Is this the next world champion? Photo: Ripcurl
Not long ago, Matt Wilkinson was the WSL’s token class clown. Now at J-Bay, for the fifth contest in a row, he’ll be donning the yellow jersey as world number 1, and has a serious shot at winning a world title – a fact I’m having serious difficulty comprehending.
Is this a dramatic turnaround? Maybe. But I think that’s giving him too much credit.
Two traditional title contenders are out. Kelly is having an atypical year with terrible results thus far, save Fiji. And Mick is taking a personal year. The absence of such big names from the top 10 has, as some might say, made room for more unlikely candidates.
But Kelly and Mick are just two of the numerous surfers on tour that might have more expectedly found themselves at the top of the rankings. Gabriel Medina is sitting at number 2 – no surprises there. John John is next, ranked 3rd – again, anyone shocked? And Adriano, defending world champ, is ranked 5th.
So, the fact that the ever flamboyant, yet hardly competitive Matty Wilko has somehow bested his competition is not just mind bending, it’s otherworldly.
But how did we get here? Back in 2012, Wilko gained notoriety for his elaborate wetsuit game. To say he built his reputation as the tour’s biggest character is an understatement. He wore a suit with boobs all over it! The next year he transitioned into actual characters at each contest – wearing suits that looked more like costumes, i.e. the fisherman, the wrestler, and the bullfighter.
Remember these beauties? Photo: Rip Curl
His outward appearance was a visualization of his attitude vis-a-vis the tour: not taking yourself seriously, and just having a good time. After all, this is the same guy who showed up to his first world tour heat at Snapper wearing roller blades.
A higher concern with comedy than competitive drive, though, translated to Wilko’s results in the water. In his first five years on tour, he ranked no higher than 20th and as low as 24th.
A few of those years he was in danger of falling off tour entirely, and was, “scared shitless.” According to Wilko, that was the impetus for hiring Glenn Hall as his coach in 2015.
“I’m paying him to make me do the shit I don’t want to do,” Wilko told Surfer. “It’s something I probably should have been able to do myself, but…with Glenn I’m getting it done.”
Pre-heat focus in France. Photo: WSL/Kirstin
This explanation, though, that Matty Wilko was afraid he’d fall off tour and has now reinvented himself into a fierce competitor doesn’t hold water for me. For one, not dropping off tour and being in world title contention are two entirely different things. And two, no matter who he puts in his corner, Wilko still shows the same apathy toward competition as he always has. After Snapper, when asked if he’d make a go of a world title, Wilko responded, “I might as well.”
I can only imagine how other guys on tour who dream of winning a world title feel – being ranked behind a guy who, frankly, has never demonstrated even the most minute interest. At least not publicly. He’s a talented guy, don’t get me wrong, I just think luck has more to do with his current ranking than cutthroat competitive drive.
While difficult to rationalize, though, I’m not upset that Wilko is number one right now. Quite the opposite, I’m glad.
More than ever, world tour surfers are spending countless hours in the gym and specializing their diets to get themselves to a level of peak physical fitness. Wilko may have hired a surf coach in Glenn Hall, but he doesn’t exude the same sort of discipline to an intense training regimen that prior champs do. His success calls into question the need for such training. Maybe the best surfer on tour isn’t always the one who trains the hardest.
It also challenges us to take competitive surfing less seriously. Prevailing logic holds that most world champions in any sport have a fire in their belly. They set their minds to achieving their dream and they go out and do it. At all costs. And yet, here’s a guy who’s managed to remain the top ranked surfer for five contests in a row, shrugging his shoulders the whole way. He just wants to have fun. And that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? Maybe a Matt Wilkinson world title is exactly what surfing needs.
