“I’d Wanna Beat John John, Just Because Everyone Sucks His Ass!”

“I thought you were gonna do a ‘Joy of Sex’ with us!?” was the first thing Quik Young Gun turned Grown Man turned Margaret River Pro trial runner up, Kael Walsh, was accosted with.

Kael Walsh ended up going down to Dave Delroy-Carr in the final of the trials and both the gents will now be facing the top-tier come tomorrow morning at North Point. 

Kael had just woken up, after brushing this interview request regarding his first CT appearance back a few hours –so he could go back to bed.

“Ahh, shit,” he laughs. “Did you talk to Buck [Brendan Buckley]?”

“Yeah, you were putting out the ZOND edit and Buck wanted to know what we wanted to hear from you, I told him ‘let’s get a fresh 18-year-old take on the ‘Joy of Sex.’”

“On the Goldie, Buck was so hyped on that. He was more amped on the ‘Joy of Sex’ interview than the clip I was trying to make and post!”

“You should do it, but it’ll be hard to top Wiggolly’s (read all about Wiggolly Dantas’ mom’s sex shop here) though…”

“I know! Everyone is still talking about Wiggolly’s,” he laughs. “I’m still thinking about it, it’s not off the table.”

Kael’s been on our radar for years now. The Yallingup local, at 16, was dropping jaw slacking clips, and that hasn’t slowed down (See ZOND above). He’s more than apt in the air, does the tube better than most, and is an absolute product of the waves brought by his environment (Think Taj Burrow, Jay Davies, Jack Robinson). Yesterday, the sprightly 18-year-old won the trials, gaining entrance to the unsponsored Main Break but hopefully North Point or The Box surfing festival. He’s slated to surf against Gabriel Medina and Joan Duru in his first CT round.

After sleeping in, we had a somewhat pointed discussion.

Mr Walsh and WA tubes are old friends.

Stab: So, you gonna smoke Gabby at home or what?
Kael: If the comp goes to North Point, I fucking hope so!

North Point is the hardest wave to surf on your backhand; I feel sorry for the goofyfooters out there. I’m really hoping it’s at North Point, that would be the cherry on top. For the goofies, it’s a really hard wave to get a good read on. You always end up high in the tube and then it slows down and you have to read that and cut back down into it. That would be the biggest job going backside.

If you could beat anyone on tour, who would it be?
John John. Just because everyone sucks his ass! [laughs] Plus, he’s so good. John’s 100 percent the guy to beat, especially over here.

Is the swell looking right for North Point?
Ah, it looks a little suss… I don’t know. I’d rather think it’s gonna be shit and doubt it and then be stoked when it’s good than think it’s going to be good and have it be bad.

How’d the trials go at Main Break yesterday?
I’m pretty tired. Yesterday was a big day of surf. At Main Break, when you surf a couple heats you’re exhausted. It was pretty big, a few odd ten-footers came through and cleaned everybody up. Then the wind picked up around the final.

No one cared about the final though. We were told that we were both going to make it (due to Jeremy Flores pulling out). It was me and Dave [Delroy-Carr] just cruising.

What are your thoughts if the event stays at Main Break?
To be honest, I only surf Main Break once or twice a year before the trials. It’s hard work when it’s over six foot. If you get caught inside and washed in on a set that’s like ten minutes of your heat wasted. I swear anyone could surf that wave. It’s pretty sick. You just have to be wary of the paddle out and the little bubbles on the inside. That’s where people screw up out there.

How far does local knowledge go here? 
I reckon we 100 percent have an advantage. I was surfing North Point yesterday and Seabass was like, ‘Where’s the lineup?’ That’s the thing, there isn’t really a lineup that everyone sits on. You have to know where the ledge is out there and be constantly paddling up or else you’ll get caught on a set and thrown out of place.

Who has been the best guy from WA to make it into the event from the trials?
Jay Davies for sure! That was sick. He just went and gave it to everyone at Margies then at The Box. I was about 14 when that happened. Jay’s from Yallingup as well. He’s a sick cunt! He was pretty rattled yesterday in the trials. He let a few waves pass and it torched his heat. If he’d grabbed them I’m sure he would’ve smoked everyone.

He’s a big boy too! He’s huge [laughs]. He’d be fucked up if he was a bodybuilder. He’s not even a bodybuilder, but he looks like he is!

Who’s going to struggle the most in the event?
God, I don’t even know half the guys on tour [laughs]. I’ll just drop someone’s name, uhh, Ian Gouveia. You got to drop a Brazzo because there are so many of them on tour [laughs].

What are your go-to boards for the comp?
I got a 6’2” and a couple 6’0”s. You don’t need a big board at Margies or North Point. It’s not like Hawaii where you need paddle power. Over here you can scratch into them and take off under the lip. Both places are really powerful but it’s super different compared to Hawaii where you need to paddle in as hard as you can. Even if it’s 10-foot at Margies’ Main, you only want a 6’3” maybe.

For your first CT, what are you looking most forward to?
Just the atmosphere. Being around all those guys, and surfing the event. That’s pretty much everyone’s goal as a surfer. Also, I think it’ll be funny to see everyone taking it so seriously and I’ll just be hanging out and having fun with it.