SURFER Interview with Rob Machado

With more time to experiment these days, Machado has spent plenty of time refining his speed lines, first by breaking them down to their simplest form.

So the New School crew took shape in Hawaii, but what kind of rivalries were there within that little crew? I imagine there had to be some good ones. There was. I mean, look at Shane and Ross. Those guys would be frothing if they drew each other. That’s a perfect example. Even if they had a four-man heat together it was on. They’d fight and kick and scratch each other. It didn’t matter if they got 3rd and 4th, it just mattered who finished ahead among them. That was comical. But I think those rivalries were healthy. Because we’d go on trips and everyone just wanted to do a better turn than the other guy.

Who did you get pumped up the most for? All of them. But to be honest, our biggest rivalry wasn’t even with contests, it was with our Taylor Steele parts. That still exists. That was your one way to say, “Hey, this is what I got.” That was a huge deal. Everyone tried to get the best part and the best waves and we all pushed each other. Competition-wise, of course it was Kelly—we had that one season when we went at it pretty hard.

Was Kelly always hyper-competitive? He’s funny, man. Once we were on the U.S. Team together he came and stayed at my house for the Bud Tour event at Seaside. On that Sunday morning we went into my garage and started playing ping-pong for hours. He was pissed because I was just taking him apart. Ten games in, I’m going, “Dude, we’re going to miss our heats if we don’t leave.” But he wouldn’t stop. He was like, “No, dude. I’ve got to win one game.” He finally did and we raced down there. Sure enough, he ended up winning the contest. I think it kind of backfired for me. I got 2nd. It was a healthy rivalry though, you know? Kelly is a freak. He pushed us all so far. He made himself go places without anyone being there to show him. He’s a self-motivating super-freak. We just tagged along and tried to keep up.

It seemed like people tried too hard against Kelly. Oh yeah. People would just buckle. People didn’t know how to just go out and surf a really good heat with Kelly and make him beat you.

Aside from the contests, did you guys travel much together? Not really. The schedule was crazy then and boat trips didn’t exist like they do today. But we were going to the same places. So you’d end up videoing together on the off days. It was loose, but definitely there. If there’s only one video guy in town, everyone figures out where he’s staying pretty quick.

After 1995, when you finished 2nd in the ratings to Kelly, there was a pretty drastic slide down the ratings. Was that burnout? The novelty had definitely worn off. You’re just there to surf your heat, not to see the sights, because you’ve already done that. So it turns into Groundhog Day. But when I look back now, it was more a case of me trying too hard, than burnout. The thing about being on tour is you lose a lot more than you win, and there’s a fine balance between not caring enough and caring too much. It took me a few years to find that balance. It was a battle, a mental battle, but once I figured it out you saw it reflected in the ratings.

You climbed back into the Top 5 in 2000. Right, and that was basically my last year on tour. I finished 3rd.