Back In The Hood

WITH JAY QUINN

Jay Quinn grew up a stone’s throw from the iconic Stock Route break in the hotbed of surf talent that is Gisborne. It was evident from an early age he was gonna be red hot; he made his way through the ranks, won junior and open titles - hell - he even won a World Junior Title (NZ’s first).

He took on the best juniors in the world on the Pro Junior Circuit with much success and set his sights on the World Qualifying Tour. While a few before him, including his older brother Maz, had proven they could make it based in NZ, Jay grew wings and flew the nest, basing himself in Australia in the proving ground, mixing it with the best in the business and also close to hand to potential sponsors and the international surf media. He became one of the most talked-about surfers in the world and was appearing in mags and videos all over the globe. He even came ‘ohso-close’ to qualifying for the World Tour, a victim of ASP format changes that year (the same year Bobby Martinez threw his famous tanty).