Stab Magazine | Bede Durbidge Discusses His Determined Return To Pipeline

Live Now — Episode 3 Of Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico

319 Views

Bede Durbidge Discusses His Determined Return To Pipeline

11 months and a fractured pelvis later…Bede will surf the Triple Crown. 

news // Aug 13, 2016
Words by Stab
Reading Time: 4 minutes

Bede’s back, baby! Some alliterations are just too good to pass up. After exploding his pelvis on the reef at the Pipe Masters last year, Bede has announced that he’ll be surfing all three events in the 2016 Triple Crown.

“I think Hawaii is the perfect place to come back to competition,” says Bede, who’s currently ensconced with family on Stradbroke Island. “The waves have a lot of power, so it’s actually easier on your body because you don’t have to work for speed. It will also be just under 11 months out of competition, so I will have given my body the chance to recover 100 percent. I’m definitely a little nervous about surfing Pipe if it’s solid. I think once I get out there and get that first wave out of the way I’ll be fine. Instincts always kick in and you don’t have time to think about it anyway.”

Immediately after he got sucked over the falls in round three of the Pipe Masters, Bede underwent emergency surgery and was relegated to a wheelchair for weeks thereafter. But brick by painful brick he’s built himself back into form. To the point where he’s taking off behind the rocks at Snapper and has some big plans for the next few months.

“I’m feeling great,” continues Bede. “Every surf I go for it feels better and better. I get a bit fatigued and stiff, but a couple more months and I’ll be 100 percent.”

It’s become cliché to say that an injury can be a blessing in disguise, but for Bede it was. There really is a silver lining in the dark cloud that almost ended his career.

ResizedImageWzY1MCw0MzNd 7f6cfa61c317650473ea60f47ecd9719

They said this was the beginning of the end for Bede… Photo: WSL

“Even though it was the worst time of my life physically, it was one of the best times of my life mentally,” explains Bede. “I was able to really engage with my family, give them my full attention and not be worrying about getting ready for the next comp or ducking off for a surf every second of the day. There was definitely some great positives out of a crappy situation.”

“I have replayed the wave I got injured on a million times in my head trying to figured out how I could have changed the situation, but really it was just a freak accident. I think surfing it again in a rashie will help me let go and move on. Once I was told it’d be a 12-month recovery that became my goal, I wanted to surf the Triple Crown and surf Pipe.”

Using his time away from the tour to reconnect with his homeland, his friends, and his family, he’s also been helping his mate John John Florence continue his world title push. Lest we forget, at the height of his power Bede was the ultimate giant killer—just ask Kelly Slater. And while he was unable to surf himself, he reveled in the opportunity to usher double John along.

“I have been fortunate enough to be able to work with John a bit this year and he is such a freak of a talent,” says Bede. “He has shown the world how good he can surf but he wanted to really get after his goal this year and get some consistency in his competitive approach. I act as a sounding board and just throw my two cents in when needed. He really wanted to work on his flow at the points and closing out heats, and you can clearly see that in his surfing now. He is on track and I can’t wait to see it all unfold at the end.” 

Bede Hospital

From down and out to up and at ’em. Photo: @bededurbo

Working with the team at the Surfing Australia High Performance Centre, today Bede’s nearly back to 100 percent. Using test fitness results and records going back a number of years, Bede’s been able to chart the progress of his physical rehab and reports that as far as strength and endurance are concerned, he’s pretty much back to where they were prior to the injury. Because of the extreme nature of a broken pelvis, the bone density’s not quite what it was. But doctors estimate it’s just a matter of months until he’s fully healed.

“I had mixed reports in the hospital in Hawaii when I would ask how long it would take me to get back on tour,” he says. “No one would answer my question for the first week I guess because they didn’t know and didn’t want to give me false hopes. Then right before I left Hawaii to get transferred back to Australia they told me it would be about three months [laughs]. I had only just got out of the wheelchair after three months. I think they wanted to lift my spirits and pump me up before I left because they knew they wouldn’t see me again. When I got back to Australia I saw my specialist and he said it would be at least 12. It was really hard to hear but I was glad he was honest.”

f1e8789749f2a29515d705d7845539b6

This is how you backdoor Backdoor. Photo: WSL

Bede’s always been one of the true gentlemen in our sport, and to see his grit and determination to get through this injury that some speculated would take him out of the game completely—or at the very least leave him with a tragic poo stance. Throughout the recovery process Bede’s taken it all in stride.

“Of all things, standing up to pee was one of the most rewarding moments in this process,” laughs Bede now. “I remember when I could finally do it after a few months I was just so excited. Little things like that were so rewarding.”

 

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

Expect No Kiss, All Climax At The “World’s Most Perfect Pointbreak”

A Corona Cero Open J-Bay 2025 preview.

Jul 9, 2025

SEOTY: Liam O’Brien stars in ‘Friction of Perception’

"Hopefully I don’t come across like too much of a peanut."

Jul 8, 2025

10 Shapers To Watch In The Next 10 Years — Part One

“It’s like a drug empire, man. Cut the head off the snakes, and more will…

Jul 7, 2025

Mason Ho Joins Ritual Vision, Releases Remix Of Greatest Hits

Dion Agius riffs on the eyewear brand’s U.S. expansion, Ritualistic Tendencies, and the new stars…

Jul 7, 2025

Is It Time For A New Judging Format?

We have a modest proposal — a WSL head judge disagrees.

Jul 7, 2025

Luke Thompson Turns Last Year’s Priority Disaster Into Ballito Gold

+ earns himself a wildcard into Jbay.

Jul 7, 2025

Fiji Has Its First Professional Surfer, And He’s Unbelievable

16-year-old James Kusitino’s incomprehensible tube lounging leads to a deal with Former.

Jul 6, 2025

Laird Hamilton on The Limitations of Being a Purist, Invention vs. Ownership + Why He Never Had a Sticker Deal 

Untold stories from his How Surfers Get Paid interview.

Jul 4, 2025

Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico: Episode 3

"The tribe has spoken," Dane Reynolds pronounced, and a surfer's torch was snuffed.

Jul 3, 2025

When Surfer’s Eye Is Actually Cancer

Erin Campbell's brutal journey from surf camp dreams to chemo drops, cryotherapy, and surgical horror.

Jul 3, 2025

Surfing’s 2025 Q2 Report

An assessment of surfing's vital signs throughout the second quarter of 2025.

Jul 2, 2025

What Actually Happened to Occy’s Mad Max Plunger Pool In Yeppoon?

Surf Lakes’ brass talks: internet hecklers, the unplugging of the plunger, and the Tom Curren…

Jul 2, 2025

Poor Goofy Foots 

Data shows that the world is stacked against goofs — they even make 15% less money than…

Jul 1, 2025

Britain’s First Wavepool Has Closed — What Really Happened?

Bankruptcy, social media hackings, debts unpaid — and yet, reopening looms.

Jul 1, 2025

Watch: Was Matt Meola’s Air Actually Better Than Hughie’s?

Watch the full Swatch Nines highlight reel and decide.

Jun 30, 2025

Houshmand Bludgeons Field To Win Second CT — Molly Picklum Tastes Blood, Snatches World #1 In Brazil

You can't argue with big surfing — that's Saquarema wrapped.

Jun 29, 2025

37 Years Old And World #1 — What’s Changed For Jordy Smith?

On rediscovering decades old surfboard templates, having a personality on the CT, and why this…

Jun 27, 2025

Tom Lowe Stars in ‘Let Me Live’

The wild, improbable ascent of Britain’s best big-wave surfer.

Jun 27, 2025
Advertisement