CORY LOPEZ

“Anything is possible.” May of 1999, Teahupoo was as heavy as it gets with eight to ten-foot leviathans exploding on the reef during the Gotcha Tahiti Pro. In his Round One heat against Shane Powell, Cory Lopez launched himself headfirst into surf infamy with a suicidal barrel which has been labeled as one of the heaviest ever. Despite the fact that Cory didn't make the tube, despite the fact that he lost the heat, and despite the fact he came in ninth in the event, his balls-out assault is what we remember most from the historic contest. Can the average reader even recall who won?  

Fast forward two years later to this season's Billabong Pro Tahiti where Lopez topped his previous hell-charge and silenced critics to capture the victory at Teahupoo, sealing his first-ever WCT win and taking the lead in the tour ratings. Growing up and learning to surf in some of the world’s most gutless waves to eventually dominate the world's deadliest, 24-year-old Cory Lopez is one of surfing's greatest rags-to-riches stories. Looking back over his early days as a Gulf grom and Lost hellraiser to his recent maturation into one of the tour's most lethal combatants, Cory found that as he gets older, everything is finally coming into focus. By Chris Towery

ESM: Congratulations on your victory at Teahupoo...
CL: Thanks. Winning that event definitely takes the pressure off requalifying, and that was my main goal—just to stay qualified for the 'CT. But it's not that big of a deal because it’s only the second event of the year. I was third in the world early last season and ended up with 14th. But because it's a short year with only six more events, maybe with a little luck, I can stay somewhere at the top.
ESM: Tell us about Teahupoo. You've spent a lot of time there and bagged some of the sickest waves the place has to offer, so just how gnarly is it?
CL: It definitely lives up to its reputation. A lot of waves are unrideable or on the brink of unrideable at Teahupoo, so you have to be in the right spot at the right time. It comes right out of super-deep water and hits this really shallow ledge, sucking out below sea level and doubling up into these death pits, and if you’re not in the perfect position, you're not going to make it. I got there a few weeks early this year, so I could get a few waves without the crowds and get comfortable with the place, because you never know what’s going to happen out there.
ESM: What's your approach to the wave?
CL: The main thing at Teahupoo is to be under the lip. The wave doesn't really allow for a bottom turn, so you have to backdoor the section straight into the barrel. Also, the foamball is really gnarly and shoots up so fast that you can't even ride that deep. The smaller ones you can get really far back in the tube, but the larger ones you have to be more on the shoulder. The most important thing, though, is to make the drop and get under the wave, because you definitely don't want to go over with the lip.
ESM: Coming from Indian Rocks, FL, you obviously didn't get much heavy-water practice at home, but what's the biggest swell you've ever seen in the Gulf?
CL: I surfed near Sand Key a couple years ago when it was two-foot overhead, breaking almost like Kirra but going left. They were dredging the beach and just put a hundred yards of sand on the shore, forming this nice little curve where the new sand ended. It was breaking like a perfect pointbreak, and we scored it one morning with a tropical storm swell that had unreal form—just reeling. It was the best I've ever seen Florida, and probably better
than anywhere I've seen on the whole East Coast.
ESM: Your father Pete was a big surfer in his day. When did he get you and Shea in the water?
CL: Well, we learned how to surf before we can even remember. We were two-years-old and standing on boards, so to us, it was like we've known how to surf forever. There's even pictures of me and Shea fighting over a board as toddlers. I'm in a diaper while Shea's got this little speedo on, and we're haggling each other over this surfboard [laughs]. Eventually, I started surfing the ESA’s Menehune Division on the Gulf and over on the East Coast.
ESM: Besides making the trip over to the East Coast, you and Shea were really into other sports like skating and wakesurfing. How much influence did these activities have on the type of moves, specifically airs, you're able to perform today?
CL: You know, it doesn't really affect that much of what you're doing. Maybe some of the grabs skaters do might help, and there's maybe a little bit of an ollie in surfing, but it’s not like a skateboard because you're not scooping your foot under it. In surfing, you just get as much speed as you can and launch the lip. I was skating a lot as a grom and boosting it all the time, but when I was surfing back then, I didn't really like to do airs that much. Maybe it was because I didn't know how or didn't like them, but I didn't start doing those until I was like 16 and moved out to California. Shea used to do airs, and I would always make fun of him [laughs]. I would just do power turns, but finally I gave it up and started doing them (airs). Now they’re a regular move like anything else, but they don't have too much to do with skating or waking.
ESM: Describe the differences and similarities between your brother and yourself both in the water and out.
CL: We're pretty similar, and we both do the same maneuvers, although with maybe a bit different styles. Out of the water, he's a bit more relaxed than me. I'm pretty laid-back, but I've got a little more drive now. Marriage has calmed him down a bit—you know, no more going out or whatever [laughs]. His wedding was in Costa Rica in these villas up on the hill near Jaco. Her family flew down, my family came, and a couple friends who were in Costa also attended. It was a really fun time.
ESM: I know Mike Reola of Lost is also from the Gulf. Did you guys grow up together?
CL: I've known Mike for a long time—since back in the day when we were surfing Upham Beach in St Pete. And I've been staying at his house in California since I was 17. Mike was doing Lost like two years before I started
coming out, and when I got there, they were making videos. They would film me surfing and use the footage for their movies, but I wasn't wearing their clothes or anything, 'cause I was still riding for Billabong.
ESM: Wasn't doing so much stuff with your friends at Lost sorta sketchy since you were a Billabong rider?
CL: Yeah, that's probably why Billabong kicked me off their team. They were over me. But I was good friends with Billabong, too. Bob Hurley has always taken care of me since I was a little kid and let me stay with him at his
house all the time.
ESM: But now Lost is doing well, and it's largely due to your mediapresence...
CL: It’s cool to know those guys and ride for them all these years. It's been a good relationship, and Matt Biolis has been shaping me unreal boards lately. Lost has gotten me to where I'm at now, so we'll just have to see how far it goes.
ESM: Living at the Lost house, were you and Randall roommates?
CL: No [laughs], he was living out back in the garage. I don't know where they found him, but he was living in San Clemente and started doing odd jobs for them and working around the house. After that, they let him stay in the back of the place in the carport. Ever since then, he's been a marketing tool for those guys. Now, he's like “Big-Time Randall”. I think he might even be on salary [laughs].
ESM: Outside of Tom Curren's fish experimentation, both you and Chris Ward's roles in the Lost video 5' 5" x 19 1/4” helped propel the fish frenzy to its climax. Back then, did you realize how much influence the equipment you were riding would have on the mainstream surfboard market?
CL: No, I had no idea. Me and Ward just rode those boards all over the world one year. We were just having fun and goofing around. We were riding them in big waves, small waves—those things ride good in all sorts of surf,
you just have to have the right kind of fish. Then this full-on explosion took over the surfboard market, and everyone was riding them. It was killer to see that movie come out and everybody get into fishes, but it all started back with Curren.
ESM: How has that experimentation outside of the traditional surfboard design influenced your surfing?
CL: The fish makes you take off real late because you don't have a nose and don't have to worry about pearling. We started learning to get under the lip later because you don't get that much paddling out of them, so it forces you to do these air drops into the pit. On a gun, you take off from outside and paddle in, but on those things, you just whip it, spin around, and go.
ESM: At one time, both you and Chris Ward developed a bit of a party animal image. How much of that was a marketing gimmick, and how much was real?
CL: Everyone parties when they’re teenagers—that's just normal. I was 17 you know, doing stupid high school stuff. I just got all nuts and experimented a bit. So part of it was definitely true–we were partying.

ESM: But you've since tamed it down a bit?
CL: Yeah, now I'm a lot more laid back. I've only partied twice this year—once at my friend's Christmas party and then when I got back after Teahupoo, we had to have a little victory celebration at my house [laughs].
ESM: How did living in San Clemente and growing up with that crew affect the way your surfing evolved?
CL: It helped a lot. I was surfing Lowers and Salt Creek everyday, and I got to watch and surf with a lot of pros: Pat O' Connell, Shane Beschen, Archy, Potter. You just see all these guys performing at the top level, and you try to match what they’re doing. That's where I started airs—watching Gavin, Shane, and Joe Crimo.
ESM: Even though you and Shea have ties in Cali, you both maintain permanent residence on the East Coast. Are you two always going to remain fixed out here?
CL: I go out west for contests, but I'm gonna stay here for now. I don't even like to go to California anymore because the water is too cold, there's too many people, and too much traffic. It's just a little more comfortable in Florida, you know? It's a more laid-back pace.
ESM: And now you're building a new house on some property down near Sebastian?
CL: Yeah, I was down there this morning clearing out my land. Living down in Sebastian, there's only one road, and I'm the kind of person who likes to live quietly on my own routine, so it's perfect. Plus, there's good fishing down there, and I'll be able to do that all the time. Also, I have a dock right in my backyard where I can launch my boat.
ESM: What's the house going to be like?
CL: It's gonna be Key West style, something real nice that will feel like home.
ESM: Key West style? You mean something painted bright pink or aqua?
CL: No, nothing funky like that [laughs]. I don't know, maybe something grey—some gothic color [laughs].
ESM: In the “Rude Boyz” Indo boat trip article in Surfer, your brother is quoted as saying that the excursion gave you guys the opportunity to get some of your souls back from what you had lost becoming pro surfers. How does
the tour affect the overall nature of your life and your surfing?
CL: It changed me quite a bit. It mellowed me out—that's for sure. It made mefocus more and be more serious. I havebegun to be more controlled in my surfing, but I still get sessions where I get out of control on every turn. But right now, I'm more focused on competition. I've slowed down my progressive surfing over the last couple of years, and while I'm still trying new stuff, it’s not the same as before I was on the ‘CT. Now I go out and practice carving and solid surfing as opposed to being radical all the time. I'm trying to be patient and focus more on winning.
ESM: Have you noticed an honest difference in the judges’ attempt at scoring radical surfing higher?
CL: Yeah, I've seen it. At spots where they get a good, close-up view of what’s going on, like Hossegor, they reward you high for the progressive stuff. But at other stops like Lacanau, where they’re two or three hundred yards off the beach, they don't score those moves as good, and you're better off doing regular maneuvers.
ESM: Let's go back to Teahupoo. Tell us about the final with CJ...
CL: Man, it was a stressful heat, but it was killer to have two Florida guys in the final. I even gave him his first wave at the beginning of the heat: I was in position, had priority, but let him go, and he got a nine. I was just like, "What am I thinking?" Talk about bad decision making [laughs]. But I came back with a couple solid waves and had a good lead. It came down to the last 40 seconds, and he's looking at this little wave, but I've got priority, so I
take it. The wave ended up being only like a six and not even counting. I kicked out to see him take off on this sick one where he gets an 8.56, and I'm thinking, "I just lost the heat." But he needed to stay in the barrel just one more second to beat me, so luckily he came out when he did. I felt bad for him, but he already got his victory last year at Hossegor, and I had yet to get mine. I was jealous of him for a while, so I didn't feel too bad.
ESM: Are there any other spots on the 'CT you'll be focusing more attention on like in Tahiti?
CL: I'm going to J-Bay early this year, too. I've never really done well there, so I just want to practice and see if I can improve my past placings.
ESM: Back at home, I know you're extremely tight withyour family and friends. You took your dad to G-Land and regularly bring along friend Skip Miller to places like Indo and Cuba. How does it feel to be able to stoke out the
people you're close to like that?
CL: Yeah, it’s killer. Like for my parent's Christmas present this year, we took them all to Hawaii. My little brother was there and he got to catch a couple waves. My little sister caught a few, too.
ESM: Is family important?
CL: Family is real important. I want to get to see my younger brother grow up and surf with him and my little sister as well. My dad's always been great to me, like a super-dad, you know? He's dealt with four kids now, and I look up to him.
ESM: So you think your father was instrumental to your success?
CL: For sure. He’s always encouraged us to do whatever we wanted to do. He’s always told me and my other siblings that if you work hard and love what you do, anything is possible. Sitting here right now, with what I've
accomplished and where I've come from, I know he was telling the truth.