"Conversations: Bobby Owens," by Drew Kampion, ran in the April 1981 issue of Surfing magazine, when Owens was 23. This version has been slighted edited and shortened.

So you won the Pro Class Trials! That was pretty nice.

We started off with four- to five-foot Sunset Point, which was real shifty. Then the next day it was switched over to Haleiwa—maxed out Haleiwa! It was the biggest surf that you could possibly ride there; in fact, it was just barely contestable, it was so gnarly! And that was unfortunate for a lot of the newcomers because they weren't capable of dealing with that situation. But the guys who'd been around for a while were. Then the next day at Sunset it had cleaned up and it was down to eight feet and just perfect performance waves. Just what you'd like to have for a final.

All six-man heats. There're so many people in the Trials that it's not feasible to run man-on-man.

How does a surfer get into the Pro Class Trials? Can anybody enter it?

This year I think we had 114 contestants and, as far as I know, anybody can enter it.

So only the top 16 IPS surfers get seeded into the main IPS events; all surfers rated 17th and below have to enter the Trials to qualify, right?

Right. Last year I had invites to all the major contests, whereas this year my rating was down so I had to go through the Trials.

Well, it was fair. I mean, you have to draw a line, and if I don't cut it, that's my fault.

Did you enter the Trials in Australia too?

Yep. I went through the Trials there too. I went over for two contests, and I bombed out in both Trials, so it was really a bad start to my year. So basically l didn't complete the leg in Australia, I didn't get any points at all. In fact, I was kind of disillusioned after not making it through the Trials, and had some things to consider.

I came back to Hawaii and surfed the rest of spring out at Sunset, and just stoked myself back up again.

You said you had some other things to consider. Like what?

Economics, basically. I was at a point where I was considering my progress in surfing, other responsibilities in my life, and at that point I just didn't feel like I was moving forward. And maybe there was a little bit of a luck factor, but it was probably mostly on my part. Australia made me think I could have been more flamboyant in my surfing, but I wasn't, and that's really hard for me—to be more flamboyant than I am.

Do you mean more flamboyant in your surfing style, or . . . .

This year that I've become involved with Lightning Bolt, and Bill Barnfield is my new shaper.

Yeah, I mean, like I said, last year I was at a real critical point to where I was going: "Wow, is this really worthwhile?" I felt like I just wasn't goin' anywhere—in fact, I may have been going backwards. And just about the time I was ready to make my final decision, Bolt came along, and—God! My spirits have just been so much better, you know? I've got this entirely new feeling, an entirely new support team behind me. And it's lifted me back up to a whole other level!

What's the reaction at Bolt to Gerry Lopez no longer being involved with the company? It seems like the whole thing really grew out of Gerry, as far as the public could tell.

I don't know enough about it to really elaborate on that.

You said before that you weren't that flamboyant enough last year. Have you become more flamboyant this year? I notice that you have a 320i parked out front.

When I said flamboyant, I definitely wasn't referring to my image outside of the water. That's an entirely different thing. I don't think too many things affect me as far as my image outside of the water. But when it comes to surfing, that's something I've really tried hard to improve on. I think my boards this year have added something to the way I look on a wave.

How have Bill's boards made you look different?

I think I look more positive on a wave now. Iggy's boards [shaper Harold Iggy; Owens' former shaper] were so sensitive that I was doing a lot of S-tums down the face, a lot of minor turns to actually slow the board down to do a more positive turn. Whereas now I think I'm concentrating on major turns. And just in general, when you go to a different shaper, it's just an entirely new feeling. At the moment, that's the best thing that could've happened to my surfing.

So you've gone towards fewer maneuvers and more power in the one's you do?

Yeah, that's pretty accurate. You just put your head in a different place and try out new things, or you risk getting stagnant. Bamfield's just a full of knowledge and progressive ideas, and yet has enough flexibility to where my references really count too, so it's all workin' out really good.

A lot of people are going to Barnfield this year; he seems to be the shaper of the hour.

It's been overdue, y'know? Bill's been hanging in there for a real long time and constantly making good boards, but he's just been sort of behind the scenes. Now that he's got some hot guys riding his boards, you're gonna see him more out front.

When Bill shapes for you, does he shape differently than he shapes for somebody else?

Sure. I work with Bill close enough to where my boards are a little different from, say, the ones he makes for Shaun, or Margo, or Buzzy. On the other hand, Bill's style of shaping is always in there and it's obvious in all the boards you see shaped by him, no matter who the rider is.

My range starts from 6'4" and goes right on up to 7' 8". I'll get some full guns for next year so I'll be totally prepared for the big wave situations. Right now I'm riding rounded pins exclusively for contest situations.

On another subject: you received a lot of exposure in the magazines, largely because of photos taken by Bob Barbour, and I've heard it said that Bobby Owens is a media hype. However, the win in the Pro Class Trials seems to have given you a shot of credibility at a point where you already have had quite a bit of exposure. What do you think about the fact that you have a close relationship with a photographer that gets a lot of pictures of you into the magazines?

It's a real sensitive thing, and one that I think about a lot. And you're very right about me needing the credibility, in terms of the contest results. But for one reason or other, due to my part or due to the luck factor—but mainly my part—I just haven't yet come up with the results.

Do you feel there's a lot of jealousy among pro surfers, in terms of who gets the shots and the media coverage?

Sure. There are jealousies and all the emotions that you could possibly dream of. I try not to get too involved with other people's drama. That just detracts from your own concentration and your overall direction. There are so many petty things that go on that I just can't be bothered with. And I'm sure I have my own, too, but I try not to throw them on everybody else, y'know? That's just never been my style. But yeah, all that stuff goes on like it goes on in any other sport. On the other hand, overall I'd say that everybody's pretty good about staying in line. I'm surprised we all get along as well as we do! But I think as you see the sport progress and more money comes into it, the stakes are higher, I think you're gonna see those emotions and jealousies escalate along with the progress.

Yeah, I know. Stuff like that is good for the sport because it stirs up controversy and interest. As long as it doesn't get out of hand.

What do you think is the main thing that's holding professional surfing back right now?

I think the biggest thing that could pull this sport through is putting it into the hands of a big management firm or PR company. We just don't have the expertise to do it on our own. We need a company that has the ties and media connections to pull surfing out of the hole. The sport should be so much bigger. It has so much appeal.

How'd you do in the Pipeline Masters this year?

I made it to the semis and got grinded like everybody else.

It was so gnarly out there! I heard people say the contest shouldn't have been held in those conditions; it was just too dangerous. Should there be limitations as to how much is too much? And on the other end of the spectrum, is one-foot mush too little?

I agree totally. Where are our standards? Where do we draw the line between safety and entertainment? We gotta draw that line because that Masters day was out of control and I'm really surprised nobody got seriously hurt. In that situation, we should all get together on the beach, all the competitors, and say “We don't care for whom or for what, our health is in danger right now and we're not going out." That line just has to be drawn, and until it is we're constantly gonna be just run over. Like, I almost got really hurt that day and that would've wrecked my chances for the rest of the year. Or worse.

How about on the other end of the spectrum? Should there be a bottom-end limo on slop as well?

There should be, yeah, but because of time restraints, I think we've just got to realize that most contests are gonna be held in junk waves. And I think the only way that we can expect to do well in those sorts of conditions is to have the right type of equipment. But I would much rather not see surf contests held in one-foot mush because there's no performance. The wave quality has to be there to really perform to a standard that's appealing for everybody on the beach and everybody watching on TV. That's how you can sell the sport and help market the sport.

No, and it's really a shame because when the surf is poor the whole package looks really boring.

[Photos: Darrell Jones, Craig Fineman, Jeff Divine]

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