SURFERMAG Interview: Occy on being a rock star, fatherhood, Curren, Irons, Slater, and a whole lot more.

SURFERMAG: Now that you’re aware of how powerful a role being a father figure is, you must think about what kind you want to be?
OCCY: Yeah, I want to be just like my dad, because he was so strong. He was set in his ways and stuff, but he was always there for us when we needed him. I’m not going to push Jay into surfing, but if he wants to great. But I also want to have more kids, because it’s more of a family if you have more kids.

Scott Needham Photography SNP

SURFERMAG: So did you eventually come to terms with the loss of your father, or was it something else that snapped you out of that period?
OCCY: Well, I did therapy for a while, and that helped a lot, but it wasn’t any one thing. But eventually Gordon Merchant told me if I didn’t do something he couldn’t keep paying me. He’d been really loyal to me that whole time, but he just said, ‘Look, Occy, I can’t keep paying you to do this forever.’ That was sort of motivation enough to get off my ass because I didn’t have a choice. So I went to West Oz and stayed with Jack McCoy, and started surfing again. There’re a few waves of me in the Occumentary where you can see how big I really was—I was big mate—that’s about right where I started working out. Jack took really good care of me and as the pounds came off, I really started to feel better, and I realized I could still surf.

SURFERMAG: One of the performances that really got people interested in your comeback, and really thinking world title, was the Skins tourney at Bells in 1997 which appeared in the Occumentary. Where were you mentally at that time?
OCCY: Well, I was at Bells. (Laughs) That’s like…I’m in the zone when I’m at Bells and the waves are 6-foot…and it’s offshore…and I’ve got a six-channel board from Rod Dalberg…with set fins. Yeah, I was just loving it. That wave really suits me. But yeah, that contest really boosted my confidence because I won like 11 heats in a row.

SURFERMAG: Speaking of Jack McCoy, how much fun were you having during the Green Iguana and Bunyip Dreaming era of the early ‘90s?
OCCY: Well, a lot. It seemed really special to me because I was filming with Jack. If it had been anyone else but him I probably would have been wondering if I was doing the right thing. But I knew it would be an A-grade product, and that these movies would have an impact on things, and I think they did. They led to his Billabong Challenges, which really forced the tour to look at better wave spots. Those events they had at Gnaraloo and J-Bay were just incredible, and they came right when I needed it most, when I was getting ready for my comeback.

SURFERMAG: What’s amazing to grasp now is you came in when guys like M.R. and Rabbit and Shaun Tomson were still running the show, and by the looks of things you’ll be here until John John takes Florence takes over…
OCCY: (Laughs) I never looked at it like that. That’s pretty crazy.

SURFERMAG: That’s a serious bridge of generations.
OCCY: It is. Y’know, but I don’t really have any reason to slow down anymore. The waves we get on tour these days are all the places where I’d be traveling to anyway…it’s that good now. And the funny thing is I’m actually hanging with the young guys like Parko [Joel Parkinson] and Bruce Irons, and we have a ball. I love being around these guys because their surfing is so inspiring.

Bass

SURFERMAG: You and Parko have joined the parental ranks, too, you’re both traveling together with your families…
OCCY: Yeah, it’s classic. I have my son Jay, and Parko has his new baby. We were both up pretty late last night because we just got in so the babies have no idea what time it is. But it’s great to have that, to have a little piece of home on the road.

SURFERMAG: Well you must have a lot of home bases after 20 years on the road?
OCCY: Oh yeah, I’ve got a few of them. J-bay is definitely one. The people there are like my family, the same goes for other places like Spain, I love hanging in Mundaka. Then there’s always Hawaii. A lot of guys are uncomfortable there, but I’ve got a ton of good friends there too, from the Surratt family on… I think having all these families away from home is probably why I’ve lasted so long on tour.

SURFERMAG: Whenever you’re in Hawaii you’re a fixture out at Sunset.
OCCY: Yeah, I love it there. That’s where I stay, so I’m pretty on it any time there’re waves.

SURFERMAG: With the emphasis being so focused on Pipeline and Off-The-Wall now there seem to be a lot of guys who pretty much ignore it these days.
OCCY: Yeah…you’re not wrong…it’s all about tuberiding now. Tube riding has come so far with Andy and Kelly and Bruce, they’ve re-written the rules on it. A big portion of our tour now is based around tuberiding so you can almost win a world title now just on that, which is crazy, but it’s good to see.