Beau Young – Biography

For Australian Beau Young, a life in surfing was penciled in years before he took his first breath. The future world champ came bearing some pretty heavy lineage. His dad, Nat Young, won a world contest, 4 longboard world titles, and was integral in the progression from longboards to shortboards. So with dear old Dad piloting the family Truckster up and down the coast, being a surfer probably looked pretty awesome to young Beau. Boat trips to perfect reef passes, boards shaped by legends, and, of course, tutelage from some of surfing’s most accomplished athletes made becoming a good surfer pretty easy. But with a rather large paternal shadow looming, the question lingered: would he be a great surfer? Beau answered definitively with a longboard world championship in 2000 and yet another in 2003 (both times meeting friend Joel Tudor in the final). But soon Young’s competitive fire became tamped by industry responsibilities, and he found himself facing retirement at age 29. Surely, the former champ with the rich lineage would settle in to a cushy surf industry job. That’s precisely when the Beau Young story veers off the script. He ignored any expectations to match his famous father and instead became a musician for kids as part of the Animalz and embarked on an entirely different path as a solo singer/songwriter. Years after securing his second world title, Beau Young found a creative life not limited to the face of the wave but still inspired by its possibilities.

Beau Young was born August 28, 1974 in Grafton, New South Wales and later raised in Sydney. Several factors led to Young’s penchant for riding waves, the least of which being that New South Wales boasts a history of producing many of the world’s greatest competitive surfers. Its world class waves and engrained surf culture make it a veritable greenhouse for growing talent. However, an even more powerful influence came from his father, 5-time world champion and historic surfing icon, Nat. In his autobiography, Nat’s Nat and That’s That, the elder Young writes of learning his first son’s impending birth, “I was skiing at Perisher Valley when I got the call that my wife had gone into labour 7 weeks early.” As Nat raced to the hospital, he was inspired by a song on the radio “Mr. Bojangles.” He named this “3 pound 6 ounce skinned rabbit” Beau. Tiny but healthy, he was born during a tumultuous time in the family as his parents would soon split. Nat writes that having this second child was an attempt to save the ill-fated marriage but to no avail.

Matt Warshaw describes Beau as first learning to surf at age 6, yet his father’s narrative tells of the budding regular footer having yet to take up surfing seriously as of 1983 (at age 11). Never pressured by his father, it wasn’t long until Beau was meandering with Pops from one surf spot to the next and the impressionable lad soon became passionate about riding waves.  At 18, he traveled with his dad to the North Shore for his first big wave experience. They stayed with pro surfer Bryce Ellis, and on one notable session, the 3 of them surfed 12 foot Haleiwa. Nat writes, “This set the stage to Beau’s jump to bigger surf.” At this point, he was riding short boards primarily, and during his late teens, he competed professionally without much success. But it wasn’t until he began riding longboards in his early 20’s when he found his surfing muse. Although preferring the classic and artistic lines that the longer boards drew across the wave, the Aussie regular footer didn’t abandon his radical shortboard aesthetic. On a longboard, Young had moved from struggling pro to world title contender.

In 1998, he finished 2^nd behind Joel Tudor in the Canary Islands. Two years later, he won the Men’s Longboard Title, once again facing Tudor in the final in Brazil, but this time Young bested his best friend. He Finished 3^rd in 2002 before rocketing back to the top in 2003 in New Zealand. With another world title and a modest $7,000 in winnings, the 29 year old Young stood on the beach, exclaimed “I’m tripping right now!” and promptly retired from competitive surfing. Beau had proven himself worthy by placing ahead of Bonga Perkins and Colin McPhillips (both world champions) in the ASP rankings. However, he had also again met his friend Joel Tudor in the solid 4-5 foot windswept swell. Father Nat added, “There was a period when Joel was just like a son to me too, so I wish it could have been more blow-by-blow during the final…” That final marked a falling out with the longtime friend and competitor, resulting in a rift that lasted for several years. Young cites this as one of his reasons for his retirement from professional surfing in addition to a disillusionment with contest surfing. Beau explained, “I think surfing beautifully and surfing to the best of your ability…showing surfing in a beautiful artistic fashion is just as relevant as competitive results.”

Years earlier, Young had begun playing guitar but only casually.  He admits, “I strummed around from 17 to 26. I probably played two weeks a year.” But as competitive surfing faded to the background, music became more and more prominent in his life. After a break-up with his “dream girl,” he wrote “Waves of Change” which would become his artistic break-out in 2005. Building on his involvement in 4 albums for kids with the Animalz (for which he toured toy companies and similar venues), Young incorporated wistful ocean inspired lyrics with acoustic cool into a smooth blend of good vibes and lost love. In “Waves of Change,” he writes:

“Waiting for waves of change to come my way,

Oh yeah, I miss the old sweet, old sweet days”

This melancholic longing for the simplistic past may reverberate subtle echoes of his own disillusionment with professional surfing and wishful crooning for something more. With support and inspiration from Ben Harper, his debut album did well on the independent charts and resulted in Young’s touring of Japan, Europe, and the United States, most recently with the film “Searching for Michael Peterson.”

Young’s surfing achievements and the influence of his iconic patriarch are ubiquitous as Beau himself admits to following in Dad’s footsteps. They both experienced disenchantment with competitive surfing, but Beau’s post-surfing career has succeeded in finding a unique path and voice through music. As in surfing, Young has found a way to ride the muse and moods of creation, but while the medium may be different, Beau Young is still a surfer. He says “Both art forms leave me feeling this sense of discovery…they’re both like meditation in a way.” He released the album “One Step at a Time” in 2010 and continues to surf and travel. Whether riding perfect barrels or playing music for  international crowds, Young’s song remains the same.

Steph Gilmore’s curse, it seems, is that she has for the majority of her life and career travelled in a bubble of fortune, inhabiting a world where surfing world titles multiply rabbit-like in exponential splendor; where days consist of photo shoots, exotic travel, and shredding guitar sessions; where a world tour campaign can be nonchalantly interrupted by a fun-filled trip across America; and where the precious gift of a career in surfing occurs as an afterthought. Of course, none of this appears curse-like in any way. That is, unless you are Stephanie Gilmore, who has carried this unbearable lightness of being as an albatross neck weight, searching for a dark edge, an escape from her “Happy Gilmore” moniker. And upon a 4^th world title, pure happiness and contentment appeared the eternal plight of this Aussie surf goddess. But one night, trouble stood waiting for her in the darkened parking lot of her apartment complex. The question: Would an indiscriminant attack by a stranger divert the trajectory of Gilmore’s charmed path? The answer: No way! Hailing from one of the surf world’s most verdant champion farms and possessing an internal compass trained squarely on modern renaissance insures that the darkness come her way will serve as inspiration instead of consternation.

The surf gods smiled on Gilmore from day one. She was born January 29^th, 1988, in Murwillumbah on one of surfing’s most hallowed stretches of coastline: New South Wales, Australia. Like other champions, it was around 10 when she first took up riding waves. As she grew and progressed, the long, winding point walls of Snapper Rocks became a canvas upon which she could hone her art as well as develop the aggression needed to navigate a male-dominated crowd scene. Like most female surf stars, she was a tomboy who looked more to Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson for inspiration than female peers unable to complete with her natural talent. Gilmore immediately jumped a path worn clear by great local women surfers like Phyllis O’Donell, Pam Burridge, Pauline Menczer, and Layne Beachley. But she kept her roots planted deep. Her father, Jeff, would go on to handle his daughter’s vast career earnings while her older sister Whitney would play the part of manager, keeping Gilmore’s success a family affair.

But as her surfing developed, so did her size and strength. She told ESPN, “When I was growing a lot, I was worried I’d be too tall to surf. I thought it would be a disadvantage.” But instead of lanky and gawky, the picturesque blond went a different way: Tall, athletic and powerful. Her surfing reaped the benefits.

In 1999, she finished runner up to Karina Petroni at the Rusty Gromfest at Lennox Head and a year later won the U-14 division at the same beach. After just a few years of turning heads as an amateur, Gilmore was poised for the next level. Rabbit Bartholemew told Surfer Magazine, “By the time she was 16, it was clear she was destined to revolutionize women’s surfing.” No hyperbole there, as she topped the field at the Australian Juniors and the International Surfing Association World Junior Contest in 2004. A year later, Gilmore made her professional debut in with a 1^st place at the 2005 Roxy Pro Gold Coast. At just 17 and competing as a wildcard, Gilmore gave notice that she was about to wreck shop. Like a female Sunny Garcia, she touted she was about to “kick some ass.”

By 2007, the camera friendly regular foot climbed on the ASP Tour full-time. As a rookie, she took her first world title, unseating legendary competitive juggernaut Layne Beachley and clashing with a budding list of new talent. That year, Gilmore won 3 events and was leading the race heading into the final event with former champ Sofia Mulanovich and Silvana Lima in contention. Gilmore took the event and the title. The following year, in 2008, she won 5 ASP Women’s World Tour events and garnered the Vans Hawaiian Triple Crown Title before snatching a second title. As if by sheer will, Gilmore made winning the rule.  The following year, she won the top spot a third time which was immediately followed by a fourth consecutive world title. The rest of the surfing world watched from the sidelines as “Happy” went on to accumulate titles almost uncontested. Along the way, she won a phenomenal total of 17 elite tour events.

That’s the hook: 4 years on tour and 4 world titles, but her life journey reads as rich as her achievements. Maybe she always had an eye for the interesting and eccentric, but upon her 3^rd title, Gilmore’s sensibilities began to wander away from competition and world titles. After spending time with Tom Curren on a boat trip, she began playing guitar and falling farther and farther into music. She took a hiatus from the world tour to spend time just meandering through America. From California to New York, absorbing Americana with her boards gathering dust, she somehow kept one toe dangling in  the swirling murk of competition, just enough, to win her 4^th world title.

But that experience was a watershed period as she considered a major shift from the surf-centric Rip Curl to a more fashion-based subdivision of Quiksilver. It seemed a strange move for a major athlete in her prime, but Gilmore saw new dimensions forming and new avenues opening. From L.A. to Long Beach, Big Sur and New York; she gained new perspective on her cross-country sojourn. Gilmore reflected, “America really is the land of opportunity. Nothing is impossible….There’s so much more to the states than what you get fed here in Australia.”

But it was back at home Down Under where the “Happy” story took a turn for the serendipitous if sinister. Not long after her phenomenal 4^th title and on the eve of signing a multi-million dollar contract with Quiksilver, Gilmore walked through a darkened car park towards her apartment when a stranger approached clutching a metal bar. He beat her severely about the head the wrist, leading to months of recuperation both physically and emotionally.

The indiscriminate, violent attack would force her to sit still and evaluate the future. She admitted to ESPN she was afraid to be alone in her own apartment and had lost trust in people. For a girl whose Midas touch had never failed her, the glimmer of the world had dimmed. But while this unexpected tragedy may have unearthed unknown fears and insecurities, it also offered opportunities to demonstrate new strength over adversity in a life heretofore void of any. Although struggling to get back her competitive rhythm after weeks out of the water, she posed nude for the ESPN Women’s Body Issue in which she admitted that, “I’m insecure about being boring. That’s the thing—I want to be interesting…to be the full eccentric freak.”

While she may never be eccentric, Gilmore has proven herself a freak (of nature). Her athletic talent has lifted her high above the fray, above the dirge of normalcy; and while a random attack of violence momentarily eclipsed her achievements, it failed to extinguish fire and has failed to define her. Her surfing style is powerful yet effortless as is her threading through the fabric of life. In her post-traumatic existence, there has yet to be a 5^th world title, but with a new sponsor firmly planted on the fringe of the surfing world, budding artistic outlets of guitar and photography, and eyes on new success beyond the waves, Steph Gilmore may prove herself the archetype for the next generation of professional surfer.

Out of the gates as a mere teenager with loads of natural talent, Pam Burridge was supposed to be Australia’s first female world champion in the modern era. The title seemed a foregone conclusion, but her goal remained elusive by scant degrees for some 6 years before she finally took the crown in 1990. No self promotion or cries for attention, she was a world champ whose cool vibe prevailed on the beach and in competition. But while she flowed effortlessly along the wave, her deliberate approach down the line was punctuated with aggressive vertical re-entries, buckets of spray, and surgical carves. She peaked well before female surfing found a global audience to yield financial dividends and sometimes seems buried among louder personalities and perceived revolutionary movements in women’s professional surfing. But factor in her 20 professional victories, and Burridge comes off as nothing if not one of surfing’s great modern performers. Pepper in 15 seasons on tour, never falling below 8^th place and one begins to see makings of a classic surfing champion.

Born in 1965, Burridge hailed from Manly Beach, Australia. As a skateboarder and avid swimmer (and sister of an Olympic swimmer), learning to ride waves wasn’t a stretch; but it wasn’t until 1975 when at age 10, she hopped on a homemade surfboard and unknowingly found her calling. She was soon ripping nearby beaches, spending a summer under the tutelage of Nat Young, Bill McCausland and Tony Hardwick, which helped her non-surfing parents wrap their brains around their daughter’s new passion. And her parents must have been shocked when just 2 years after stepping on a surfboard, the blond pre-teen would take her first win at a local contest.  She continued to compete, concluding that boys were better competition against her building skills and confidence. She won Australian state titles from 1979-81 and national titles in 1980 and 1981.

Burridge fell into surfing as a career a bit haphazardly. Professional surfing in the 80’s was still in its infancy. At that time, the separation between amateur and professional athletes was a matter of money. Accepting payment for a win would officially deem you “professional.” Consequently, when Burridge was invited to compete in the Hawaiian pro events, she said goodbye to amateur status and found herself at the end of the 1980 season ranked 11^th in the world. She chose to quit school in 1982 to become a full-time tour surfer at 17. The surf media piled on the praise as her prodigious talent and good looks assured the stylish goofy foot a future in the sport and, of course, a championship title in short order.  She led the IPS world tour the entire year but found herself in 2^nd behind Debbie Beacham upon conclusion of the year’s final event. Burridge would finish runner-up an insane six times as the list of her rivals was nothing if not impressive. Throughout her career, she battled tour greats like Frieda Zamba, Pauline Menczer, Jodie Cooper, Wendy Botha, Lisa Anderson and Layne Beachley. Burridge fell just short of the title over the next 4 years, percolating among the top 5. She dropped to 7^th place in 1987 and jumped back to the runner-up position for another 2 years.

Surfing was a rough go as a profession in those days, and being a female pro surfer was even tougher. Jason Borte writes,“… Burridge had to turn to car-body repairers and hat companies for financial assistance.” In 1989, after losing her sponsors, Burridge’s boyfriend  Mark Rabbidge sold his car to purchase a plane ticket to the next contest, a stroke of faith that ignited a competitive run that garnered Burridge her most elusive goal. She won the ASP Women’s world title in 1990 after a convincing win in big Sunset Beach grinders.

There is one twist of fate that is often overlooked in Burridge’s career. Wendy Botha won the world title one year prior to Burridge and became Australia’s first world champion, a feat for the record books. However, Botha was born a South African, and just a year before her win had applied for Australian citizenship to help enhance her professional career as South African Apartheid policies hampered her travel to events. Botha became Australia’s maiden champion by way of a signature on a document, relegating Burridge to runner-up status. Burridge remained at the top of the ratings for the next three years and then retired.

In 1992,  Marion K. Stell  wrote Pam Burridge, a biography that illuminated the dark and frayed edges of Australia’s surfing queen.  Burridge admitted struggles with Anorexia as well as with drugs and alcohol, giving new dimension to her public persona. Burridge returned to the tour for a stint, finishing 3^rd in 1997 behind Layne Beachley and Lisa Anderson, a result Burridge herself calls one of the most satisfying of her career. She left the tour and then again jumped back into competition before quitting one last time as she was pregnant with her first child. She left for good in 1999, still ranked 8^th in world.

She and Rabbidge named their first child Isobel after one of Australia’s earliest female surfers. Still grabbing waves “in between breastfeeds and other irrefutable demands,” she gave birth to her second child, Otis, two years later. With 20 total victories and ranked in the top 8 for 15 seasons, there was nothing for Burridge to prove to the world. She moved with Rabbidge the South Coast of New South Wales. She was inducted into the Sport Australian Hall of Fame in 1996 and the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame in 1997. Starting in 2003, Burridge began running a surfing school at Bendalong and Mollymook and looked to be settling into rural bliss.

However, in 2005 at 39 years old, she again jumped into the competitive fray to compete against one of the most impressive lists of talent in years and surfers half her age. Burridge said, “I still feel I have something to throw at them so that’s why I’ve entered a few divisions, mostly for fun.” And with decades of competition and travel behind her, a world title, and even a Sydney Ferry that carries her name; it seems that fun is her next great adventure. She sums it up, “After 20 years I have a new perspective on it all. Just having fun, trying to surf well and getting good waves is what it’s about these days.”

Greg Noll and Jed Noll shaping an exact reproduction of Felipe Pomar’s 1965 World Championship winning semi-gun

Clifton “CJ” Hobgood – Biography

Clifton James Hobgood has gotten a raw deal.  Sure, he MIGHT not have won the world title if not for the terrorist attacks of 9/11.  That’s just a reality, but it’s led to some caveats and implied asterisks when his name is uttered alongside other world champs. However, it takes more than luck to be in first place on the ASP tour, and that’s where “CJ” sat when the tour was effectively canceled amidst the unprecedented global events. Heck! The surfing world title used to be decided by one contest, so five contests have got to stand for something.  But controversy aside, “CJ” began his career with a flourish as “Rookie of the Year” and went on to carve out a performance niche that demonstrated both grace and growth as a surfing athlete and artist.  Clean-cut and religious, CJ’s understated persona may have at times shrouded the flame of his radical surfing while the shadow of his equally talented twin brother, Damien, diluted his uniqueness.  And while more outlandish personalities drew the spotlight, Hobgood stayed true and surfed pure, thus distinguishing himself globally as a dynamic free surfer.  But in a world where numbers and achievement matter most, CJ was the 2001 world champ, and that can never be taken away.

Born in Melbourne Beach, Floridain 1972, CJ’s future in professional surfing at first seemed unlikely.  Central Florida’s waves are notoriously weak and for most of the year, non-existent, yet somehow the zone has produced a host of talented and successful wave riders (Kelly Slater among them).   CJ and his twin brother Damien would follow that path as they spent their formative years in nearby SatelliteBeach. CJ started surfing around 1984 and applied the same competitive approach he and his brother applied to other sports.  He told Surfer Magazine, “I think we were always competitive, but with sports, it was different, because we were always on the same team… We had to learn to work together to achieve. ”

CJ improved with more competition and travel. By 1991, he was the Eastern Surfing Association’s Menehune champion and boy’s champ in 1994.  He took the NSSA juniors division a year later. Continuing his ascent, in 1996, he won the ASP East Junior Pro. 1997 saw the young goofy foot graduate high school, win the NSSA east men’s title, and take third in the fiercely competitive Australian pro junior. All the requisite boxes were checked.

The following year, Hobgood turned pro.  In 1999, his first full year on tour, he finished an impressive 18^th place with the added honor of “Rookie of the Year.” A year later, he moved up to 7^th place and won “Breakthrough Surfer of the Year” distinction at the Surfer Poll Awards.  Following logic, his steady progress was sure to place Hobgood near the top of the heap the next year, but tragedy would intervene with ironic results.  At 22 years old, CJ Hobgood won the 2001 world title when 3 of the 8 scheduled events were cancelled due to world-wide travel restrictions in response to 9/11.  This left CJ, who hadn’t won an event all year, in first place in the ratings with 10 surfers in contention.  Of the win, he told Surfer Magazine, “I don’t really look at that kind of stuff as a milestone, I just look at that as something that no one can take away from me…No matter how hard they dis me, I’ve got that.”  CJ would go on to win several events inTahiti,France, andJapan (in addition to the 2008 ISA World Championship and the OP Mentawais specialty event).

Regardless of asterisks and inferences, CJ Hobgood established himself as not only a feared competitor but also as an ever-improving force in progressive surfing, grabbing the Surfer Magazine cover spot in 2009, launching a massive aerial above the caption “Where do we go from here?” Still regarded among the avant guard elite well into his 30’s, his low, staunch and functional style holds fast in the pit.  His goofy-foot attack is functional and exciting, technical yet punctuated with spontaneous, high-risk deep rail hacks and high-flying aerial variants.  However, his contest performances have been hit and miss. He told Lewis Samuels, “OK, we’re getting better at technique, but that’s not what the judges are into right now. The judges are into flipping out… big airs, and all that stuff.  That was good, that was great,  so I had to find a balance.”

Balance has been the key.  CJ’s surfing is a perfect balance of old and new with one of the best tube riding acts around, especially in heavy lefts.  He is lethal at Pipe and Teahupo, but his eye for the air makes him dangerous in beach breaks as well. Ironically, theSatelliteBeachkid who cut his teeth in knee high dribble has become known as one the world’s best in heaving reef break.  But after a string of bad results in 2011, he found himself with $1,175,608 in career earnings and 13 years on the ASP pro tour, falling from the mid-year rotation one spot from qualification.

CJ has been married and divorced, but he continues to straddle life as a pro surfer and single father to daughter Genevieve.  In 2009, he told Stab Magazine,” Being a single dad is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.  Surfing can’t even scratch the surface of that.” Somewhere between religion, fatherhood, fishing, and a little tennis, one might think that CJ would stay busy back in Central Florida, content to fade from the scene.  Instead, he has offered up his talents to promote a non-profit that supports victims of depression and addiction: “To Write Love on Her Arms.” Still at the top of his game with his heart drenched in Jesus and salt water, CJ Hobgood is likely to continue his balancing act for a long time.

Layne Beachley – Biography

Layne Beachley is the most dominant woman surfer…ever. The powerful natural footer from Australia ruled women’s surfing on both a competitive and cultural level amidst her 20 year career. In truth, her only competitive comparison would be Kelly Slater as she practically wiped clean the records of her female peers. Beachley was hell-bent on success from the moment she first tasted victory as a pro surfer, going on to win seven world titles and distinguishing herself as a legitimate big wave charger.  With 20/20 hindsight, she later commented on her achievements, proclaiming, “To dream takes courage…to set yourself apart from the masses by allowing yourself to set a goal, no matter how unrealistic it may seem.” But it’s doubtful that a teenage Beachley back in Manly ever dared to dream this big.

Powerful stories so often begin in adversity, but Beachley’s painful roots can be traced back to conception. Her 2008 biography, Beneath the Waves, unflinchingly tells of her birth in Sydney, 1972. Her mother, a single 17-year-old who was the victim of rape, gave up her baby daughter for adoption. Fate provided the little bundle a loving family who as luck would have it, also loved the ocean. The foreshadowing was inescapable as her surname washed from Gardner to Beachley. Her new dad had her on a skateboard at 3 and a surfboard at 4. By 5, the wick was lit. She told Daily Stoke about those early days, “I’d often steal my older brother Jason’s foamie.”

Surfing wasn’t her only love as Beachley loved competition of all sorts, but it was the waves that would eventually inspire her passion. Sadly, just as she was finding purpose, she lost her adoptive mother, Valerie, but the Beachley’s strong extended family unit remained a guiding force.

Surfing was at first simply a fun past time for Beachley, but by 16, it became much more. As most aspiring pro surfers had been planning for the big leagues for years, Beachley instead had no amateur career whatsoever. Instead, she jumped right into the shark tank of the ASP Women’s World Tour in 1989, finishing 48^th her first year. 4 years later, she won her first event and climbed to 6^th place. Nick Carroll would later write that “Beachley’s career was dogged by an inconsistency which seemed to spring from over-eagerness.” Indeed, she lost some battles, but she showed herself more intent to win the war as she bounced around in the top 4 for the next few years. As chronicled in Beneath the Waves, Beachley battled debilitating attacks of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in both 1993 and 1996 prior to winning her first world title in 1998. She would not relinquish the number 1 slot for 6 straight years, an unmatched feat.

During this time, Beachley proved driven to not just make a name for herself, but rather to make a name for women surfing as a whole. She integrated an intense physical training routine into her surfing as she raised the bar for female wave riders with much publicized tow-in sessions in giant surf, charging every male dominated lineup, including Outer Log Cabins and Teahupo. In competition, her powerful regular foot approach fit perfectly into Hawaii’s massive caverns that negated the need for the oft used qualifier of “female” surfer. Her accomplishments defied categorical significance.  Through shrewd self branding and fearless performances, Beachley had created a total package that couldn’t be ignored by the industry, prompting full press coverage and global name recognition. She came back in 2006 to win her resounding 7^th world title as if to slam the door shut on all contenders.

The following year, she placed 5^th, and by 2008, she was ranked 4^th.In her last year on tour, a deliberate drop-in by Coco Ho during the final of the Reef Hawaiian Pro Haleiwa not only robbed Beachley of an event win but seemed to sour her on competition as she soon officially retired from competing after 20 years. She told Aimee Donohoe, “I’m still competitive by nature but after seeing how well the girls are surfing at the Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic, I will admit that I feel I have made the decision at the right time as I’m no longer passionate enough to push myself to remain a contender. “

Regardless if she ever wins another event or even dons a contest jersey, Layne Beachley has rewritten the history books with 7 world championships, 29 pro contest victories, and a penchant for keeping herself relevant. Called the “Queen of Self Promotion,” Beachley was never one to let the grass grow under her feet. In 2009, she was towed into a giant wave at Ours, one of Australia’s most mutant right hand meat grinders and was an entry for the Billabong XXL Ride of the Year. Bursting the confines of surfing, she performed on Australia’s Dancing with the Stars. In a nod to her ever expanding interests in business, she told Aimee Donohoe, “She told AmimI feel the more we allow the corporate world to participate in the sport, the greater our chances of growing outside of the limitations placed on us by the surfing industry.” Further orbiting outside the surfing galaxy, she married Kirk Pengilly of INXS and worked with writer Michael Gordon on her biography, Beneath the Waves. She kicked off her own clothing line, started a world tour event (the $100,000 Commonwealth Beachley Classic), and spearheaded the Aim for the Stars Foundation and the World of Difference program.

With all the awards and titles and qualifiers that have been thrown her direction, critics and Internet trolls have been quick to attack her omnipresence in magazines and websites well after the zenith of her competitive life. However, they ignore the fact that Layne Beachley’s career arch has yet to descend as she transitions into business and philanthropy. Besides, even in the face of the harshest criticism, the fact is that Layne Beachley has 7 more world titles than you do. That’s saying something.

Sunny Garcia – Biography

Sunny Garcia is nothing if not real. But his take no prisoners approach to life has brought upon him both success and suffering. Clawing from meager beginnings on Oahu’s infamous West Side, Garcia branded himself a teenage threat for the world title. Decades of incredible surfing, a record number of Triple Crown victories, and eventually a world championship make him one of surfing’s great competitors, but sometimes “keeping it real” has real consequences. Garcia’s volatile disposition, which may have been the key to his competitive drive, has also been a major liability for the powerful regular foot. In and out of trouble since kindergarten, he has always walked a thin line between professional and unpredictable. Regardless, as a surfer, Sunny went blow for blow with the intense power of Hawaii’s North Shore like few other surfers and pummeled swarming new school talent to become world champion at the “ancient” age of 30. Love him or hate him, he is Sunny Garcia, for real.

Born Vincent Sennen Garcia on January 14^th, 1970, the future world champ spent his formative years among the dry red clay and bleak prospects of Waianae, Hawaii from where the perfect emerald walls of nearby Maili Point must have seemed a heavenly oasis. Sunny learned to surf at 7 years old, entered his first contest at 9, won his first amateur event at 10, and competed in his first pro/am contest the following year. Everything was moving on schedule with an invite to represent the United States on the world team. However, Garcia was kicked off the team for disorderly conduct. This was not the first such event for Garcia, and it wouldn’t be his last. His bio for the WB reality show North Shore: Boarding House tells of his being suspended from kindergarten for aggressive behavior and being severely beaten in high school. By 16, he had quit school and was surfing Pipeline where he found himself low on the pecking order with his heroes the Ho brothers and Dane Kealoha holding top slots, but Sunny’s time was coming quickly.

After a phenomenal run as an amateur surfer, he entered his first ASP event, the 1986 Gotcha Pro. It was there at Sandy Beach (what Garcia calls “the worst wave in the world”) where he would define himself. Garcia handily defeated world champion Tom Carroll to win the final and was immediately exalted as a giant killer. Most saw him on the fast track to a world title. But like other fiery young surfers, he ran into trouble in those early years with too much partying and emotional outbursts a plenty, but it didn’t hurt his confidence one bit. He famously boasted that he would “kick some top-16 ass.” Tom Curren was quoted as saying that Garcia had the chops to become world champ, but he “needed a coach” while comparisons to Cassius Clay and Mike Tyson became his tag line. Connecting the dots of the surf media’s euphemisms may have told the real story. Aggression was what drove him, but it many times seemed out of control.

But his surfing was a thing of beauty. One part Dane Kealoha and one part Tom Curren, he stood erect and alert but crouched cat-like in the pocket. While his surfing was powerful with maximum water displacement, it was also elegant. There was a light touch to his bottom turn and trim, yet he was devastating once vertical and forceful through his roundhouse cutbacks. The old guard did not want to tangle with this dark marauder in any conditions.

By 1990, it appeared that Garcia had mastered his id. He was married with children and at the top of his game, holding down a spot in the top 10 every year.  In 1995, with the world title virtually guaranteed, Garcia touted on local television that “If someone else comes to Hawaii and wins the world title this year, it’s like someone breaking into my house and stealing from me.” It all came down to one heat at Pipe against his friend Mark Occhilupo. Occy quietly locked into small drainers over the Ehuki sand bar while Garcia spun out on set waves. Kelly Slater ruled the day and won the title. Garcia’s house had been cleaned out.

This only fueled a furnace burning beyond capacity. By 1999, Garcia had watched Occy come back from the edge darkness to win the world title at 33 years old (full geezer age for a pro surfer). Garcia drew inspiration from his new wife and new life on Kauai, and he went on to dominate the 2000 world tour. He led the pack from the initial event, never relenting until he had taken the title.  It was a moment that took him 14 years to achieve.  At 30 years old, what Garcia termed “long past (his) prime,” he still had plenty of good years ahead. However, the fire must have been waning, and he retired in 2005.

There were problems the next few years as Garcia ran into his toughest legal problems yet. As a high school drop-out who went on to be only the 2^nd surfer to amass a million dollars in prize money alone, there was bound to be problems.  The issue arose from delinquent tax payments on $161,450 in winnings, but he also revealed delinquent taxes on an additional $255,635. He was thus convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to 5 months in federal prison and 5 months house arrest. According to Garcia, he spent his first week of his 3 months stay in prison in a dark holding cell. Upon sentencing, he stated, “I didn’t surf because I thought I was going to make money at it.” Garcia continued. “But coming from a poor family, you want to buy everything you never had. I spent my money foolishly.” He contended, however, that his accountant had been the one truly at fault.

By 2008, Garcia was poised for a comeback, hoping to be the oldest surfer to qualify for the WCT.  His good friend John Shimooka urged fans, “Let’s support the Hawaiian champ on his quest to become the first jail bird ever to qualify for the World Championship Tour…” But surfing had changed. The era of the pure power surfer had passed as aerial acrobatics and an emphasis on creativity had eclipsed consistency and sheer muscle, but in classic Garcia fashion, he was not to go quietly. In 2011, he was charged with assault for an incident in Australia in which he beat a local surfer unconscious. Garcia contends that the surfer had “hassled” and “slapped” his son in the lineup. He stated to the surf media, “That was my kid. And anybody touches my kid, then believe me, I’m gonna fuckin’ hurt you bad. And that was my intentions. I wanted to hurt that guy bad, and I did, so it was over. He lived, you know? He’s unhurt. He lived to walk away, and I suffer the consequences for my actions.” Garcia continued, “Shit happens. It is what it is. I don’t know. I’m Sunny Garcia. What did you guys expect?”

And that’s the crux here. Sunny Garcia has always kept it real. He hasn’t changed. He warned us of his intentions the first moment he had a microphone in his face. Advertisers glorified his aggressive image and fans loved it. There was never any doubt that when he glided towards an oncoming lip, he would destroy it with every fiber of his being (a fitting metaphor for his life on land). His free surfing was astounding and he came to his heats with a tactical approach that was empowered with an uncommon passion and fire that drove him to 6 Triple Crown wins and a world title. But with that came the flip side of being “real”: Assaulting a guy on national television for hitting on his wife, chasing Neco Padaratz out of the water during a heat at Pipeline, going off on Tom Curren during a legends event in Hawaii and being fined repeatedly by the ASP for confronting the judges. But maybe that’s the thing. He’s Sunny Garcia, what do you expect?

Pauline Menczer – Biography

Of surfing, Australian Pauline Menczer once told Time Magazine, “Most people get hooked straightaway…Then the lifestyle comes with it. Once you’ve experienced both, you can’t leave the ocean.” Hers is a classic story of surfing’s power to grab hold of a life and never let go, but Menczer’s devotion creates an even more meaningful narrative when read in the context of her unique experience. Surely, all the great surfing champs have fascinating stories. After all, surfers are great characters. They are notorious adventurers who carry with them tales of travel and parties and perfect waves, but Pauline Menczer’s journey (not short on perfect waves and travel) also evokes both tragedy and pure inspiration like no other. Her story peels away the outer layers of life on the professional tour, uncovering her reality as a female athlete in a man’s world who quietly suffered chronic physical pain. Regardless, Menczer loved surfing and aimed to use it to spirit her from humble and tragic beginnings.  She fought to the top of the sport with purpose and passion to become the 1993 World Champion and to serve as one of women’s surfing’s greatest role models.

Born in 1970 in Sydney, Australia, Pauline Menczer learned to surf at the ripe old age of 12 near Bondi Beach. She related the experience to Jetty Girl Magazine, “It was in Bronte Beach, Australia, on half a coolite surfboard that my older brother snapped in two. That was my first board or half a board…. I still remember it like yesterday, the wave picking me up and pushing me along…I was hooked from the first day.” That moment would illuminate a route for the young regular foot straight through the very heart of professional surfing. But life had not been a smooth ride for Menczer thus far. According to Matt Warshaw, Menczer suffered massive family tragedy when she lost both her father and grandfather in two separate car accidents, leaving her single mother to overcome both financial and emotional hurdles. Pauline, however, would look to surfing as her savior. Only 4 years after riding her first wave, Menczer was a force to reckon with on the international stage as evidenced by her convincing 1988 world amateur title win. Most girls her age back home were still reeling from senior prom while Menczer had joined the pro tour and finished a respectable 5^th in the world rankings.

At the time, women’s surfing was still a tough go for competitors. There was very little money and scant respect from the male dominated surf industry. The masses have traditionally had a hard time separating talented athletes from bikini models. She admitted herself that she lacked the stereotypical attributes that attracted sponsors of the time, so Menczer relied on pure talent. She said unabashedly, “…if you don’t want to take me as I am, then that’s too bad.” Over the next 4 years, she stayed in the top 10, climbing as high as runner-up in 1991. Menczer worked for every cent she earned, competing for the majority of her career without a major sponsor and making her way around the world through contest winnings alone. Nick Carroll said, “Even in the late ’90s, she took a tent on tour and slept in friends’ backyards.” Further commenting on the issue of sponsors, Menczer told the Sun-Herald, “Everybody wonders why,” she said.”For a long time I really thought it was because I didn’t have the look they wanted. But it should be about your surfing, not looks.” Turning this negative truth on its head, Menczer has since attributed her circumstances as the driving force for her success. “I think that’s why I’ve won so much because I just have to.”

As a competitor, Menczer’s inner strength boiled over, but her talent was every bit as fiery. A natural surfer, her style was deliberate and swift. For any lack in stylistic flourishes, she made up for with a forceful down-the-line approach that was equally adept at fast top to bottom combinations and long barrel rides in small to medium juice. However, Menczer never shied away from heavier conditions, especially given her small frame, as she performed well in meaty beach break as well as in Hawaii.

Ironically, her consistently aggressive performances around the world cloaked a painful secret. Menczer suffered silently from rheumatoid arthritis throughout her career. For much of her time as a professional, she reportedly awoke at 4 in the morning to complete a ritual of stretching and hot showers to loosen muscles and joints. In 1993, Menczer won the world title. Just weeks before the final event at Sunset, she suffered an attack of arthritis so severe she was forced into a wheelchair. She fought her way into the final and won the title by an edge.  She told the Sun-Herald, “The year I went for the world title I could barely walk but as soon as the hooter went I was fine in the surf,” she said. “But afterwards I’d hobble back up the beach again.” A combination of diet and exercise helped her to control the pain and swelling associated with her malady.

She continued to battle on the tour, reaching 5^th in 1995, 2^nd in ‘96, 6^th in ‘97, and 7^th in ‘98. She won a total of 28 professional events and along the way earned the name “Naughty Pauls.” In 2000, she suffered a shattered nose while surfing in France and needed surgery. Two years later, she topped the WQS, stating, “I’ve won a world amateur title and a world professional title, so I felt like it was something I had to try to win also.” Shockingly, she still had no sponsors to support her efforts. By 2008, Menzcer’s mission was on hold, telling Jetty Girl Magazine, “The best thing for me is in the last 10 days my body is finally feeling better after having 8 months of bad arthritis. I hope to get back in the surf very soon as it’s been 5 months without surfing.”

Menzcer once said, “My heroes are anyone with a disability that gets out there and has a go,” and she has clearly suffered at the hands of arthritis, a fact that offers the media an easy angle, but her story is actually much more simple. It’s about a pure love of the sport of surfing and all that comes with it: the rush, the lifestyle, the fitness and a unique connection to nature. Menczer has used professional surfing to stay in the water as long as possible. She’s used competition to stay driven, saying that she thrives off the stress and “showing off” for the crowd. Those aren’t easy feelings to replicate in the “real world.” She knows this. With offers to coach and a surfing stoke that surely burns as brightly as ever; it’s a guarantee that the world has not seen the last of Pauline Menczer.  While she still battles her arthritis, she was reported to be spending time in her Australian home with her dogs Beaute and Lulu, gardening and looking forward to the next swell. She lives by a simple adage: “As I’ve told people before, I don’t want to give up competing until I have my first walking stick.”

Derek Ho – Biography

The first Pipe Masters was held in 1971 while a 7 year-old Derek Ho played on the beach, digging holes and building castles in the sand. He had no idea he would someday rule the giant waves exploding on the reef 50 yards away. And rule he did! Derek Ho’s career was impressive. He achieved undisputed master status on the era’s ultimate wave and won the sport’s ultimate title. WhileHawaiiis blessed with some of the most powerful and abundant waves on the planet, very few Hawaiian born and bred surfers have reached the top of the professional surf rankings. In fact, none had ever achieved the feat until this small framed goofy foot with deep island roots made a name for himself in the barrel of one of the planet’s heaviest lefthanders and ignited a 15 year career on the world stage.

Derek Ho was born on September 26, 1964 on the east side of Oahu in the small town ofKailua. He was the second cousin of iconicHonoluluentertainer Don Ho and son of a former Waikiki Beach Boy who spent his youth wandering theSouthShorebeaches, surfing perfect reefbreaks, and soaking up the Pacific sunshine. Naturally, his two boys, Michael and Derek, would soon be surfing. With great waves surrounding the island, it wasn’t long until older brother Michael was ripping. Little Derek began surfing at the mere age of 3 and, like his brother, showed talent immediately. His early development was a family affair according to legendary surfboard shaper and surfing coach Ben Aipa. “From day one when his brother was yelling at him to come out and surf the break at Ala Moana and Derek was inside crying, Michael was a big part of the tutelage for Derek’s success.” Interestingly, many years later, the two brothers would go on to be the first siblings to place together in the elite Top 16.

As the brothers developed, Michael made the jump on to the International Professional Surfing (IPS) tour. He would go on to finish in the Top 16 for 10 consecutive seasons. Just a glimpse at his competition at the time speaks to the performance level of the era and the amount of great surfing a young Derek must have absorbed just by osmosis. Derek watched his brother compete against names like Rabbit Bartholomew, Shaun Tompson, and Mark Richards. Nevertheless, when he wasn’t honing his craft amid the shifting peaks of Sandy Beach, Derek was falling into common teenage traps of petty crime and drugs, even spending a short time in jail. But according to Jason Borte, “NorthShore godfather Brian Suratt intervened and got Derek to Japan for the 1982 Marui Open.” Ho made the semifinals and from that point on dedicated himself to professional surfing.

The following year, Ho finished 3^rdplace at the 1983 Pipeline Masters, leaving him ranked 30^th in the world and still shooting for the bar set by older brother, Michael. Derek handily hit his first target by winning the Hawaiian Triple Crown in 1984 (he would win that coveted title in ’86, ’88, and ’89). Hawaii was always where he shined brightest.  Weighing in at around 130 pounds, Ho never relied on man-handling big waves. He instead respected their momentum, weaving in and out of the pocket with a smooth, pleasing style made up of full-bodied round-house cutbacks, vertical snaps, and, of course, a laser guided barrel riding approach. However, Ho ran hot and cold internationally. He was ranked as high as 2^nd in 1989 and down to a low point of 36^th in 1992, a year that saw a watershed shift in performance with the rise of newly crowned world champion Kelly Slater.

The following year, however, the title came down to Pipeline, and no one rode that wave like Derek Ho, who was then in 5^th place. The race was wide open with such varied contenders as Kelly Slater, Gary Elkerton, Martin Potter, and Rob Machado vying for the title. Ho took the final event at perfect Pipe and became the 1^st male Hawaiian and oldest world champion at 29. He continued to travel and compete as a new crop of surfers climbed the ranks. After seriously severing his right patellar tendon in G-Land in 1997, Ho slowly retreated over the course of the next few years to his Pupukea Heights home just minutes from his beloved Pipeline, competing locally and surfing when the waves are good. He told Midweek’s Steve Murray, “I still love having fun getting out there, being active when the waves are good. I can’t escape the ocean. I’ve been doing it all my life.”

What’s left for Ho to prove?  After 15 years on tour, he finished in the Top 16 nine times and proved his mettle in everything from windblown slop to throttling tubes. He amassed some half a million dollars in winnings and secured Hawaii’s first world title. He won the Triple Crown 3 times and the Pipeline Masters twice. He told Greg Ambrose of the Star-Bulletin in 1997, “My proudest moment has been to take my family out to theNorthShore to live. To make it off of surfing and live this type of lifestyle with my wife and two kids and taking care of my mom is my greatest accomplishment. Everything else was just a bonus.”

After traveling the planet and reaching the pinnacle of success, some might see ending right where you started to be kind of a let down. But for Derek Ho, being back in theHawaiisurrounded by family, friends, and great surf is the way it’s supposed to be.

Andy Irons – Biography

Andy Irons burned like a Roman candle. His brief 32 years on earth were spent traveling, exploring, and ripping the bones out of every wave he came in contact with. While the media spent the months (maybe years) implying, speculating, and pointing fingers as to what or to whom was to blame for his untimely death; in the end, it was more important how Andy spent his life. He grew up in idyllic, Shire-like Hanalei, Kauai surrounded by close friends and family. His childhood was steeped in the energy of world-class waves, and his heart percolated with an aggressive, competitive drive honed razor-sharp by a fierce sibling rivalry with his free-surfing superstar brother. Of contests, Andy once said, “If I can’t get first, I’d rather get last.” A man of extremes, nobody mixed cool and hot like him, and nobody forced Kelly Slater to the ropes so confidently. A world champion 3 times over, Irons was simultaneously a hot-head small wave wizard and a charismatic big-wave master. No matter how history treats him, his mark in professional and progressive surfing is deep and indelible.

Andy’s father, Phil arrived in Hawaii from California in the early 70’s, setting up a home in a tent on the beach. Andy was born in 1978 in Lihue, Kauai and he began surfing at 8 years old, developing early skill amid a tight knit group of fellow groms. Like all the Hanalei kids, he and his brother cut their teeth at Pinetrees, a shifting sandbar that could swing from crap to classic in an instant, but stepped up to Hanalei Bay, a perfect machine-like right hander just a few hundred yards paddle away. If ever there was fertile ground for becoming a well-rounded surfer, Hanalei was it. While he had quickly taken to the water, Andy actually preferred body boards for a bit. But spurred on by his younger brother, he wouldn’t lie down for long.  Andy placed 3^rd in the boys’ division of the 1992 and ’93 U.S. Championships and went on a tear the next two years with a win in the juniors division at the ‘96 U.S. Championships as well as taking first in both the junior’s and men’s division of the NSSA Championships. He also took his first professional win at the HIC Pipeline Pro. In thick windy conditions, 17 year-old Irons bested Pipe Master Derek Ho and brother Bruce in the final. If anyone doubted his ability, Irons went one further with a win at the Tahiti Pro at Teahupo. Not even out of high school, Andy was poised to step onto the ASP Tour and into history.

By 1998, Andy Irons had secured a win at the world junior championship and qualified for the ASP tour rated 21^st in the world rankings. It seemed that nothing could stop the rise of Andy Irons. But he faltered, falling prey to the lure of so much freedom at so young an age. “Too much partying,” he explained as the reason for his 34^th place finish in 1999 while murmurs of his burnout and imminent failure abound. But in what would become a pattern throughout his career, Irons proved the critics wrong and fired back in 2000 with a top 16 finish. His fire sometimes ran wild, getting fined $1500 in 2000 for a post heat brawl with Mick Campbell in France, but he continued to progress. He climbed to 10^th place in 2001, signed a 6-year contract with Billabong said to be worth some $650,000 a year, and then snatched the ultimate trifecta in 2002: World title, Pipe Masters, and the Triple Crown. The next three years saw Andy Irons at full power, going on to win two more world championships.

Three world titles is a phenomenon in any sport, but strangely this would not make up the bulk of his legacy. Instead, the most indelible memory of the Irons era was that of the rivalry that developed between him and Kelly Slater. Surfing had seen nothing like it. Irons played the Vader to Slater’s Luke, and the dark side prevailed in spectacular fashion. One of Andy’s boyhood surf heroes, Slater was returning to the tour with expectations of a quick victory, but their personas could be no more non grata. Kelly’s rivals all fell until only Irons stood in the way, an unyielding domino. If Slater was a machine, Irons was a force of nature, and the ’03, ’04 seasons would be the stuff of surf lore. Fred Pawle describes further, “Where Slater was clinical and ambitious, Irons was creative and reckless. Surfers saw this as a more authentic reflection of themselves, and loved him for it.”

With contest results and journalistic drama just a click away from a world of rabid surf fans, the rivalry overshadowed everything else. Slater, clad in an all-white full suit and Andy surrounded by a snarling “wolf pack”; we watched them battle. No moment was more dramatic than the finals of the 2003 Pipe Masters, last contest of the year, Slater and Irons in the final: Winner take all. Kelly whispered “I love you” to Irons on the beach either in a moment of sincere respect or the ultimate psyche out move. But Andy took the heat and sent Slater crying to the showers. Irons won the world title the following year for good measure to make it three straight. However, storms loomed on the horizon. Slater would later credit the Kauai surfer for driving him to his later success, telling Surfer Magazine, “…losing to Andy in 2003 for me was great.” The tide was set to change. A new Slater era was poised to rise as Irons’ star fell with winning results becoming more sporadic.

His ranking declined until he eventually bailed the tour in 2008. Veiled language in the press alluded to partying and a “breakdown” in Europe, but on the surface, Irons was newly wedded and looking for some rest, some time to recharge the batteries. Slater and Irons met for Transworld Surf’s DVD Fly in the Champagne where the two one-time enemies surfed together and put their past behind them. The accompanying print article made a point to mention how Irons avoided the resort bar, drinking only water. He later admitted that he had given up drinking to be a “better man”. His return to the tour in 2010 (while unremarkable for a 3-time champ still in fighting shape) was solid with a forceful win at Teahupo. Clean living, married, baby on the way, a big win under his belt; it looked like Andy Irons was right where he wanted to be.

But in November of 2010, the former champion was found dead in a Dallas hotel the same week Kelly Slater secured his record 10^th world title. Irons had left the Rip Curl event in Puerto Rico due to illness, and in just days after his death, reports of Dengue Fever were replaced by names of prescription and illegal drugs.  In a world of irony and circumstance, it seemed that events had bounced from one polar opposite to the other. The final toxicology report pointed to a heart attack caused by hardening of the arteries with a secondary cause of “acute mixed drug ingestion.”  All this served to tear down the façade created for the public by magazines, advertisers, and the surfing world with revelations of a Bi-polar Disorder diagnosis at 18. While traditionally protective of its own, the surfing culture had to square with its own global saturation when morning talk shows and entertainment channels clawed for answers.

At only 32, Andy Irons was gone. More than a decade earlier, he left the secluded paradise of Hanalei for an international journey that would garner 3 world championships, global respect, and the historical distinction as Kelly Slater’s greatest rival. Like many before him, Irons wrestled his demons, but in the end, he left a legacy of artwork etched across the era’s greatest waves in photos and movies that stoked a generation. With attitude and style, Irons melded island poise with new school aggression, flying high over closeout beach breaks and standing relaxed just inches from a crushing lip. He played the part of the classic tragic hero whose future is cut short by unfortunate, internal forces. But the story would have sucked without him.