OFF TOUR RECAP

Well, hello, hello all … it’s been a while. A world of change in my life,
so I’ll give you a quick recap. I went to Hawaii and knocked Occy out of his last heat … heavy, worst win ever. Anyway I lost next heat and ended my competitive career as well.

Me and The Occ. He is such a legend, the surfing world will miss him.
© Joli

Since then, I was offered an apprenticeship with Quiksilver learning the ropes, which I’m doing now. I haven’t missed the tour yet, I commentated at the Quik Pro on the Gold Coast and won the trials at Bells (“God’s Country”) and made it into the event, wicked.

Pretty Cool. Being a Torquay boy, I got to surf my last ever WCT at Bells Beach against the world champ. I grew up in the bush about a kilometre from Bells so the place is pretty special to me.

Winkipop, 10′ offshore, no one out and cold. Love it. Shots like this (taken a week after Easter Bells) make me homesick.

I’m not strapped behind a desk just yet. I did a banging trip to Kuala Lumpur for the “Quiksilver Revolution 2.0″ tour; Craikey, Kerrsy, Betet, Gravesy and I tearing it up. We were getting towed-in to a manmade wave and trying to punt as high as we could.

This is the play park from my hotel room. Sunway Lagoon, Malaysia.

There were rock bands, DJ’s and a 10′ vert ramp with the boys going nuts and 40,000 people watching. It was Big Day Out meets extreme sports. Sick.

Brooko.

BROOKO’S BUSTED BACK

All wired up and ready for Brazil.

The joys and the pains of Surfing!

Surfers live a pretty banging life style. Travel and surfing the best waves in the world. Living the endless summer, beaches, bikini’s and barrels. Well it’s not all like that. Now I’m not one to start winging but the last few weeks have been tough. After my recent good results in

France and the States. I backed it up with a 33rd in Mundaka. (Or should I say the Bakio Pro, as this is what it is becoming after several bad years of waves.) In 1ft close outs. I then jumped on a flight to the Canary’s, A 6 star prime. I have heard nothing but good reports about the Canary’s. The problem was the wind was onshore, the waves were small, we got our wetsuit’s stolen and land is dust, not too different from the moon. I pick up some points and hightailed it out of there to Brazil where I am now.

A quick 15-hour flight and seated next to a huge football forward like person. My back is fucked as he needed two seats and decided to take mine. Luckily I am staying with Jarrad Howse and he has some electrode device called a Compex that has seemed to do the trick. Comps on and

I’m back in the water

‘Til next time I write.

BROOKO WINE CLUB

A couple of good results and then bang, a kick in the nuts 33rd. We are hanging out in Bakio, a small beachside town close to Mundaka. After making up so much ground and looking good to get back in the 27 … last, ouch … Oh well back on the WQS and over to the Canary Islands.

Step 1: Drink the bar dry.

Step 2: If bar stocks are depleted, drink the winery dry.

In the mean time I have been enjoying the local culture, eating and drinking with my Basque family Margaret and Txetxu. They home most of the Australians and today they showed us around one of the local wineries. We walked through the fields picking grapes from the vines and ended up drinking from the different vats … Pretty cool.

… ABOUT F*CKING TIME

Well, it has only taken me six events this year to get out of the gates. Finally, a breakthrough at Trestles. I managed to come up with a 5th.

I changed my tune going into this event with a no holes bared attitude. Planning to just go for it. Problem was there was only small waves on offer and it’s hard to get radical in 1ft lefts. I drew Pancho in the 1/4’s. In the first minute I went for a big forehand air spin just losing my fins and wiped out – thinking I’d have plenty of chances to go for stuff like that. Not to be, the ocean went flat with Pancho moving through to the semis.

Fishing out the fishing dvd. —

I’m now in France at the Quiksilver Pro, barrels and big turns on offer. I’m still planning to go for it. It’s more fun and you don’t get left with the question, ‘What If?’ Let’s hope it works.

In the downtime I pulled my computer apart trying to free a fishing DVD that has been doing my head in for the last few months. I got it jammed in there and every time I opened it, she would scream in pain. With the help of Google I operated; 3 hours, 30-something tiny screws later, a mishap with a vacuum cleaner, and she was free again.

Well, well wicked, Check ya.

Brooko

SuperBrooko

 

Well just bounced around the world again doing the WQS grind. Gee it’s gnarly. 300+ surfers traveling the world, fighting for 15 gold cards on the Foster’s ASP World Tour. Blood and tears are shed on that tour. In the last six weeks I did WQS’s in U.S.A, Japan England, two in France and one in Portugal. I’m now home for three days before Trestles starts and I’m back to the States.

Unlike the Fosters World Tour, the WQS has no waiting time. If its flat you’re out there, if it’s 10-ft, 40-knots onshore you’re out there. We had it all last trek. Europe’s having one of their ugliest summers on record. We were rugged up in stormy windy conditions. And so were the usually bare-chested French.

I got a bunch of good results, still needing that one big one to get my gold ticket. The big league kicks off again this week so I think it’s time to do something there too. Okay till next time. You stay classy cyber world

ps: Here is a little clip from a Superman I did in England, yeah I know I claimed it

LONG TIME NO BLOG

 

Sorry ’bout the lack of blog entries but I been a busy man. Well, it depends on your definition of busy really. Since my last entry I’ve been to the Maldives for a WQS, over to Chile for the Rip Curl Search Event and now I’m in South Africa for the Durban ‘QS and J-Bay Pro. All that travelling and lots of jet lag, the last thing I wanted to do was bang some keys on computer, but I’m settled now, down in J’bay.

Poor man’s winkipop? © Alan Van Guysen

Looking out the window, seeing long drawn out swell lines and a stiff off shore wind, makes me feel a little home sick. It’s good though, back to my roots. With Winkipop my home break – J-Bay would have to be the closest wave in the world to it. I feel right at home here. With the last couple of years losing in small swells here I was hoping for a bit of juice.

Played golf at the New Jack Nicolas Links in St Francis – Amazing. Spent most of the time in the bush or on the beach though, tough course.

Brooko

HOT TO COLD

 

I’m back on the road, this time from one extreme to the next. Last week I was over in Scotland; this week, Tahiti.

Benny B getting slabbed at Brims Ness

Thurso, Scotland: 5degree water temp, 5/4/3 wetsuits, booties, hoods, gloves. Coming from Bells Beach I thought we had it tough. I now have a new meaning forthe word COLD. Thurso is a pretty sick place, with a bunch of right slabbing reefs.

13oz rod and reel set-up in the local Thurso tackle store can land you one of these sought-after Sea Trouts.

I did crap in the comp. The Hog took me and the comp out, with travel buddy Jarrad Howse coming second. At least the trophy ended up back in OZ. Twenty hours on a steel bird later, and, boom, Tahiti. The water temp alone is 22 degrees hotter. The comp started Day One but now the waiting game begins and it’s not looking good.

A little warmer at Teahupoo.

The swell forecast is flat, flat, and flat. So, what will happen? Hopefully a swell. Anyway, ’til then, it’s fishing, cards, touch football and plenty of down time.

Speak soon,

Brooko

STUMPS & BALLS

Hello, Hello. Just been hanging out in God’s Country, Bells Beach: Still home for we, wicked. Flew over from the West where I got a 9th in the surf and the blow- ins won cricket.

Nothing better than a beer and a pie at the footy.

The last five years the surfers (blow-ins), captained by Snake, have been playing a cricket match with local side the Dunsbourgh Squeezers. We were tied two-wins-a-piece and this was the decider. We were clearly outclassed in skill but our heart got us over the line, with Tom Whitz hitting 20 runs off the last over to win by 2 runs. All I did was try not to get out. I took four catches in the outfield though, Yeeha.

A Swan killing a Tiger

When I got back to Victoria for Bells, I took a diversion to Melbourne’s MCG stadium to watch the mighty Richmond Tigers take on the Sydney Swans in Australian Football. Sick game, with the Swans running away with it in the last quarter. Otto is a mad Sydney fan and I had to listen to him sing the team song the whole way home.

Brooko

SPRAYS

The circus has left town, so Snapper has no one out … NOT! I think it’s more crowded and more dangerous than ever.

It’s kind of funny after a contest. Watching the line up, the level of surfing jumps; grommets are pushing it, 55-year-olds start doing airs, some surfers making the turns of there life, but most cart-wheeling out of control. It happens everywhere. Sit back and have a look next time, it’s pretty funny.

New boards off your shaper. It’s a pretty cool thing.

Just got another bundle of boards off my shaper, Murray Bourton. Think I’m up to about 15 new shooters this year so far. These three are little different to my normal 6′1″ x 18 3/8″ x 2 1/4″.

I’m trying to get a good board that will go at Bells, the next event. The waves are different to Snapper down there, long walls and drawn out turns, so tour tens to ride slightly long boards and you will see more rounded pins. I’m going 1/2 inch longer and pulling in the tail to make a pin. I was down at Bells a month ago doing a little R&D, working on the right thickness and length.

Here are a couple of new sprays I did. I’m going with a bit of an Aussie theme at the moment.

Boom! Last … ???

 

Nothing worse then starting off the year with a 33rd! You’ve just spent the last two months with 5am training sessions, surfing Snapper every day, honing in, and … boom! … last. It’s hard to swallow. I just had one of those heats when nothing goes right, felt like I was half a beat out with the wave. That, and De Souza had a blinder.

Round one surf looked great, but was still the end of the road

That was a couple of days ago now. I’m now picking up the pieces and shaking it off. One thing with pro surfing there’s always another comp just around the corner. If you dwell on the loss too long, you’ll carry it in to the next comp and start behind the Eight Ball.

Well, that’s my take on it. What else have I been up to? We had the Fosters World Title ball at the Casino: Kelly and Layne taking another cup home each. All the boys where pretty spruced up and a lot the old world title holders were there. Pretty cool having that much prestige and talent in the same room.

Pre-season tube training in the Bismar Sea Credit: Joli

Couple of sponsor commitments, did a few promo signings in Brisbane and Surfers’ Paradise at ‘City Beach’ shops; taught a few people to surf at Snapper for the Quiksilver Pro; couple of interviews …  All the boys pretty much do things like this in and around the contests. There is a little more for us than just surfing – not much more, but a little. It’s all pretty easy. Tough life. Ha ha ha …