Joel Parkinson

ONE PERFECT DAY

Posted in Video, World Tour

ONE PERFECT DAY from Joel Parkinson on Vimeo.

Andy winning the Pipe Masters in 2006. Shot by legendary Hawaiian cameraman Mike Prickett and posted here in loving tribute to Andy. We miss you brother!

ANDY TRIBUTE

Posted in Freestyling, Photos, Video

Andy Irons Tribute from Brian Bielmann from M. Scott Mortensen on Vimeo.

A tribute to AI from Hawaiian photographer Brian Bielmann.

ANDY

Posted in Freestyling, Photos, World Tour

Wes rang me yesterday morning. I had two missed calls back-to-back from Wes so I knew something must be up. When he finally got me he asked if the kids were around. I told him they were and he told me it was best I just walk away from them for a second. Then he told me what had happened. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I went white and I bawled. Right there on the spot. But then I went into shock and I was in this state of shock all day yesterday. A bunch of us went up to the surf club at Snapper yesterday afternoon and had a few beers and cried and told Andy stories. We were talking about when we went over to the desert in West Oz last year to surf and were there for Occ’s birthday. We surfed that righthander; just me and Andy out surfing together. Then we had to sleep in a two-man tent head-to-toe and he complained the whole time because he hated camping. There were so many memories. I remember flipping a chocolate bar in Japan with him for priority in a heat we had together back in 2003. But that was just one… there were a million of them.

I think I felt worse today than I did yesterday. I woke up this morning and just bawled because it was real now. Yesterday I was numb with the shock of hearing the news, but I woke up today and it was real. I’m never going to see him again. I’m never going to see my friend. He’s gone. I went and trained at the gym Andy and I used to train at, but I couldn’t get it out of my mind. I was waiting for him just to walk through the door.

I’m really thinking of the guys over in Puerto Rico right now. I really miss them at a time like this, and it must be really hard for the guys who are still in the contest to have to deal with losing their friend but having to keep on surfing. It sucks for the guys still in it, but the contest has to go on. I’m feeling like all this is happening a long way away, and I’m really missing being around my friends on tour.

I was supposed to be travelling with Andy this year. Before I cut my foot we had it all sorted out that I was going to be travelling with him for the rest of the year; through California, Europe and Puerto Rico. I was going to be travelling with him and Freddy and we were all going to be hanging out together as this little team. And we were already talking about travelling together next year, taking the girls and the kids to Tahiti. The thought of him dying alone in a hotel room just wrecks me.

As a surfer he had that mad dog in him. He wasn’t afraid of anything, and wore his heart on both his sleeves. He was the most emotional surfer I’ve ever seen. He had that unbelievable aggression in his surfing, and he became one of the best. I idolised him. If Andy put his mind to it there was nothing he couldn’t do on a wave, and over the years I’ve seen him do some of the most incredible things on the most incredible waves. He and Kelly, between them, have owned surfing for the past 10 years.

When I was talking to Mick on the phone yesterday I said to him that I think I understand now how he must have felt when his brother, Sean died, because Andy was like a brother to me. He was one of my best friends. You know what I liked about Andy? He remembered everyone. He had this ability to remember faces and names and people in places he hadn’t been to in a decade. People meant everything to him, and he made everyone feel special. You didn’t need to be a professional surfer. He’d meet so many people over the years in all the places he’d been, but he’d remember their names and he had time for all of them. He had that quality. He got involved in people’s lives and took an interest in people’s lives. It didn’t matter who you were. And I know he died young, but he lived his life to the fullest, and what he did in 32 years would take most people 132 years.

My heart goes out to Lyndie, his son, Bruce, his family, his Hawaiian crew and everyone around the world he reached out to.

Andy was a king; a king of surfing.

Love you, mate.

Joel

YEAH ANDY!

Posted in Photos, Video, World Tour

Joel, all year you’ve been tipping Andy will make a final, and you thought he was a big chance of doing it in Tahiti, but maybe not in a year when it didn’t get above three foot.

Joel: For sure. I thought he was getting it together enough that he’d be making semis, quarters, and if Tahiti got big I thought he’d be a real chance for sure because he’s a such madman when it gets big. But in those conditions it’s still barrelling, and if it’s barrelling he’s a chance anywhere, even if it is only three foot. But his turns were pretty crisp too today. He looked good.

Have you noticed contest by contest his old rhythm returning?

Definitely. He’s got a bit more spark and a bit more life about everything he does. He’s really good when things are going his way, he goes with the flow and good things happen. That’s what happened today. When he doesn’t need to push boundaries or ask questions and just do the things he needs to do, the heat wins just happen. That’s the classic Andy. A lot of things went his way in this event, it took pressure off him, and he just kept paddling out and he just kept on winning.

He had a pretty tough run there today having to beat Mick, Kelly and then CJ.

Yeah that was tough. After Kelly had that incredible heat I was just thinking there was no way his momentum would stop until he won, but it’s hard to keep momentum when there aren’t a lot of waves. Consistency is a problem. It’s not like J-Bay when you have that consistency and can build during a heat. You can build momentum in your surfing but that does you no good if there are no waves to use it on.

Did you see Andy’s heat with Mick?

I didn’t get up in time, but I just went down the street and got a juice from Mick’s Mum’s shop in the main street and she said it was a really close heat and could have gone either way. She obviously thought it could have gone Mick’s way, but I can’t really say because I slept in a little bit cause I was up late last night at the Titans game.

Andy’s semi with Kelly… what were you expecting when those two paddled out?

When the commentators built it up beforehand, Snips picked Kelly for it on form but I knew that Andy would lift. Andy is the only surfer who surfs against Kelly the way you should. Other people get out against Kelly and crumble. Ace kind of had a shocker against Kelly. But Andy looks relaxed when he surfs against Kelly and he’s probably the only surfer in the world who does. If anything, it’s Kelly who has the monkey on his back against Andy.

It came down to that set where Kelly took the first wave of the set with priority, when most of the bigger scores during the day were being dropped on the second wave of the set. Kelly got a three, Andy got the second one and dropped a nine, and that was the heat. It was almost like it was Kelly who looked more uneasy out there.

I know. It’s a rare mistake. Kelly is always on the best waves out there.

Billabong Pro Tahiti Final – HIGHLIGHTS from Billabong on Vimeo.

Did you see Kelly’s 10 in the quarters?

I saw it. It was insane. It was so well done. A few people in the commentary said no one else would have made that wave, but I was like, hmm, I’m not so sure. The way he dropped into it under the lip was epic, and that’s a bit of a Kelly trademark, but Andy would have done it differently and probably made it, Bruce would have done it differently and could have made it. Different guys would have had different entries for that wave, and Kelly’s way is probably the most difficult way. A lot of guys would have made that wave, but no one would have made it the way Kelly made it.

When Kelly gets a 10 like that in dramatic circumstances he generally goes on to win the contest. Were you surprised he didn’t today?

Definitely, but I think he certainly got beaten in that semi. There was one nine come through during that whole heat and Andy got it and that was the difference. It was a slow heat and a momentum killer for Kelly.

You predicted it would be a chess match and a wave catching competition, did you see it play out that way today?

For sure. You could see guys trying to work out whether they should just bank a five or six and hope nothing bigger would come through, or whether to wait for the eight or nine that will never come. It was a 50/50 call most of the time today, gambling with the ocean.

What was your reaction when Andy won?

Monica was crying and I almost had a tear too. I was so proud of him. He’s come so far. It meant so much to me because I was there when he first decided to seriously come back on tour, I hooked him up with Wes [Joel’s trainer. Wes Berg] who got him training. We spent a lot of time together when he first committed to coming back on tour, and we spoke a lot about what he needed to do. You can’t really motivate someone, they have to do that themselves, but you can light a little fire and I was there at the start when that happened and I’m just so stoked it led to what happened today. It led to a win. I just want to see him do well. I would’ve loved to have seen Mick and Andy in the final, then I wouldn’t have cared who won. I would equally have loved to see Mick win today and mount a big challenge on this title, but at the same time I wanted to see Andy win a contest and become the old Andy again, full of confidence and a guy who will challenge for the title himself.

By the numbers that’s still a chance. How do you see Andy going now for the rest of the year?

He’s going to have a lot of belief in himself, and history proves when that happens he starts winning contests. When he’s on and making heats he has a way of winning heats like they’re a formality, he and Kelly both had that when they were in their prime. If Andy could get back to that kind of thing he could even have a nudge at the title this year.

It’s strange to think that, considering he was a bit sluggish at the start of the year. We’re here now with only half the season gone and he’s in with a shot.

Exactly. And he’s no slouch at Trestles either. That result today has definitely opened up the whole world title for everyone.

What did Andy say to you when he phoned you?

He rang me from the marina where the boats dock. He was so frothing. He was in shock almost, he couldn’t believe how everything had fallen into place for him. You know, when you least expect things to happen they sometimes do.

You got the feeling he didn’t expect to win today?

I think he just wanted to be competitive. I think that was his goal, to let everyone know that Andy is still Andy. He was just trying to be competitive, and while his confidence might not be exactly where it was when he won his titles, he still has the knowledge of how to surf smart heats and the knowledge of how to surf Teahupoo, and that’s what we saw today.

Are you missing not being over there with Andy winning?

For sure. Mate, I wish I was there. Last night I had this full dream that I had my first surf back from the foot injury in my heat at Trestles. The doctor was on the beach and he said, “Okay, you can surf,” and I paddled straight out for my heat.

Were you ripping?

Monica reckons in the middle of the night I was bouncing around the bed in my sleep doing dream reos. It’s starting to get to me a bit. Watching the contest today was hard because even the shitty little ones they were leaving I was looking at going, mate, I’d be all over that, just mind surfing it. I’d take anything at the moment.

TAHITI ROUND THREE

Posted in Video, World Tour

Highlights from the remaining heats of round three… waves were pretty small but well done to Mick and Andy for getting through, and Pat Gadauskas for somehow pulling a rodeo flip on a two-footer.

Good luck Louie, hope you can find some waves for this thing!