Photo: Greg Hoover
“Skating’s just a much gnarlier sport in general,” said 24-year-old Corey Pool. “There’s concrete and you get cut up a lot easier. I got the urge to charge and not be afraid of surfing coming from skateboarding.”
Skaters do have an interesting way of looking at surfing. Sure, waves can be intimidating, but there’s something about dropping into a vertical wall of concrete that shifts one’s perspective of risk. Corey reflected on her skate-surf transfer a few days after solid tubes Pascuales, during which he snapped a brand new board. But the goofyfoot has made a name for himself as a real up-and-comer in Ventura County by channeling his staking into his surfing. Corey prefers parks and deep bowls, which he says have transitions that mimic a wave. In terms of skating style, he idolizes Greyson Fletcher’s flow and Curren Caples’ technique.
“I used to skate every day, but now it’s more of a twice-a-week deal when there are no waves,” said Corey, who works a 9-5 distributing Stone Brewing beer in Ventura County. “It’s funny with skating as you get older you really start to feel the slams. You get real sore. In my teens, I could bounce right off the ground. But surfing altogether feels better now.
“I snowboard too. If you’re not doing one but you’re still doing another sport, it keeps you in tune with your balance and the board. Surfing and snowboarding go together really well I think. When there are no waves, I feel like something like that keeps you in tune.”
IPD helps Corey out with wetsuits and gear, but he pays out of pocket for other expenses, including an 11-day boat trip to Indonesia last May. It was his first time surfing over reef and he still surfed after cutting his back open. True skater mentality.
Another key element of Corey’s commitment has to do with his upbringing. He’s from Camarillo, a 20-minute inland drive through farmland from Oxnard. The buffer of fields between him and the ocean made Corey work for and appreciate the water that much more—a sentiment echoed by other 805 greats who grew up just inland like the Malloy Brothers (Ojai), Evan Slater (Santa Paula) and Sage Ericson (Ojai).
“The Oxnard scene, all those local guys always hated people from just down the way,” Corey said. “They were very localized. It took a long time to get into the crew. The whole aspect of driving an extra 15 minutes to get to the beach, if it’s not good you tend to surf because you’re already there. Whereas if you live at the beach you might do something else. For me, it was like, I’m already here. Might as well surf whether it’s good or bad.”
Photo: Greg Hoover