The SURFER Interview: TOM CURREN

SURFER: Is this your theory or just your hope?

TOM CURREN: Well, whatever these new boards are going to be, I'd like to have one (laughs). But the design Al and I are working on is an epoxy one, with a few twists. People are ready and open for change.

SURFER: Do you think pro surfing in the future can get to another level, or is this the next level?

TOM CURREN: Well, I think the team format, like they had in the X-Games, is a lot more exciting. Even if say, the first set goes to Team A and the next one goes to Team B, that would be pretty cool, so one team doesn't get sent out in a lull heat. Obviously, surfing is an individual deal but there are a lot of problems that should be fixed: the commentators are commentating for the people in the water, not the crowd. There are giant gaps in the action, which is boring, and you have these venues where it's man on man, so there's a bunch of unridden waves running through. Those all have to be remedied if competitive surfing is to reach a new level.

SURFER: What's your secret to staying motivated to surf now?

TOM CURREN: One thing is, regardless of where you are with your surfing, is to have a good board that you're stoked on. The other thing after that is getting good surf, which is rewarding enough sometimes, but you also have to have good pals around. These days I'm less motivated to go and do these big surf travel trips because they feel like, well, they're beautiful places but it feels a little more...it's kinda been...it's weird. The last trip I went on I felt--this is really horrible to say--but I was getting bored. I felt pretty bad about it too. It really threw me for a loop.

SURFER: So the novelty of surfing fun 3-foot waves at home is just as good for you?

TOM CURREN: Yeah, the neat thing about Santa Barbara is when it is good it's really good. I still love Rincon and the crew out there.

SURFER: You ran with some pretty fun crews growing up in Santa Barbara didn't you...

TOM CURREN: Yeah, even Sam and Matt George were a huge part of that era and the fun we had. They were always storytellers. We lived for their tales. They'd come back from a place like Australia and paint this vivid picture for us of the waves, the girls, everything, all the way down to the milk shakes. They drove me around a lot when I was about 14 or 15 and well, none of us ever had any money for real food so we lived off candy, that's where the lion's share of our funds went after we paid for gasoline. So Sam and Matt had come up with rating systems for chocolates and candy, and I still remember my first time going to Australia I went to visit the milk bar they told me about to get some chocolates and a shake.

SURFER: Classic...

TOM CURREN: Yeah, this place is a still a melting pot. There're a lot of interesting characters here.

SURFER: What is it you want us to take away from Tom Curren in the end?

TOM CURREN: I guess, um, that really goes back to something about being a part of Santa Barbara. There's this sort of mood here with guys like my dad, and Yater and Greenough and Al and even Kim Mearig, who was world champion...it's a special place, and we've had a big impact, so if for nothing else, I just want to be remembered for being part of that tradition.