What I think about, with Jay Davies

What I think about, with Jay Davies, 27, WA

Interview by Tom Bird | Photos by Chris Gurney

Second chances. RVCA has been a second chance career. It’s been awesome. They’re heavily based on getting content and I enjoy having a bunch of shit to do. I still want to stand in my own zone though, and do my own thing. But fuck, it’s cool to have people and ideas thrown at me all the time.

Being judgemental. The team I’m a part of is completely different to anyone I’ve hung out with before. I mean, when would I have ever crossed paths with Alex Knost? At first, I was really narrow-minded in my own little world and not very open to it all. But I’ve spent a bit of time with Alex over the last few months and he’s an unreal dude. He’s unique, and out of his mind, I’m sure, but he’s got such a different outlook on life. It’s really cool to see different people going about different things in different ways. It really helped me realise I’m not the only one in this world doing something in surfing. There’s other mechanics going on and dudes like Alex are killing it in their own way.

Girlfriends. Every time you go through a breakup you learn something about yourself. And, as shit as it can feel at the time, remember that it’s a good thing if the relationship’s cooked. It’s going to be tough if you live in the same town, and you need to give it time before you start looking at other skirt. Down time will be tough, you know, Monday nights when it’s raining and shit, especially in a small town. But keep sight of those positives, book a ticket to Sydney and get into making the year a good one.

Career longevity. My career will last for as long as I’m getting decent play counts. If I’m hustling more views then the other 10 guys on the team then I’m going to be a high priority to keep and I can get more budget to do the ideas that I’ve got.

Making surf videos in 2015. I’m not a monthly web-edit kind of surfer. It’ll be every three months or so, to make sure the quality is there. My budget is zero, basically, so it’s about working out how to fund my own projects. I want to have something that stands separately from RVCA’s narrative. I feel like my success has come from being on my own, and being in my own category. I want to hold onto that. I don’t want to sacrifice the quality of edits just for turnover. You’ve got to be aiming for 50k views, minimum, each edit.

Needing a caddy. You need someone on hand every day, no matter what, and that’s what I’m missing right now. John John Florence and Dane Reynolds are perfect examples. They have guys with lenses on them 24/7. At the end of the day, when you see the shit they’re doing, the reason is, yes, they’re the best, but they’ve also got someone filming, sitting on the beach, documenting every fucking session, every day. That’s what I need to get back to, I’d love to have someone to work with every day but I don’t have my brother to film me now.

“My career will last for as long as I’m getting decent play counts.”

Being an underrated surfer. It makes me feel stoked, but pretty weird, too. I don’t feel that underrated. I don’t feel like I should be the most overrated surfer, either. It seems weird that someone would talk that way. I’m supposed to be recognised, it’s my job.

The best surfing in the world. I keep hearing everyone talking about Filipe Toledo, but, the waves he is surfing are shitty, so I don’t think he’s the best surfer in the world right now. In my eyes, he’s doing amazingly for what he’s got. But, I’m still such a fan of Dane. I just watched Cluster and I got so psyched on Dion Agius, too. It might be pretty random for a regular footer like me to get pumped on someone like that, but I found his section to really suit his style of surfing. Noa Deane is still fucking crazy. I watch his section every day before I go surfing. Then it comes back to John John. I spoke to him about Teahupoo last year and how scary it was and he was like, “not that scary, it’s so perfect.” I was like, you’re a fucking fruit cake, mate. It’s 10 to 12 foot and black horizons. He’s a freak, he’s probably the closest to that number one spot.

Goofyfooters. I don’t ever look at those guys, I mean, I know they’re fucking nuts, but I don’t look at ‘em and go fuck, that’s what I want to go and do. It’s because I can’t relate to them. There’s some really good goofys. Miguel Pupo is a freak, especially backside. Gabriel Medina, too, but they make it look so easy that it’s hard to get excited to surf. You know what they’re doing is the hardest thing in the world but they’re so smooth that it’s kind of boring.

Surfing in the west. Unless you’re doing jumps and looking for howling southerlies, you’re not surfing past 1pm. Every day the winds kick in, without fail. Here’s my rundown. Funnest wave, Rabbit Hill. It’s not perfect, it’s challenging, and better yet, anyone from out of town looks at it and think it’s the worst wave in the world. But it’s my little skate park, and it’s the only place you don’t have to walk 20 miles to get to. The scariest wave down my way would be The Box. Up north, Tombies is easily one of the scariest waves on Earth. It’s also one of the best. For a tube you’ll never forget, North Point is it. There’s nothing else that comes close. If you’re hunting ramps I’ll look to North Point as well. But you can get the biggest ramps of your life at Cobblestones. I have the worst strike-rate out there though, I’m still learning it.

How to ruin surfing in the west. When that wind kicks in, you wouldn’t be wrong to start belting cans all arvo. It comes with the territory. Every time you have a good surf in West Oz you end up celebrating so hard that the next four days are a write off. Even though the forecast looks amazing for the whole week, if you get one fun day you can easily ruin it all. I remember last Easter, it was as good as it gets, and we torched ourselves on a Sunday to the point where I couldn’t move for the next three days. That’s just pure happiness and scoring waves, but it was firing the next few days and I was man-down.

Booze. It’s an ever changing relationship. I do love it, but sometimes I see the bad in it, f’sure. It’s a mixed bag. I could live without it, but you don’t ever want to. It’s a good release, and sometimes you need to cool off with a cold beer, or a nice glass of red on a winter’s night. I try to keep a lid on it every now and then, sometimes my lid just flips off though. Keep it social. As soon as you start belting piss every night solo, that’s when you’ve got a problem.

Sharks. I’ve never seen one at home. I get told about them, but I don’t see them, so I don’t even know if they exist. I guess they’re here, but at the end of the day, I’ve been on this coastline my whole life and I’m still yet to see a great white. People I know that are rarely at the beach are telling me they’ve seen massive great whites in the ocean every fucking day. That shits me, you know what, don’t fucking tell me about it because it’s not going to change anything for me. I’m still going to jump in there, whether it’s by myself or with one other dude, and go surfing.