ESM Interview

He's been held under in the frigid darkness for lengthy spells at Mav's, pitched over the falls into oblivion at The Bay, and dusted by stampeding cleanup sets at Todos. And he isn't even old enough to celebrate his survival with a cold beer. At only 20 years old, Long Beach, NY surfer-turned-Outer Banks noisemaker Will Skudin is far from what you'd call an experienced waterman, in the traditional sense of the word. But after putting his life on the line at no less than four mammoth-size meccas in just a few short years, Skudin's making lengthy strides towards advancing East Coast credibility in the heavy-water arena like no under-25-year-old surfer out there. Most recently, Skudin hitched a ride with Surfer Magazine photog Rob Brown and five of the most reputable big-wave riders in the world to rush one of the best, and biggest, days ever at Todos Santos. ESM caught up with Will in Hawaii a few days following that same scale-breaking swell to find out what's driving him toward such lofty goals, and where East Coast big-wave surfing's heading next.

By Matt Pruett

Good Will's hunting down a place among big-wave surfing's elite. Photo: Brown

ESM: So what's up, pussy? That sesh at Todos was kinda minor, huh?

WS: [Laughs]... Yeah, every week in Hawaii this winter, somebody would say a big swell was coming and it kept not happening. Then all of a sudden, one hit Waimea pretty solid. Me and my friend Micky Hooks paddled out and got a few--not the biggest we'd surfed it, but it felt good to get on our guns early in the season. It was a real short-duration swell but then it spiraled and came from a super west angle. I remember Rob Brown saying that angle makes it bowl and filter on the reef at Todos. So I called Rob but he said he'd probably go to Cortes Bank with Red Bull. I'm not part of that team so I would've had to find my own way out there. Then I called Randy Laine and and he was on the fence. This swell was big so no one really knew where they were going. And no one wanted to tell each other what they were doing. It was hard for me to figure it out.

ESM: And you're not exactly a card-carrying member of one of the big-wave fraternities.

WS: No. I just barely weasel my way on trips whenever I can. But this time, I called Scott Chandler, who was getting a boat together for Cortes called The Elektra, and he said I could get on. I had already been on the fifth trip to Cortes, that really crowded day everybody made fun of. But it was still the coolest thing I've ever been a part of. I wanted to see it big, though. That wave could get so monstrous. It'd be a sight to see. On my way to California, I bought a ticket for my friend Ben Kastner, so he could video, and we just bombed it. We stayed at another friend's house, woke up in the morning, and looked at the charts. Then at the last second, Cortes was called off so I called Rob Brown, 'cause I knew he had a sick boat and he's always down for Todos. He said he had one more slot after Greg and Rusty Long, Ross Clarke-Jones, Brad Gerlach and Mike Parsons.

ESM: Talk about Willy Wonka and the golden ticket!

WS: Yeah, these are people I've looked up to my whole life so I was psyched out of my mind. Of course, I was nervous. We ended up scoring what some were calling the biggest Todos ever. Greg and Rusty Long were on a 9'3" and a 9'6". I had a 10'6" but I rode my 9'8" 'cause you wanna get under the lip more. I only got one set wave but it made my year. Those guys came out of there saying it was one of the biggest paddle-in sessions of their lives.

ESM: How have you been scoring the North Shore this winter?

WS: I came out late this year, November 18th, and we never got any huge swells. But I was fortunate to get one 12-foot day with Garrett McNamara. I met him during my first trip to Cortes and we've maintained a good relationship. He took me out towing with him at Himalayas, just full-on training. I must've caught 50 waves that session. I was so sore, I couldn't move for two days afterwards.

ESM: Since you were exposed in your ESM Who Da Guy profile three years ago (Vol.12, #86), your big-wave exploits started making a lot of noise. What kind of fruits have you enjoyed since then?

WS: There's surfing and then there's big-wave surfing. Once I got that first wave when I was young, I just fell in love with it. I was fortunate that a few people took some pictures of me on some bombs. When you're out there you're not thinking if someone's taking a picture of a 40-foot wave, so when you get to see what's behind you, it's pretty freaky. Everything started working out for me as far as sponsorship. Now Zoo York is giving me an opportunity to take this to a professional level. I couldn't ask for a better life than right now, so I'm just gonna try and milk it while I can, push myself more and more, and hopefully be one of the best in the world one day.

ESM: So you started charging Maverick's four years ago, then quickly graduated to Todos, Cortes and Waimea. Where's your next target?

WS: Jaws.

ESM: And the fact that you're riding all these waves on your backhand?

WS: I don't know if I'd want to be on my forehand. Then you kinda see what's chasing you [laughs].

ESM: We can count on one hand the number of young guys--or any guys for that matter--who are consistently seeking out big waves on their career agendas. Who were your primary inspirations for wanting to go this route?

WS: I never really saw myself being a professional surfer. I just wanted to be a big-wave rider. My family are all champion swimmers and lifeguards, so I was always real comfortable in the water. I remember looking at mags and videos and seeing young kids like Jay Moriarty and Anthony Tashnick starting to push it, and that got me thinking.

You should see his board for when things get serious. Photo: Onufrock

ESM: What are some of the main things you've come to learn over the past few years about big-wave riding?

WS: Respect. Giving big waves respect. Maybe watch a few guys take off, find your place in the lineup and don't rush. You can't jump into it. It's all about working your way up. Another is knowing how to read the charts. Make sure you're not showing up at the spot on the shitty day. I've learned to be on my shit, watching Buoyweather.com for swells, that's key.

ESM: What's your hairiest experience to date?

WS: Last year at Todos, I went on a set wave, made it halfway down the face... I might've hit a boil or something, but I ended up skipping on my stomach and it knocked the wind out of me. I got sucked over, and just felt myself flying in the whitewater. Then I waited, curled up and chilled out. Because once you start panicking, you're done. Finally, it let me go and I started to swim up. I was pretty deep and then stopped stroking, 'cause I was losing a lot of oxygen and my arms were tingling. I just told myself to stay calm. Then I came up, got that one breath in and got hit by another wave. I just rolled with it, so happy I got that breath in, then popped up and could barely move my body. My savior, Randy Laine, was right there maybe ten feet from me, and threw me up on the sled. He said it must've rolled me like 500 yards. Definitely a hairy experience.

ESM: Maintenance of those skis must be a bitch. Is Zoo York flowing you any cash for gasoline and WD-40?

WS: No, nothing right now for the Yamaha four-stroke [laughs]. But WRV's hooking me up with good equipment lately. Jesse Fernandez has been shaping me insane boards for three years. He's one of those shapers who if he sees you surf, he'll shape you a perfect board. As far as guns, everything he's put under my feet has been magic.

ESM: Man cannot subsist on a half-dozen triple-overhead-plus sessions a year alone. How's the tow-at thing working out in New York and on the Outer Banks?

WS: Tow-ats are sick. You get all this speed, so you're adjusting to the lips as they're coming at you. You can get 30 sections in 30 minutes, so you're gonna get better at surfing. Tow-ats have definitely helped me with airs and reverses.

ESM: Why the move to Cape Hatteras?

WS: I'm from Long Beach, NY. My dad worked at the World Trade Center as a stockbroker. About a year prior to 9-11, he was over Wall Street. We always rented a vacation house down in Avon, and my parents just decided to pack up and move there. Once we moved down there, surfing became an everyday thing for me. New York probably gets better one day out of the year, but you can surf almost every day in Hatteras.

ESM: Being a Yankee, did you have any trouble fitting in with good ol' backwoods Buxtonites?

WS: You gotta be a complete asshole to piss off somebody from North Carolina. They're the nicest people. But at the Lighthouse I had to take my time, surf when the locals were at lunch, and earn my respect. But I had a love for surfing and it was a surf town, so that helped me get along with everybody and form the friendships I have today.

ESM: Tell us a little about the young bulls coming up in Hatteras. Buxton surfers have always been kinda shrouded in anonymity, but kids like Brett Barley, Cash Barris and Morgan O'Connell are starting to turn it up in the amateur ranks.

WS: Those kids could be considered the best amateur freesurfing groms on the East Coast. You'll turn around and see Morgan stick a big indy air, and then see Brett standing straight up in a double-overhead barrel. But in Hatteras, you get the waves you want. Imagine surfing by yourself every day and then putting yourself in a heat with five paddle maniacs who surf crowded breaks all the time. When you're used to just sitting and waiting for the wave to come to you, you're not gonna do that well in contests. But they're starting to put it together. I see a really big future for those kids. I can't wait to get the phone call from one of these kids going, "Hey Will, you think you could tow me in on one?" The New York kids are stepping up, too. TJ Gumiela and Balaram Stack just came out and visited me in Hawaii and their level of improvement blows me away. I think watching Sean Killarney killing it up there has positively influenced them.

ESM: How'd you earn the nickname "Skudini?"

WS: For that wave in the ESM video (Always Right). It was the first time the Lighthouse came together in two years. I got lucky and snuck away with a nugget--got spit out and I wasn't really supposed to. Then, on the beach someone was like, "What the hell, Skudini!?!"

ESM: You grew up in Long Beach, live in Frisco, and have towed into previously undocumented widowmakers like The Ledge off Rhode Island. So you're probably as good a person to ask as any--what's the best wave on the East Coast?

WS: It depends what you want. But listen to me: we haven't caught it since 2003, but when The Ledge is on, it's an A-frame, 20-foot-plus, top-to-bottom, spitting barrel. It is insane, the most non-East Coast-looking wave in your wildest dreams. That was one of the most magical days in the world, and we're just realizing it since we haven't scored it since. Wes (Laine) and I look at each other every hurricane season and just shake our heads.

ESM: Where else on these shores shows tow potential?

WS: After The Ledge, our minds just opened up like, "Wow this is the first place we checked." There's gonna be a day that happens once every three to five years. It's all about being on it. Look at "The Perfect Storm," 99-foot buoys off Nantucket. The biggest buoy reporting in the world... ever.

ESM: What's your ultimate goal in surfing? An invite to the Eddie, perhaps, or maybe the Billabong XXL Award...?

WS: I'd love to win the XXL Paddle-In. The Tow award is more money, but the Paddle-In is a goal I've had in mind for two years. This year, though, I just wanna focus on paddling into some bombs. I have faith that if I keep doing what I'm doing, being a good person and staying focused, it'll all work out. Just gotta take it step by step.