Cory Lopez
has been a busy man this winter. Making the usual early-season pilgrimage to
Hawaii, where he competed in the Vans Triple Crown Of Surfing and was up for
Tube Of The Year at the Surfer Poll. Returning to the Gulf Coast to celebrate
Nekton Surf Shop’s 5th anniversary in his hometown of Indian Rocks Beach, FL.
Traveling to China to compete for Team U.S.A at the ISA China Cup, the first major surf contest of its
kind in the behemoth Asian country. Back to Florida for the Surf Expo, where he
joined Garrett McNamara as the public face of WaveJet.
In between,
Cory and his wife Jenn are raising two kids, daughter Alana and son Luke.
Older brother Shea is right down the street in Ponce Inlet, and younger brother
Matty is a hop, skip, and jump over the Inlet in New Smyrna Beach; in fact, the
whole Lopez family celebrated Matty’s 19th birthday earlier this month. But
Cory’s still got his eye on the 2012 prize, and graciously spilled to ESM about his maiden trip to China, his
thoughts on the ASP’s now-defunct midyear rotation, and his opinion on
WaveJet’s place in lineups worldwide.
ESM: So how’d you end up going to China
in the first place, Cory?
Cory Lopez: Basically I got a call from
Greg Cruse and Ian Cairns saying they’d be stoked if I could make it to China.
First thing I did was check my schedule and saw that it was wide open. I’ve
always wanted to go to China, and part of surfing for a living is exploring
places you’ve never been, so I figured what a perfect opportunity to go
somewhere I’ve never been and compete in a great event.
ESM: What were your first impressions
of China? Is there much surf culture to speak of over there?
CL: I really had no idea what to
expect; all I’ve ever seen of China is pictures of the cities, and I did no
research about Hainan Island before we flew in. So when I arrived and saw
coconut palms and all kinds of beautiful, tropical trees everywhere I was stoked
about that. The island is really green and lush; it was a very pretty place.
There weren’t too many surfers there, but the local guys we met were stoked to
have us. There was a language barrier, but we were hanging out and rapping in
our own little way. Some of them reminded me of the Japanese — super
stoked on surfing and wanting to know everything they could. Chris [Ward] and I
did a little demonstration, showing 'em how to stand up on dry sand.
ESM: What was the wave at Riyue Bay
like? Pictures made it look like a fun left pointbreak, which you’re obviously
more than familiar with.
CL: It was a really fun wave. For the
ISA China Cup it was really small, although the day before the event was pretty
good. It was a fun wave for me, a nice left, and my boards were working well —
a set peak, where you went up there and did your work and caught your wave. It
was definitely a good wave for anyone who travels the world on tour. It didn’t
compare to Cloudbreak or anything, but it was a great, contestable wave.
ESM: What was the competition level
like? Comparable to past ISA World Games you’ve competed in?
CL: When we did the event in Costa Rica
in 2009 there were a lot more countries, and this one had only eight. But it
was the top countries, so the competition level was high. It just didn’t have
the same draw as the one in Costa Rica; the froth level there was so crazy with
20-something teams, like a madhouse because of all those Latin American
countries. Those guys get so fired up every time they have someone in the
water. In China though, Australia and France and Brazil came with really strong
teams, and there were a few ‘CT girls competing. It was a good event.
ESM: The Men’s final was pretty tight
— you were in 1st-place with 15 minutes to go, and France’s Marc Lacamore was
right behind you. But Australia’s Heath Joske ended up surprising both of you
to take a last-minute win.
CL: Yeah, I was a little worried about
him sitting down there at the bottom of the point [laughs]. I got a couple of
decent scores at the beginning, but they came on little waves, so I knew
someone could get a better score easily if they got a set. It was getting so
inconsistent that day with the tide going out, so I made the choice to sit on
Lacamore because he only needed a 6.8 to pass me. Joske didn’t have any waves,
but unfortunately for me he got two in a row in a minute and a half sitting
wide, and I couldn’t get down there fast enough. I saw him scratching for the
first one and tried, but just couldn’t get it done. That’s how it goes when you
pick your battles.
ESM: You mentioned Chris Ward, who also
competed for Team U.S.A. You guys have been longtime friends, so it must have
been nice to travel with him, right?
CL: I really enjoyed it — we
haven’t shared a place in like four years, since me, him, and Andy went to
Costa Rica. Ward was making heats, I was making heats, so we were having fun.
Unfortunately he had a little foot slip on the final day — if his back
foot hadn’t slipped off he would have been in the final with me. I think he was
.2 or .3 behind.
ESM: Did you guys have any down time to
explore outside the contest?
CL: No, it was a really quick trip for
me — I was there five days and the event ran three of those. We were just
surfing every day, because the waves were too fun to go anywhere. You’d just
surf, come in, eat, and chill. But it was pretty. On the point where we were at
there was this big temple where they do sacrifices. That was pretty
interesting.
ESM: They had an ASP 4-Star right after
the China Cup, but you didn’t enter it. Are you just focusing on the 6-Stars
and Primes this year to try and requalify for the World Tour?
CL: I actually really wanted to do that
4-Star, but I had to come home to do the trade show for my sponsors. I’m going
to do Fernando and Margaret and Lowers, the upcoming Primes, and see where I
stand after those events. If I do well I’ll keep pursuing ‘em, but if not I
might just hang my hat. Last year was getting to be demoralizing with the tour
rules and how few people qualified. The ‘QS side of the tour has been really
bad for the last three years. They made some changes recently that are gonna
make it a little better for next year, but we’ll see once they’re finalized.
There’s stuff behind the scenes going on right now to make it better, because there
have been so few new faces coming in the last couple of years. That plays in my
mind — if it’s going to be like last year, do I want to try for one of
three spots? That’s slim pickings when you’re talking about 96 guys competing
for three spots.
ESM: So is the termination of the
mid-year rotation a bummer for you? One less chance to get back on tour?
CL: No, I’m all for it. I think the
mid-year rotation was ridiculous — surfing’s not decided in six months.
You need a full year to prove your worth. If I qualified, I’d want a full year.
Last year I should have had a full year, but unfortunately I didn’t. Bobby
should have had a full year. Look back to other years: Tanner Gudauskas, Nate
Yeomans, all these guys got shafted by the cut. It really isn’t fair,
especially if you’re a goofyfoot. The first half of the year with Snapper and
Jeffrey’s Bay is tough on goofies, especially when the waves are small. And the
second half of the year being beachbreaks and Pipeline, that’s a place where
Bobby and CJ do well, where Tanner or Nate or myself could have done well. You
need a full year to prove your worth, because anything can happen at the end of
the year at Pipeline. Most careers are made at Pipe.
ESM: Did you get to score any of that
sick end-of-year Pipe last month when you were in Hawaii?
CL: I had a great time in Hawaii, and
quite a few fun surfs. I was staying right at Rocky Point, and it seems like
nobody surfs there anymore — everybody just focuses on Off The Wall. So I
had a blast, catching a lot of mid-day sessions where I could surf with just a
few guys. I caught a few good Off The Wall days as well, but I left kind of
early though and missed the good Pipeline swell. I’m definitely jealous of all
the guys I’ve been watching at the Backdoor Shootout.
ESM: Any other big trips planned for
this year besides those Primes?
CL: Yeah, me and Alek Parker want to do
some more traveling together for freesurf trips. I plan on spending a lot of
time in Central America this summer, so hopefully it’ll be a good season for
south swells.
ESM: And maybe when O’Neill hosts their
first World Tour contest at Steamer Lane later this year you’ll get a wildcard?
CL: That would be nice! I would really
like to surf a World Tour event again. I love Steamer, and with O’Neill being
my sponsor, hopefully they’ll show me some love and get me in that thing.
ESM: How about your family life now
with daughter Alana and son Luke at home? You’re right up the road from Shea
and his family, right?
CL: Yep, Shea lives half a mile down
the street, so we’re pretty much together all the time and the kids are over
here hanging out a lot. We had a huge New Year’s BBQ blowout, and just the
other day we celebrated [younger brother] Matty’s 19th birthday. He’s stoked
— the last year of being a teenager. It’s nice to go surfing with my
brothers; we try to surf together as much as we can.
ESM: Let’s talk about your sponsor
WaveJet, which is a controversial topic in the world of surfing right now. You
and Garrett McNamara just did a demo at Ponce Inlet the other day, right?
CL: Yeah, it was pretty fun. The waves
have been pretty bad lately but that day was actually good, and I think
everybody that rode one had a great time. It’s such a different experience for
everyone, but the old guys were riding the longboard and tearing it up.
ESM: Jamie O’Brien rode one at Pipe,
GMac rode one in some Hawaiian outer reefs… have you ridden one in waves of
consequence yet, and do you think there’s a place in serious lineups for them?
CL: I’ve only ridden ‘em in waves a
couple feet overhead, but I was getting barreled, so it was definitely fun.
There’s more than a place for those things; it’s just going to be another tool
that people can have in their quiver. When the day calls, you’ll be super
stoked you have one — when there’s a strong current and the waves are
barreling, you’ll be able to catch 10 times more waves than you could before. I
think Jamie said he wouldn’t have caught that wave at Pipe on a regular board.
ESM: So is it good for beginner and
super-advanced spots only?
CL: It’s not just there, though; I
think at big beachbreaks it’s going to be insane. Places where you can patrol
areas and get big, open beachbreak barrels. The new 6’6” that’s coming out
should be good — the future’s here with those things. At a point when
you’re a kid, everybody says, “Fuck, I wish I had jets on my board.” And now
you do. As the years go by they’re going to get better and better. But it’s
something new, and anything new people get grumpy about, which is their right.
Look at stand-ups, though — when those came out I hated ‘em, but they’re
actually pretty fun.
ESM: Still, there’s been a lot of
grumbles about the supposed unfair advantage WaveJets can create.
CL: Like anything, when you’re in a
lineup as a shortboarder and anyone has an advantage over you, you’re going to
get pissed. When a longboarder paddles by you, you’re like “Get out of my way.”
But it’s all about showing respect; if someone’s on a shortboard, longboard,
stand-up, WaveJet, whatever it is, and they don’t show respect, they’re
probably gonna get their ass kicked. And that’s just how it is in surfing
— you’ve gotta have respect for each other, and if you don’t that’s a
fine line to cross.
ESM: Sounds like they might be perfect
down in Mainland Mexico at some of those bombing, out-of-control beachbreaks.
CL: I’m looking forward to this summer
— that’s my first goal, to get down to some of those Mainland spots and
get super shacked. That way you don’t have to depend on someone else towing
you. You can just get your own wave and have a good time.
