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Hard to believe it’s only
been a month since St. Augustine, FL, superstar Gabe Kling notched the biggest
victory of his career at the ASP PRIME Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro, held May 4th-8th at
Lower Trestles, CA. And while that contest saw Gabe down international titans and
World Tour veterans like Cory Lopez, Andy Irons, Jordy Smith, and Chris
Davidson on his way to a $20,000 1st-place prize, Kling remains as affable and
hardworking as ever.
After a blowout party at
Electric head honcho Bruce Beach’s house the night of the victory, Gabe spent
two weeks in Brazil bagging a decent result at a 6-star there to catapult
himself to #24 in the ASP’s World Rankings. Then he flew back in to the Oldest
City, where a solid gathering of family and friends showered him with champagne
at the airport and threw him yet another party at longtime sponsor/ The Surf
Station owner Tory Strange’s house. Now Gabe gets ready to launch his 2nd Annual
Gabe’s Grom Comp, a free event for North Florida small fries slated for June
12th-13th in St. Augustine Beach. EasternSurf.com caught up with Kling about giving back to his local community, the never-ending
string of Lowers Pro celebrations, and why power surfing is still relevant in
our aerial-obsessed day and age.
ESM: Less
than a month ago you defeated a large swath of World Tour surfers at the Nike
6.0 Lowers Pro. Has the reality of winning $20,000 finally sunk in?
Gabe Kling: Yeah,
I had a party out there in California, but I had just enough time to celebrate
that night before I had to get on a flight to Brazil the next day. I was
hungover and smiling the whole way there, believe me. Then I had another party
when I got home, which got me fired up on it all over again. It’s the highlight
of my career — definitely the biggest contest I’ve ever won.
ESM: People
were calling the Lowers Pro the most progressive contest ever, what with all the
aerials going down in early rounds. Then it ended up being yourself and Chris
Davidson, two older, powerful rail surfers, in the final. How’d you pull it
off?
GK: There
was some amazing surfing going on, and everybody saw it — crazy airs,
especially for a contest. But I just tried to do my thing, which got me through
heats, and as it got down to man-on-man, I knew it wasn’t getting any easier,
so I was trying to do the biggest turns I could. Had I gotten an amazing air
section, I probably would have tried one — some of those other guys can
do airs anywhere [laughs]. I stuck to
my game plan and tried to surf smart heats, and it ended up working out. If you
looked at the whole contest on paper, you definitely wouldn’t have picked Davo
and I to be in the final. But coming away with a win at home in North America
definitely boosted my confidence.
ESM: How
hard was it surfing against guys like Andy Irons and Jordy Smith?
GK: Each
heat, I felt like I was getting a little more confident. And really, I went
into it with a “nothing to lose” mindset. I was surfing perfect Lowers with one
other guy, but when he happens to be Andy Irons, that’s pretty hard to block
out. Hopefully I’ll carry that momentum over for the rest of the year.
ESM: I’m
sure your sponsors were stoked — it was awesome to see Bruce Beach from
Electric carrying you up the beach along with Jimmy Wilson.
GK: Yeah, any
contest in America where you can surf in front of your all your sponsors is
great. My brother showed up, and after I won, they carried me up the beach
straight to Bruce’s house where he had food and drinks waiting. You couldn’t
ask for a better support crew on the beach.
ESM: Right
now you’re #24 on the ASP’s One World Rankings. Supposedly at mid-season the
top 32 will get shuffled onto the World Tour — do you think you’ll be
back in the big leagues for the second half of the year?
GK: I
don’t know what the deal is with their new format. I think when they cut it
down to 32 halfway through the year they’re only going to keep World Tour guys.
There’s a possibility they’ll award two wildcards, so Josh Kerr and myself would
be up for consideration for those. That’d be my one way to sneak in for the
back end of the year, but right now I just want to focus on getting my results
up and see what happens along the way.
ESM: At
the end of 2009, you fell one spot short of an ASP injury wildcard, which would
have given you a pass back onto the World Tour. How did you keep your cool
while some of your biggest fans were flipping out?
GK: It was
definitely a big blow when I found out, and it would have been impossible for
it to not affect me. I was disappointed, but I feel like something good could
come out of it. I just won Lowers and I’m going to make my way back on tour
through a different route. Everything happens for a reason, I guess. I’m just
stoked about where I’m at right now.
ESM: I
hear you had quite the local fan club waiting for you at the airport when you
got home from Brazil two weeks after your big win. Champagne in the parking
lot, Guinness and shots in Jay Dodson’s Jaguars Mini Winnie on the way home…
GK: Yeah,
it was pretty funny having them all waiting for me. I thought something was a
little fishy when I got to the airport and my mom and sister were both there. I
figured after the first party in California I was gonna have another one at
home — I like to party, though, so I’m stoked. Wins like that don’t come
along too often, and it’s still pretty fresh, so I’m soaking it up.
ESM: Yet
you’re also giving back — the 2nd Annual Gabe’s Grom Comp, which is free
for local kids, is scheduled for June 12th-13th at 10th St. in St. Augustine
Beach.
GK: I came
up with the idea last year when I was hurt — I was longboarding with [The
Surf Station owner] Tory Strange’s son and all his little buddies, and it
brought me back to those days when I was a little grom and just psyched on
everything. We threw it for the first time last year on a whim and it was
amazing — I thought maybe 20 kids would show up, but 55 came out and had
a great time. I had fun, I think every kid there had fun, and everybody left
with prizes. It’s a cool thing to do, especially for kids who aren’t sponsored
that can get some free gear. But it’s really all about getting kids psyched on
surfing. This is just the 2nd annual, but I think I’ll be doing it for years to
come.
ESM: This
year is stacked — Jacksonville Jaguars mascot Jaxson De Ville is coming,
and you recently hooked up with the ‘nPLAY Foundation, which focuses on
childhood obesity.
GK: Yeah, hopefully this event will get kids off
the couch and get ‘em to come down and participate no matter what level of
surfing. The contest is for fun, but don't think there won’t be competition
because the better kids do, the better the prizes they receive. I’m also hoping
maybe Asher [Nolan] and a couple of other pro surfers will show up to stoke out
the kids. All the guys from Electric and Matix will be there, and Matix, DVS,
G-Shock, Electric, Body Glove, Head Hunter, Bully’s, and Bubble Gum have all pitched
in to make this happen. Plus I think the adults will have a little afterparty
once all the kids go home [laughs].
ESM: Your
longtime sponsor The Surf Station seems happy to get behind not only the Grom
Comp but also your whole career. Heck, Tory Strange even hosted the party at
his house when you got home.
GK: I got
where I’m at in this sport because of Tory — he’s been a big part of my
career, and even sort of a surrogate dad at one point. He’d bring me to
contests and I wouldn’t have any money, so he’d buy me lunch all the time [laughs]. I owe him a lot.
ESM: Will
you be surfing as many contests as you can the rest of the year?
GK: The
next big contest is in Sri Lanka, but it’s only a 6-star, which are almost
irrelevant compared to the Primes. I think the next one I’ll enter is the U.S.
Open in Huntington Beach in August. That means I have a couple months off. The
Grom Comp is coming up, and I’m just going to soak up being at home for a
little bit, especially since there have been waves lately. I might go down to
Central America to cruise and enjoy the time off and actually surf. Last year I
had plenty of time off, but I was stuck out of the water. I’m definitely
enjoying being able to surf this time around.
ESM: One
final question, Gabe — you’re supremely qualified to talk about the
evolution of World Tour surfing. Is it going to be all airs all the time in the
near future, or will polished rail work still reign supreme?
GK: I
think [airs] are definitely the way everything’s going, and I think that’s
really exciting. The judges are rewarding it, and it does make contests more interesting.
But power surfing is still relevant; it’s guys like Jordy who can do both
depending on the wave — an air here, a big hack there. That’s what
everybody really wants to see, and that’s gonna be the benchmark of surfing for
years to come.
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