For those who came in late...
Corky Carroll competed from 1959-1972 and won over 100 Surf Contests,
including Five United States Championships, Three International Titles,
Three International Professional Championships, One Big Wave Inernational
and One World Small Wave Championship.
IS: Hi Corky... Let's first talk about competive surfing. During the '60's
you had a formidable contest record. Did you know that your last contest
would be the final one?
CC: It was during the World Contest in San Diego in 1972 that I decided that
it was time for me to wrap up the competitive period in my career and move
on. The surf was big up the coast but almost flat at Ocean Beach. This was
due to a very southerly swell that misses most of San Diego altogether.
Oceanside was still pretty decent and it is still in San Diego county. But
in those days the dudes that ran the events really didn't give much of a dam
about details such as surf conditions and competitors needs, it was more of
what was convient for them and how they, as organizers, fared that mattered.
I, for one, had major issues with that way of thinking. My semi-final heat
was held in high tide zero to one half foot mushy shore slappers. As I am
sitting there, waiting for maybe one wave that might actually break before it
hit shore, I decided that contests had hit an all time low and that I had been
around too long anyway. I was only 24, yet had been competing since 1959.
That was the last serious contest that I surfed in. Although through the
years I have gone into a few events just for the fun of it, some Longboard
contests and that kind of thing. I went back to Longboards a few years ago
after I figured that I couldn't get any waves in a crowd anymore on my
shortboard. Age sucks, don't ever buy into that "Golden Years" thing, it's a
croc.
IS: Is it true that you sold all your trophies for $1.00 each ? Have you
ever considered training again. Maybe the prize money is there now in
your age group? There seems to be a lot more 'old dudes' events these days.
Maybe an Ice Cream or rocking chair sponsor :-)
CC: No, that is not true. I did sell many of my trophies after they started
to become valuable as collectors items. Most of them went for over $1000 a
piece. A couple of my Duke Contest trophies paid for my daughters private
school one year. I had to consider that her education was a better thing
that some dust collecting momento to my glorious past. And no, I haven't
considered competing seriously again. I haven't heard of any events offering
real prize money for geezers. And, truth be known, I am not of the
competitive nature that I was when I was younger. After passing fifty I sort
of have put it in "cruise" mode. I surf all the time and am having really a
lot of fun. Competitive surfers must be agressive, it is the nature of the
beast. I'm about as agressive as a snail on vacation in the backyard. I am
happy to say that I do retain some sponsorships. That is due to remaining
fairly visible within the sport and in the media. Ya just never know when
it's safe to turn on the tele. I might be there smirking at ya. My younger
pals hate that. But personally I love to see my pretty smile showing up on
the silver screen, it usually means that there is a check in the mail. And for
me, if the check is big enough, that usually means a surf trip to somewhere
warm and uncrowded. Heck, I'll be a media whore if it means a few more
perfect six to eight foot barrels with no one out.
IS: Can you foresee a time when Surf Contests will be possibly judged
online by the
Surfers?
CC: Dude, at my age it isn't wise to foresee anything. Rigormortus and/ or
a walker are all too close at hand. I'd really prefer to live in the
present. And ya know, I don't really care how they judge surf contests
anymore. I do enjoy the bikini events. I like these new butt floss thong
things. When I was a kid if you wanted to check out a babes butt you had to
pull open her bathing suit, these days if you want to check out a babes
bathing suit you have to pull open her butt. It's a good thing.
IS: You were probably the first Surfer to start earning money from Surfing.
Do you think kids today put too much emphasis on competing and finding
their own sponsor, to fully enjoy Surfing?
CC: Well, I'm not sure. Many really do put a lot of energy into that and
for some it pays off nicely. I think the problem is that there are way too
many kids trying to be big time that really don't have a chance at it. It is
a hard call to admit that you really aren't gonna ever be in the top five in
the world. I have always thought, and said, that if people that are
knowledgeable aren't saying that you are gonna be the best by the time you
are eighteen, or at least 20, then you aren't. Get a life and surf for fun.
But, if you really have the talent and are willing to put forth the effort,
and put up with a world of negative stuff that goes along with surfing fame,
there are certainly rewards to be had these days. The life of a successful
pro surfer isn't bad at all. Surf all day, travel, lots of babes. Sign me
up. It is just that the list of "successful" pro surfers is a very short
one. It's not like tennis or golf. In surfing only the very top dudes make
the bucks.
IS: Any thoughts about Surfing being accepted into the Olympic Games?
CC: Hey, if they have syncronized swimming, yachting, lawn bowling, and
curling in the Olympics then why not surfing. The only downer about being in
them is the fact that people might actually start considering surfing a
"real" sport. Is that good or bad? I have always thought of surfing as
something better, and more.
IS: Here at INSIDE SURFIN we really enjoyed your new book 'PIER PRESSURE'
with it's easy to read humourous style. I guess you have enough in your
memory banks to write another one just like it. Is that a possibility?
CC: I just sold the last of the 200 Original "Pier Pressure" manuscripts. I
have been working on the next one for the past few months and it is almost
finished. I just don't have a working title yet. I am going to do the
same format that I did with "Pier Pressure." 200 original manuscripts,
signed, dated and numbered. I hope to have it available by the end of
summer if not sooner. I also have a new CD ready to release. And one of
my older albums "A Surfer for President" is being released in Europe this
month on Taxim records/ Germany.
IS: Well, we look foreward to that one! Most Surfers know you as a
successful contestant. Did you find any of those competive qualities
helpful towards for your present directions of Music and Writing?
CC: I probably wouldn't be me if I hadn't gone through what I went through
earlier in life. Both the good and the bad. But it is hard to say what
influences what. People seem to have this impression that I was some sort of
gnarley competitive monster and that was it. That has been perpetuated in
the surf media in recent years, mostly by dudes that weren't around during my
era. That is true to a degree, and I can't argue that having had the amount
of competitive success that I was lucky enough to have acheived came from a
fair amount of agressive behavior. As I said, that is the nature of the
beast. But, and I think people that truly know me will back me up on this, I
have always felt that I have owned a pretty good sense of humor. Many people
never understood it and didn't know that ninety per cent of the time some off
the cuff remark that I might have made was intented for a laugh and not in
earnest. There have been people in the sport that have taken stuff way to
seriously and haven't allowed themselves the pleasure of seeing the funny
side of stuff. But, what can I say? I have quite a few regrets admittedly,
but all in all I really can't complain. I love my life. I just wish I
didn't have to go around in this beat up old dog eared body. Chicks don't
even dig me anymore.
IS: With so many books written about Surfing over the last thirty years or
so, have any changed or enhanced your perspective of it for the
better/worse? Do you strive for your own writing to be an accurate record
of the '60's?
CC: What is really accurate? My version is so different than say Nat
Young's version that it isn't even close. There are facts and can't be
disputed. I guess that is where competitive results come in. All the rest
is just personal opinion. I like to think that my list of credentials are as
good or better than anybodys from my era, and it is a small source of
pleasure in a dude's "golden years" to have that to look back on. I hope my
kids are proud of me. But as far as the accuracy of all these books goes I
would have to say that probably none of them are all that true. It's all
opinions. And I am the first to say that my views on stuff come directly
from my own experiences. And I am sure mine are different that Nat's or
anybody elses. Heck, in my mind the largest wave I ever rode was somewhere a
little over 800 feet. I can't seem to find anybody to back me up on that one
though. But it's true, it was a monster. Honest.
IS: Having grown up and surfed and worked with some of the founding fathers
of the Surfing Industry like Hobie Alter, Phil Edwards, Mickey Munoz,Bruce
Brown, Mike Doyle, John Severson , it must have given you a great insight
into the growth of the early Surf Industry. Do you still catch up with
them?
CC: Yes, I see or talk to all those dudes from time to time. They are all
way older than me and it makes me feel good to still be younger than
somebody. There is hardly ever a day that I am not the oldest guy in the
water, and here at the Huntington Beach Pier sometimes I am the oldest by
double. It's a rat pack. The dudes you mentioned are all wonderful people
and have made an influence on all of us in one way or another. Severson is
the best scrabble player that I have ever gone up against. He used to stay
up at night studing the dictionary just so he could beat me in our beach
marathons at Cotton's Point. Munoz and Doyle drove me around when I was kid.
IS: Is working the Surf Shop in Huntington Beach the same as Hobie's old
showroom at Dana Point in the mid '60's? Who makes your boards and do you
have a CC design model currently? What are the specs?
CC: Surf shops today have almost nothing in common with the shops of the
50's and most of the 60's. Back then they sold surfboards. When you went in
the Hobie shop you saw Hobie, in the Velzy shop you got Velzy, and so on. It
smelled like resin and you got "glass itch." Today it is about merchandise.
Clothing and stuff that produces profit. Surfboards are not a profit item,
they are way too cheap. Yeah, I know that it doesn't seem that way but it is
true. A board that retails for $600 usually will cost the shop $500. That
is not a good mark up by comparison to everything else. I do have a line of
surfboards out that I design. They are made by Robert August and Surftek. I
have known Robert since the 1800's and trust him to make quality boards that
are true to my designs. I have mid sized through longboard designs. Not
being a shortboarder anymore I don't feel that I have enough first hand day
to day knowledge to design functional short boards anymore. My board quiver
goes from 7"2" to 10' . I have about a dozen boards that I ride depending on
the surf conditions and where I am.
IS: Would you agree that the Net seems have the raw excitement of those
early Surf Mags days? Having left www.surfline.com , what changes if any
are in store at www.hardcloud.com? There are some old faces from SURFER
there from the looks of it. Was it a group decision to form the site with
a particular goal in mind?
CC: My column started in the newspaper, although I did occasionaly write for
SURFER magazine some years ago. SURFLINE approached me, I guess it has been
about four years ago, to run my column on the internet. Sean Collins is a
good friend of mine and I use Surfline daily to check the surf at the pier
before I leave my house in the morning. They ran the same columns that the
newspaper did, except not nearly as edited. I could say "she had great
tits" on the net, but in the paper they would change it to "she had a lovely
figure." I was glad that Sean wanted to run my stuff. I get tons of email
everyday from all over the world and it keeps me entertained. There are
these new Net sites that are, as you say, exciting and raw. It is the new
frontier. Hardcloud.com approached me with an offer that I couldn't refuse
(in my case that isn't much, usually a free lunch or something). So as of
now I am a staff columnist for them. And yeah, lots of my friends from when
I worked for SURFER are there. Jim Kempton being the main reason that I went
with them. He was publisher when I was Advertising Director and I enjoyed
him and his feel for the sport and culture when we worked together before. I
am looking forward to draining my brain over the net with Hardcloud. Ya just
never know what's gonna fall outta there. As long as they let me write what
I feel and not tell me how to do it I think that it could be a longterm deal.
I wanna say what I wanna say, not necessilary what editors and publishers
are always looking for. But, people seem to be amused by my ranting and
raving so I'll ride with that as long as I can. Besides, somebody has to be
around to give a clear and rational look at stuff ya know. I just don't want
to have to be the one.
IS: Do you spend much time online and dabbling in computers ? What sites do
you like to click on when you're relaxing?
CC: I love the computer. I just wish I had a good one. I still have one of
the original steam operated ones. It's a good thing I have a lot of hot air.
I like to check out the nasty babes.
IS: Do you see music as closer to the surf experience than writing.....
after all there was never any Surf writing craze to hit popular culture. Is
any of your own music online in Mp3 yet?
CC: Music is my closest to surfing love. After over 30 years plugging away
at it I am finally being about to put it down the way I feel it. My last CD
is available from CDBaby.com and the one in Europe is available from TAXIM
(not sure of their website address). Older ones are available from Little
Moby Music through my website, CORKYCARROLL.COM. I also play live at DUKES
on the pier in Huntington Beach regularly.
IS: You used to play and record with a back up band in the early '70's.
Can you see yourself dabbling back in that any time soon ? Has digital
technolgy widened your interests into Music recording and maybe the
recording of other Musicians as well? Are you already working on the
next CD after LIQUID MEASURES?
CC: Having learned how to play lots of different instruments and the
advancement in musical technology has allowed me to record a few albums by
myself. That has been interesting and a nice challange. I do have a new CD
after Liquid Measures that is finished but not yet released. I worked with
Chris Darrow on this one. Chris is one of the great musicians around. He
was in my earlier band. He also was a member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
and the Kaleidoscope and played with Linda Rondstat among others. He is the
best "slide" player that I have ever heard. If you listen to Ben Harper at
all you will hear Chris's influence, he pretty much taught Ben how to play.
Anyway, I was lucky to get Chris to work on this new album and also have some
harmonies from Dean Torrance (Jan and Dean/Beachboys). I don't have a title
for the CD yet. I would like to have a small working band again one of these
days, right now I play solo.
IS: Do you get to surf Cotton's Point anymore? What has been your
consistently favourite break in the last few years? Is the water really
getting colder?
CC: A little bit. Mostly I surf Huntington or take an airplane somewhere.
We opened surf schools in Costa Rica and Mexico and I like to go both of
those places. The water was nice during the El Nino, but has been colder
since then. It's the La Nina, she's a cold bitch.
IS: It must be fun and satisfying to introduce new people into the Sport at
your Surf School. In case any readers wish to learn to Surf this summer,
what basic advice would you give them regarding wave understanding and
equipment.
CC: Come to one of our schools. Info is available on my website, or call
(714) 841 0253. Any level, any age. Male or Female prefered.
IS: OK Corky one last question. Politics ? You are a Justice of the Peace.
Is this the beginning of your run for Mayor of Huntington Beach and banning
fishermen altogether?
CC: That's funny. I have no desire to enter politics unless it is as
President of the United States. Or maybe Mexico. I mean really, what we
need is a man with a plank in his hand.
IS: Well Corky, it sounds like the pressure's off. Thanks for talking to
us mate, and good luck in all things....
