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Pancho Sullivan : The Interview
Makai Magazine caught up with Pancho Sullivan a few days after the Triple Crown wrapped at Pipeline, making good on a promise made at Hale'iwa before he took out the Op Pro and sewed up a spot on this year's World Championship Tour. Relaxed and in good spirits, Pancho was taking a break from surfing to spend time with his family and get organized for the WCT.
At 32, Pancho holds the record for the WCT's oldest first-time qualifier, but all his experience in heavy situations is sure to be a plus. With contests at places like Tavarua, Teahupo'o, Jeffrey's Bay, Mundaka and Pipeline, no one on the CT can be looking forward to heats with Pancho. He's been one of Hawai'i's stand-out free surfers since he was a teenager and he's won at Hale'iwa, Sunset and Pipeline, and it's only a matter of time before he wins a Triple Crown. He can rip in other countries, too. He has seconds in heavy barrels at Tavarua and Teahupo'o, and his record on the Qualifying Series shows he can do the beach break thing.
Pancho Sullivan is a champion and a gentleman, and he is going to do Hawai'i proud as he travels the world.
After winning the OP at Hale'iwa and sewing up a spot on the WCT, you said that you were focusing on the Triple Crown and weren't thinking about that yet. Has that changed now?
Now that the year's over, all of a sudden I'm changing gears and starting to map out next year. I'm really stoked to get the opportunity to represent Hawai'i. I want to do as best as I can and the wheels are already turning on how I can maximize this opportunity. I'm already working on my boards and starting to line up my travel arrangements. I want to get everything done in advance so I can focus on being in good shape and being able to spend more time with my family.
Every year there's a shuffle on the CT, but as far as Hawai'i goes, next year there's going to be a major change.
With Sunny and Kalani retiring, that's going to leave Andy, Bruce and Fred, and Roy Powers qualified, as well. So two guys retired and dropped off, but two guys are coming in to give us a little more representation. Hopefully, that will inspire some of the other Hawai'i guys doing the QS to keep plugging away and eventually we can get more representation on the CT.
Was qualifying for the CT a goal this year?
I was actually going to give it a go last year, but my wife and I were expecting a baby and that wasn't going to happen. But I kept that fire burning and started the year with a win at Pipe and that was good building block for QS points. I just went out and surfed in every five- and six-star event that I could get to and just chipped away. I got enough points coming into Hawai'i to give myself an outside chance.
About ten years ago, you wrote off the qualifying events because they were in such bad surf and you concentrated on surfing at home. Did the change in venues at the CT level change your mind?
That's been a huge motivating factor in my decision to go out and do it. And having a child definitely changed my perspective in wanting to seize opportunities I've been blessed with, to be able to do what I love to do. I didn't want to look back and go, “Oh I could have done this, but I didn't have a good attitude.”
But obviously the QS isn't very comparable to the CT in terms of wave quality. That was something that didn't make sense to me, that the (Association of Surfing Professionals) was promoting surfing in sub-par conditions, and rewarding people for that by placing them on the CT in quality wave conditions. But I decided that until I'm in a position to get involved politically and make changes, there's no sense in complaining about it. I felt confident that I had enough ability to persevere and get the results that I needed to surf in events that offer better waves.
Obviously with J-Bay and Tavarua, and Teahupo'o, that's like a free-surfing tour in my opinion. That's like a dream.
Is there anywhere on the CT that you haven't surfed yet?
J-Bay and Japan. Those two spots. I'm excited to surf all the spots, but I'm especially excited to go to J-Bay. That wave looks amazing. To get the chance to go surf it for the first time and then to surf it with one other guy in the water, it's kind of unbelievable.
So as part of your preparation you're working on boards with Jeff Bushman. You must be pretty confident about that. He's able to do such a wide range of designs.
He's such an incredible shaper and person. We're able to really fine-tune my boards specifically for different types of waves. His shaping is constantly evolving, just like my approach to how I want to surf. We're both striving to better what we're doing and that gives me a tremendous amount of confidence, knowing that I have somebody helping me to reach my full potential. He's a surfer that's traveled all over, too, so he's familiar with a lot of the breaks. We're going to work on boards that are really specific to each break.
What motivates you?
My love for the ocean, my respect for the ocean and Mother Nature. Just the visual stimulation and the energy you feel when you're out there. I just really enjoy being in the water and surrounded by Mother Nature. It's just very relaxing and energizing and cleansing.
And is there anything you'd like to say to the readers of Makai Magazine?
Continue to love life and surf with Aloha.