Strider wasilewski house
STRIDER WASILEWSKI
INTERVIEW BY JEFF HO
INTRODUCTION BY JEFF HO
PHOTOS BY JASON MURRAY
Strider grew up in Santa Monica most of his life. He was one of the little groms that worked his way up. He surfed really hard, won all the local WSA contests, and then somehow, without much sponsorship, made his way to Hawaii.
He got into big wave surfing, and has done really well for himself with Quiksilver. I have a lot of respect for what hes done. Hes become a fine, upstanding representative and ambassador of surfing worldwide.
I JUST TRY TO DO THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY. ITS NOT ABOUT BEING POLITICALLY CORRECT.
I remember the first time that I met you.
You were just a little kid.
Yeah. I was four years old. I was living in Santa Monica with my mom and my brother.
Do you remember living in the Hotel Monica?
No. I remember where the hotel is, but I dont remember living there. I was too young.
You lived in the pink hotel right on the beach in Santa Monica.
Yeah.
Then we lived at the Sea Castle Apartments. We were dead broke and living on welfare.
I didnt know that.
My mom was cleaning houses. She was doing whatever she could to pull it together. We had just come from England. My dad had gotten busted. All of this crazy shit happened. My mom had to start over with just me and my brother.
She was a single mother in Los Angeles. Somehow, she got us into this rent-controlled apartment on the beach. Thats how I started surfing. I didnt have any money to go anywhere, so Id go swimming at the beach. This was in People didnt wear leashes, so they were always losing their boards. I would wait for their boards to wash up on the beach, and then I would grab them and ride them.
The person would finally figure out that I was riding their board, and theyd come and take it back. Thats how I started surfing.
When you first started surfing, were you in Santa Monica?
Yeah. I started surfing at Station
What was your first surfboard?
The first board I ever got was a board that I saw at a yard sale outside of my elementary school.
I was getting $5 a week for allowance. I told the guy that I didnt have enough money right then, but I could save up. He said hed wait a month for me to save up. I saved my money and I went over there with my $20 and bought my first board. It was a 52 Jeff Ho single fin with a pre-dome deck. It was turquoise green on the deck.
The bottom was a purple-reddish color that wrapped up on the rails. I remember going to Jays house and getting one of those Z-Flex foam fins for it. It was a fiberglass and foam fin. It was yellow and white. That was the first board that I ever had. I learned how to surf on that board.
How old were you then?
I was six years old.
Where did you go to school?
I went to Madison Elementary on 11th and Arizona in Santa Monica.
Then I went to John Adams Junior High, up on 16th and Ocean Park. Then I went to Santa Monica High School.
What were your favorite surf spots?
As I was growing up, I surfed Bay Street and the end of the Pico/Kenter drain. That was the only place I had to surf. Sometimes, wed get on the bus and go up to Malibu or Topanga.
That was our version of going on a surf trip; getting on the RTD and riding up the Coast Highway. Some days wed stay on the bus all the way to Trancas. That was a long day, but it was an adventure. Sometimes they kicked us off the bus, because our surfboards were too big. We surfed Santa Monica. Every once in a while, we ventured into Venice.
We surfed Rose Avenue, the Breakwater or the Venice Jetty. It was a rare occasion to go over the border.
Youre talking about the border between Santa Monica and Venice?
Yeah. Nowadays, its not a big deal. When I grew up there, it was a big deal. There was a common ground in skateboarding, but with surfing, there wasnt.
People were looking at you funny when you came down there. They knew where you were from. There werent many surfers that ventured across.
Do you remember the first contest that you surfed?
I think it was a Pac West contest at Station I remember making the finals. I got fourth place.
It was in I was 7 years old. I remember Solo Scott, Mike Pakim and a few other guys surfed in it, too.
Did you have any surfing mentors?
I hung out with David Lansdowne. He showed me where everything was. He showed us what it was all about to travel and surf. He took us up and down the coast to surf. It was pretty interesting to have a black man from Watts for a mentor.
David was the Western Surfing Association guy, right?
Yeah.
He was the WSA District 4 Director. I was surfing all of the WSA Contests and the Horizons West Contests. I was winning all of the contests. Not to be conceited, but, I won everything there was to win as a grom. I won the Nationals, the West Coast Championships and The WSA.
Werent you asked to be on the National Surf Team?
Yeah.
When I was 12 years old, I won the NSSA (National Scholastic Surfing Association) Nationals, and Pete Townend asked me to be on the National Team. I asked my mom what I should do. She said, You should do what you want to do. Do you have more friends in the WSA or the NSSA? Where are you going to have more fun? I said, The WSA. It was the first lesson of happiness that my mom ever taught me.
She was telling me to follow my happiness, instead of following the social structure for success. I said, I want to go have fun. She said, Then you should do that, but you need to go tell P.T. what youre going to do. When I told P.T., he was baffled that Id turn down the National Team. It was the most prestigious team in surfing at the time.
The National Team was Chris Frohoff, Tom Curren and Jeff Booth, all of these amazing West Coast surfers who were going to be the next national icons in surfing. When I turned it down, P.T. said, You just basically ruined your whole surf career.
How did that feel?
I remember being really bummed. As it turns out, it was the first lesson to follow my heart and be happy.
Since then, Ive stayed on my path. I just try to do things that make me happy. Its not about being politically correct. If youre not happy with yourself, nobody is going to be happy with you.
What was the factor in making the decision to go to Hawaii? Did you want to ride better waves?
All I ever did was sit back at my apartment in Santa Monica with my friends and watch surf movies of Hawaii.
We were broke. We had food stamps, so we had lots and lots of cereal. Milk, cereal; instant meal. My friends and I would sit there, eat cereal and watch movies. Id say, One day, were going to do that. We were watching Marvin Foster, Dane Kealoha and the whole crew at Pipeline going nuts. My mom would sit back and laugh at us. Shed say, Yeah, yeah.
Youre going to Hawaii to surf Pipeline. I was like, Watch, mom. Youll see. We were only ten years old. Ill never forget it.
Who was in that crew?
It was my brother, Tristan Welch, Steve, Andy Chuta, this guy Terrence, Pat Brogan, Aaron, Jimmy, Jason and Mark list goes on of the people that filtered through the pad.
Everyone came over, had a bowl of cereal and watched surf flicks.
Quiksilver watches uk: Professional surfer, business owner and WSL commentator, Strider Wasilewski tells all in this episode of Cold Beer Surf Club. Authentico, musician, and singer-songwriter Jake Smith AKA The White Buffalo swings by WSL HQ to join the Cold Beer Surf Club.
I remember, when I was 10, I surfed the U.S. Championships in Makaha. I surfed the finals and got sixth. I stayed with Sonny Garcia on that trip. I never made it to the North Shore that year. The next year, I was 11 years old. Id been making some money doing modeling. Herb Ritts had found me at Horizons West. He was like, Dude, we have to do these photos. Next thing you know, I was up in GQ and in all these magazines.
I was working with Daryl Hannah, Cindy Crawford, Buzzy Kerbox and all these people. I was doing these crazy photo shoots. Herb Ritts was the best fashion photographer of all time. I was making like, $ a day. Then my mom gave me another opportunity to make my own decision. She said, Here is your bank card. I was 12 years old.
All of a sudden, I had all this money in my bank account. I told my friends Steve and Kevin, my two best friends at the time, Were going to Hawaii. My friends were like, Where are we going to stay? I said, Dont worry about it. I got it all hooked up through Town and Country. The reality was I didnt have anything hooked up.
I bought the tickets, we got on a plane, we caught a cab straight to Sunset Beach. We paid the cab driver $, and he dropped us right in the dirt and burned out on us in a puff of smoke. We were just standing there looking at Sunset. It was onshore, like a Kona wind day. We dragged our board bags to Camis, which was where the famous postboard was, with all of the places to stay.
I was like, Yeah, right here. I told you it was here. The whole time I had no idea. They were like, What are we going to do now? I was 12 and they were There was some stress going on. We grew up in Santa Monica, so we knew what was going on. We werent scared. We started writing down numbers. Then Davey Miller walks out.
I was like, Davey. Hows it going? He was like, Whats up, bro? Do I know you? I was like, No, but I know you. He was this big California pro surfer at the time. I was like, Dude, we need a place to stay. He said, You got any money? I pulled out a wad of cash. He said, All right. Put your shit in the car. Then he pointed to this beat-up station wagon.
We got in the station wagon and started driving down the highway. He was like, How old are you? Your mom just let you come over here? I said, She thinks were staying at the Town and Country house, so I have to call her once I find a place to stay. He said, Youre pretty grown up for being 12 years old. I was like, We grew up in Santa Monica.
Weve seen a lot. He was tripping on us. We finally got to the house. I had no idea where we were. Id never been on the North Shore. He walked me through the house to the balcony. He points toward the water and says, Thats Pipe. Thats Backdoor. Thats Off The Wall. Thats all youre going to need to know for the next 15 years. I was like, What?
Thats it? It was this little tiny stretch of beach. We were standing on the wall on the balcony at the actual Off The Wall house. It was my first time to the North Shore and I was standing in the house that they named the spot after. I couldnt believe it. It was one of those moments you take to your grave. It was unbelievable. Davey was cool, but he was partying at the time.
He stole my friends money. There was all kinds of shit going on.
Quiksilver watches for men For nearly 30 years, Strider Wasilewski has remained a name and a face familiar to the surfing world at large, first as a professional freesurfer for Quiksilver who made his bones at Pipeline and helped pioneer Teahupoo, later as a surf company executive for the mountain and wave during the peak of its empire, and today, as an on-air analyst for the World Surf League. All that time, all those hats, all that insider exposure—and still, hardly a word has been written about Wasilewski, personally, in the way even marginal surfing personalities are discussed, often ad nauseam. He seemed untapped. At 44, he appears every bit a man who has made a life and living out of surfing—still fit, hair still a shade shy of platinum, and skin a color that defies his Northern European lineage. That enviable skin is worn and freckled and scarred.Now Davey is the man. Hes killing it. Hes painting and living in Ventura. Davey opened the door for me to be on the beach at Off the Wall at Pipeline. He let us get into his car and he took care of us. Ill never forget it. Ill owe that guy for the rest of my life.
Thats the way that the surfing society is.
Strider wasilewski quiksilver watches for men
Stuff You Should Know. Josh and Chuck have you covered. Monster: BTK. Known by the moniker, BTK — Bind Torture Kill, his notoriety was bolstered by the taunting letters he sent to police, and the chilling phone calls he made to media outlets. BTK's identity was finally revealed in to the shock of his family, his community, and the world.The older guys pass it down to the younger guys. They take the younger guys in. Im sure there was a lot of drama, but you probably had a great time.
Yeah. It was the best trip ever. I was chilling on the North Shore with a surfer that I idolized. I had my two homies with me. It was great.
Did you get good waves that trip?
I got sick waves.
The first day, we paddled out with this guy Kevin who lived in the house with Davey. We paddled out in between Backdoor and Off The Wall. Its the deadliest place you can paddle out. We got blasted immediately with a ft set. I almost died. I was borrowing Steves board, too. I almost died. I was all freaked out. I was a little guy, too. I was terrified.
At that moment, I was like, This is why Im here. It was the best. I surfed everywhere. It was sick.
There are a lot of things that happened to a lot of guys from Venice and Santa Monica that held them back. How did you pull it together to become one of the most respected figures in surfing?
I guess it was about staying true to myself and staying true to my dreams.
Life has so many roads. There are so many things that I could have done in life. I worked in restaurants to make money to surf. I worked in restaurants all summer long. Id make as much money as I could and then Id split in the winter and go to Hawaii. I worked my ass off every summer to get to Hawaii in the winter.
Youd spend the winter in Hawaii?
Where did you stay over there?
I stayed wherever I could. I stayed in garages. I stayed on the side of houses under tarps. I did whatever I could to surf there. Hawaii was the one outlet where I could go and prove myself and become a part of the surfing community. It was the one place to get on to the map for someone who doesnt surf the contests, but can surf Pipeline, Sunset, Off the Wall and Backdoor.
There are all of these amazing waves and all of these surf photographers in Hawaii. I took a different route. I was trying to get photos and get publicized in editorial to get the ball rolling.
You were gaining a lot of recognition without being a part of the pro surfing circuit. I have a lot of respect for that. You gained a lot of respect from a lot of people for doing that.
It wasnt the easiest road to take.
I think biting the bullet and going the other way would have been a little easier, as far as fitting in socially and being a part of the structure. I could have been a part of amateur surfing and pro surfing, and taken the steps to becoming a WCT World Championship tour guy. Instead, I was slaving away in restaurants and washing dishes.
I poured concrete. I cleaned toilets. Id do whatever I could to make the money, so that I could surf. I didnt get paid to surf until I was Kids that are 21 now are getting paid $, a year. I was getting paid $6 an hour to carry wood and do manual labor. In the back of my mind, I always knew why I was doing it. It was all about getting to the beach to go surfing.
It turned out to be the right way to go for me. It doesnt work for everybody. Only around five percent of the entire surfing community gets to be a pro surfer. For me, it worked out. I worked hard at it.
After that, were you hooked on surfing waves in Hawaii?
I was hooked on the adrenaline rush that I got from surfing in Hawaii.
Competitively, I did really well. I was into it all the way up until the PSAA Tour. It was a pro surfing tour for America. It was cool, but I saw the politics. I saw people leaving bummed. Thats when I stopped surfing competitively.
How old were you?
I was It was around I was over the contests.
I was getting a lot of pressure from my friends parents. They all tried to look out for me. I was surfing better than I ever had, but I wasnt taking the structured way to becoming a pro surfer. I wasnt doing the contests or the pro tour, because of the politics. I hated it. Thats not why we started surfing. We surfed to get stoked. I rebelled.
I bailed. I went camping and surfing up to Big Sur. I went surfing for myself. I stayed in the game, but didnt take the pro route. By the time I was 20, my mom wanted me to go to school at UCLA. Around that time, my friend Steve Siegrist invited me to go to a sweat lodge in Malibu. I went to this sweat lodge and had this crazy out-of-body experience.
It changed my life. Suddenly, I felt so clear about what I was supposed to do. I knew that I had to stay on my path, so I decided to go back to Hawaii.
Who were you riding for at the time?
I was riding for Bear Surfboards. Billy Hamilton was making the surfboards and Bear was doing the clothing. The market wasnt that great.
I was just trying to make it happen. My friends parents were giving me a lot of grief. They were always trying to help me out. My mom was like, Okay, go back to Hawaii, if thats what you want.
What happened next?
It all just happened one day. I went back to Hawaii. The next thing that I knew, I was on the cover of Surfer magazine at Pipeline.
Then I got hooked up with Quiksilver. My dream of all dreams had come true. Quiksilver was the perfect sponsor for me. They were the biggest in the industry. They saw that photo, and then they started to run ads of me. It all just steamrolled and became a career. Its all about your destiny, your fate and your will to succeed. You just have to stay true.
I followed my own path. My mom was cool enough to let me do it. When I got there, I was rewarded.
Do you remember the first time that you rode a skateboard?
I was riding a skateboard with my dad before I was even a year old. I have pictures of us riding down the sidewalk together. Skating was a good means of transportation.
Ever since I can remember, I had a skateboard.
Did you ever skate Paul Revere?
I skated Paul Revere, Kenter and Marina Skatepark. I did skate the Turning Point once. That thing was scary. I also skated the little bank in front of Santa Monica Farms. I got a two-page spread in Thrasher skating that thing.
Were you ever sponsored by anyone for skating?
I was never a competitive skateboarder.
It was just recreational riding. We used to take the bus to Kenter to ride and then skate home. Skateboarding was recreation and transportation.
What type of skateboards you were riding?
I was skating the little freestyle skateboards, when I first started skating. Once I started skating the streets, I got whatever boards Natas had.
I always rode Natas decks with Independent trucks. Back in the day, the Kryptonics were the wheels to ride. I never went and bought a skateboard. Someone always kicked one down. I got a few old Z boards from Jay Adams. Then I went to the Z-Flex boards to the SMAs to a Hosoi board. I had a bright orange Hosoi board that I loved.
Do you have any Venice Breakwater stories?
I was terrified to go down there.
I remember going down to Venice Jetty and surfing with Jay Adams. I knew Jay, and my mom knew Jay and his parents. If I went out there with him, it was cool.
Strider wasilewski quiksilver watches Monday, October 14, Updated: Monday, October 14, Strider sits down with Conner Coffin at WSL HQ and kicks off the conversation with a jaw-dropping story about an old photo of a shark they encountered during a Bali trip, courtesy of Marty Hoffman. From recounting the adrenaline-pumping moments during the infamous Mick Fanning incident at Jeffreys Bay to the transformative experience of swimming with sharks in the Maldives, Strider shares his most gripping encounters with these ocean giants. Strider also reflects on his roots in the iconic Dogtown scene, growing up alongside skate legends Tony Alva and Jay Adams, and the pivotal moments that shaped his surfing journey-from epic trips to the North Shore to gracing the cover of SURFER Magazine. He dives into his time with Quiksilver, unforgettable moments flying on a private jet with Kelly Slater, and the excitement of signing Dane Reynolds and securing Volcom's legendary Pipe House.Back in the day, they were throwing rocks and beating the shit out of dudes at the Breakwater. Getting from your car to the beach was the biggest challenge. Youd get ridiculed the whole way. I was from Santa Monica and these were the Venice boys. It was VBWL (Venice Breakwater Locals). The Venice Breakwater Locals were gnarly. You did not want to go down there.
Sometimes Id sneak in from the beach side. I would run up on the beach, jump in the water and surf with the boys. Ricky Massie and I would hang out and surf. Now people just surf out there all the time. Before you couldnt go out there and surf. Somebody would roll up on you, call you out and ask you where you were from.
If you didnt say the right thing, homeboy was bombing on you. It was gnarly. I would go down there and hang out, skate the pavilion, cruise the jump ramps and do wall rides. Id hang out on the wall with all the boys after surf time. During surf time, I wouldnt even go down there. I didnt want to get fucked with. They would let me hang out on the wall, but the water was their zone.
Whitey was one of my buddies. I had friends down there, but it didnt matter. I was from Santa Monica. It didnt matter how good of a surfer you were. Over the years, the walls got broken down a little and I surfed with those guys a lot more. It became easier and easier.
Why do you think its easier now?
I think the authorities deterred the Venice localism.
A lot of the guys got older. They turned 18, got charges pressed on them and went to jail. We all know what happened in Venice through the mid 80s. Cocaine and crack came in and everything went crazy. A lot of people went down. LA is a crazy place. People get caught up in a lot of shit. I saw it happen to my brother, so thats why I didnt get caught up in it.
He would look at me like he didnt even know me. Thats what happens when you smoke crack. You dont even know the people that you love. Then you steal from them. You do whatever you have to do. It was so heavy. My brother taught me one of the most valuable life lessons. I learned a lot about what not to do. Otherwise, I might have gone down that road.
Hes a perfect example of the fact that its never too late. He turned his whole life around. Hes successful. Hes in school again. Hes making money. Hes counseling kids. Hes saving the world, so to speak. Hes taking care of everyone that needs it. My mom and my brother are the most unselfish people that I know.
They are constantly helping other people. I learned from them that drugs will take you down before you even know its coming.
How is your mom doing?
Shes doing great. My mom actually works at Venice High School now as the probation officer and counselor for all the kids.
I didnt know that.
What is your brother doing?
Hes finishing up junior college. Hes about to go on a world traveling experience and check out everything before he dives into his four-year degree. He has also been doing counseling up at some rehab centers. Hes a substance abuse counselor. My brother went through a lot of substance abuse himself.
He cleaned himself up and hes been sober for almost eight years now. He is helping out all the kids, because he really understands. They all relate to him really well. Hes pretty much tatted down with full sleeves and piercings. He relates to the kids % because theyre all just like he was. He speaks at a lot of AA Conventions.
Hes really well-spoken. Hes always been a really intelligent person. When he was younger, he was genius status in school. He flew through school like it was nothing. Then he rebelled in his youth. He got caught up in it. Now hes doing really well.
Thats good.
Its incredible. The whole family is good.
My mom was partying. My brother was partying. Nobody was connected. Now everyone is doing great and Im the bad son.
No.
Yeah, Im the one thats not around as much as Im supposed to be. Im always late for the dinners.
Well, youve done really well for yourself. Ive watched your career grow over the years and Im really stoked to know you.
You truly are a success story that came out of our area. Do you believe that localism in surfing worldwide has gotten any better or is it as bad as it used to be?
Its definitely not as bad as it was. Now, there are so many laws, you can only go so far with localism. The problem is that, when people learn how to surf, they are not taught the respect and the etiquette of surfing.
Theres a protocol when you surf. You dont just paddle out and take the peak. You dont just go somewhere youve never been. Im a pro surfer and I dont paddle out to the peak and think Im going to catch the best set. I see kooks everyday in the water. I say kooks and I mean beginners. If theyre paddling for the wave and I know theyre going to get pitched, I just let them go.
I figure if they make it, itll be the best wave of their life. The etiquette of surfing is to let the guy on the inside have the wave. Guys that have never surfed before drop in on you, and then they wonder why they get yelled at or get beat up. You cant just paddle out to Pipeline and take the peak and think youre just going to dominate.
Youre in for a rude awakening. It took me two years just to get a wave out there, just to be on the peak and call people off. Theres an etiquette. Theres respect. Theres a pecking order. You have to wait in line. People need to learn that. Sometimes people have to learn it the hard way.
After you signed with Quiksilver, and you were soul surfing, how did you progress from there?
How did you move up in the company?
Being a competitive surfer, youre judged on your ratings. Being a lifestyle surfer, you are judged on your editorial value. For me, the more magazine coverage I got, the more money I could make. Thats what I tried to do. I tried to become more visible.
I put everything I ever made from surfing back into surfing. If I ever made any money, Id turn around and spend it on a trip. Id call the magazines, photographers and video guys and set up another trip. Id go to Puerto Escondido, Indonesia, Hawaii, Tahiti, wherever I could. I never stopped. I never looked back. I knew that the more that I was part of the community, the better it would be.
Then I had almost maxed myself out. Every single month I was in Surfer, Surfing, or some international surfing magazines. I got a lot of international surfing coverage as an athlete and a lifestyle surfer. At that point, the other biggest face at Quiksilver was Kelly Slater. Im no Kelly Slater. Im not even close to being as good as a surfer as Kelly Slater, but I knew how to work to get the exposure.
By doing the amount of work that I did to get that exposure, I started to climb the ladder at Quiksilver. My face and my recognition and my respect within Quiksilver grew. Then I went to Danny Kwok, and I said, Dude, we should take Quiksilver to Rolling Stone, Spin and Ray Gun. I was like, Lets do this. I got ad campaign prices.
I lined it all up. I said, This is how were going to do it. This is how were going to get bigger. They didnt do it right away, but six months later, they did. Then Quiksilver took a huge jump. They went from a multi-million dollar company to an over million dollar company. During that time, I was one of the focal points of the campaign.
I was the face in a lot of those ads. I was becoming that much more recognizable. I just kept working at it.
What youre saying is that hard work pays off?
Yeah. No one is going to give you anything. You have to go for it. We live in a world of go-getters. The American dream is known around the world.
People are coming from all over the world to live the American dream. I was watching TV the other night and they were interviewing some girl from Czechoslovakia. They were like, How did you become an American superstar? She was like, It was the American Dream and I wanted it. The reality is that we might not love our president or our government, but the opportunity in America is like no other.
We have the opportunity to go get it. Every day, there are millions of people coming to America to get it. If you dont go get it, nobodys going to give it to you. If youre lazy and sit back, it doesnt matter if youre the most talented guy in the world. Unless you show somebody, how is anyone going to know?
Is that your advice?
Yeah.
You better get up and get yours before someone else gets it. You cant wait and think someone is going to come by and hand you a check for a million bucks. Youve got to have ambition and drive. You have to be out there. You have to work. You have to get in front of people and be exposed.
What do you do at Quiksilver?
Im the Surf Program Manager.
I work with Eddie, Chad Wells, Jeff Booth, Tim Shuck and Greg Macias. We collectively run the marketing department for Quiksilver. We try to identify the market for the brand. I do the contracts with all the athletes. If we want a new surfer on the program, I make it happen. I put the ink on the paper and close the deal.
I pick all of the photos for the ads now. I help out with the creative aspect of what we want to do. I work a lot with Natas Kaupas. Natas is our International Art Director. He is someone that I love to work with. He comes up with concepts and delivers the concepts. I have to make sure we have the right surfers in the right magazines for the right territories.
I help with all the Americas, which is from Canada all the way to South America. I deal with Nicaragua and Central America, all the way down to Brazil.
When you first started with Quiksilver, how many guys were on the team?
Well, theyve always had a big team, but not all the guys were getting pushed.
There were about fifteen guys being pushed.
How many are on the team now in ?
Its about the same. Probably ten guys get focused on the most. For a long time, Quiksilver was a different company. It used to be identified by the individual surfers. They are the ones that made Quiksilver. Then Quiksilver became a big moving force that was trying to identify itself.
Then it changed. The athlete would become a part of Quiksilver and thats what made the athlete. We should have never gone away from the athlete. The athletes make the brand. Its their identity. The athletes make the identity. Its the personalities that are attractive. People are attractive. Everybody makes clothes.
Granted, Matt Harrison is one of the sickest designers in the world, so Quiksilver has the sickest clothes that you can possibly imagine. The apparel that we have is better than anyone else in the marketplace. I like it better than any company across the board. None of the other companies even come close. There is some high fashion stuff like Gucci or Versace that I like because its Gucci or Versace.
Its the bling and the glitz of it. Its all pretty basic, but our clothes are insane. When you bring in an athlete with charisma and he can surf, he makes the brand. Its the identification between the personalities of the athletes, the clothes, the advertising and the consumer seeing it. Thats what creates Quiksilver. Im back to the individuals and letting them identify the company.
Who are the guys on the team now?
Its a big list.
On the top of the list is Kelly Slater from Florida. Weve got a guy named Fred Pattachia from Hawaii. Hes paid his dues and hes blowing up on the WCT right now. Weve got Dane Reynolds on the West Coast. Hes our new superstar. Hes the best year-old surfer in the world. Hes the one that everyone wants.
Strider wasilewski quiksilver watches for sale So far, the venues have been solid yet tricky, the surfing tame and repetitive, overall. Of all the commentators, a man named Strider Wasilewski gets the best view in the house. Strider spends a bit of time on land as well, and his seemingly uncontrollable, ageless froth is fully evident during exciting moments. Who is Strider you ask? Well, the California kid cut his teeth rushing giant Pipeline, and was able to travel the world as a Quiksilver athlete, with some of his most memorable moments inside mutated monsters at Teahopoo in Tahiti.There all of these new guys coming up right now. Theres Dylan Graves from Puerto Rico, Adam Wickwire from Florida, Frank Walsh in the Northeast and Clay Marzo from Maui. Theres Ola Eleogram from Maui. The kid is just a good surfer. Cheyne Magnusson is killing it. There are all these kids coming up. Then there are all these lifestyle surfers like myself.
Theres Mark Healey, whos a madman when it comes to surfing big waves. Hes a pure waterman. Theres Danny Fuller. Hes a male model, so hes in all the shoots. He kills it for us. Theres Reef McIntosh who just came out of nowhere, but basically taught Andy Irons and Bruce Irons how to surf.
Hes the man. He kills it. Hes a super cool guy. He helps me run the house in Hawaii. There are so many guys who are just so talented. The talent pool that we have is so deep. There are guys like Peter Mel and Anthony Tashnick who make up the West Coast base of our program. You dont get any better than Peter Mel.
He can get gnarly from two to 20 feet. Hes a great guy. Tashnick won the Mavericks contest, paddling in. Hes the new big wave kid. Hes 19 and hes blowing up. Theres Jimmy Rotherham in Central America, Magnum Martinez in Venezuala and Gabriel Villaran from Peru. It just doesnt end. The roster sheet is about thick.
Thats a big team.
Yeah.
I have to deal with all of those guys. I have to tell them yes or no. I have a lot of help, but Im responsible for them. I also get a lot of calls from guys that dont surf for Quiksilver that want advice on what to do.
Youre a mentor to a lot of guys?
Yeah. Its pretty cool. Its nice to get respect from people.
They feel like Ive succeeded. Im happy. Im still doing it. I work for Quiksilver.
Thats my number one priority now. I still surf. I still love my job as a surfer. I got a two-page spread in the Surfing magazine at Zuma getting shacked. Ive still got it.
Yeah. You do.
Im still training. I still work on it. I go to Hawaii. I surf Pipe. I still surf the contests. I surfed in it last year.
I got a I got shacked and spit out. Derek Ho was trying to take my waves. Its all still there. The opportunity that I have is like having your cake and eating it, too. Right now, Im having a good cake. Hopefully, itll never be done. Hopefully, therell just be more cake. I just want to keep going.
Im doing whatever it takes to keep the ball rolling. I just try to be a good person. I know that if I want good things, I have to do good things.
Who are your sponsors now?
I surf for Lost Surfboards. Matt Biolos makes them. Etnies is my shoe sponsor. Herbie Fletcher at Astrodeck has always given me pads.
Quiksilver sponsors me for wetsuits, eyewear, watches and apparel. I cant imagine ever being so spoiled.
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