Kelly
Slater says, "He charges. He rips. He has a bowl cut. And his dad
doesn't let him hang out with other kids unattended. For his age, Jack's
pretty freaky at barrel riding and airs."
Not a bad claim by the Champ for the youngster with a Greenough hairdo and seemingly limitless potential. Jack Robinson grew up on the slabs of Western Australia, looking up to Yadin, Taj and hard-charging Dino Adrian, meaning his ocean-sense appears to come about as naturally as John John Florence's did at 14.
"I surfed with Jack in WA and the kid's the real deal," Grant 'Twiggy' Baker notes. "What stood out most for me was his composure in the lineup and that he was fully in control and getting the best waves."
OK, so it's clear: the kid can surf. But how well?
"He is a very freakish natural talent, especially in the tube, but his air game is also phenomenal," Jack's WA idol, Taj Burrow admits. "He's incredible...I think he'd have to be the best in the world for his age."
After hearing such credible testimony, and witnessing firsthand his uncanny knack for the tube last winter on the North Shore, Surfline decided to wrangle the little Aussie up to our office while Robinson was in town for the U.S. Open and sit him down to dig for more. Here's what he had to say...
Where did you grow up? In Margaret River, West Australia...it's a little town. I've been surfing there for ages. I've seen tons of good waves. But they've all been exposed...everyone knows about them now. It's pretty remote down there.
Yeah, it's like three hours from Perth. That's the biggest city. But it's pretty small still. Do you like that about Margaret's? Yeah, it's good. You don't have to look at so many humans everywhere.
How did you start surfing? I actually learned to surf in Perth when I was really young on my foamie at this little wave behind this small island. So I surfed that for a while and then went on to bigger and bigger waves. I upgraded myself. How old were you on your foamie? About three-and-a-half or four. Yeah, my dad was pushing me in...it was good. So did you go straight to The Box? No way! You'd drown out there. That wave is sketchy. I upgraded to the Rivermouth. I live on the river about four blocks up so I paddle down sometimes. It's a pretty good little wave. What was it like to progress from the Rivermouth to The Box? I started surfing North Point before that. The Ledge, though -- right in the inside at North Point. And then I surfed Gas Bay a little bit. I didn't really like Gas as much when I was younger. I used to surf the beaches more, not the reef. And then I progressed to The Box. I was maybe twelve, I think. It wasn't that big, though. But it's so much easier when it's bigger because you get the roll in. When it's small you can get hurt out there. It goes right on the inside and just clamps. A guy ripped his face off out there not too long ago. Have you had any gnarly wipeouts out there? I've gotten smashed a few times. You do hit the reef. But you don't want to go diving there and see what's down there. Some big sharks live down there, too. Big Brucey, eh? So were you scared the first time you surfed there? It was small, but I was like, "I hope it doesn't get too solid; this place is pretty heavy." The first time I surfed it heavy and everyone was out there like Dino Adrian and all of them. I'd go but I didn't charge too hard. I'd go over the falls and eat it. They'd tell me to go on the wrong ones.
Who are some of the West Oz guys you grew up looking up to? We'd go up to Yallingup a bit when I was younger. I used to surf up there and see Taj surfing Rabbit's. And I surfed with Yadin a lot when I was younger. But he doesn't live there anymore. He's an American now. Who are your favorite surfers?
I don't know...everyone. There's too many to name. Well, Andy had the best style for a while there. And John John is blowing everyone's minds now. Who gets you most psyched when you see them surf? Everyone in the videos. Like Trilogy, Lost Atlas and all that. I do get psyched to surf watching movies, but I get psyched by myself too. I get all worked up...just get frothed up by myself. Where have you traveled around the world to go surfing?
Indo a bit...a few boat trips to the Mentawais. Hawaii, France, Spain. And where else? Reunion Island -- I went there last year. And then California. Oh...Bali. The east coast of Australia. The Goldie. That's about it. Tahiti and Fiji are to come, I reckon. That'd be good. What do you do when you're not surfing?
I go fishing all the time. I got a jetski now so I'll probably go fishing even more. But it'd be scary because there'd probably be so many big fish coming up and bumping it. There are some big ones out there...big Whites. What else do we do? I play ping-pong. Go exploring...have a look around. Where we live, it's good to have a look around because we live in a national park. You're not doing a whole lot of contests right now, but will you eventually have competitive goals? Yeah. I'm just developing my surfing right now. So I'm just getting better and having fun. I'm gonna do more contests coming up. But right now I'm just focusing on my surfing. Focusing on getting better. Who cuts your hair? Oh, my dad always does that. He's good at it. I give him a few little tips and stuff, like how to do the front. Everyone says it's a bowl cut. It's not a bowl cut. It's a half-bowl cut. Have you heard of George Greenough? Yeah. He catches sharks. He used to live in Byron Bay. Isn't he embedded down there, in the pavement, in the Hall of Fame? Yeah. Is that where you got your inspiration? Or you just don't want your hair in your face when you surf? Yeah, I cut it for that reason as well. There are a few reasons. Everyone likes it so I'll just keep it like that. Might as well. Kind of like Dane Gudauskas too. Yeah, the Gudauskas' vibe. Did you see Tanner's haircut in Margaret's? That was a good Gudauskas vibe we had going there. I was part of their clan...their little brother. Onshore or offshore?
Umm...texture. Textured water. Half onshore, half glassy, half offshore. Onshore and offshore are both good at waves like North Point because you can do airs and get barreled. When it's onshore, there are the biggest air sections ever. Where do you think surfing will progress five years from now? Guys will probably be surfing Code Red swells in contests...like Teahupoo last year. But, yeah, they'll probably be doing crazy turns and different grabs and airs. Speaking of Code Red, do you think they should have run the Fiji comp that big day? They probably could have. But I don't think anyone wanted to go out there. That was gnarly. It would have been good to see the contest in that.
You're fourteen? When do you turn fifteen? The 27th of December. What's it like competing against guys that are five, six years older than you? It's way better for your surfing.
Who is your biggest competition? I don't know. It's yet to come.
Anything else people should know about Jack Robinson? I don't know. I think I said me life, didn't I?
Source http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/an-interview-with-surfing%27s-14-year-old-phenom,-jack-robinson-1_77234
Not a bad claim by the Champ for the youngster with a Greenough hairdo and seemingly limitless potential. Jack Robinson grew up on the slabs of Western Australia, looking up to Yadin, Taj and hard-charging Dino Adrian, meaning his ocean-sense appears to come about as naturally as John John Florence's did at 14.
"I surfed with Jack in WA and the kid's the real deal," Grant 'Twiggy' Baker notes. "What stood out most for me was his composure in the lineup and that he was fully in control and getting the best waves."
OK, so it's clear: the kid can surf. But how well?
"He is a very freakish natural talent, especially in the tube, but his air game is also phenomenal," Jack's WA idol, Taj Burrow admits. "He's incredible...I think he'd have to be the best in the world for his age."
After hearing such credible testimony, and witnessing firsthand his uncanny knack for the tube last winter on the North Shore, Surfline decided to wrangle the little Aussie up to our office while Robinson was in town for the U.S. Open and sit him down to dig for more. Here's what he had to say...
Where did you grow up? In Margaret River, West Australia...it's a little town. I've been surfing there for ages. I've seen tons of good waves. But they've all been exposed...everyone knows about them now. It's pretty remote down there.
Yeah, it's like three hours from Perth. That's the biggest city. But it's pretty small still. Do you like that about Margaret's? Yeah, it's good. You don't have to look at so many humans everywhere.
How did you start surfing? I actually learned to surf in Perth when I was really young on my foamie at this little wave behind this small island. So I surfed that for a while and then went on to bigger and bigger waves. I upgraded myself. How old were you on your foamie? About three-and-a-half or four. Yeah, my dad was pushing me in...it was good. So did you go straight to The Box? No way! You'd drown out there. That wave is sketchy. I upgraded to the Rivermouth. I live on the river about four blocks up so I paddle down sometimes. It's a pretty good little wave. What was it like to progress from the Rivermouth to The Box? I started surfing North Point before that. The Ledge, though -- right in the inside at North Point. And then I surfed Gas Bay a little bit. I didn't really like Gas as much when I was younger. I used to surf the beaches more, not the reef. And then I progressed to The Box. I was maybe twelve, I think. It wasn't that big, though. But it's so much easier when it's bigger because you get the roll in. When it's small you can get hurt out there. It goes right on the inside and just clamps. A guy ripped his face off out there not too long ago. Have you had any gnarly wipeouts out there? I've gotten smashed a few times. You do hit the reef. But you don't want to go diving there and see what's down there. Some big sharks live down there, too. Big Brucey, eh? So were you scared the first time you surfed there? It was small, but I was like, "I hope it doesn't get too solid; this place is pretty heavy." The first time I surfed it heavy and everyone was out there like Dino Adrian and all of them. I'd go but I didn't charge too hard. I'd go over the falls and eat it. They'd tell me to go on the wrong ones.
Who are some of the West Oz guys you grew up looking up to? We'd go up to Yallingup a bit when I was younger. I used to surf up there and see Taj surfing Rabbit's. And I surfed with Yadin a lot when I was younger. But he doesn't live there anymore. He's an American now. Who are your favorite surfers?
I don't know...everyone. There's too many to name. Well, Andy had the best style for a while there. And John John is blowing everyone's minds now. Who gets you most psyched when you see them surf? Everyone in the videos. Like Trilogy, Lost Atlas and all that. I do get psyched to surf watching movies, but I get psyched by myself too. I get all worked up...just get frothed up by myself. Where have you traveled around the world to go surfing?
Indo a bit...a few boat trips to the Mentawais. Hawaii, France, Spain. And where else? Reunion Island -- I went there last year. And then California. Oh...Bali. The east coast of Australia. The Goldie. That's about it. Tahiti and Fiji are to come, I reckon. That'd be good. What do you do when you're not surfing?
I go fishing all the time. I got a jetski now so I'll probably go fishing even more. But it'd be scary because there'd probably be so many big fish coming up and bumping it. There are some big ones out there...big Whites. What else do we do? I play ping-pong. Go exploring...have a look around. Where we live, it's good to have a look around because we live in a national park. You're not doing a whole lot of contests right now, but will you eventually have competitive goals? Yeah. I'm just developing my surfing right now. So I'm just getting better and having fun. I'm gonna do more contests coming up. But right now I'm just focusing on my surfing. Focusing on getting better. Who cuts your hair? Oh, my dad always does that. He's good at it. I give him a few little tips and stuff, like how to do the front. Everyone says it's a bowl cut. It's not a bowl cut. It's a half-bowl cut. Have you heard of George Greenough? Yeah. He catches sharks. He used to live in Byron Bay. Isn't he embedded down there, in the pavement, in the Hall of Fame? Yeah. Is that where you got your inspiration? Or you just don't want your hair in your face when you surf? Yeah, I cut it for that reason as well. There are a few reasons. Everyone likes it so I'll just keep it like that. Might as well. Kind of like Dane Gudauskas too. Yeah, the Gudauskas' vibe. Did you see Tanner's haircut in Margaret's? That was a good Gudauskas vibe we had going there. I was part of their clan...their little brother. Onshore or offshore?
Umm...texture. Textured water. Half onshore, half glassy, half offshore. Onshore and offshore are both good at waves like North Point because you can do airs and get barreled. When it's onshore, there are the biggest air sections ever. Where do you think surfing will progress five years from now? Guys will probably be surfing Code Red swells in contests...like Teahupoo last year. But, yeah, they'll probably be doing crazy turns and different grabs and airs. Speaking of Code Red, do you think they should have run the Fiji comp that big day? They probably could have. But I don't think anyone wanted to go out there. That was gnarly. It would have been good to see the contest in that.
You're fourteen? When do you turn fifteen? The 27th of December. What's it like competing against guys that are five, six years older than you? It's way better for your surfing.
Who is your biggest competition? I don't know. It's yet to come.
Anything else people should know about Jack Robinson? I don't know. I think I said me life, didn't I?
Source http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/an-interview-with-surfing%27s-14-year-old-phenom,-jack-robinson-1_77234
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