The Prophetic Snake

Jake Paterson was surfing’s greatest over-achiever. Thanks to the nature of his competitive spirit and tactical nous, Jake enjoyed victories at J-Bay, Pipe and Sunset during Kelly Slater’s peak. Whether he’s on-site or online, there’d be very few ASP WT heats that Jake’d miss in a year. He can now add ‘dialled sports commentary’ to his list of achievements. With the 2011 WT set to kick-off at the the Quiksilver Pro, Gold Coast in three weeks, Stab called Jake to find out who he thinks will win the world title this year and find out what Kelly Slater’s gonna do.

Stab: Straight-up, who’s gonna win the world title this year?
Jake Paterson: There’s always the same contenders. (Joel) Parko’s going to be back in the mix, Mick (Fanning)… I mean, there’s only a handful of guys that can win it. If Kelly does the tour he could win, but who knows what he’s gonna do. Kelly, Mick, Taj (Burrow), Jordy (Smith)… they’re the guys. Dane (Reynolds) isn’t even interested in winning a world title, so I don’t think he’s even a contender. Then you’ve got a couple of new guys. Julian (Wilson) – he might be a bit green around the ears to throw his hat in the ring. But, the Hobgoods are done. I don’t think they’ve got a chance these days.

Do you think Jordy’s ready now? For sure. After last year, he would’ve learned a hell of a lot. And you know what? I reckon there’s a couple of underdogs that’ve got a chance: Bede (Durbidge) and Owen Wright. I think it’s only a matter of time before Owen wins a couple of events and whether they’re in the same year or not is… we’ll see. That kid’s phenomenal, the talent that he’s got and how solid he is. And Bede, he can step up to any level that he’s competing against.

We saw that at Trestles. Exactly. He’s really consistent, too. He could go through a string of firsts and thirds all year and that’s what it takes to win titles.

How hungry’s Joel gonna be? He’ll be really hungry. He’s going to throw the cat amongst the pigeons this year, especially at places like Bells. His talent is just phenomenal and he prepares. He trains hard. He’s ready. And, it normally seems like the guy who gets an injury has that little rest, bounces back and he’s the one you’ve got to look out for.

He was on in Hawaii. Yeah, well that’s what Mick did after he did his hamstring. He came out and won the first event after his injury.

Anyone else? I go through the list and I can’t really see it. You’ve got Taj – he can do it, so long as he gets his head in the right spot. The other guys on the tour can win events, but to put a whole year together is a huge feat. Guys like Adriano (De Souza) or Jeremy (Flores) are capable of winning events, but to win the title it’s a campaign that’s like no other. You’ve gotta be talented in two-foot to 10-foot barrels and so few guys get there.

Let’s talk about Kelly. After he won the title so easily last year, you’d think he’d do it in a heartbeat. It all depends on how much it takes out of him. Who knows whether he just enjoyed it or found it hard work last year. You never know with Kelly. Last year might have been enough for him, ’cause he’s got nothing else to prove now.

Do you think he could win 11 or 12 or even more titles? For sure. He constantly lifts the bar! He did stuff last year that was absolutely phenomenal. He mixes it up with Jordy and those guys and not just with the aerial moves, but the power as well. He’s gone back to conventional equipment pretty much. Like, his boards might be a bit shorter, but he’s not riding snub-noses and quads. He was pretty serious last year. The year before, he was riding round-nosed, weird things and still trying to win. I mean, he still came third, but I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have lost some of those heats that he lost if he was riding the equipment he rode last year. But anyway, it could be one of those things where he goes, “Ah yeah, I’ll go to the Gold Coast and see how I feel. If I feel good, see you at Bells!” But then again, Bells is really late… it’s around a six-week gap, he might wanna go home.

Will his girl Kalani play any role in it? Is he reaching that ‘settle down’ age? I don’t think so, I don’t think he’ll ever be a ‘settle-down’ kinda guy. He’s a freak. He travels everywhere looking for swell. He’s constantly on the internet looking for swell and if it looks amazing, he’s off. I think he’s always going to be like that. And Kalani’s young, so I don’t think she’ll be ready to settle down either. I think it’s pretty perfect at the moment. I don’t think he’s ever going to be a ‘settle-down and have a couple of kids kinda’ guy.