It was the year 1988, I had just for the first time lost my Raglan virginity, still, till this day I can feel the knot in my stomach as we drove through town, me squashed in the back seat of the older boy’s car as the grom.
The weeks before my call up the lads had been talking up raglan and the entire drive down were spinning yarns and building me up for this moment, wait till you see it grom! Arriving at the top of the hill the older lads pulled over to let me out, I’m not sure why but I was nervous as hell. But as soon as I got out of that back seat and looked over the edge of that hill I was mesmerised, this was heaven! Being a goofy I couldn’t at that point imagine my life being any better, lines stacked to the horizon and six waves peeling at once. Later that afternoon two guys paddled out and took control of the lineup by the name of Ratso and Lynden Kennings, right there in front of my eyes I was witnessing NZ’s best and one of the world’s best in Ratso at the time in the flesh.
Later that year on some drizzly afternoon I was kicking it at home and on the TV came some surfing, and within a few seconds I jumped up in a mad panic trying to find a videotape to record it. My parents had recently split and dad’s secret tapes that we weren’t allowed to touch were still in the cabinet, they were in blue plastic cases, but hey he wasn’t around so I took the opportunity to swoop and quickly rewound the Beta Cassette, pushed record and sat back to marvel at my first sight of a Pro-NZ Surf Comp “The Raglan pro”.
Denne historien er fra Issue 186-utgaven av NZ SURFING MAGAZINE.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 186-utgaven av NZ SURFING MAGAZINE.
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
Trigger Finger
Ask any top surf coach and the two elements they will concentrate on and recommend are a solid bottom turn and being able to develop speed - as they say, speed is your friend, and many of the best surfers on the planet also happen to be the fastest surfers.
THESHAPESHIFTER ROGER HALL
Ladies and Gentleman Choose Your Weapons: How to decide on your next surfboard.
The Olympians
Over 50 years ago surfing’s greatest ambassador of all time, the legendary Duke Kahanamoku, had a vision that one day surfing would become an Olympic sport.
The Gladiator Pit
Born from the era of the Roman Empire, armed combatants known as gladiators would enter the arena also known as the Gladiator Pit to face up against other gladiators, animals and criminals in fierce battle in what was seen as entertainment often ending in death to one or the other.
Rising Grom Asia Braithwaite
There are those young athletes that get into sport who possess natural talent, even the X-factor, yet as the road is usually a far-too-easy passage, they either take it for granted or don’t push beyond their capabilities.
Licence To Score
The adventures behind the wheel of Mount Grom Luke Griffin.
Land Of The Long Lefts
It was the year 1966 and the sport of surfing was sweeping the world.
Theshapeshifter - Roger Hall
Ever heard of a Mini Simmons?
The Road Less Travelled
Take a look at a map of our coastline and you will see thousands of kilometres of coastline, 15,000 to be almost exact, making it the 9th longest in the world.
Then & Now
It was the early 80s and the world of sport was evolving rapidly.
