Grace, Power and Passion
There aren't a whole lot of modern day surfers that I really follow, there is no real reason for this, other than me not being all that interested in the pro circuit, and haven't been for quite some time. Plus I haven't been paying all that much attention the surf media of late, at least not the outlets that give coverage to the current generation of rippers. So for one reason or another I am a little bit out of tune with what's going on.
But that said, there are a few guys that really get my attention when I see either a still shot, or video footage of them surfing. One such person is Clay Marzo. I first became aware of him when I his surfing a couple of years ago in a short clip that was presented by his then main sponsor, Quiksilver. It featured his rehabilitation after suffering a pretty full on knee injury. Getting back in the water after months, first on a bodyboard and then back on a surfboard, it was clear that he had talent and style in equal measure. In fact I would say that at the time of watching the mini film I hadn't been impressed to that level by surfing in quite some time. His style mixes the most cutting edge of new school moves, with good old fashioned power surfing, and the end result is a combination of massive turns, technical flicks and fully launched airs, many of which are seemingly impossible. Yet he connects them up and consistently pulls off some truly outrageous moves with an incredibly high success rate and truck loads of flair.
I find his surfing absolutely fascinating to watch, because you really do not know what to expect next. But his style is far from eclectic, for he flows from one big move to the next with grace, not to mention heaps of speed and power. I have been following him on Facebook for a while now, and some of the sequences he posts are mind blowing.
While he surfed professionally for a short while, the challenges as presented by his Asperger’s Syndrome meant that this world wasn't a particularly good fit for him. So instead he is a soul surfer, in the truest sense of the term, a role model of the highest order and an absolute inspiration to anyone who faces similar life challenges. He really does have an absolute passion for surfing, added to which he comes across as being an all round decent human being, something that goes an awful long way in my book. Anyway, here are a few shots of him, and www.claymarzo.com will tell you more about this truly inspirational surfer.
But that said, there are a few guys that really get my attention when I see either a still shot, or video footage of them surfing. One such person is Clay Marzo. I first became aware of him when I his surfing a couple of years ago in a short clip that was presented by his then main sponsor, Quiksilver. It featured his rehabilitation after suffering a pretty full on knee injury. Getting back in the water after months, first on a bodyboard and then back on a surfboard, it was clear that he had talent and style in equal measure. In fact I would say that at the time of watching the mini film I hadn't been impressed to that level by surfing in quite some time. His style mixes the most cutting edge of new school moves, with good old fashioned power surfing, and the end result is a combination of massive turns, technical flicks and fully launched airs, many of which are seemingly impossible. Yet he connects them up and consistently pulls off some truly outrageous moves with an incredibly high success rate and truck loads of flair.
I find his surfing absolutely fascinating to watch, because you really do not know what to expect next. But his style is far from eclectic, for he flows from one big move to the next with grace, not to mention heaps of speed and power. I have been following him on Facebook for a while now, and some of the sequences he posts are mind blowing.
While he surfed professionally for a short while, the challenges as presented by his Asperger’s Syndrome meant that this world wasn't a particularly good fit for him. So instead he is a soul surfer, in the truest sense of the term, a role model of the highest order and an absolute inspiration to anyone who faces similar life challenges. He really does have an absolute passion for surfing, added to which he comes across as being an all round decent human being, something that goes an awful long way in my book. Anyway, here are a few shots of him, and www.claymarzo.com will tell you more about this truly inspirational surfer.
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Sequence as featured on Facebook.
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Fun Clayback, again from Facebook.
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