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Spend enough time with your feet in the sand and you’re apt to strike up some pretty interesting conversations. From the metal detector guy to an old couple from Iowa, the beach draws all sorts of folks. And over the years of writing about surfing, I’ve had the unbelievable good fortune to chat with a bunch of wave-riding greats. I don’t know if they’re any more “normal” than you, me, or the metal detector guy, but their perspectives and take on life are endlessly fascinating and constant grist for the surf writing mill.
Poking around in the trusty, old archive this afternoon, I unearthed an interview I did with Bobby Martinez for The Surfer’s Journal. It’s solid gold, mainly because Bobby’s a solid gold human. Our conversation led to looking at other transcripts and cobbling together a few other eye-catching quotes. So here you go, from Bobby, to Kelly Slater, to Nat Young on surfing’s one and only genius, read and enjoy:
“I could careless how good I’m surfing today. I just go out and have fun. Today it’s for the pure enjoyment.” — Bobby Martinez on life after competitive surfing.
“As far as I’m concerned, Potter is the godfather of progressive surfing and he can basically take credit for all of the surfing success that has come from San Clemente.” — Shane Beschen on watching Martin Potter as a from at T Street.
“Speed and style, I just love that. That’s what I love about surfing. You can do whatever you want to do on the wave, not what someone else wants you to do. That’s why I’m still surfing today.” — Archy on longevity.
“I’ve been a pro surfer my whole life. It’s been my career and will be my legacy, I guess. But the sporting side of surfing is just a small aspect for the average person, if at all. You have 20 million people around the world surfing, maybe tens of millions more than that, and the sporting side is non-existent for almost every one of those people. Pro surfers, they’re a very narrow slice of what surfing is.” — Kelly Slater on pro surfing
“George is the only genius we’ve ever had in the evolution of surfing. We’ve had a lot of really talented, smart people that have contributed a lot, but for me, George was the genius.” – Nat Young on George Greenough
Related: That One Time in the Maldives With Tom Curren
Related: Kelly Slater Graces Cover of SURFER Magazine’s New Print Issue