Matt Wilkinson’s transformation from party boy to world-title contender proves that competitive surfing today is more unpredictable than ever
No more than two minutes after winning the 2016 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, Matt Wilkinson banged his head on a World Surf League–emblazoned sign while being chaired up the staircase toward the podium.
In Wilkinson’s defense, he was too busy high-fiving fans and making jokes with those supporting his 160-pound frame to notice the obstacle. The rectangular overhang was placed at the bottom of the iconic timber steps, and whoever hung the sign probably assumed the victor would remember to duck. But when it comes to Matt Wilkinson, it’s best not to assume anything.
Moments before in the Bells final, Wilkinson and Jordy Smith had been duking it out while an unruly Southern Ocean dealt punches in the form of burly double-overhead waves. The road to the final had been just as turbulent, with event favorites dropping like flies in the early rounds. Taj Burrow lost to Miguel Pupo in Round 2; Joel Parkinson bowed out to rookie Conner Coffin in Round 3; current world champ Adriano de Souza was ousted by wildcard Mason Ho; and Kelly Slater suffered the same fate at the hands of Michel Bourez.
On stats alone, Wilkinson wasn’t favored to win either. He had never defeated Smith in a head-to-head matchup. Hell, before his event win at Snapper the previous month, he hadn’t defeated most people in head-to-head matchups. But if the betting man learned anything from this season, it’s that the notion of an event favorite no longer carries the weight it once had. This year has been anyone’s game.
Denne historien er fra January 2017-utgaven av Surfer.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra January 2017-utgaven av Surfer.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
60 Years Ahead
We had a whole plan for this year. Funny, right? Surfer's 60 year anniversary volume was going to be filled with stories nodding to SURFER’s past, with cover concepts paying homage to the magazine’s most iconic imagery. Our new Page One depicts something that’s never happened in surfing before, let alone on a prior SURFER cover. And our table of contents was completely scrapped and replaced as we reacted to the fizzing, sparking, roiling world around us. In other words, 2020 happened to SURFER, just like it happened to you.
A Few Things We Got Horribly Wrong
You don’t make 60 years of magazines without dropping some balls. Here are a few
THE LGBTQ+ WAVE
Surf culture has a long history of marginalizing the LGBTQ+ community, but a new generation of queer surfers is working to change that
For Generations to Come
Rockaway’s Lou Harris is spreading the stoke to Black youth and leading surfers in paddling out for racial justice
Christina Koch, 41
Texas surfer, NASA astronaut, record holder for the longest continuous spaceflight by a woman
END TIMES FOR PRO SURFING
By the time the pandemic is done reshaping the world, will the World Tour still have a place in it?
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
After decades of exclusive access to Hollister Ranch, the most coveted stretch of California coast is finally going public
What They Don't Tell You
How does becoming a mother affect your surfing life?
Four Things to Make You Feel A Little Less Shitty About Everything
Helpful reminders for the quarantine era
The Art of Being Seen
How a group of black women are finding creative ways to make diversity in surfing more visible
