No "guy's turns" for Tyler. Just awesome ones. Photo: ASP/Kirstin
There is one upside to not having as many events during the year as the men: You have the opportunity to travel the globe and surf some amazing waves. What’s your favorite wave in the world?
We get six months off! The Tour starts at Snapper and then it goes to Bells, Sydney, Brazil and maybe Taranaki and then after Brazil we have a two-month gap. After the break we have France and then a two-week gap and then the US Open. After the US Open we have six months off, so over the whole year we really only compete for around four months. I love it! We go chasing swells; although it would be great have a few more events, I’m not going to complain.
I have had so many good waves in the Mentawais and some amazing waves on the NSW South Coast. I really want to go to Mexico; I haven’t been there yet! It just looks like you get barreled all the time and there are heaps of right-handers. I had some amazing waves at Lennox and Ballina last winter. The sand was amazing and there was a good four months where it was just pumping close to home with warm water. I love surfing in warm water!
We’ve been discussing what it takes to be a champion surfer and Jenny Boggis’ reply was simple: a pure love of surfing and a burning desire to be the best. What motivates and drives you to compete?
I think Jenny is on it there; you have to love what you’re doing because there is a lot of sweat and hard work that goes into it. A lot of people see it just as a lifestyle. Don’t get me wrong – it is an amazing lifestyle! But you have to put in a lot of training to be at the top and to be the best. It’s all hard work, and you have to love what you’re doing and have a burning desire to be the best. If you didn’t have a love for what you’re doing, then it just wouldn’t work.
For me lately I have been training with Brodie Ledgerwood who owns Ultimate Surf Training, he does all this CHEK stuff. I have been training with him for the last six months and I can really see the improvements both in and out of the water, and he doesn’t go easy on us! I do all sorts of different stuff from riding bikes to ballet, I just try to keep busy and keep active.
You have mentioned in previous interviews that Steph Gilmore raised the bar for Women’s surfing and inspired those following in her footsteps such as yourself. Who else inspires you to reach new levels?
I think you can draw inspiration from a lot of things, but I still think that Steph has taken women’s surfing to where it is today. She was the first female to do a proper guy turn – a girl turn but with the force and power of a guy turn.
Kids around home inspire me as well, they just love surfing and they rip as well, they just love going out and being in the water and having a good time. I like seeing them try all the new stuff like air reverses and varials and I draw inspiration from them as well and obviously my family inspires me!
Talk me through what your definition of a “guy turn” is?
It’s not like a flick or tack turn. It’s a pure rail bottom turn and a full carve or a full snap throwing lots of spray instead of just flick turns. I believe that Steph was the first female to achieve that. She also incorporates it so it looks graceful and feminine and it looks pretty. That’s what I mean by a guy turn….
I saw some video of Steph in the Mentawais recently surfing a single fin, and it looked like she was in full control and on rail all the time….
Yeah, she has a really good ability to surf any board really well, I think I was up there at the same time on a different boat. She surfer it out at HTs or Lances Right and it was really hollow, she was surfing with old school style and flair, getting barrelled and lots of grab rail turns.
Do you mix it up with your equipment?
I don’t like to change my boards to much. I have had 5’ 4″ chop tails that are super thick and wide in the past, but I generally like to surf my normal boards because they are just so good!
Who is making your boards at the moment?
Jason Jameson makes them, they’re so good, and they are amazing! Jason has been making them for the past three years. He is only a young guy around 20, and he is based at Tweed Heads. The first board he shaped me was a replica of the boards that I was surfing, and then he said, “I’m going to shape you a board that I think will go well for you as a starting base and we can go from there.” That was one of the best boards that I have ever had! Since then I have complete confidence in every board that he makes me that it’s going to go well.
As a competitor I think it’s a major relief to have that confidence in your boards and know that every single board is going to go well. You don’t want any doubt in your mind when your paddling out and good boards are a confidence booster, when you know that your boards are amazing and they are going to do what you want them to do on the wave, it leaves no room for that doubt.
Do you feel that your competition results reflect where your at mentally?
I think a lot of it has to do with where you’re at; if you’re not having the best week and you have things weighing on your mind it will definitely be reflected in you’re results.
Where do you see Women’s surfing in the next five to ten year’s time?
I think it can go a lot further. I think its just starting out; I think the girls in the next couple of years will take their surfing above the lip. In saying that you still need powerful turns and finners but hopefully in the next five to ten years we will be able to do airs on the first turn.
Is that something that you’re aiming to achieve personally?
Definitely! There is a lot of work that goes into achieving those maneuvers consistently. I think I’m just trying to chip away at it a little bit at a time but its definitely an area that I want to improve.
How did it feel to be the youngest winner, female or male, of an ASP World Championship Tour event? This is one title that Kelly can’t take from you!
It was amazing! I was really young; it took a lot of work to win that event. Although I was young I really new what I wanted and once I had that chance I didn’t want to let it go, it was an incredible experience. To get it so young, it was really intense following the event and it took us awhile, almost a year to get back to what I really loved, but it was definitely a great experience. I wouldn’t be the surfer I am today without winning that event, the amount of stuff that I learned from that event was enormous.
It gave me an insight to what it could be like, and I liked it! I loved competing against Steph and Silvana and the top girls, I love that sort of challenge!
Tyler’s World Tour campaign kicked off at the Roxy Pro, I wish Tyler the best for 2012 and I will be logging on to watch as Tyler attempts to bring the World Title back to Australia.
