Red Bull Project Air: Day 14
In a rather fitting tribute to the elite surfers who have attended Red Bull Project Air, Huey, the mythical God Of the Surf, has turned it on as a symbolic send-off for the remaining junior squad. Two weeks ago, the cream of the crop – including world champions Mick Fanning, Sofia Mulanovich, Sally Fitzgibbons, Julian Wilson, along with South Africa’s Jordy Smith, France’s Tim Boal and Tahitian Michel Bourez – had their first surf together at macking overhead Lennox; riding boards that paid tribute to surfing’s past.
This afternoon, the young bloods of the sport – we’re talking the likes of Kolohe Andino, Conner Coffin, Cristobal de Col and Evan Geiselman – rode waves at the same break as the Red Bull cameras rolled in the fading light, book-ending what has been a world first.
Conner’s take on the camp echoed the feelings of every participant: “Among the best things is just getting to surf with everyone on the Red Bull team. Pushing each other, in the surf, on the ramp … it’s been awesome. Every time we surfed someone was trying to do something gnarly.” The juniors will go their separate ways, but all will go back to school and all will compete in various events, primed and psyched for the year ahead. A raw south swell that hit today will continue to kick and the Aussie leg of the ASP competition season is underway just an hour or two’s drive north.
Half the top 45 mens surfers will surf heats in a Qualifying Series event on Queensland’s Gold Coast within the next 48 hours while the world waits for the official kick-off of the World Tours with the Quik and Roxy Pro’s at Snapper beginning Feb 26th. But first, for those surfers and crew still remaining, a bit of a wrap-dinner … and a thanks goes out to everyone working behind the scenes.
Roll credits!
Kingy and wife Nadine, Ant Macca, Dan Ross, Dog Marsh, Besch, Sean Hayes, Shorty, Watto, JJ, Matt Taylor, Marcus, Jordan and the media crew, Linda, Alicia, Verena, Dan the chef, and the boys working hard to pull down the skate ramp!
(And for sure there’s one or two more, yikes, sorry! there’s always is!)
Red Bull Project Air: Day 13
There is no shortage of surf talent at Red Bull’s Project Air and there is no shortage of surf coaches on the job, getting the most from their squad. Dan Ross is an ASP World Tour competitor and the 2009 ASP World Qualifying Series champion. Richard “Dog” Marsh is a former top 10 rated professional who divides his time between France and his beloved Australia. Together today the pair barked orders and trained up Red Bull’s junior squad in an hour-long intensive that replicated the “Hell Session” of last week. The regime included muscle-burning sprints into the surf and run/swim combos that had even the best young surfers, like Kolohe Andino and Conner Coffin dragging their heavy legs up the sand.
For guys like 20 year-old Wiggolly Dantas, the lean, Brazilian fighting machine who currently sits in the top three on the Qualifying Series, the workout was second nature. “It was fine, no problem,” remarked Wiggolly after it was all said and done.
It’s no surprise. Wiggolly has a personal trainer when he’s in France and spends months in Hawaii each year at the “Boar’s Nest”, the colloquially named training site for some of surfing’s heaviest hitters. Kai Lenny, 17, Maui also found the training kind of easy going. Kai trains every week at home and is a bit of a freak when it comes to mixing it up in the water. He competes on the kite surfing and stand-up paddleboard tours. For Kai competitive surfing and fitness are just all familiar pieces of the puzzle. How did he go today?
“It was good when it was done,” he joked.
The team atmosphere is in effect too, it’s not about breaking spirits at Red Bull Project Air, it’s about the camaraderie, education and spreading the love. Skate-rat Curren Caples got a roasting from Evan Geiselman for not taking part: “You’re getting snaked every wave from now on grom!” Evan’s joking of course, but ya never know. Maybe when the swell kicks tomorrow, he might steal at least one wave!
Red Bull Project Air: Day 12
The friendly rivalry that exists between Evan Geiselman and Kolohe Andino reached fever pitch today. Both surfers found themselves in the final against each other in this morning’s mock heats, going wave for wave and air for air. An unlikely snaking interference (Kolohe on Evan) led to all-out debate on the shore as the coaches and team riders disputed the correct call. Evan rode the wave in front of Kolohe and pulled an air-360 in his face, but with the final verdict still pending, it has been decided to call in the third umpire for adjudication – the vision captured on Sean Hayes’ handycam. It’s certain to make for some wild calls and heckling when the judgement is passed after dinner!
The contention continued on Red Bull’s customised skate ramp, with the boys calling moves then trying to nail them into the pit.
A gnarly 360 stale fish by Kolohe was overshadowed by a runaway skateboard that honed in on the head of cameraman Rick Rifici. Fortunately the ghost board never found its target, but it did slam direct into the glass of the expensive camera lens. Unbelievably, nothing was broken and according to Rick, the slow-mo footage is some of the coolest captured this week! An unfortunate fact of life for the junior surfers is the schoolwork they have to do on the road. When you’re a fledgling pro, grooming yourself for life on the world tour, sponsor commitments, training and photo shoots are always top priority, so during a little down time today a few of the groms hit the books.
“I try and do a couple hours every day,” said Conner Coffin. “But it can be hard to get motivated sometimes.”
No kidding, especially with distractions like jetskis and skateboard ramps to test your dedication. Every time Cristobal de Col jumps a flight he has to lug his books all the way from Peru. Bummer. The tides are looking favourable for an early surf and the swell is predicted to jump within 48 hours. Surf coach Andy King is calling for a ‘mini’ Hell Session tomorrow arvo from 2pm - a physical training intensive, slightly down-scaled from last week’s crippler that even had World Champ Mick Fanning sweating and panting.
Red Bull Project Air: Day 11
If there’s one constant in life, it’s change. So you can bet when Red Bull’s juniors are pulling on coloured jerseys on the ASP World Tour a few years from now, the way to win will be different to the way it is today. Andy King is a former professional surfer who knows what it takes to win. King has overcome adversity, tasted competitive success and experienced the exhilaration of a 10-foot Pipeline tube spitting him safely to the channel. With his coaching hat fitted snugly to his melon, King today espoused the overall message of Red Bull’s Project Air as his young, eager charges listened intently.
“At the end of last year, the ASP introduced changes to the judging criteria and I guarantee you that by the time you reach the elite level, they will have changed again,” said King. “The future of the sport will revolve around manoeuvres done in the air … ”
And while the waves of Tallow’s Beach in the lee of Cape Byron and its iconic lighthouse did not throw up much in the way of perfect air-ramps today, Red Bull’s junior surfers still managed to land a few with aplomb. Hawaiian coach Shane Beschen summed it up rather succinctly: “For the conditions? There was some good sh#! going down!”
Kolohe Andino is among the most publicised teen surfers coming out of the USA’s fair shores right now, and along with a stylish frontside hack, the 15 year-old natural footer has a pretty mean aerial repertoire. “I think right now, the judges don’t discriminate enough between the different grabs. If someone did a stalefish grab, which is probably the hardest, and someone else did an air reverse, they would probably give them the same score. It should be a three-point spread, at least,” reasoned Kolohe. “I agree with King, it’s headed the way of snowboarding. The more technical you are, the higher you should be scored. It’s probably just because the judges don’t know the difference.” Like each generation before them, the groms will change the way.
You can bet on that.
Project Air: Day 10
There are some noticeable changes afoot at Red Bull’s Project Air.
The sun is shining brighter, the participants are much younger and the airs into the foam pit are getting higher! Conner Coffin, 16, from Santa Barbara, California is among half-a-dozen grom’s from Red Bull’s Rising Team to arrive at camp following the departure of the open elite team two days ago, and the energy shift is palpable. “I’m not going to say the older guys weren’t excited, but these young guys just dove straight into it,” said High Performance Manager, Andy Walshe. “For them it’s less about narrowing their mental focus and preparing for any upcoming event, it’s really about throwing the doors wide open and having fun.”
Nursing damaged tendons in his right foot incurred during a month of all-time waves at his beloved homebreak, Rincon, Coffin was exploiting the luxury of soft landings into the foam pit. “I stopped skating for a while because I was always hurting myself. When I was younger, I broke my arm from skating and you’re always sore from going down, so I got to the point where I’d never really try airs anymore. I just started cruising and just hitting the coping or doing small tricks. But here, to be able to try airs and not kill yourself? Insane!”
An undisputed star of Red Bull’s customised ‘surf’ ramp is 14 year-old Curren Caples. Named after U.S. surfing legend Tom Curren, Caples dedicates hours to skating at home in Ventura and his experience has put everyone, thus far, to shame. 540 spins into the pit, stale-fish and indy grabs on the ramp plus a couple of rad drop-ins from the railing … all bloody entertaining stuff.
Someone even suggested Caples outskated Aussie Corbin Harris, the Red Bull pro brought in to tutor the big guns last week!
(Corbin, fancy coming back for an all-out jam to decide things? Ha ha, the grom is psyched!)
And if it appeared Mother Nature had relented following a week of savage rain and wild seas, this afternoon she proved there is still some bite left in her bark. Kolohe Andino’s dad, Dino, was unceremoniously swamped by a one-foot wave as he piloted a jetski during a whip-in surf practice session with the junior squad. As Dino floundered in waist-deep water and the capsized ski farted out blue smoke, no one knew whether to laugh or cry. Or cry laughing. One thing is certain though, we could skip the next group “Hell Session”.
Have you ever tried to haul a half-tonne, water-logged ski up 30 metres of wet sand? Cue: the sound of six grommets and Red Bull’s coaches screaming “Heeeeave!”
Red Bull Project Air: Day 7
There were no tears, but a few farewell hugs as Red Bull’s Project Air elite surf team went their separate ways today. The ASP World Tour kicks off in just two weeks with the first event held at Snapper Rocks at the southern end of Queensland’s Gold Coast, beginning Feb 26th and all surfers will move through their final stages of preparation. Jordy Smith has fled to South Africa, where he will train under the supervision of the same dude that trains cyclist Lance Armstrong. Michel Bourez is jetting back across the pacific to the Hawaiian Islands. Julian Wilson will be carefully removing the bandages that have been protecting the sprained ATFL ligament in his right hoof and get back n’ surfing. Sofia and Sally have already unpacked their bags at different hotels overlooking the break at Snapper and Tim Boal will kick it just a little longer at Lennox and take advantage of Red Bull’s ongoing facilities.
Within 48 hours, a handpicked crop of the world’s most dynamic juniors will roll into town and into some serious air time. Expectations are high. Will they out-punt, out-rotate, out-do one another as they decode Red Bull’s Project Air? We’ll see…
Check these names!
Cristobal de Col (PE), Wiggolly Dantas (BR), Connor Coffin (USA), Leo Fioravanti (ITA), Carlos Munoz (CR), Evan Geiselman (USA), Kolohe Andino (USA) and Kai Lenny (USA).
Red Bull Project Air: Day 6
At the heart of Red Bull’s Project Air is a single objective – exposing the elite surf team to new and innovative ways of progressing the most exciting move in surfing today, the aerial. And for each athlete, behind this objective lies a deeper, personal motive for taking part - competitive success. Today, at an isolated stretch of beach, the elite team competed against one another in simulated heats, bringing structure to their performances for the first time in 2010 after an extended hiatus. In two weeks, the race for the men’s and women’s ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals) World Titles will begin in earnest, so with Red Bull’s resources – coaches, cameras and jet-ski assist – the gang got down to business!
- Heat 1 featured 2004 ASP Women’s World Champion Sofia Mulanovich vs Sally Fitzgibbons.
- Heat 2 featured Tahitian powerhouse Michel Bourez vs 2009 WT competitor Tim Boal, of France.
- Heat 3 featured reigning and two-time Men’s World Champion Mick Fanning vs South African wunderkind Jordy Smith.
What a lineup!
As Red Bull coach Andy King explained: “This was a chance for the guys to get rid of the cobwebs, to really introduce the aspects of the revised 2010 judging criteria which includes ‘flow’, the ability to ‘link’ manouvers and innovation, and, most importantly, put all the theory and physical testing they’ve done this past week into practice. They took it all very seriously!”
Results?
Fanning vs Jordy – 1 heat apiece. What an explosive match-up! Mick went to town, linking his turns all the way to the beach and thowing in incredible variety. Air reverses, standard reverses and lightening-fast cutbacks, were all done with aplomb.
Jordy: “I tried a couple airs ‘cause the wind was pretty good for it, and it paid off, I got a 7.0 and a 7.5 in my first heat to win. The second heat, not so good. ”
Mulanovich vs Fitzgibbons – 1st place, Mulanovich. The Peruvian looked dangerous on the longer lefts – of course! That’s exactly the stuff she grew up surfing. Fitzgibbons answered back on the shorter rights, but her potential for moves was restricted. Good effort though. A tight encounter.
Boal vs Bourez – 1st place, Bourez (just!). Bourez opens with a 9.0 point ride and Boal, the Frenchman is immediately on the ropes! But Boal doesn’t go down without a fight, nailing two 6+ rides. At the final hooter, Bourez hangs on, just, and contemplates his lucky escape.
“It was close, I couldn’t find another good wave, my heart rate went up so I started breathing, doing what Mike (Gervais) had told us to do … and get myself back into my optimum performance zone. It worked,” said Bourez.
Tomorrow the team will pose for a group photo before heading their separate ways, making room for the arrival of the elite junior squad.
Red Bull Project Air: Day 5
During a strong south swell, Snapper Rocks on Queensland’s Gold Coast has two levellers, the current pulling hard around ‘the rock’ and the crowd desperately trying to survive it. Everyone is out there, hoping for the ‘one’ – a frothing, spitting barrel on takeoff, that then doubles up through the inside and runs on down past Little Marley. Today, Red Bull’s elite surf team got their first real taste of Snapper in 2010. Within two weeks, thousands of adoring fans will fill Snapper’s beach, as they cheer on the world’s highest ranked professional surfers in the Quiksilver Pro, and six from seven of Red Bull’s Project Air participants are guaranteed to be in that spotlight.
Fanning, the hometown hero and two-time winner of the event, sits at the top of the heap and his appearance today at Snapper was like watching Moses part the Red Sea.
As he made his way from the car park to the lineup, friends greeted him warmly while strangers ogled his every move. Once in position at the spot he knows best, he deftly tore apart every wave he could get his board into. South African Jordy Smith also challenged from deep, wearing one wave to the head and he very nearly muscled his way from the bowels of another. It would have been one of the tubes of the session if he made it, but there are some situations even Jord’s remarkable 6’2” girth cannot win. Sofia and Sally ripped, and Michel? Well, he said he didn’t, but when was the last time you pulled a grab-rail reverse where your fins rotated higher than your head and considered it s#!t?? Never! As the French would say, magnifique!
1200cc of engine power came into play this afternoon back at secluded Lennox. Sally, having progressed from the flats of the skateboard ramp, to the roll-in, to airing into the foam pit, hit the waves absolutely psyching. When the 1200cc jetski roared to life, Sally was hanging onto the rope behind – water-ski style – and was whipped into the junky shore pound on her surfboard. As the cameras rolled, 19 year-old Sally leapt for the heavens while executing a textbook frontside grab, a replica of the dozens she had just executed in the stenchy afternoon heat on the skateboard ramp.
Former world number two surfer, aerial innovator and coach, Shane Beschen, was beside himself. “It was sick, to see the whole theory suddenly manifest before our eyes. This is the first step for Sally being able to bring it into her game in the competitive arena.”
Sally agreed it represented an incremental, yet important progression; “There are very few airs that are done in competition, but there are a couple girls that can do them semi-regularly. I’d say within two years, it will be common,” she said. High Performance Manager Andy Walshe is most vocal when his team riders push themselves from their comfort zones.
“Obviously, it’s still very early days, but the challenge of the ramp and the whole set up of the first day has dissipated,” explained Walshe.
“Pushing our team to try new things and enjoy new ways of training is great - at the very least we’re having a lot of fun which at the end of the day is important. It’s why we’re here.”
Red Bull Project Air: Day 4
Results Day …
Of all the information imparted by the leading experts at Red Bull’s Project Air, one key point that is continually emphasised to each member of the elite surf team regarding their pursuit of ultimate performance is that they must determine what works best for him, or herself, then know how to apply it. During the “Hell Session” debrief today, Red Bull High Performance Manager, Andy Walshe reiterated this simple fact yet again.
“We’re here to provide you with the tools to become the best you can be, we’re not here to wipe your a$s!” said Walshe. Not that any of the surfers expected that to happen, of course. The ‘tools’ include access to experts, testing, and outcomes. So where are we at?
The professional medical screenings have revealed commonalities between each surfer: a dominant side in the shoulders, which results in inflexibility and restriction, along with ‘Stage 1, early signs of detection’ in their backs; nothing to be alarmed about, but enough to encourage each surfer to set up a ‘system of recovery’.
Walshe brought this to life via a simple projection – a haggard donkey standing next to a preened, veiny racehorse. “Be the racehorse, not the donkey!” goaded Walshe. Good advice. And the results of the ‘Champion Mind’ Hell Session revealed and confirmed what many surfers inherently knew: where their strengths and weaknesses lie. The trick, however is doing something about them. Mick Fanning, current ASP Men’s World Champion topped the heap, benefitting from the familiarity of the testing, yet proving undeniably he is a champion at the top of his game. Sally Fitzgibbons also scored highly, a reflection of her unprecedented amateur career and indication of its continuation as she transcends it. Jordy, Sofia and Michel, they have uncovered areas that they can begin to benefit from immediately. And poor ol’ Tim Boal, who has been lying around with a tweaked disc in his back, is in recovery mode thanks to the invaluable treatment from Red Bull’s orthopaedic surgeon.
A day of contrasts also allowed for a coastal escape. As much of NSW languished under continuing rain, Red Bull’s elite surf team found respite via a quick coastal run south to an often overlooked break. The sun was shining and the waves good enough to allow tired bodies to unwind in familiar surroundings.
Red Bull Project Air: Day 3
Heavy rain and wind may have ruled out any chances of aerial training on Red Bull’s customised skate ramp, but the team Performance Coaches were rubbing their hands in anticipation at today’s specially scheduled “Hell Session”. Was it appropriately named? Some surfers will say ‘yes’, having survived a gruelling two hours of mental and physical testing. A subdued theory session this morning (in a nice air-conditioned seminar room) preceded the ‘real deal’; a session lead by Michael Gervais, a High Performance Psychologist from Pinnacle Performance Inc (California), held in the wind and beating rain of Lennox Head’s northern beach.
The session was structured specifically to push the limits of the surfers by putting them in a “very uncomfortable space” where they would need to challenge their regular coping patterns. Then when they tire? “We push them even further,” explained Gervais.
Dozens of push ups, sprints, crawls, swims, sit-ups and other annoying tests of endurance were performed, before the surfers were required to break and take complex mental tests, which included problem solving and memory assessments, under duress. As Gervais explained: “The design hope is to help the team riders explore a second and possibly third gear they’ve always had, but hadn’t really known it. We examine their body language, try and help them understand and recognise their own internal dialogue and how they speak to themselves in pressure moments.”
Gervais described the surfers as “self-starters” in an individual sport who were regularly required to make decisions with high danger involved. As a result, they were well prepared, knew how to ‘dig deep’ and were committed to the process of growing and challenging themselves. “There is danger involved in surfing, there is choices to be made around commitment. I can say these surfers have a similar capacity to face intense situations that I have found working with Ultimate Fighters (and the UFC).”
A full debrief session and post-analysis will take place tomorrow, and it will include the results from the many curious puzzles that required solving. Until then, there is a few ice baths on the agenda, dinner and lots of Zzzzzz’s to catch up on. Oh, and the jet-skis came out briefly, but we’re too tired to talk about that right now. Guess that means the UFC fighters are safe from any new competition for the time being!
Red Bull Project Air: Day 2
Red Bull Project Air is about the refinement and progression of the most exciting move in surfing – the aerial, but today each member of the elite team received a very special gift: a custom made replica of Mark Richards’ 1978 “Pipe Weapon”. Personally hand-signed by the former four-time world champ and legend “MR”, the single-fin replicas are a symbolic, tactile reference to the origins of competitive surfing. As Red Bull’s High Performance Director, Andy Walshe, detailed in his opening presentation, any top performer with ambitions of becoming a master, must have an understanding of the past.
“We are not here to re-invent the wheel, but tradition and history are important elements. From there you have a base to build an innovative performance,” said Walshe. Pioneering surfers Baddy Treleor and Chris Brock sat as special guests alongside modern superstars Jordy Smith and Julian Wilson as the whole Red Bull gang took a brief trip down memory lane – watching an exciting compile of performance surfing through the ages, that culminated with Baddy and Brock’s epic Lennox Head sessions from Morning of the Earth, the famous seminal 70’s surf film.
On the 7’0” single fins this morning, the surfers ripped. Well, for the most part! Jordy powered through some big moves, using his 89kg bulk to his advantage, and claimed a nice tube. But for lighter surfers like Sally Fitzgibbons (59kg) the going was a little tougher.
“It paddled like a dream, I glided past everyone, then first wave I face planted! My fin skipped out of the water, I didn’t realise I needed my foot right over the fin. But then I kinda got the hang of it, I did a couple of cutties, trimmed, got dropped in on … my new name is “Marina Richards!” said Sally.
Our reigning Men’s ASP World Champion, Mick Fanning, blazed, before trading in the replica and jumping on his shortboard.
“The board had really nice lines, but the one think you lack with single fins is you don’t have is the speed. But overall, I was really surprised, it was better than what I thought!” said Mick.
Late in the day, the surfers had their first taste of the purpose built skate ramp and the bungy trampoline, both specified to allow ‘more air time’. Per Lumdstum, Red Bull’s High Performance Manager, then took the team through an intense core strengthening routine, which allows weaknesses to be identified, then evaluated and improved upon, with the big aim of improving overall conditioning, long term.
Red Bull Project Air: Day 1
We know Red Bull gives you wings, and now the world’s best surfers are being taught to fly!
Lennox Head, the semi-sleepy hamlet in Northern New South Wales, Australia, is base camp for Red Bull’s elite surf team as they undergo a world-first for surfing; a two-week long aerial intensive dubbed “Red Bull Project Air”.
The best of the best, including two-time and reigning Men’s World Champion Mick Fanning, Women’s World Champion Sofia Mulanovich, Junior World Champions Julian Wilson and Sally Fitzgibbons, along with international stars Jordy Smith and Michel Bourez will be expanding, honing and refining their aerial repertoires with the assistance of professional coaches, pro skateboarders and the use of gymnastic facilities.
The star of the show is not any one of the surfers, but a custom-built skateboard bowl tailored specifically to surf style moves with right and left “breaking” ramps that are exposed to a large foam-pit.
Through repetition and guidance, the surfers will be able to attempt and maybe even perfect, aerials that would require months, or even years of training in the open water, in a controlled environment and free from the fears of injury.
“I’m psyched, the future of surfing is definitely going to be more about fully, functional aerials and functional air combinations,” said Jordy Smith, who in June of last year set the world alight with his outrageous Rodeo-clown captured on location in the Mentawai Islands.
“I can’t wait to give this a go!”
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