How to Make a Statement

Andy Irons, letting his intentions be known by taking a perfect-10 and narrowly beating Slater at the 2006 Pipeline Masters. Photo: Joli

It’s one thing to win a heat, but putting on a performance that will be remembered forever is another thing entirely. We took a look at three game-changing performances to see what set these surfers apart.

Channel yourself. Small in stature, Tom Carroll transformed into a beast when he donned a jersey. Long before Kelly Slater made mind-games his trademark, Carroll would psyche out his competition before they even hit the water. “I remember having Tom Carroll in a heat and seeing him on the beach before we paddled out,” recalls Mike Parsons. “One look at him and I instantly knew that he was going to win the heat.” According to Carroll, his intensity wasn’t necessarily meant to intimidate his competition, but was rather a means to focus himself. “I can clearly remember the need to bring myself into focus, as I wasn’t a natural competitive surfer. I had trouble getting distracted. I could never truly relax into the role of clever strategist,” recalls Carroll. “So to cut through my never-ending distractions, I became very intense and focused and sometimes I had trouble gauging it. But overall, I believe my intensity was very important in me gaining higher performance levels in my surfing.”

Feed off others. There’s no denying that at the recent Lowers Pro, Gabriel Medina was surfing like a man possessed. It was one of the most dominant performances we’ve seen in recent years with Medina posting five of the event’s top 10 heat scores, five of the top 10 wave scores, and an 18-point average heat total. So what’s it take to put on a truly legendary performance like this? Medina credits his family and fellow countrymen, who pushed him to excel. “That win at Lowers was really different for me. I don’t know, the wave is so fun and everything, but there was something else happening. All of my family was there at the event cheering me on and I felt like all of Brazil was really there with me. I truly believe they helped me win the event.”

Never surrender. What made Andy Irons a three-time world champion was his unyielding perseverance and refusal to back down. Whenever Andy took to the lineup, you knew you could expect fireworks. At the 2006 Pipe Masters final, in what was arguably the greatest heat in professional surfing, Slater had the entire field comboed. Andy had already put up an 8- and a 9-point ride, but still needed a miracle to win the heat. And with just a few moments left, Andy bumped shoulders with Slater on the takeoff and slipped into a 10-point ride at Backdoor to turn the impossible into reality and take the win over the then eight-time world champ. “I fought back and then that last wave in the end, that 10 I got, Kelly almost got it and if he would have caught that he would have got me…he would have won,” Andy had said. “I’m just glad I didn’t back off at all. That was my last laugh. He [Kelly] knows I don’t go away quietly…”

How To Go Feral

Peter Devries on heading into the wild for surf

Peter Devries, master of his environment. Photo: Koreski

Having spent his fair share of time in the wilderness fighting off bears, felling trees, and threading secret Canadian tubes, Tofino’s Peter Devries is an expert when it comes to leaving the beaten path, scoring empty waves, and getting home alive. Want to look for waves outside of your pedestrian surf zone? Take a few notes from Pete first.

It’s camping, it’s supposed to be rough: Before you set out, let’s get one thing straight. If you’re truly going bushwacking in search of epic surf, accept that the journey will inherently suck at times. “The hardest camping trip we’ve ever done was probably a 10K hike into a really secluded spot with all of our gear,” says Pete. “We were dropped off by a boat and had to hike this trail that we thought was going to be easy and only take us four to six hours. It ended up being really mountainous terrain with big sections of bog and mud. We hiked for eight hours, the last two in the dark with headlamps, until we finally found the coast. We set up camp in the pissing rain not knowing where we were. The next morning we woke up to find out we still had a couple headlands to get around. So we had to break down camp and hike for two more hours until we were at the wave. Jeremy [Koreski] and Raph [Bruhwiler] had packs that were around 100 pounds. Needless to say the crew was hurting before we got to surf. I had blisters all over my feet so I duct-taped them up before surfing. The waves ended up being really fun so it was worth it.”

Pick your crew wisely: We all have friends who are great in small doses, but the last thing you want is to be isolated with one of them in the bush for a week. If you want a flawless trip, surround yourself with a flawless crew. “The crew you’re with is everything when you go camping. Especially when you’re in the middle of nowhere and you’re going to be there for a few days. If you have a crew that is fun to hang out with when the waves suck, then you know you’ll have a good trip regardless of the conditions. All the boys up here enjoy getting away from it all and looking for waves, so the crew is usually on the same page.

Let there be light! (And axes, lighters, and possibly a chainsaw) Because of its latitude, the winter days in Canada are short and the nights long. You’ll spend a lot of time in the dark, so be prepared. “Having a headlamp or flashlight in the winter is crucial. It gets light at 8 a.m. and dark at 4 p.m. up here, so you know you’ll be spending plenty of hours in the dark. You’re also gonna want an axe. Having a fire is also crucial up here for staying warm and cooking. When the wood’s wet, you’ll need a good axe that can help you get to the middle of a piece of cedar where the the wood has a better chance of being dry. A chainsaw is always nice too. It’s always good to bring two lighters and keep them in two separate places. I throw one in a dry bag and keep one on me just in case something bad happens. Being able to start a fire makes things so much more comfortable when it’s cold and wet.”

Waterproof yourself: It’s one thing to be cold out in the wild, it’s another shade of miserable to be wet and cold. According to Pete, the biggest mistake you can make—short of being mauled by a bear—is not having an array of waterproof gear. “Rain gear and a waterproof tent are so important. Guys end up in puddles in the middle of the night all the time because they don’t have the right gear. Leaving food out is something that you should also avoid. The black bears can get hungry and curious.”

Be prepared for something to go wrong: If you’d rather not wind up on I Shouldn’t Be Alive, you’d be wise to take a few notes from Pete and be prepared for the worst-case scenarios. “Have a radio that works, especially if you are out of cell range so you can reach the Coast Guard if you need to. Camping is really important for getting good waves up here and it’s becoming more and more important as we look further away from home for good waves. It’s mostly wilderness up here so you have to be willing to spend a few nights in a tent in order to score. But you gotta be prepared for the worst-case scenarios.”

Three Degrees of Preparation

Keanu Asing, Andrew Doheny, and Evan Valiere on how to warm up

When it comes to how we warm up for a session, there are as many variations as there are lineups in the world. Some surfers utilize ancient Eastern techiniques, others rely on jump ropes and sprints, and some surfers don’t do a damn thing. To showcase the spectrum, we called on Evan Valiere, Andrew Doheny, and Keanu Asing, all accomplished surfers with a very different perspective on what needs to be done on the land to excel in the water.

Evan Valiere, looking calm as a Hindu cow pulling into Pipeline pit. Photo: Lowe-White

Get Zen. To keep his mind and body on point, Evan Valiere has become a devout fan of Qi Gong, a set of Chinese excercieses that date back 4,000 years. “I’ve been doing something called Qi Gong for a long time now. It’s an old Chinese practice that helps focus your mind and body through rhythmic breathing and stretching,” says Valiere. “I’ve gotten really into it and have really felt the effects on my body and surfing. I had a knee injury that just wouldn’t really heal and I feel like I finally got ahead of it through Qi Gong. I spend about half an hour every day doing the excercises and I’d really recommend it to anyone. It really mellows me out and gives me a peaceful feeling. Overall, it’s a practice that creates health and longevity and I feel great. I’m super stoked on it.”

Keanu Asing, staying focused on making his exit. Photo: Lowe-White

Warm up Your Mind and Body. Believing that surfing is equal parts mental and physical, Keanu Asing has placed a premium on getting his mind and body in line. “I try to warm up without going overboard before I paddle out,” says Keanu. “I basically warm up my joints and fast-twitch muscles to get my blood going and get loose. I’ll do a couple of lunges and try and work on extending my arms, legs, and hips to get the blood going. That’s the physical part, but I also do a few quick sets of mental exercises to get my head straight. I’ll close my eyes for a second, take five deep breaths, and try to focus without making myself too psyched. I want to try and put myself in the moment, get my concentration, and really enjoy what I’m about to do. I think you have to have your mind and body working together. The whole thing takes about 15 minutes and really gets me ready for a session.”

Andrew Doheny's training routine (or complete lack thereof) seems to be paying off in the lineup. Photo: Frieden

Do Absolutely Nothing. To become one of the most progressive surfers of his generation, Andrew Doheny has set up a rigid pre-surf regimen that involves him doing nothing. No stretching, no breathing exercises, no pump-up music. Nothing. “I just surf,” says Droid. “To be honest, I don’t really do anything to warm up before a session. I don’t train at all and I don’t even really stretch. I don’t even really equate music to surfing like some people do. I’ll listen to music to feel good, but not to get me amped to go surfing. So I really don’t do much of anything to warm up. Actually, lately I’ve been really hating how much I have to paddle and I feel like I’ve been doing way too much of it when I surf. To fix that, I’ve been shaping my boards thicker to make them paddle faster and make it a little easier on myself. I don’t know, I just surf.”