Thomas Robinson Interview
Contrary to socio-theories, Thomas Robinson is a “mans-man”. So muscle, he was quick to throw down some testosterone when Feed quizzed him on his recent ‘bowl-cut’.
“Real men don’t talk about their hair”, Thomas says.
Fair call…and one I can’t hit back on.
See what else Tom had to say, when we nailed some questions with him this week:
BBF: Where have your travels taken you to this year?
TR: This year I haven’t left the east-side of Australia besides Hawaii at the start and two little roadies down to sth aus. Hopefully i may venture far sometime soon.
BBF: I hear you’ve been spending a fair amount of time with the I AM NONE
posse since the sponsorship. Can you tell us a bit about that?
TR: Yeah, i guess i have but they are just my friends really…so it’s just hanging out and surfing more than anything sponsor wise. we are making a groovy film though for christmas called T H R A S H.
BBF: In terms of free-riding, do you feel you’re sitting comfortably at the
moment?
TR: talk is cheep, wait for T H R A S H.
BBF: Where will the winter season take you to in ’08?
TR: Hopefully all over the Sth Coast of New South Wales and over to West Aus, and maybe overseas to some exotic location.
BBF: What do you think of your Science signature boards?
TR: I love them, which i should because i designed them. I ride a 41.5 stock board usually pe but if the waves are small i ride pp.
BBF: Who are the main guys you’re surfing with nowadays?
TR: ”Bigg-daddy-toots” Dave Fox, Ryan Mattic, some scaffolder named Mitch or Cooger or something, Alex Bunting and the newest bodyboarding celebrity, James “Cootdog” Kaley.
BBF: Are you focusing on the competitive side of things this year? Island Challenge for example?
TR: I will do the Island trials just to try to get on the Island comp, but besides the Black Rock bodyboard club i won’t be.
BBF: There seems to be a lot of writing-off on your Myspace of your new
“image”, courtesy of the Sunny Coast crew. Is this a bit of fun on their
part, or are they as serious as the hardcore bands they worship? (Ed: I think he misunderstood this Q)
TR: i dont know what they’re doing up there: Jono works at Inverted to fund his rock-n-roll band and i
think Kenny is still filming/distributing BLEEP oh and i think cade mispelt him because he was getting a 4551 tattoo at the time.
[photo's courtesy of tomspace]
Max Arent-Highfield Interview
Max Arent-Highfield is a young (only 19 years old) professional Bodyboarder who resides in Avalon – Sydney’s Northern Suburb hotspot for surfing talent. He was first sponsored at 15, when he won a BSC (Bodyboarders Surf Co.) competition to unearth talented Sydney Bodyboarders. He has been mentored by 2x Bodyboarding World Champion Ben Player since he could swim, and has received more exposure in Bodyboarding magazines and films than any other rider of his age.
2008 holds many ventures for this level-headed not-really-a-kid-anymore kid: Leaving his teens (he turns twenty this year), travelling to exotic destinations, competing for a spot in the IBA top 16 and holding down some big-name sponsors. Fin Caught up with Max to see what else this olympic year holds for him.
Where do you stand in terms of Bodyboarding at the moment?
Max: I just received some new all black stealth looking boards from Mez (NMD head shaper, Nick Mezritz), so I’m pretty excited right now to be surfing as much as I can and work in those boards for the upcoming winter months.
Are NMD (bodyboarding company) still supporting you well?
Max: Yeah. We’re about to go on a team trip to Bali for a couple of weeks, and they’re covering the trip.
Are there any plans for a signature board in the near future?
Max: At the moment I’m kind of holding out. It’s not really worth putting something out there right now. If it doesn’t sell right away then I’m in jeopardy of ruining my name, and the company’s label as well.
So we are just going to wait for the right time and hype before releasing the model.
You received a sponsorship from Sun Zapper (worldwide zinc and sunscreen distributors) not long ago. What does that entail?
Max: I am on a small salary. The best thing about riding for Sun Zapper, though, is receiving free product, which is an essential for any ocean dweller out there. They’ve also guaranteedMOVEMENT (National Bodyboarding Magazine) a full-page ad per issue for the year, which increases exposure for me and helps out with my other sponsors (Plastic People, NMD,Boogerking) as I have a better chance of bigger deals with them from the promotional of these adverts.
Any Pinnacle Shenanigans of the Hellfire Tour stem to mind? (Plastic People tour which took their team riders from QLD to the South Coast of NSW to promote the company in stores).
Max: Anthony Savoji (Californian bodyboarder) got arrested for urinating in public. It just so happened that he was in front of a police station at the time.
Andre Botha (South African Ex World Champion) broke his arm in the first couple of days whilst drunk off rum, doing art and paintwork junk. This put him out for the rest of the whole thing, which wasn’t a great opening to the tour. That aside the whole tour was about creating a buzz around Plastic and I think promos, surfing, and warehouse party definately did that.
What are your plans for the remainder of the year?
Max: I’m going to Bali for the next couple of weeks. On return I’m staying around home for the Australian winter, and hopefully the surf will be as good as last year. I want to head overseas around September depending on my financial situations, maybe to somewhere around South America. Hoping to visit Chucky (Plastic People founder, Chuck Guarino) in New York, then head over to Europe and hopefully score there. In terms of my competitive bodyboarding, I’m going to set myself down for every Australian Tour Event that I can. I’m also going to try for the Shark Island trials and tie in my travels with some international comps including the Canary Islands Event.
For those of you who missed the NOISE profile in the last issue of MOVEMENT, here’s a (very) shortened Q&A for you to divulge:
Fourteen year-old Caesar Petroni from Mexico is a name currently being whispered within bodyboarding’s elite circles. He’s one of the fortunate few to create his own identity from the Puerto slums he was raised – a place where most futures are paved by statistics.
(Please note that Caesar Petroni was interviewed via email and translated due to his geographical status and the language barrier we faced. I also understand that this is not a profile of a local bodyboarders, but it was too interesting to withhold. I have done two local profiles on the blog if you search around).
How Many Years have you been riding?
I have been in the water since I was one year old. So I guess I have (spent) 13 years in the water.
What do you think about school versus surfing?
Surfing its fine, but school its also very important. I learn a lot in school, which helps me in my daily life and I know it will be good for my future in order to be able to work when I’m older.
Do you see your father as a mentor in your surfing? Does he help you in your bodyboarding?
All my life! Without him I would’ve never learnt how to surf. He shows me videos and we study the riders style, (He) also takes me to surf very early every morning. (We are) always training and he also shoots video of me every time I have a session so we can go back home and see how I did.
Is there anywhere you want to travel to for surfing?
I would love to go to Indo (Indonesia), because I know they have lots of different waves and I know its would be good for my riding style. I would love to go to Pipeline North Shore, Hawaii) as well to get in the crowds and become a stronger better bodyboarder.
Would you prefer to freeride or compete on the tour?
I would love to do both. Freeriding is really good because you get paid to have fun, but comps always test your limits and make you reach a higher level. I really want to get to the top ten in the world. But I have to compete in order to get to that point.
What’s your opinion on the Mexican style of bodyboarding?
I think level in Mex (Mexico) is getting better and better. We have big waves very often so it’s easy to learn how to go big on the moves.
Is there a big future for bodyboarding in Mexico?
I think Mexican bboarders are really good and they could be better, but there’s a single big problem: there’s no economical support for us. Therefore its tough to travel and follow the tour.
