mind me asking, do you drink now?
[00:59:48] Speaker C: No, I first got sober about 2015.
Stopped drinking?
[01:00:00] Speaker D: Yeah.
[01:00:03] Speaker C: I went to rehab, and then I've had, like I had a relapse. I've had two relapses. I've been to two different rehabs, but now in four years, I haven't touched a drink.
[01:00:17] Speaker D: Good on you, man.
[01:00:18] Speaker C: It's kind of a journey. I mean, relapses are fucking, like, a part of it, you know what I mean?
I'm far enough down the road now where I feel that's past, you know what I mean?
I can go to places where people are drinking. I can be around it. I don't have cravings and shit.
Yeah. God, it's like the first couple of years you offered, after it's, all you've ever known is just learning how to be a human again, interact. I have just, in general, social anxiety kind of vibes, being around so many people. And the booze was the one thing that kind of lubricated. All of that made me able to deal with shit.
It's just been a process of learning who I am, I guess.
[01:01:09] Speaker D: Yeah, good for you, mate, which has been pretty cool. I'm sure you've had some good supporters, you've had some good support.
[01:01:18] Speaker C: Yeah, 100%.
You can't do this shit alone. It's impossible. So having people in your corner that understand. It understand what being an addict is and mentally what that means is so important. And then if you don't have something like that, go to a meeting, just go and be surrounded by like minded individuals.
You'd be surprised that there's a lot of people that are battling and you're not alone in that kind of struggle, you know what I mean? So just being able to open up and it's a letting other people know, but mostly letting yourself kind of know, I'm in trouble, I need help.
I need to find a way through this. That's the start of it all, mate.
[01:02:18] Speaker D: I know it's a long time.
Obviously I heard about you and then I actually got on YouTube and I actually watched that no Regrets film that you made six or seven years ago.
Actually really struck a chord with me.
And I really admire you for what you've been through and how you've sort of dealt with it.
I guess owning up that you've got this issue, this problem that you need to work with. Because I work outside of podcasts and I work in a bit of an oil and gas sort of industry where we have a lot of people with mental health problems. But the biggest issue is they don't talk about it or don't want to speak to anyone. They keep it all bottled up. So I think you really send a really strong message to people out there with mental health problems to put your hand up.
[01:03:18] Speaker C: I don't understand what the drama is about it. You get cancer, you get sick, you get something, you get treated.
[01:03:28] Speaker D: Exactly.
[01:03:29] Speaker C: You can ask Rip, but you've got this inherent something inside of you. I mean, what is the difference between a sickness up here compared to a sickness anywhere else?
It's just the thing that a 90 fuck it 100% of people battle with. You know what I mean? Every single person laugh is pain. It's just about learning how to deal with it.
That's the fun part.
[01:03:57] Speaker D: Life can be about pain sometimes.
[01:04:02] Speaker C: I guess this explains it actually. All in the dark. There's light in the light. There's dark. Yeah, it's for going around. It's fucking YinYang symbol. Explains that shit to a team.
Anything you think is fucking good will have a little bit of something in it. That's not everything that you think is the fucking bad. It's terrible. Just look at it. Give it some time. You'll see it was meant to happen.
[01:04:30] Speaker D: Yeah, you got a good positive attitude there, Matt. I like how you sort of look at life through your lens, especially what you've been through.
[01:04:44] Speaker C: I've said it a few times to different people. And besides alcoholism and shit like that, I think depression was something that I didn't want to admit for a long time. I always thought it was the booze and the drugs and whatever. That messed me up. But that shit only started because there was something initially that wasn't happening. Right. For me, the booze is what helps you quieten that crazy mind. So when I eventually accepted that I was depressed and shit like that, I was like I've wanted to kill myself for so long that if I'm going to live now, then I want to do it in a way that I'm stoked on life. I can see things for what they are.
Lessons, lessons, lessons.
As soon as you look at.
[01:05:50] Speaker E: Or.
[01:05:51] Speaker C: Understand that there's no such thing as failure, literally, it's a lesson every single time. Has there ever been a time that you failed and haven't learned something? You know what I mean? That's the only way we as humans learn is by fucking failing. So to me, failure was a huge thing growing up. Never wanted to lose, never wanted to fail. This, that. So that's just been the process of letting go. It is what it is. That's something.
[01:06:22] Speaker D: It's funny. You see how the WSL really built up the WSL finals? They put all this pressure on the final five, and it must be such a I mean, Philippe Toledo won the world title, but the other guys that lost, they're probably just so built up. And to win, must win and must win. And then it must be hard to not win. And just to come down from it all must be pretty tough.
[01:06:54] Speaker C: I think we can get so entirely wrapped up in, like, outward actions and shit that we think is going to make us feel something. You know what I mean?
I wish that every competitive person out there could realize that everything you ever, ever need is already in you. All that other shit, it doesn't mean a fucking thing. We're floating on a piece of dust in the goddamn universe. What does winning this little thing actually mean? It means nothing. Yeah, maybe you're going to feel stoked for when a title god, maybe two weeks, you're going to have that feeling of, oh, my God. But it fades. You're going to surf another thing you're going to lose.
It's almost just like chasing. Chasing that chasing that chasing, chasing.
The process of riding away should be the goal. You know what I mean?
Imagine an alien coming down and seeing some fucker cruising along the way, and then you turn that into anxiety and pressure.
Nothing.
[01:08:09] Speaker D: Yeah, 100%.
Hey, mate, we have a few standard questions that we asked during the podcast, and the first one I want to ask you is Best Tube ever.
[01:08:26] Speaker C: Okay.
The one, like a super memorable one, I'd say, was we went to, like, a secret spot in Mozambique that only breaks on a certain tard for a certain amount of time, and it's kind of like Skeleton Bay, Namibia butter was it was fucking long time ago. We were one of the first people to surf it and I got this wave and it just kept going and kept going and it kept going and I was just, like, fucking weaving every second and it was like the most crystal water.
We're in the middle of nowhere and it was like a fucking 22nd pit. Wasn't huge or anything, kind of like snapper in a way, I guess, but I kicked out and I was, like, buzzing.
I think a lot of tubes that stick out are almost more about the story behind it, getting there, finding it four by four, like the whole mission.
But, yeah, there's definitely a couple that stick out.
The very first day I ever got sober, 23 June 2014, it was like, I decided I'm stopping drinking and the universe sent me. It was like eight to 10ft out front at Cabrera Sick. Crystal blue, no wind.
I was on like a 510 Bonzer and it was just me and a friend out.
And I think to this day, that might be like one of the biggest barrels I've still I've had.
And it just that one sticks in my head just because it felt like the universe said, okay, please stick with this. Yeah, the gift. You're on the right path. Yeah, I'd say.
[01:10:25] Speaker D: Those two sick, mate.
Best chew. What about best wipeout?
Heaviest wipeout.
[01:10:38] Speaker C: Heaviest wipeout. I've had a few near held under. So long as you come up and you starting to get starry and your eyes are closing top up. But I think the heaviest one was this last winter where I was in the barrel. The whole thing just bottomed out onto dry reef.
And thank God I was wearing a wet suit because I initially just landed on my knees, like, straight onto the rock, and I thought my kneecaps got fucking blown off, it was so painful. But as that happened, my shoulder got stuck into a hole in the rock, ripped out that way, which made, like, my whole side go limp, so I had to swim up.
[01:11:24] Speaker D: Is that your shoulder?
[01:11:25] Speaker C: My knees fucking out.
I got a breath before the next one landed on my head and I just kind of, like, floated in and got washed in. That was like, months ago and I'm still fucking good, man doing it, but I seem to get pretty lucky with wipeouts.
Always seem to somehow manage to pop up. And I've got lucky. Touch wood.
[01:11:52] Speaker D: Cool, mate. Hey, you would have seen my earlier email and I asked you to prepare yourself a Steve Irwin Salute nomination and a Clive Palmer so do you remember who Steve Irwin was?
[01:12:10] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[01:12:12] Speaker D: A bit of a so.
[01:12:15] Speaker C: And he used to rip as.
[01:12:16] Speaker D: Exactly. Yeah, he used to surf in his car keys. And good surfer. So we sort of ask everyone that comes on the podcast if they have. A Steve Irwin salute. It can be for someone that you think is an absolute legend or something or anything that you think just deserves.
[01:12:38] Speaker C: A double thumbs up.
As soon as I read that, there was one name that popped up and I think especially just in the world, this capitalist environment we live in these days, yvonne, owner of Patagonia, who signed away everything basically as profits to the environment, is like, you know what I mean? How can there be something to look up to? To me, environmental activism and shit like that is one of my main drives as well, you know what I mean?
Just to see that there is someone out there who can actually make that type of a difference.
[01:13:20] Speaker D: Yeah, that's awesome.
[01:13:22] Speaker C: So it's mind blowing. Yeah.
He's my Irwin. Salute. 100%.
[01:13:27] Speaker D: Stevie Irwin. Classic, mate. Haywell.
[01:13:30] Speaker C: And then, yes, what was the second one?
[01:13:34] Speaker D: And the other one is the Clive Palmer Cup that are basically the biggest dickhead.
[01:13:38] Speaker C: Yeah, Clive Palmer is the answer for you on that. Yeah, the cloud. Palmer cup is our fucking Durban municipality.
They can suck it.
So we've been hit locally here by some heavy. Like we had COVID, then we had the biggest riots that have ever happened with works like billions of Rand infrastructure destroyed and shit. And then followed swiftly by the biggest floods we've ever had in the province. And since the floods basically destroyed all of our water infrastructure, so every sewage pump station, all that, which was already fucked because no maintenance happens. Yeah, but basically since the floods, we have had nothing fixed and all of our beaches are poisoned. Every piece of shit that is flushed down the toilet runs straight now into our oceans.
I surf town twice. E Cola twice.
There's money that comes in and it gets back pocket.
[01:14:58] Speaker D: Kidding me?
[01:14:59] Speaker C: Fuck you, Durban Municipality.
[01:15:04] Speaker D: Yeah, that's fuck.
[01:15:07] Speaker C: They win.
[01:15:09] Speaker D: They win hands down. Yeah, sorry to hear that.
[01:15:14] Speaker C: So we're trying to fight them at the moment. We got to get something done.
[01:15:17] Speaker D: Good luck with the fight, mate.
Yeah, now that's stoked. Hey, Ricky, we're probably going to wrap it up, mate. Really appreciate your time coming on the Barrel Surf podcast, mate.
You're very likable character, mate. And keep being yourself, mate, because awesome guy to speak to, mate. Great energy and wish you all the best, mate.
[01:15:43] Speaker C: Awesome. Can't wait.
[01:15:45] Speaker D: If you ever get over to West Odds, you can look us up. And also Ryan Von dressel. Do you know Ryan?
[01:15:56] Speaker C: Yeah, 100%.
I'm going to get there. I'm going to be there within the next couple of years, so we'll link up.
[01:16:03] Speaker D: Classic, mate. Great speaking, bud.
[01:16:05] Speaker C: Sweet, man.
[01:16:06] Speaker D: Cheers, mate.
[01:16:07] Speaker C: Take you later.
[01:16:08] Speaker D: Cheers, budy.
[01:16:08] Speaker C: Bye. Bye.
[01:16:19] Speaker E: Today I heard of the song so I cranked it up and I sang along it was such a way out day I made up my mind you kept some rain enforcer, enforcer the sea, the girl world and again the way you wave, sympathically, it occurs to me there's no grab your girl and grab you down. Your opinion, your new raven. I'll be dressing. Always dreaming of a GTO importer in for the sand.
The girl and am.
The way then suddenly it occurs to me there's no here's we'll be cruising through the Burger Chick and if we wind up leaving back we'll stay out late you drink and try enforcer enforcer to see the sound the girl world and the way new waves are to me there's no gator.
