1. Stealing.
We used to break into cars and rob people when I was 12 and 13. I grew up in not the best of neighbourhoods – Umbilo, Durban. It was the worst neighbourhood to grow up in. My whole neighbourhood were black kids. My family were the only white family. All my friends, all the people in my school, were African, and I just mixed in with them. That’s just how it went. We used to try to rob younger kids than us, try to rob older people, break into cars, steal stereos. Do stupid things. The other kids would have a knife on them and hold it to people and say, “give me your cell phone or your wallet.” Then we’d run off and laugh. Not too cool. One of those guys went to jail. He did some pretty bad stuff. But a couple of the other guys made it out all right. They got jobs and stuff. I don’t stay in contact with them much any more. We were just being little punk kids, not really knowing what we wanted in life. I was like 14 or 15 when I realised I could make a living out of surfing if I kept going hard, so I grew out of it then. My parents told me that if I kept carrying on like this I’d end up in the wrong place. I just thought life’s too short to be living out of a prison cell.
2. Cheating exams.
I cheated a lot but I always got away with it. I used to go and sit near the smart kids in exams. I’d completely copy their whole test. There’d be stuff they didn’t know but I did, so I’d wind up getting higher marks. A couple of times I got called into the principal’s office and asked, “Are you sure this is your work?” I’d be like, “Of course it’s my work.” I always got away with it, though, so I wouldn’t say it’s a mistake.
3. Not hitting on girls.
Pretty much after every time I meet a girl, I think, damn, I should have spoken to her, I should have kissed her or something.
4. Losing against Taj in the fourth round at Trestles last year.
I was feeling really good about that contest. I was against Taj and had priority. I paddled for this wave, it was just a stupid closeout, and stopped a little bit before it, but they switched the priority right at that second. I was like, “Are you kidding me?” The very next wave was a bomb. Taj got it. Taj can get an eight on a one-foot wave or a four-foot wave. It’s pretty hard to hold someone like that off. He’s got all the tricks in the book and he can pull out any one of those cards at any time.
5. Having a bad 2008.
I didn’t have the year I wanted but I gained a lot of experience, so it was probably the best year for me. I’d never lost like that before. You’ve got to learn to lose before you can learn to win. Coming towards the last event in Hawaii, I was feeling the most comfortable I’ve felt in four years. I didn’t care much; I was just going to go out there and surf. It paid off. I realised that being relaxed and chilled out actually works better for me than being down at the contest and trying to suss things out and things like that. It worked in my favour. Hopefully it works for me this year.
6. Going for a stupid air at home in February.
I was surfing shitty waves at my home break. It was howling onshore, like four feet. I did an air and landed in a trough. I probably shouldn’t have landed it. My board went one way and my knee went the other. My knee tweaked. It was my left knee, the same one I injured at Sunset. I just thought, “here we go again.” It’s only 50-60 per cent at the moment. We’re doing a bunch of work on it. I’m hoping to be ready for the contest (Quiksilver Pro).
7. Missing flights.
I missed one out of LA last year. I was sitting at the gate listening to my headphones, listening to Mickey Avalon, and didn’t hear them change the gate. There wasn’t another flight for another day. I waited at the airport for that, and it took me five days to get home. Sunday night to Friday afternoon. That was the worst nightmare of my life. Had to go to Tahiti, to Auckland, to Singapore, then freakin’ Johannesberg with the longest layovers ever. It takes forever to get over that kind of jetlag.
8. Car smash.
I don’t know how many people can say they’ve written off a car while reversing. I was reversing this rental car through a gate at Villa Monzi, on the south coast at home. I was halfway through it when the gate started closing in on me. I shat myself. I was a little bit under the influence. I hit the gas. And the thing just pranged into the side of the gate and the back wall. The whole gate fell on the car. It was just an absolute wreck. I kept trying to reverse with the gate on the car; it was pathetic. I had to get out and take the gate off the bonnet of the car. The gate and the whole system was wrecked. It was pitch black, so I couldn’t see what I’d done to the car. So I went home, parked in the little chalet where we were staying, and told my friend, “Hey, SK, I think I crashed the car.” He said, “Don’t worry, it’s probably only a little scratch.” I was like, cool, and went to bed. In the morning SK woke up and went outside and just went “HOLY FUCK!” I just woke and went, oh my gosh. He just went, “what did you do?” I was just like, whoopsie! It was a very expensive weekend. The car cost 15 grand, and five grand for the gate.
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Reply #2 on : Thu July 23, 2009, 10:59:09