Hawaii clip day 1
Thanks to Kendall for the movie. Check out his page on http://www.runamukvisuals.com/category/life-obrien/
Tsunami warning
So, there was quite a big tsunami scare in a lot of countries around the world. We (in Hawaii) were woken at 6, told to pack our valuables, and get in the car, bound for the hills. Luckily the tsunami didn’t hit us, but it did cause damage all across the pacific, I think. The top shot is of our camp on the hill, far away from any danger. The second one is of me getting my tourist hat on, watching from the hill to see if the tsunami was going to hit and getting some shots with my lomo camera’s.
Winter Olimpics……
A snowboarding clip of me just absolutely ripping in Morocco. I unfortunately didn’t make the SA team for Vancouver. The other Shaun didn’t fair to bad though.
Surfing photo’s…. finally
This is me at Off The Wall in Hawaii testing out one of my new sticks. Stoked to finally have a surfing photo up.
World Tour Predictions 2010…..
These are my guys for the year. Jordy Smith, Mick Fanning, Owen Wright and Dusty Payne. It’s possible that neither of them will be World Champ at the end of the year, but I think they are going to do really well, dominate actually. I’ll be rooting for all these guys, every heat, every contest…. no matter what. Almost forgot Dane Reynolds. He’s gnarly too. I like them all.
Ke Iki beach break
Trying to break my neck….definitely dodge…..but a lot of fun…..if you’re in need of a serious sand scrub, this is the place !!!
Hawaii…..
My first two days in Hawaii have been pretty fun. Surfed some left rip bowls and messy Waimea and Off The Wall this afternoon when it started to clean up. The weather has been pretty damn fine as you can see and that line-up shot of Pipe and Backdoor is going to be pretty flawless tomorrow. Too bad there’s a bodyboarding comp. I guess Off The Wall will be pretty crowded. Still looking forward to it.
Breaka Burleigh
This is Mick Fanning at the Breaka Burleigh 4* WQS. It’s a small event, but it’s right before the first WCT at Snapper, 10 minutes down the road from Burleigh. Obviously the top pros are shining, but my good friends Dale Staples and Nick Godfrey made the round of 64, pretty good considering the field. Off to Hawaii tomorrow.
This is probably how the judges looked after my heat today. It was really slow and I had a bit of a shocker. I’m getting really angry with myself with my string of bad results. It’s pissing me off actually…… I’m trying to improve, see what the pro’s are doing.
Catching up with Seth Hulley
I caught up with Seth Hulley during the Oakley Pro Junior at North Stradbroke island. Seth is the Oakley team manager in Australia and son of sixties guitarist Tony Hulley (“The Diamonds” and later “The Rhodesians”) who rubbed shoulders with the Beatles and other great bands of that era.
Shaun: So, your dad was a sixties rock star….what made you choose surfing ahead of music?
Seth: Well, my parents definitely didn’t come from a water background, I was born in Zimbabwe and I moved down to the coast when I was about 5 years old, and I just like what I saw. We lived right on the beach in Umhglanga and I decided to start on a boggey-board and I got my first surfboard a couple months after that and it all started from there.
Recently, Derek Hynd (Davo article) and Dion Agius (on Dion.TV) complained that surfing is losing it’s “Rock Star” status – back in your day you guys had a lot of crazy characters, like the Martin Potters, Matt Archbolds ect. Are the modern surfers more focused, or do the media/industry shun characters, or what do you think …?
Ja, I agree with what you’re saying, there were a lot less guys doing the tour back then, even before my time there were only 90 – 100 guys doing the tour and when I came along it probably increased to about 300, and there were definitely more characters, more guys going wild, but with surfing as professional as what it is today guys have toned it down, got more focused. Gone are the days where you can go out and have a big night and win your heat the next day, its just not going to happen. Back in my day , the guys weren’t as into their training schedules as much as they are today, and there wasn’t as much money involved so the guys were a lot more relaxed and if they wanted to have a big party and surf their heat the next day, it was no big deal.
Do you think we will still see some characters in surfing or do you think your generation was the last of the crazy characters?
No I definitely think we will see some characters in surfing, because its an extension of someone’s personality and I think seeing those characters adds a lot of colour to the sport, otherwise its just the same old boring thing. And if you look at the guys like John McEnroe, people always want to check out what they’re going to do next and see how they will react to winning or loosing. People want to see that sort of behaviour, it makes sport interesting.
Lastly, you won the J’Bay pro twice, how much do you miss that wave ?
I miss J’Bay a hell of a lot. We have the Superbank, but its just so crowded. J’Bay, to me, is still by far the best wave in the world, the wave is top to bottom, from beginning to end. I’m still South African through-and-through so, you know, I miss my family, friends and home.
Thanks Seth, appreciate your time.
No problem, bru. Have a good one.
Myself and Duckster’s “Rock Star Effort” on the Suffer’s Paradise jol meekly fizzled out last night when we were both bankrupt after just two beers each (R42.00/beer !!!)…….it’s just not easy to act crazy without Fuel !!!!
it is HOT…..
We’re at the northern end (Lookout Point) of North Straddie for the Oakley Pro Junior…….and it’s hot, &#@@# hot…..
Snapper is back!
Despite my comments of Snapper being gone, I must admit it was pretty all-time today. Sand was pumped through the night and it was perfect behind the rock, although the rest of the wave still isn’t what it used to be. Joel Parkinson was out there and he was dominating, he got so many perfect ones, it was really good to watch. I snagged a pretty good one myself, by far the best one I’ve ever had out there. The first shot is the view from Kirra hill and the other one is of a dredger behind the rock. There was a lot of rain too, which kept the crowd away. All-in-all it was a good day. Off to North Stradbroke Island for the Oakley Pro Junior tomorrow.
snapper rocks
Some swell around the Goldy…but sadly…”Snapper Rocks” has morfed into “Slapper Slops”….the “Super Bank” is no more !!
These shots were taken at Snapper’s on a 2ft day about 4 years ago - obviously Mick got the odd 3ft Bom and I was just happy to score any 1/2ft leftovers…..those were them days…..when Jordy could make a lay-back look gooood.
Back on the Gold Coast
This is my good friend Chris Friend who won the Couran Cove Pro Junior earlier today. I ended up getting knocked out yesterday, so I got the ferry back to the Gold Coast. We had some really fun waves today. It was good to have some waves again, and the water is warm – it’s paradise here. There are going to be some waves here for the next few days so hopefully I can upload a surfing pic soon.
Frankie Oberholzer
Frankie Oberholzer, stylemaster from Warner Beach…….one of the original “Searchers”………..an ecclectic band of “Search Boys” was assembled: Tom Curren, Damien Hardman, Gary Green, Chris Davidson, and Frankie Oberholzer …………and by pulling away from contest surfing and shameful quick-cut, rock and slop images…… the waves they chose to ride were sometimes dangerous and sometimes cold, but always visually stunning…..
Surfing Magazine, December 2008
….some of the best days of my life were back when I was traveling with Tom Curren on those Rip Curl Search trips……now, I’m just freesurfing a bunch, fishing and I’ve been really getting into my shaping.. …
ASL magazine, July 2009
…….delivered rifling barrels for hundreds of metres……a surreal kind of nirvana for any surf fan – with Curren and his old Search travel mate Frankie Oberholzer ruling……
Still no go.
This is our spot on South Stradbroke island. It’s a pretty cool spot in the bush. The waves still haven’t got good enough for them to start the contest. They are probably going to start running tomorrow, the forecast looks good. I haven’t surfed a heat in ages so I’m exited to get back into it.
South Straddie
Arrived at South Straddie for the Couran Cove Island Resort Pro Junior (…”Couran Cove Island Resort is one of Australia’s leading ecotourism resorts, boasting a unique indigenous history and a genuine passion for the natural environment. Couran Cove Island Resort is an idyllic holiday destination which happens to have access to South Stradbroke Island’s pristine beach breaks on its doorstep…”) – this is sweet and all – but the SAFFA Rand she’s suffering – me and Duckster managed to maneuver the included breakfast into a “breakfast-lunch-combo”….hit breakfast when they open, go for a surf, and hit the breakfast hard again just before close…….’n boer maak n plan !!! Follow the the contest at http://www.aspaustralasia.com/live/2010/Couran/
