Yadin Nicol: Fire In The West

Prior to his round five exit today, Yadin Nicol was a dazzling presence at the Margaret River Pro. His heats at Margies included moments like showing Mick Fanning the exit with a huge frontside full rote. On land he was his affable self, forever looking through rose-tinted eyewear, happy to pen autographs and play host to his CT buddies while they’re in town. So, what else is behind that inextinguishable WA charm? The acceptance of the hardest call of all time at Pipe last year, what it’s like to be a dad, and life outside of the dream bubble, among other things…

Interview by Craig Jarvis

Stab: You had a lot of vibe during this event.
Yadin: I don’t know about that. There were a few heats where it wasn’t that clear a result, where it didn’t go that well for me, so on paper I might have been looking strong but it’s a bit more complicated than that. I didn’t really prepare for this event at all, y’know? I was going to be over here no matter what. I live in California now, and I was going to come out and hang for six weeks and just cruise with friends and family, surf a whole lot and relax.

Man o’ the people. ASP/Kirstin

How’d you feel after Pipe last year? Aaah man, I’m over that. I reckon that at the time I felt as bad as I could feel. It felt like shit, there was nothing good about it. It never feels good to lose. I was pretty over contests right then, y’know? Contests were a tough sell for me after that.

Now that time’s passed… thoughts on Mick’s wave? That’s in the past now. I have no opinion. It didn’t go my way, and I can’t change anything that happened. Heats can go either way and, I don’t know, I had no control over it. It was an incredible heat for sure. Whoever has an opinion on what Mick’s wave was worth, it was still pretty exciting, and it was actually incredible that he got that wave when he did. It totally baffled me, to be honest. The fact that he found that wave when he did, and rode it as he did. Baffling.

Despite losing, was it one of the best heats you’ve surfed? No. I lost and losses sting. You remember your losses more because they hurt. There were some waves in that heat and in the event that I’ll remember as some of my best waves, but I’m not going to remember that heat as one of my best.

Spin to the wind for those big numbers. ASP/Kirstin

What are your plans after this event, and for the year? Well, I was going to go straight back to Cali, but now I just don’t know how I can go back so soon. I’m not ready to let go of West Oz just yet. My wife and son and mom-in-law are here with me, and we were just pondering how to stay on for a bit. I’m not ready to go back to California and I don’t want to leave. At some stage I’ll have to make the call, but we’re going to hang around for a bit longer, and that’s as far as I can see into the future right now.

Waves keeping you grounded? Pretty much. I got here at the start of March and it was just pumping for three weeks. I was so sure that the contest was going to get waves. It’s the right time and season and all, but it’s been pretty average for the contest. It’s just unlucky, I guess. A recent storm blew the rivermouth out and a bunch of sand was dumped on the left, so they’ve been shit, and everyone’s been surfing the rights. I think the only score I’ve seen on a left was Jadson doing a single air, otherwise it’s been the rights. I reckon it’s going to turn on again some time soon, probably after the contest.

Yades is the hostess with the mostest when it comes to the West. Photo by Tom Carey

What’s the best thing about Margies? Fuck. There’s just no one around. If you want to find that perfect, empty little beachbreak or little reef you’ve just got to drive a bit. It’s so laid back and chilled here, there’s too many things that I love about this place. Which makes it so hard to leave.

Best bar? It’s been fucking years since I’ve been to the pubs at Margies. It’s a fun place and there are some great pubs and there are a lot of good times to be had here, but I’ve been steering clear. Better that way.

Tell us about the evolution of life and your shifted goals? I want to raise a respectful kid. Hopefully my kid will grow up and not be a little shit, y’know? That’s my goal. To make sure my kid doesn’t grow up to be a little shit. It’s hard to say no all the time to him; he’s such a cool little kid. But right now he’s been a little shit.

Just after this, Yades spotted an unwelcome visitor in the deep and cleared the lineup. Them’s the breaks around these parts. Photo: Ryan Miller/redbull.com/surfing