I would love a shot at the world’s best again!
The last time I surfed a WCT (2001) at J-Bay, I combo’d Flavio Padaratz in Round 2 and lost to CJ Hobgood on a count back in Round 3. CJ went on to win his world title that year and I never competed at J-Bay again. Shortly after that I lost interest in competing and left the tour to earn an honest living (all really a disguise to stay home and enjoy cyclone season and winter barrels).
I did not miss the tour…except for one event every year. Every time J-Bay rolled around and those swells lined-up off Boneyards, I would get a knot in my stomach. No event on earth makes me miss pro surfing except J-Bay. I love Supers. My folks live down the road, so I surf it fairly often. It’s the one place where I feel I can put on a performance that might still be up there.
Last year I sat and watched every single heat of the last two days, and witnessed my two childhood mates and WQS rivals, Mick Fanning and Joel Parko, duel for the final. Part of me felt like I could have been there with them.
This past year for some reason, surfing has clicked into a new gear for me. I have great boards, I’ve lost some weight, and my surfing is feeling better than ever. This past weekend I did a trip to Mozambique and I think I may have done the best performance surfing of my life. I don’t do airs, I’m not light on my feet, but my rail game has never been better.
My last session was in December during the 10-foot pumping Boxing Day swell. I know this wave as well as anybody and better than most World Tour surfers. If I surfed the trials I would not be worried about anything other than putting on a show. I have no sponsors to please, no career on the line. All I would be worried about is laying my rail into the face as hard and fast as I can.
I don’t have any recent footage, but here are a few pics from the start to 2015.
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Simon…for the surfing you do at Supers and for everything you have gone through of late ….you get my vote.
got my vote – hands down….