Rip Curl Pro 2011 The Outsider: Show Me Your War Face Soldier

In: Rip Curl Pro 2011 Press Release 13 Comments Wed 20th Apr '11

Tags: kelly slater , rabbit bartholemew , Rip Curl Pro , Bells Beach , Mick Fanning

Why can't I be what I am? A wolf amongst wolves and not as a man among men.
Bonnie Prince Billy. Wolf Among Wolves.

Long lines from the Southern Ocean provided the lubrication for a loved up atmosphere in the Bells carpark this morning, as the event kicked off. There was friendship, camaraderie, buoyant spirits. Everyone in attendance was severely loved up.

A grey-haired Bugs was in conversation with Davo and others. Want to hear what he thinks about his Dream Tour that he spent 10 years building being torn down before his seat got cold? So did I.

'I'll ask you, Bugs, before this opening day is through' thought I. And I did.

Read on for his candid thoughts on the philosophical ramifications of our beloved pursuit being sold down the river by the lure of bums at beaches.

B'Mart looked dark and brooding. He looks heavier, like a water buffalo from behind. Not that I'd say that to him of course. I want Bobby to win more than anyone. If I was his friend I'd be pulling him aside and saying "What the hell's wrong with you man? Why so angry?"

When he hit the water, Bobby looked a tad off the pace which was set by Heitor Alves. Owen also doesn't look quite right. There's something missing from his personal aura; something went missing on that fateful day in Portugal when he got obliterated at Supertubos. He needs to find it, cause the rest of the tour doesn't look friendly to 6'3" goofyfooters.

B'Mart's body language looked poor. We can only guess at the internal dialogue but it wouldn't be the self-talk recommended by Oprah. This man has issues. Bobby stalked off after the loss. Past Wilko selecting a vee-hickle from a fresh batch of unwaxed sleds. Wilko, too, looks like he's not been shy when it comes to super-sizing his happy meals, if you get my drift.

The love was flowing. Overweight, disinterested "athletes", a loved up atmosphere: Kelly is laughing. He shows up to a bout and instead of stepping in the ring with an opponent he gets high fives and pissant challenges. A new era of total psychological domination is his for the foreseeable future. I asked him about this after his win.

But first Fanning, who looked serious in his Round 1 heat. When asked about the approach needed for Bells he responded thusly, "It's like being a tradesmen. You put the tool belt on and go out there and hammer some nails into some walls."

I was seething at this response. No, no, no, no Mick! I thrust the tape recorder in front of him and recorded the following exchange.

"Mick, a lot of sportsfans are wondering when are we gunna see a rivalry? When are we gunna see someone step up and do an AI on Kelly? Are you feeling it in your blood this year?"

"Yeah, I hope so. The person whose winning, for some reason, just seems to be getting this extra bit of luck. Maybe the planets align or whatever. You can't fight that."

I nodded and he continued, "I was thinking about that the other day too. I'd love to go head to head with him. But I have to concentrate on myself first"

"Most surfing fans would see Fanning as one of the very few who could match Kelly for ability and focus."

"I'm not scared of him. I know I can beat him."

"How do you feel about him when you think of the games he played at Trestles last year?"

"Uummm, ahhhhh......ummm."

"C'mon, that must fire you up?"

"Yeah, for sure. If I get him in a heat I'll kill him. I don't care. I'll go to war".

Finally, I got a war face out of a contender.

There was no mistaking the face on Slater as he sprinted down the Bells steps. He wore a thousand yard stare that indicated the machine was running at maximum focus and unhindered by any unnecessary thoughts. He ran past a security guard who was a spitting image of Kim Jong Il. His performance immediately made everything that came before it look insipid and unworthy. In the words of previous heat winner Stu Kennedy after Slater's opening wave, "Fuck, I feel like I should be back at Gromfest".

The thirty minutes reminded me of his dissection of Tiago Piares on the Gold Coast; it was not just a victory but a complete extinguishment of the opponents very right to be out there. After Kelly's second wave there was no oxygen left for either of his opponents. Kelly will suffer no more trouble from either Otton or Robertson in his career.

In a low-key media scrum I recorded the following exchange with R.K Slater.

"Round 1 with a local wildcard. Historians of Kelly Slater would have given him more than a puncher's chance. You bought your war face down here. How was your mental state?"

"Um..I felt pretty good. I was relaxed. Maybe a little bit nervous, cause we've had six weeks off. First rounds out here after a long wait are always a bit stressful."

"If you could put yourself in the shoes of the average sports fan for a moment. They're asking 'Where is the next rivalry for Slater going to come from?' Who's gunna step up?"

"It's probably not gunna happen. Just based on the fact that it's personalities more than anything. Andy and I had this thing where he was the next generation behind me and he was trying to take over. Honestly, if at this point someone comes in like that I'd be stoked for them. I'd be like, OK, cool. I can go home now and go on surf trips. I don't know if I have the energy or the capacity to go through another thing like that again. It was full-on. I just can't see another guy on tour right now to have that rivalry with. It has to be a generational thing. Maybe when Kolohe Andino gets on tour and I'm like 45 or something (laughs)"

"Jesus" I said.

Before asking, "So what's your goal this year? Is it total psychological domination like in the 90's.? Do you want to completely crush everybody?"

"(laughs)"

"Is that too strong a term?"

"Well, ah...(laughs) I wanna go out and win every heat I surf in. I've imagined winning every heat on tour in a year. It's just a good headspace to be in. When your in that headspace things tend to happen in your favour more often."

"Do you ever feel frustrated that there isn't someone coming at you with a war face like Andy?"

"Umm....that definitely gave my career a second life. If it wasn't for that thing with Andy I don't think I would've gotten that focussed again. We were both training in the gym thinking of each other, wanting to kick each others ass. When you get that it drives you. There's no focus like that in the world. That gets you so in the moment. But I feel like I'm beyond that now. I'm more mature, cause a lot of that stuff comes with ego."

"If sport isn't ego what is it?"

"Um, it can be fun too. But look, yeah, ego is tied up in all of us. There has to be a balance there."

"OK, cool. Well, it's an honour to come down and watch you surf."

"OK, thanks a lot."

And Bugs? Post surf I ran into the old campaigner, going grey but with his mental faculties no doubt still enlarging. I asked how he felt as a man now that his Dream Tour concept was being dismantled.

He considered the question deeply.

"Well, I think the pendulum is swinging and I don't think they should let it swing too far. There's an expectation now that the tour will feature the world's best surfers in the world's best waves. That can't be compromised without disappointing people."

To that I added, "Without those iconic waves we wouldn't have seen the showdowns between Andy and Kelly. Andy would've lost interest very quickly."

"I totally agree", he said as he scampered off.

Parko offered the other performance highlight on a day where too much Pro Surfing was barely enough.

I hope these words reach the right ears.

(photos by Steve Arklay)
Day 2 Photos here.
The Outsider: Remembrance of Things Past
The Outsider: Prologue - Tell Me Why