The Winner Won And That’s All That
Matters At The WRV Outer Banks Pro Presented By Hurley By Matt Pruett
TURF: 5th Annual Wave Riding Vehicles Outer Banks Pro Presented By Hurley; Comfort
Inn South, Nags Head, NC; September 18th-20th, 2009
ENERGY: Seventy-two hours ago I was turning off of I-95
onto I-64 East, heading back home to the Outer Banks after cleaning out the Melbourne
Beach, FL, office that I had worked from over the last eight years as the
editor of Eastern Surf Magazine. Now
I was so close, almost too close, to setting up shop for the next phase of my
life. And being so close to your ultimate goal without having the tools
necessary to facilitate the change is frustrating to say the least. All my
belongings are scattered like detritus at various outposts along the barrier
island — documents and books and furniture and electronics and keepsakes
in a storage unit in Currituck, surfboards at one buddy’s house, clothes and
gear at another’s. Ideally, I would like to get settled into my own place, sleep
in my own bed, freshen up… and go surfing. But with no less than three reportable
events taking precedence within state lines — the ESA Eastern Surfing
Championships in Cape Hatteras, the Volcom VQS Cooterfish Surf Series in
Wrightsville Beach, and the WRV Outer Banks Pro Presented By Hurley dead ahead
in Nags Head — all at the same time, no less, my comfort level is moot at
best. The waves are a chunky head-high, the East Coast’s best professional
competitors are in town, and there is truly no better place to be on earth than
the Outer Banks in autumn. Even for a scattered, homeless, perpetually weeded
surf journalist who’s already feeling surfed out without having logged a single
minute of water time.
FIRST TIME AT FIGHT CLUB: Hurley
might be a good one, having come on board with the “Friends of the Porpoise” to
bring back the Outer Banks Pro. But this seems a prudent slot to plug Ocean
Isle Beach, NC’s, Cinderella Boy Michael Powell, who tweaked enough slick
backhand verts over the past three days in everything from head-high glory
sections to waist-high reforms to find himself in his first legit pro final
— against big dogs and former Outer Banks Pro finalists Jeremy Johnston,
Ben Bourgeois, and Asher Nolan (Asher placed 2nd in 2005, Ben 2nd in 2002 and
2007 and 3rd in 2004, and JJ 4th in 2005 and 1st in 2007.) You could see it all
over the kid’s face. He didn’t feel like he belonged in this company, but he
got comfortable at some point during the 35-minute final, finding favor with
the judges to place a beyond-commendable 2nd. “I didn’t have that much
confidence coming in,” said Powell, following a rather awkward moment of
silence as Contest Director Ian Parnell read off the final four results. “It’s my
best result by far, but I haven’t been doing much because I’ve been in school
at UNCW. I have one year left on a degree in Finance, so I can’t miss too many
days. I actually have tests tomorrow.”
SLIDE: “That was the most messed-up result I’ve ever
heard in my life!” scorned New York competitor Balaram Stack as the final four
were announced. “Yeah,” agreed Virginian upstart Michael Dunphy, “even though
Michael’s my boy, I thought he got 4th.”
Truth be told, a measly .20
separated 3rd and 4th-place, which went to Asher Nolan and Jeremy Johnston,
respectively. “Well, I thought I got 4th in Virginia Beach [at the ECSC] and I
got 2nd there, so I guess it all evens out,” laughed Nolan. Johnston was a
little less laissez-faire about
the deal. “Killer, keep it in the North Carolina family!” JJ barked
sarcastically. The judges faced similar confrontations throughout the weekend,
and should’ve expected no less. This here ain’t no Mickey Mouse shop jam. This
is a professional surfing competition and these are professional athletes. And
like any professional athletes, they’re going to get emotional about
questionable calls, just like any NBA, NFL, or Major League Baseball player, as
they take their performances, their scores, and yes, their prizemoney, very
seriously.
Where Jeremy Johnston comes from, every session is a death heat. Think
Thunderdome with sea lice. “In New
Smyrna, every surf is a battle for the best waves, the biggest turn, or the
hugest maneuver,” JJ asserted. “When you come from a place like that, you gotta
put the pedal to the metal. So much is going through your head, having so much
to prove every session, that you gotta bring yourself back down with a Zen
state of mind for contests and just breathe. That’s the only way to do this
shit, because it’s hard out there, man. Anyone can beat anyone. You can be in 4th
and bring yourself back up to 1st with one good wave.”
One good wave, fine, but what about a flurry of great waves, which is exactly
what made up the meat and potatoes of the final here? Benny B combined several
air-reverses with dazzlingly sharp rail work; JJ utterly commanded the lineup
from the furthest point north to the furthest point south to the inside reform
to the outside peaks, all while aptly utilizing the rip current to zigzag from
bump to bump; Asher’s squared-off hell turns made the term “blow-tail” seem
lame and philistine... “Everyone’s ripping so hard,” said Bourgeois after the
final. “It’s tough out there, a lot of groveling, so I tried to mix it up. It’s
really easy to go ‘snap-snap-snap,’ so my goal was to do a couple airs, a
little something different. I guess they [the judges] were into it. So many
surfers have been impressive all weekend. Little Mikey [Powell] was surfing
really solid, so I’m stoked for him. And that kid from Sebastian, Oliver Kurtz.
I’ve never seen him surf before. He’s really good.”
Though he bowed out in the semis, Kurtz was
perhaps the “wackiest” surfer of the event, as ESM Chief Photographer Tom Dugan so colorfully described him, with
shuvits, varials, and mammoth rotations a regular part of the Kurtz strategy. “This is my first time here on the Outer Banks,” admitted Kurtz. “I didn’t do
ESA or anything like that, so I never had a chance to get up here. It’s so fun
out there — like Florida when it’s good — but the sandbars here are
better. These waves kind of fit my weird style, ‘cause I gotta surf really quickly
and that’s how this wave is. Coming into this contest was pretty much a mindset,
along with Hurley telling me, ‘Hey, we’re sick of you just surfing good in the
freesurf areas. You need to translate that into contests.’ It took me two years
to figure that out [laughs]. Now I’m
getting some results here and there. I spent three months in California with Philip
Goold and Cody Thompson, where we pushed each other every day getting footage
and photos, and doing all the contests we could out there. We’re really on each
other to get on the program and do well.”
Speaking of doing well, Kitty Hawk pro Jesse
Hines was the highest placing local
entrant, advancing to the quarters before a wave drought sent him off the heat
sheet and into the loving arms of his sweet wife Whitney. Meanwhile, the
remaining Virginia Beach and Outer Banks competitors were more concerned with
out-placing their fellow resident surfers to find a spot on their respective
teams for the upcoming Battle Of The Banks invitational than they were with
pocketing cash here. And though the overall turnout was a little thinner than
in years past (hey, it’s off-season Outer Banks and we’re in the middle of a
recession, for Pete’s sake), Contest Director Ian Parnell (filling in for WRV
Factory Manager Patrick Herle, who had to tend to a family emergency up in New
York) reported nothing but success all the way around, primarily due to
consistent, performance-friendly, onshore bowls and the Comfort Inn staff. “All
the usual suspects showed up and surfed really well,” said Ian. “The level of
surfing was probably the best we’ve seen in the history of the event. Plus, the
people at the Comfort Inn, Dawn and Kelly in particular, were so hospitable in
opening up their hotel to us. They’ve been like house moms to us. It’s kind of
rare these days for hotels to welcome large groups of surfers. This place makes
for the perfect venue, so we’re really excited about coming back next year. The
Comfort Inn is just that — comfortable.”
THE PAIN:“I get upset and then I’m
over it in three minutes. That’s how I’ve survived [life as a professional
competitive surfer].” When JJ calmly put it to me that way in the parking lot,
as random locals did smith grinds on the Eastern Skateboard Supply mini-ramp a
few feet away, his surprising result didn’t seem all that painful. And if it
was painful, Benny B’s celebratory bash was already heating up just a few mileposts
away at Mexicali Brewz.
THE MAN: So 72 hours after making
landfall like a spun-out tropical depression along the same island where my
surfing life and writing career began, I still haven’t surfed. It’s getting
dark now, I can’t remember whose house I left my 5’11” Coil squashtail at, and
with all the surf parties and surf slideshows and surf dude-dom encapsulating
this otherwise humble little county, this scattered, homeless, perpetually
weeded surf journalist who’s already feeling surfed out without having logged a
single minute of water time heads to a place where surfing will be the most
alien topic of discussion — Kill Devil Hills local Justin Fucci’s house.
Unbeknownst to me at the time, Fucci provides some sage wisdom as I try to make
sense of all the subjective drama skirting the final results and who really
should’ve gotten 3rd or 4th or 2nd, or whatever. “So Ben Bourgeois won?” Fucci
asks me. “Yeah,” I answer. “Did he surf the best?” “Yeah, he did actually.”
“So there you go. The winner won and that’s all that matters.”
YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB:
“Matt Kechele’s like a surfing Swiss army
knife.” –Ian Parnell, one observant contest director
“If there’s an event in North Carolina, I’m
gonna do it, especially if it’s one of my sponsor’s, WRV, so I wasn’t gonna
miss this. And I have family up in New Jersey, so I went up there to see them
and tied it in with that contest [Foster’s Belmar Pro Presented By Eastern
Lines]. So a few events here and there, but I don’t think I’m gonna be surfing
in any for a while. I’m not going to New York [for the Unsound Pro]. I’m just
gonna chill with family and be on the Outer Banks every day when it’s on. That
was my goal all along.” –Ben Bourgeois, reflecting after two
pro victories in a row
“I look at Asher, Benny, Gorkin — these guys are all 30 years old
now, and they’re just heading into their prime. I’m only 23, and battling with
these guys all the time makes me feel like I really need to step it up and get
my combinations going on.” –Jeremy Johnston, analyzing the three
surfers he looks up to
FINAL
RESULTS OF THE 5th ANNUAL OUTER BANKS PRO PRESENTED BY HURLEY
1. Ben Bourgeois, $5000
2. Michael Powell, $2500
3. Asher Nolan, $1500
4. Jeremy Johnston, $1000
5. Oliver
Kurtz, Alek Parker
7. Nils Schweizer,
Andrew Gesler
9. Blake
Jones, Lucas Rogers, Ryan Briggs
11. Philip
Goold, Michael Dunphy, Jesse Hines, Jonathan Mincher
13. Todd Holland, Cody Leutgens, Rob Kelly, Owen Moffett, Rylan McCart, Matt
Keenan, Hunter Heverly, Brad Harrell
Sweetwater Leaves It Up To The Grom At Oakley Surf Shop Challenge Mid-Atlantic Regional Qualifier; “Uncle” Andrew Gesler Drives Heritage Win Home In Northeast
By Matt Pruett and Nick McGregor;
Photos by Matt Lusk
