KLING-ON in '07
The ESM INTERVIEW WITH WCT FRESHMAN GABE KLING

"I'm stoked for Gabe. He's obviously ripping, though I haven't seen him surf in quite a long time. I think it rules (that he qualified), because the East Coast used to get no love from Cali, and now we're kinda holding it down for the States. Good Job, buddy." -Kelly Slater, 8-time ASP world Champ

His smile is constant and infectious.  

He smiled when other 14-year-olds would've been blushing with embarrassment as Rabbit--his far-out, buck-naked dad--picked him and his best friend up from a movie theater. He smiled when his sponsor ran him ragged from contest-to-trip-to-contest-to-trip as a teenager. He even smiled when another sponsor took a dive on hundreds of "Kling-On in '06" shirts after he failed to live up to the claim. At 26 years old, Gabriel Thor Kling embodies the kind of levity that completely mocks the career that he chose (or the career that chose him)--a career governed by snake oil salesmen who wheel and deal human skills and superhuman egos, then discard them for the next big elixir.

Maybe that's why Gabe always seems to be smiling. Maybe he's well aware that he can't control any of it. After all, professional surfing isn't a start-to-finish board game--but a perplexing quagmire of highs and lows and boosts and traps where the truly talented are separated from the otherworldly at every turn, and the only way to keep your head in the game... is to smile. But today, the St. Augustine, FL, son has more reason to smile than ever, as he's the first East Coaster since 2000 to graduate to the elite ranks of the ASP World Championship Tour's (WCT) Top-45 after slaving on the World Qualifying Series (WQS) for nearly a decade.

This October, Eastern Surf enlisted Zander Morton, one of the surfers who grew up under that grinning influence, to interview Kling before he makes his maiden voyage on the 'CT--an unfathomable feat when you consider that only nine East Coasters have made the cut since the ASP instituted the two-tiered system in 1992. It's that very feat that has us smiling right along with him. ­MP

ESM: Being from the oldest city, let's start with your oldest surfing memory.
GK: I think I was about four when my older brother Lance started pushing me into waves. He claims I was even younger, but I don't remember. I really looked up to him and all his friends like Garvin (Thorson). Martin Potter was my favorite surfer at the time. I remember having a couple boards with the Pottz design on them. Of course, I liked Occy and Curren, too. 

ESM: And when did you first get introduced to competition?
GK: I surfed my first ESA contest when I was eight. I got 2nd, but there were only three guys in the division, and one of them ended up being too old for Menehune. I guess that means I really placed last, but I got the 2nd-place trophy, so I was stoked [laughs]. I kept at it and eventually won the Southeast Regionals in Menehune. I beat Josh Wilson for the first time, which was pretty big back then. After that, I won the ESA Easterns two years in a row in the Junior Men's division (1997-98). Those were my contest highlights as an amateur. Then I got 4th and 6th in Explorer Juniors and Open Mens at the NSSA Nationals. That was when you had to get three waves in a six-man heat, and I think I only got two. Nowadays, you only need two waves, so had that been the case, my results might've been different. 

ESM: See? You scored two waves in your heat, same as today's ASP criteria. You were already planning for the WCT!
GK: Yeah [laughs]... I never really had a plan to go pro, but when I was 19, I won a WQS 2-star in Jersey. That got my sponsors stoked, and they wanted me to do more contests. Then I had some success and started to feel like I could really do it. 

ESM: Wasn't Rip Curl sending you on Search trips with some heavy hitters at an early age?
GK: Yeah, and that was the fucking coolest thing that had ever happened to me. I think my first one was to the Galapagos with Mick (Fanning) and Hedgey (Nathan Hedge). I ended up getting sent on four more of those trips, which really helped my surfing. You can watch those guys on video all day, but watching them in person is a real eye-opener. Where you're just doing a cutback, they're doing something crazy. They showed me what was possible on a wave, while at the same time helping me try my hardest. But all the Search stuff aside, Rip Curl was actually really contest-oriented, so they wanted me to do the 'QS, too. I didn't really have the confidence at that point, and I wasn't on their top list of guys they wanted to put out there to qualify. I was just kind of... there for awhile. I was only doing a few Search trips, mainly a lot of contests. I just wasn't all that focused at the time. 

ESM: Well, that's obviously changed. At 26, is your confidence now a lot higher than it was at 19 or 20?
GK: Oh yeah, after doing the 'QS for so long and surfing with those guys all the time, I feel like I'm surfing my best now, for sure. It just took awhile for me to build the confidence to compete with these guys and beat 'em. 

ESM: When did you feel the WCT was attainable? I mean, plenty are content just living the cruisy, laid-back pro surfer lifestyle and never shooting for so lofty a goal.
GK: At the beginning of 2005, I got 3rd at that Margaret River 6-star and beat Taj (Burrow) and a couple other guys I'd always looked up to. I was ranked 1st in the WQS ratings for awhile. Before that, I didn't think I could actually qualify. I was just there to see what the best I could do was. Before last year, my two highest rankings were like 120th in 2003 and 88th in 2004. Then I finished 24th last season when I gave it my all. 

ESM: Was it just a coincidence that you signed with Matix only two months prior to that breakthrough result in 2005, or did that change give you a boost of motivation?
GK: Signing with them was a big boost, because they were 100% supportive of me to do whatever I wanted to do; they just wanted me to do it well. Right from the beginning, Matix made me their main guy, so they kind of expected more out of me than Rip Curl did. I really pushed myself to succeed at that point, because they wanted me to step it up. 

ESM: I saw how it happened: You took three 15-foot waves on the head, broke your leash, swapped boards with me, and still got out there and found a wave in absolutely gigantic, out-of-control conditions. You could've gotten the score to move on, but it was against Andy Irons and Jake Paterson, who finished the event 1st and 2nd, so you couldn't feel too bad about losing that way.
GK: Yeah, that helped ease the pain some. I mean, that heat was heavy, and I gave it my best. What are you gonna do, you know?

ESM: You're gonna do just what you did--pick right up where you left off at the end of the year. You placed 2nd in the first two major WQS events of 2006 in Brazil. How did you manage such huge results right out of the gates?
GK: Well, I had two really good boards, and every little thing was just working. I got into a good rhythm, and I've learned to be patient and wait. I think not getting rattled just comes with experience. Sometimes when you barely squeak through a heat, it can build momentum that ends up bringing you further in an event. It's little things like that which decide everything in the end. Every heat of every contest counts when you're trying to qualify. 

ESM: You regularly train with Sal Ropero when you're home. How is that helping?
GK: Training with Sal has helped my endurance. Sometimes you get fatigued in contests and might fall at the end of a wave doing something stupid. Finishing a wave strong can be the difference between a whole point or two, and I feel like I'm finishing waves more often now. Plus, when you're in the best shape you can be, that helps your confidence a ton. If I lose now, at least I feel like I did everything I could.  

ESM: After you qualified in Europe, you came home and your best friend/ roommate Jody Davis had organized a champagne bath for you and we all soaked you on your front lawn. You never stopped smiling for a second. Was that when it hit you?
GK: Yeah, that was awesome. It's funny 'cause I totally wasn't expecting it. But the reality first hit me in Portugal. Al Hunt sent me an e-mail saying he was only confirming that guys were on once they reached 9000 points. Then I had two heats the next day and made both of them, which put me over the 9000-point mark. It was such a relief; the night before I hadn't slept at all. I was really nervous and shaky. But the waves were good for those heats, and I just got fucking pissed off and felt I had to do it. I was amped, because I was doing some of my best surfing right then, and my board was working. I put all the pressure in the back of my mind, and it worked for me. But it sunk in once I got back to the house and everyone was celebrating. 

"His spontaneity and power carves made his sections in my movies stand out. It's a good feeling to see someone I constantly tried to get a clip of finally get such international praise by surfing next to the world's elite on the 'CT. Congratulations, Gaber. If they haven't heard of you yet, they will now." -Patrick Stublen, super-Gabe fan/ award-winning filmmaker

ESM: Who do you plan to travel with on tour--other East Coasters like the Hobgoods?
GK: I haven't gotten into that yet. I don't really know at all. I'd like to travel with someone who knows what's going on, like the Hobgoods. They're obviously experienced at every one of the spots, since they've been on for so long. I could definitely learn a lot from them. I might have to try and, like, call them or something [laughs]. 

ESM: What's your biggest fear about going out on the WCT?
GK: I don't have any one big fear. I'm just excited about it all. I haven't surfed five or six of the waves, so it's going to be a learning experience. If I have to pick one, I guess my biggest fear would be to just get knocked back off tour. I'll probably end up doing both the WCT and the WQS, so I at least have a fall-back plan. You don't want to get halfway through the year and have to scramble to do both. Basically, the first year is the hardest. If you stay on the first year, you gain experience and become more of a threat your second year around. But then you have guys like Bobby (Martinez), who come and prove that whole theory wrong. I think it's cool to see rookies like that who really belong in the Top-44. 

ESM: Where are you looking forward to surfing the most?
GK: I feel like I can surf any of those waves. They're all so perfect. If you can't surf 'em, you're pretty much in deep shit. But I'm really looking forward to J-Bay and Snapper, because they're both great rights. I love rights. 

ESM: So that's one of your strengths. How about weaknesses?
GK: My main weakness would just be my inexperience at all these new waves. And backside barrel-riding is something I'll need to work on... a lot. As far as just hanging out at Pipeline and catching a lot of waves, well, it's easier said than done, but that's the plan--to get my comfort level up at Pipe, and in bigger waves in general. That way, when I go to some of the scary spots on tour, I'm not worried, just amped. But I feel that one of my main strong points is I'm really competitive. I'm not going to back down. 

ESM: Anyone in the top 5 on the WCT right now is someone's favorite surfer. Who's yours?
GK: Kelly Slater. Mick Fanning is my other favorite besides Kelly. It's fucking amazing how good everyone is on the WCT.  

ESM: And look, now you're one of 'em!
GK: I know, but I want to become one of the elite guys on the WCT. I guess that's kind of a lofty goal for me. But a more immediate one is to get my seed up as high as I can, so I'm not surfing against Kelly or Andy first round. I mean, those guys are my heroes, and surfing against them in Round One during my rookie year doesn't sound easy. I have a lot to learn first. 

"It's good to finally see a guy from North Florida make it to the big leagues. He came so close the year before, but this year he ad a little more experience and put it all together. He definitely gives me motivation to get there." -Asher Nolan, pro surfer/ longtime friend and travel partner

ESM: Do you feel like more of a celebrity these days? Is there a Gabe shrine out there yet?
GK: No, [laughs] not yet. Nothing's named after me or anything. I get a lot more congratulations, and everyone's stoked for me, but that's about it. I'm still the same guy. 

ESM: Have you ever had a manager during your career, or anyone else to help you with your finances?
GK: No, I've always done all that on my own. Now that I'm on the 'CT, numbers are going to be bigger, but I've done it all along, and it's worked out all right for me. I guess I might be hiring some day. Let me know if you need a job, Zander [laughs]. 

ESM: No way, this interview is already enough work for me as it is. Let's talk about girlfriends. Do you feel they help or hinder you as a professional surfer?
GK: I had a girlfriend, and it was cool, but I don't make enough money to bring her everywhere, so it just becomes more of a distraction really. I feel like I'm better off doing this on my own and worrying about all that later. To hang out with one girl all the time, I mean, she has to be extremely cool. I guess right now I'm over it, if that makes any sense. 

ESM: And your parents, have they been supportive of your career choice?
GK: They've totally been behind me the whole time. They always told me that whatever I did, I'd be good at it as long as I'm happy. To this day, I think that's very important. If you enjoy what you do, you'll end up doing it way better. 

ESM: Before we wrap this up, anyone you'd like to thank?
GK: I have to thank Tory Strange (Surf Station owner). If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have gotten my first board, or gotten to a lot of contests when I was younger. There was plenty of stuff I couldn't afford, so he always gave me the "Strange Key" discount at the shop. I mean, the list goes on and on of things he's done for me. Then, of course, my parents and Jody's parents, all my friends and family, as well as Brandy Faber and everyone at Matix. Brandy's been an inspiration to me for a long time. These people are all good sports, so I want to thank them all.  

ESM: Anything else you'd like to add?
GK: Yeah, pick me up on Fantasy Surfer. I'm going to be cheap. And I don't want to be the least-owned surfer on there [laughs].