7 December, 2018 7 December, 2018

Catching Up With: Steezy Steve Sawyer

Ladies and gentlemen, unless you’ve been living under a rock this week you would have heard that Steven ‘Steezy’ Sawyer boosted his street cred to a level higher than Snoop Dogg following his title clenching run at the World Longboarding Champs!!
 
South African Surfing is blowing up at the moment and we’re loving it. As soon as Mr Sawyer earthed himself back on Saffa soil we reached out to have a chat about what must have been the best day of the young man’s life…..so far.
 
Check it:
All images: Kody McGregor
 

Zag: Now that the dust has settled, walk us through the 24 hours that followed your World Longboarding Title?

Steezy: Mostly overwhelmed and at the time a little faint. So after the fantastic beer shower (ie. 5 cases of beer) I washed off at the beach shower, packed the van and headed back to the house I was staying at which was just down the road a stone’s throw away from the beach. There I Cracked a beer and chatted to the crew I was staying with ( Sam Christianson, Kev Skvarna, Jack Halloran, Crystal Hulett, Alfonso Peters and 3 local Taiwanese friends) they decided to go surfing out front and after they left I was going to head straight out on a log but the house was in a bit of a mess from leaving to the contest site in the dark every morning.

The house belongs to a local friend and heroine of mine Aganas Wang, I couldn’t bear the fact it was in such tatters so I cleaned up and did the dishes last which was my favourite part, just clearing the head and letting the thoughts go wild. I had a chance to really reflect on what had just happened.. I had just accomplished my fridge dream, my goal. The thing that was number 1 on my list, I had just ticked it off. Like for reals, did that just happen??

Anyhow, went for a surf with the crew, weather was perfect, literally tropically perfect. After the surf, we headed to the local town to a karaoke bar with some of our friends that surfed the event from around the world. After that, we went to a dart bar with some of the contest judges and officials joining us and the rest of the night became a blur thanks to sam Christianson jamming the vodka and redbud down my throat saying “c’mon you the fridge champ don’t back out now you’re halfway there.”
 
I’m thinking, halfway where? Halfway to the hospital or what (laughs). Na kidding, we kept things sort of under control I guess. Anyway, we had to leave 3 am to get to the airport on time so it was a crammed 24h that takes part in the “best day ever”.
 
You touched on it in your post surf interview, the support, how important was that this year?

The support was unmatchable, so overwhelming and I definitely think it played a part in my victory. During, before and after every wave the crew sounded like a war cry! I wish you all could have experienced that feeling of being cheered for during battle. I think it played part in rattling the competitors I came up against.

Leading up to the final what was your game plan?

Game plan remains, get the best waves, relax and just be on autopilot. I’ve prepared myself for every situation out there I feel, all I’m relying on is for God to give me the opportunity. It’s a conjoined effort between the physical and spiritual world. I’ve got plans for myself but I feel they come nowhere close to gods plan, which is evident in the past week’s achievement.

With South African Longboarding in mind, what do you think your world title can unlock back home?

I definitely think the longboard culture is going to get a good boost, you know, you can have just as much fun on a small or solid wave riding a longboard, the limits are still being tested and pushed. It has elements of style, grace, choreography, dancing, rail work and the list goes on. It’s a beautiful sport that’s yet to show itself in full force.

Your guitar or your surfboard. One of them has to go, which one is it? 

There’s life after surfing as my dad’s always told me. My interpretation of that is if you’re in a wheelchair on life support your best bet for surfing is visualisation. Music, on the other hand, has no limits if you still got windpipes you can scream, if you got movable fingers even with Parkinson’s I’m sure you’d be able to strum a chord or bang on the keys. My point is, they both have their prime, for now, my physical state in strong so ill push the surfing to the end, when my prime is done my music career would have the boost it couldn’t have created without surfing.

Besides buying the lads and lasses a round when you get home, do you have any immediate plans for your winnings?

I’m back in the factory working with my pops, back into the normal swing of things, I don’t want anything to change, life great. I’m here to support my family and visa versa, I want to motivate the community to push beyond our thought of what’s possible and take on the plans God has for them. I’m going to America early Jan for my new album release. This snowball is rolling and growing.

You ‘accidentally’ drank another man’s urine, better than the traditional energade?

(laughs) In my defence it wasn’t that bad, if I had known at the time id be gulping down piss, I’d have thought differently but after the deeds done there ain’t no crying over spilt milk. I definitely WOULDN’T do it again, neither would I pull a trick on someone that involves them drinking pee. The experience was memorable and that’s good enough for me haha

Did you write yourself a Word Champ song? And if so, can you play it for us on a voice note?

Nah, I haven’t written a wold champ theme song, to be honest, I haven’t thought about it. I don’t think I’m ready to reveal my secrets just yet. 
 
When are you coming on a Zag trip? It’s long overdue.
 
I’d love to do a zag trip, but saying that, being on no-ones payroll I’ve had to keep my earnings and saving on going to these contests to get the achievement I’ve just claimed if I had the bank to go on photoshoot I’d take it up for sure! Contests are by no means a surf trip holiday wave searching mission (laughs).
 
 

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