Bede Durbidge places 2nd place WCT Bells! Losing a tight final to none other than Kelly Slater. Bede currently sits in the number 2 spot in the ratings behind Kelly as well. Job well done mate!
Bede was one of the stand out surfers all contest long…
Current LONGBOARD magazine cover boy Taylor Jensen is working on the design of his first signature tailpad. OAM has had numerous requests for a longboard version of our world famous traction. We are stoked to align with one of the worlds most progressive and respected Longboard surfers on the planet! The Taylor Jensen signature pad coming Summer 2008!
Taylor testing the goods in OZ…
Are you pro? i’m not. Dammit i wish i was! T.KNOX and the ripcurl team had to “work” to get images for the new ripcurl ad campaign. What a drag! I hate going on world class surf yachts and getting shacked off my pale ass. Don’t you?
Below is some frame grabs from Surfermag.com of Taylor livin’ the hard KNOX life!!
Alex Gray will appear on Fuel TV’s The Daily Habit Airing Friday, March 21, at 9:00 pm Eastern Time (6:00 pm Pacific Time) and telecast three additional times, pro surfer Alex Gray will appear on The Daily Habit.Get your stoke on because pro surfer Alex Gray is here to talk about epic wave charging around the world. Plus, we are proud to have music guest “Against Me!” as they bring their politically charged punk sound to The Habit. Also, we check out the O’Neill World Cup of Surfing at Sunset with Contest Director Randy Rarick for one of their biggest days in recent history. Alex Gray’s sponsors include: Volcom, Channel Islands, Body Glove, On A Mission and Go211.com.”The Daily Habit” is FUEL TV’s first original daily series, telecast weeknights at 9:00pm ET (6:00pm PT) while re-airing later in the evening at 12:00am ET (9:00pm PT), and the following weekday at 2:30pm ET (11:30am PT) and 5:30pm ET (2:30 pm PT). “The Daily Habit” encompasses the world of the action sports enthusiast, mixing the best in pop culture with today’s top action sports personalities, cutting-edge music, product reviews, and comedy.About FUEL TVFUEL TV is the action sports lifestyle network for skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, BMX, freestyle-motocross, and wakeboarding. A unit of Fox Cable Networks, FUEL TV was launched July 1, 2003 and is seen in 24-million U.S. homes. To subscribe to FUEL TV, call 877-4-FUEL-TV.www.fuel.tv
Team News
Bede’s Blog tackles Bells Beach and the Slater factor
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 18 March, 2008 : - - I get asked more about Kelly Slater than any other surfer on the Dream Tour. Man, if I had a dollar for every person who is asking me whether I think Kelly will turn up at the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach this Easter I wouldn’t need to compete there myself!
Kelly seems to like playing a cat and mouse game with the media over his planning – whether he’s going to retire, whether he might compete in just some selected events, whether he might just go free surfing. Some guys reckon the tactics are also intended to play with the heads of his competitors. I don’t know about that. They certainly don’t worry me. In fact, I much prefer it when Kelly is there because he raises the bar for all of us.
And my view is that Kelly has earned the right to do whatever he likes. Eight world titles and the enormous positive press and imagery Kelly has brought to surfing internationally is something that every pro surfer should be thankful for. Without him, surfing and the Dream Tour wouldn’t be where it is now.
So I’m hoping that after his great win in the Quiksilver Pro on the Gold Coast earlier this month that he will show up at Bells. I’ve found the key to surfing against Kelly is not letting him intimidate you with his performance. You have to take an attitude of out-performing him, rather than out-hassling him – or rather letting him out-hassle you.
Kelly’s secret is not just what he does on a wave – and we all know how mind-blowing that is – but also what he does off the wave. I learnt that when we clashed in the semis of last year’s Quikky at Superbank when it was going off. I held priority but let Kelly sneak an inside runner where he chalked up a huge score.
It was a big slip-up by me and it left me requiring a nine point plus ride (out of 10) to take the heat and make the final against Mick Fanning. I channelled my frustration into positive energy by staying calm and focussing on what I needed from a good set wave in the dying seconds. The fact I got it and nailed the score I needed is still one of the highlights of my career so far and gave me major confidence for the rest of 2007.
I relish those sorts of heats because they are the ones that reveal character and show you what you really have. Kelly brings that out in his rivals and that’s why I hope we see his carving S-turns on those big Rincon walls. Since my semi at the Quiksilver Pro, I’ve been powering into training as I’m eager to build on my equal third ranking on the WCT and leave the Australian leg of the Dream Tour in good shape.
My coaches Gary “Kong” Elkerton, Dadee Taylor and my board shaper Wayne McKewen have had me pumped with a good all-round and interesting schedule involving physical and mental preparation. I always get excited about the Rip Curl Pro at Bells. It’s got such a history as the longest running pro contest in the world.
To win and get to “ring the bell” with the amazing trophy they provide is a highlight for any pro surfer. The Bells honour roll is full of the names of the greats. Taj Burrow, who finished runner-up to Mick on last year’s CT rankings, won here last year and will be pumped for a repeat performance. Taj’s style so suits Bells.
Plus there will be the “usual suspects” of Mick, “Parko” (Joel Parkinson), a rejuvenated Dean Morrison and Andy Irons as well as all the hot new kids coming through like Jordy Smith from South Africa and Dane Reynolds from the States. I hope to be in there amongst it all too! I’ve always loved those big walls at Bells.
I’ve seen pictures of the classic 1981 Easter swell when Simon Anderson, inventor of the three-fin thruster surfboard we all now routinely surf on, won in clean three to four metre surf. Here’s hoping!
I’ll report in from Bells. Until then, see you, Bede Durbidge
* Bede Durbidge is from the Gold Coast and finished the 2007 Dream Tour with a world ranking of 5. He is currently equal third on the ’08 rankings. He is also reigning Pipeline Masters and Hawaiian Triple Crown champion.
Brent Reilly
New team rider Oliver Kurtz in town from Florida. Shredded the Oside one afternoon…
Team rider Taylor Jensen on the cover of this months Longboard Magazine boosting bigger than you ever hope to on a shortboard.
Mid Atlantic Rep Mitch Baker slotting in for the tube - mysto spot Carolinas. Check out the article in next months Surfer’s Journal.
Bede Blog: Durbidge’s take on the Quik Pro, upcoming Bells
Kelly Slater and Mick Fanning have laid down the marker for the rest of us on the Dream Tour after they fought out the final of the Quiksilver Pro. It was less then super Superbank and even though I was still dealing with losing my semi-final to Mick, I wasn’t surprised at the standard of the ’show’ he and Kelly put on in the final.
Mick did exactly what I expected from him. Since he sealed the title in Brazil last …. there has been some speculation over how Mick would cope with defending a world title rather than chasing it. Then there was his broken wrist in Japan snowboarding. I think he’s answered all of that pretty emphatically.
He’s such a fierce competitor and I know this can sound a bit strange but it’s actually a privilege to go up against him. That’s because I always gain from it. To beat Mick, you have to have really earned it. When you lose, you still learn so much from being out there competing against the best. You can’t miss a beat against him, or he will pounce on you. White Lightning.
There was a huge crowd at Snapper for finals day and even though the conditions for our semi were far more fickle and inferior to last year’s final between us, I could really feel the buzz and adrenaline coming off the beach. They seemed to really enjoy us going at it. It went down-to-the-wire and it was frustrating to lose by such a small margin.
I went for a couple of big moves that didn’t quite come off but I don’t regret that. You don’t win WCT event semis by surfing conservatively. My initial disappointment at losing so narrowly to Mick has now been tempered by the realisation that starting the year equal third on the WCT and the second highest placed Australian after the first event is a positive way to kick off ’08.
My Mt Woodgee boards went unreal and I felt positive from the opening round at D-bah. I was able to get into a rhythm early in the comp and get past some pretty dangerous opponents in the likes of Kieran Purrow, Ben Dunn and Joel Parkinson. “Parko” and I met at the same stage of this event last year and I was able to come out on top then. I knew he would be pumped to get me back and he had me comboed early.
I was pretty nervous in the last few minutes when Parko held priority and could still get me, but as all of us can testify at this event, the wait for a decent wave was very frustrating. Just like Mick, Kelly’s performance in this contest didn’t surprise me – or many others for that matter.
He and Mick continue to set the bar for guys like me to aspire to. The higher they set it – and I know Mick winning the world title has inspired Kelly to go as hard as he could in this event – the better I like it. Australia winning both world titles last year (Mick and Steph Gilmore in the women’s) plus the number of WCT surfers we have on both Dream Tours has highlighted that we are back as a major surfing power.
But the rest of the world isn’t going to hand it to us on the platter. Kelly winning the first men’s event and Brazil’s Sofia Mulanovich winning the Roxy Pro has been a statement of intent from the other nations. Again, bring it on. In this case, it’s Bells and the Rip Curl Pro. With any luck, clean Easter Rincon. What a nice thought to be heading south with.
Finally, a shout-out to the people who supported me at the Quikky. Man, you guys (and girls) made some noise! Thanks!! I was pretty overwhelmed with the good vibes towards me and I’ve enjoyed the higher profile that has come with my recent achievements. And having somebody of the calibre of ASP president and former world champ Rabbit Bartholomew describe you as a contender for this year’s world title is a further buzz.
Talk to you from Bells.
-Bede
Bede Durbidge 3rd place at the quikie pro mate!
Down town Casey Brown rockin’ PEPPER pad!
Blake Howard on the big day last week at Rincon. Only a couple people made it out to the lineup…
