Joel Parkinson

SNAPPING FOR SNAPPER

D-Bah warm up earlier this week. //Shorty

The new season starts in a week, how are you feeling about it?

It’s a week?

It is.

Wow. I feel good. Really good.

How about compared to the state you were in this time last year?

Compared to last year… I think I was a bit more anxious and nervous last year. The lessons I’ve learned and the knowledge I’ve accumulated in the last year means I’m way more relaxed now than I was back then. Last year I put a lot in, and I was a bit unsure how I was going to go. I’d put so much in that I was getting a bit unsure whether I was doing the right thing, unsure of whether I was trying too hard. Now I feel like I can juggle it all better. One bad surf would get to me at the start of last year. Everything had to be 100 per cent on. This year I know I just need to have a couple of key little points ticked off leading up to the event and everything else should just fall into place. The next week will just be light training and some enjoyable surfs. I’m not going to oversurf this week, that’s a key. I’ve found a couple of good boards, so I’ll just do a little time on them this week.

Lessons learned from last year?

It was an emotional rollercoaster, last year. At the end of last year I had a straight month of everything doing laps in my mind. I learned you have to be able to expel negativity out of your mind, and you’ve got to find ways of quickly gaining confidence in situations.

Has it been hard to bounce back after losing the title last year?

Yep, and it took me a while. It wasn’t till the New Year started that a bit of the heartache went away, then when I started training for this year a bigger chunk of the heartache went away, and when we got that first swell and I started surfing for a new year I felt like it was almost completely gone. I’m sure I’m always going to have a taste in my mouth, I got so close, but I can’t ever dwell on the bad things that happened last year. The good things I can take out of it is that I rode that rollercoaster last year, I went to hell and back on it, and if you put me on it again then I’ve already been there and know how to ride it. Anything in between those extremes two will be butter.

How’s your surfing program been going?

January was pretty bad for waves here on the Gold Coast, but the first 10 days of February were really good. I surfed heaps of Snapper, so I don’t even really need to surf it that much now leading into the contest. Once a week has been plenty. It’s a zoo. I got up eight early mornings out of those 10 days of swell in the dark, and five of those days I surfed snapper from quarter-to-five till six-thirty. That’s when you can ride it properly; you’re surfing it with 10 guys and you can tune in so much quicker than surfing it Sunday lunchtime, which is impossible. During that swell there were no pros here, it was so much more relaxed. Now I can’t even get a park down there. I feel like the circus arrives and I back off. I’m so tuned with that wave after those morning sessions that I’d rather get to know D-Bah a bit better, because we might end up around there. If I surf Snapper once a week I just try and find a window where I can have a quick surf and enjoy it.

Is the bank at Snapper in shape?

I haven’t surfed it for four or five days, but when I surfed it last weekend it was pretty nice. It’s deep out the back, which means if it’s six feet it will handle it. A lot of the banks we have around here now from those huge swells last year that destroyed everything are all really deep, which means that if there is six or eight foot of swell they’ll handle it.

Andy’s been around… you guys been hanging out?

Yeah, been surfing with Andy a fair bit. When he first got here three weeks ago we were surfing together most days, but I haven’t seen much of him the past 10 days. I’ve been in Japan, and this week leading into the contest I think we’ll do our own thing. I can’t wait to see how he goes.

And what about the crop of new guys on tour?

Wow, there are some really good names in there. Owen, I think, will be unreal, as will Dusty. There aren’t too many guys, the real freaks, who can jump on tour straight away and do well. I struggled to requalify on my first year. Kelly was a freak back in the day and he won the title, but first time around the tour can be overwhelming and a bit different, and it takes a bit of time to adjust. There’s nowhere to hide when you surf a heat. I’m not saying they’ll struggle, but look back at Adriano. He got a third here in his first event and didn’t make a heat for a while after that. The tour first year is tough, but it’s changed this year with it going back to 32. Everyone might be in a new boat. If it had been the same as it’s been for the past 10 years I think we’d have a big advantage over the new guys, knowing the ins and outs, but we’re a little more in uncharted waters. But the names that are there, I don’t think it will take long for them to be up there challenging.

And a bolter amongst the guys already on tour? Someone who might surprise us all?

I’d like to say Jordy, but sometimes I think it depends what mood he’s in. When he’s on he’s unbelievable. At the start of last year he started to learn how to switch himself on and off a bit. His surfing has always impressed me.

Been tinkering with your boards at all?

My boards haven’t changed radically, but my fins have. I’ve been playing around with my fins. JS has started a new fin company called Kinetic Racing and he’s got a model that’s my usual fin, just core-filled and in a slot fin, and I’ve really been enjoying riding it. I’ve been moving them forward and putting bigger ones in the back. I’m riding a 6’2”, and one board might be loose and slippery with the fins right up front, and then I’ve got a couple that are set back and tighter. It’s been great playing with them ‘cause I’ve ridden fixed fins for so long now.

And this will be the first year you’ve been on tour and Perry Hatchett hasn’t been the head judge. What are you expecting?

I’ve been trying to think of life without Perry there and it’s hard. I don’t really know Richie, the new guy that well, but the panel that has been there the last few years is all still there. I just hope the experience is all still there with them.

The ASP Tour copped criticism in certain circles last year about not rewarding progressive surfing enough. Do you think there will be a reaction to that this year, especially with a few air specialists making the cut?

It’s always in the front of my mind to make my surfing more progressive. I think every guy on tour is trying to make their surfing more progressive. But progressive surfing isn’t just airs and tricks. Progressive surfing is bigger harder faster as well. The worst thing you want to see is someone getting a 7.5 for six taps to the beach, while a guy who does two huge turns gets the same score.

Good luck mate.

THE BOOK LAUNCH

We launched the new book the other night at Kirra. Such a fun night. Had a hundred of my close friends and family there at my mate Nick’s bar, Fresh, just across the road from Kirra. Had a few cheeky beers, but I think the girls ended up drinking more than the guys because there was a swell coming overnight and the guys didn’t want to get bent too out of shape. Mon’s cousin Holly wrote a poem for the night which was all-time, Big Trev took the stage for about two hours, I waffled for about 30 seconds and that was it… my book was launched. Hope you guys like it.

HOME SWEET HOME

HOME SWEET HOME from Billabong on Vimeo.

Been back home for over a month now. The surfs been pretty flat all through out January but that’s standard for that time of year.

The last few days though the waves have been really fun, it feels good to be back !!

JUST HANGIN’ AROUND …

Just Hangin’ Around … from Billabong on Vimeo.

This last week has been pretty fun. Swell comes up, swell drops off. Swell comes up again, swell drops off again.

We had waves all around the sunset comp, there was some really fun days out the front here.

As well as surfing i Had a fashion shoot to do for Billabong plus squeezed in some time to smoke Andy in ping pong.

SUNSESH MY BRUZZAH

Third Sunset. //Grant Ellis

Your day didn’t start out so good, eh?

Yeah, I was down the beach where I do my little warm up out the front of Freddy Ps place, and I’ve felt all this mud sticking to my feet. I’ve reached down and wiped it off and just smelt it and gone, you are kidding me! It was dog shit. Then without thinking I’ve wiped my foot on my other leg to get it off and wiped my hands on my boardies. So I’ve paddled out for my first heat covered in dogshit. They say it’s good luck if a bird shits on you, and it must work with dogs as well cause I ended up winning.

That’s your third win at Sunset; you obviously have something going on with the place.

I really love surfing that wave. I remember when I first came here when I was 14 and 15, I surfed Sunset all the time. It was pretty well the only wave I surfed.

You seemed to be in the groove out there today.

Yeah, my strategy to sit miles out to sea worked right up until the final. After thirteen minutes without a wave I would’ve been better off fishing out there. Then I had to switch to my back-up plan. I heard the crowd erupt when Sunny got that wave. I was sitting next to Dusty and he thought it might have been Mick but I knew that judging by the crowd going off it was probably Sunny. You win most heats out at Sunset with 12 points, so once Sunny got the nine I knew it was going to be tough. I just chipped away, got one insider, and then got the score I needed with a few minutes left.

Did you think you’d got it when you kicked out?

I kicked out in the channel and I thought it might have been close. Louie was shrugging his shoulders going, “I dunno if you got it or not.” But then I’ve caught another wave and I’ve looked over and he’s yelling, “You got it!” Sunny only needed a three something, and he could do that in his sleep, but luckily for me the ocean was looking out for me and he couldn’t find it.

As focused as you probably are on Pipe and the world title, you’d imagine Mick’s going through the same thing. It didn’t surprise you he made the final today with ya.

Not at all. It didn’t surprise me that Mick made the final. He was ripping in his quarter and semi, but Sunset has a habit of not letting you have three good heats in a row, and that caught up with him in the final.

The win places you pretty well for another shot at the Triple Crown. Are you even thinking about that with the world title on the line as well?

For sure. Coming here I was thinking… like, I love the Triple Crown, but I was using the first two events at Haleiwa and Sunset to get the wheels moving, to get into a good routine and a good rhythm with the place, all to get ready for Pipe. It’s a bonus, the win, and a bonus to lead the Triple Crown, but it’s still all about Pipe. It’s all part of something bigger.

You came over with the goal of surfing as much as you could in the lead-up to Pipe. How’s your program been going?

I’ve been surfing heaps; surfing heaps and training. I haven’t had the family here with me so I’ve been trying to keep myself so occupied by staying in the water. As soon as I get bored I start missing the kids, so I don’t let myself get bored. I just go surfing. I’ve been paddling out at Pipe or Off The Wall and just hoping to get one or two good ones a session. To me, that’s a good session. If you go out for an hour and get one or two cherries, you’ve had a good time. You only need two waves in a heat, so I try and keep my surfs short and sweet and not too draining. Keep them intense and try and get the two best waves I can. Plus I just want to keep familiarising myself with the place. You can never learn too much about Pipe.

There’s a lot on the line and it’s getting pretty close. You look remarkably calm.

I don’t know why. I really don’t. I feel like the closer it’s getting the more I suck it in and the more relaxed I’m getting. I’m sure the time will come when my blood will start to boil, but for now I’m in a good frame of mind, I’m really relaxed and I’m just concentrating on surfing and what’s happening in the ocean. I’m not going to win the title on land. Monica got here a few days ago and she looks at me and goes, “All you do is stare at the waves.” I’m like, “I just love seeing the different moods it gets in. I get hypnotised by it.”

How you sleeping at night?

I’m sleeping like a baby. I don’t know why. I figure there’s no point in stressing about what’s out of my control, and all I can do is make the best of what I’ve got.

How’s your neighbour going?

We’ve had our moments, but it’s been pretty good. Mick and I run into each other and it’s funny. Me and Andy went for a nice romantic walk down the beach the other morning. We walk out the front door and down onto the sand and look across and Mick is doing exactly the same three doors away. We just look at each other, the Three Stooges on the beach. I was just laughing. There’s never going to be any bad blood between us. We’re always going to be mates.

What’s it going to take to win Pipe?

It’s not like I’m going to approach it any differently than any other event I’ve surfed this year. I’ve just got to stay calm and relaxed and quietly confident in my ability. It’s two waves a heat. For me I like to keep it real simple; I just worry about myself, the waves, and my surroundings. I’ve just got to be really aware of how the ocean moves over here, so that’s what I’m thinking of more than anything. In Hawaii if you can beat the ocean in your heat your chances of winning the heat are so much higher.

Has it been good having Andy in the house with you considering he’s been in your position before, having to basically win Pipe to win the title?

Yeah, we’ve been training and surfing a lot, but he’s letting me do my own thing. Plus I’ve been trying to give him some space the last few days. The Eddie’s likely to be on so I’ve been trying to pump him up for that. Haven’t I Andy? [Whose just walked out of the house] C’mon, pump it up, Eddie tomorrow!

AI: Don’t you worry about that! My boards got stickers on it, I’m ready.

JP: How good is it… Andy Irons in the Eddie Aikau tomorrow. Hey Andy, you need a caddy?

AI: Of course, you’re on!

JP: There’s no way in hell I’m getting out there! What, and have a 50 foot left come at me? I’m cheering from the beach. I’ve got to surf at Pipe, but at least I don’t have to surf 50 foot Waimea, going over the falls on a left.

Are you excited about the prospect of waking up tomorrow morning and seeing 30 foot waves out the front of your house?

I’m in the closest bedroom to the beach, so as long as waves don’t come washing through my bedroom I’ll be stoked. It looks like a few days of massive surf… that I don’t want to get involved with. If I didn’t have Pipe and a world title to worry about, I’d love to go and paddle somewhere or tow somewhere. Ride the biggest wave of my life somewhere. But there’s no way I can do it. That’s my excuse anyway. I’ll just sit back and relax and watch the place get washed away. They’re saying this swell will be as big as ’69. A few years ago when the Eddie was on, that morning I was in the house next door and a three-foot wave went through the backyard. This house is about two foot lower. The landlord told us to keep all the doors open so the wave goes in one door and out the other. And I think I’ll sleep with my leggie on.