Wayne Bartholomew interviewed 24-year-old pro surfer Bryce Ellis for the January 1990 issue of Australia's Surfing Life magazine.

When did you start getting involved in surfing competition?

When I was about 10 years, in the Avoca Boardriders.

In those days you were pretty much into football as well.

Why did you stop? Were the guys too big or were there some other problems?

It was because of kidney problems. I was born with a kidney defect and I had to have a major operation when I was 12, and contact sports weren’t part of the program from then on.

Was surfing supposed to be on the program?

Actually, no. I was advised not to do much surfing, but all my friends were footballers, and I just had to do something else.

At what age did you begin an amateur career?

I started in the schoolboys at about 14.

I never did any good until I won the Pro Junior trials

So even when you were 18 you weren't really grooming yourself for a career in professional surfing.

No, I just wanted to be a good surfer, that's all.

That all changed in 1982 when you came out of nowhere and got some pretty amazing results.

That was the year I won the New South Wales Junior Titles and the Australian Titles, then flew out for the World Titles and won that as well.

What kind of competition were you up against? Who were the hot guys?

Damien Hardman, although he was a little bit younger, and Gary Elkerton of course. They were the two main guys.

That was the Australian side. What about the World Titles?

Tom Curren was really good, and so was Chris Frohoff.

Tom Curren won the World Amateur crown in the Open division, but he also competed in the Juniors, and you made headlines by defeating him for that title. Then it seems like we didn't hear from you for a year or so. What happened to you?

Well, I did some plumbing! I passed my exams, got my plumbers license.

Yes. Surfing a lot, and trying to learn more about boards. I wanted to compete more but needed to learn a little bit about the whole thing.

You had a good opportunity to see a lot of the best surfing in Australia because Avoca was a bit of a hotbed at the time. A lot of great surfers were showing up there. What was going on in Avoca during those years?

Well, the McCoy Surfboards factory was in was located there, so you'd see guys like Cheyne Horan, Mark Warren, Larry Blair, Ron Ford, all passing through on their way to get new boards. Some of the sessions you’d witness after school were as good as anything you'd see anywhere in the world.

How did the decision come about to become a professional surfer and when did you first go on the Tour?

After I won the World Junior Title it opened up an opportunity to go on the Tour, but I didn’t feel I was ready for it. So I thought I might make the next World Titles, but I didn’t make the '84 Australia team. That was pretty disappointing. At that point, almost immediately, I turned pro, jumped on a plane, and was on the Tour in South Africa.

I made it through every trials event except for one, and ended up at #19. I was named rookie of the year.

After that, you were ranked in the mid-20s for a few years. Was there a time when you thought you wouldn’t be able to get into the top 16?

No, I always figured I'd bloom late. I think you reach your peak at around 27 or 28.

That’s interesting because during the time that you’ve been on tour, you've seen a lot of people come and go. You've seen people come up at a really young age, have phenomenal success early, then just peter out. Do you see yourself in those early years as doing something like an apprenticeship?

Yes, I always wanted to create a solid grounding, a solid base, and do a fly-by-night thing. And that's what I've done.

Last year [1988] you finally broke into the top 16.

Yes, I'd had enough of being in the back 14. It was my fifth season on tour. To me, it felt like the make-or-break year. I got a manager, did some really good training, and worked with a sports psychologist.

The first half of the season [1989] is over now and you're sitting at #8. Do you think there's a real possibility that you could give the world title a shake?

I'd like to move up. Yes, I'd like to give the title a solid run, but mostly I just concentrate on surfing and getting better.

Is there a financial incentive for you to improve your rating?

I don’t look at it on the financial side. If you start doing something for the money you'll screw up. I do it for the sport. I like to compete. I'd still be doing the circuit if there was no money at all.

I recall that during your early years on tour you used to travel on a pretty tight budget. Has this changed?

I live comfortably but not excessively, no matter what I made I could not live excessively as it is not my nature.

Are there still guys that you are fearful of competing against? And by the same token are there guys that you feel on top of now?

The standard of surfing is just unbelievable, and to be honest I'm fearful of everyone. I have not had an easy heat all year, not even come close to an easy one. There are guys that are harder to beat than others, but you have to be on in every single heat, you've got to perform on every wave.

Todd Holland, Richie Collins, Marty Thomas and Sunny Garcia have all broken into the Top 16. Do you find yourself looking over your shoulder at them, or do you just concentrate on your own efforts?

I concentrate on my own efforts. That said, if I see a guy doing something a bit different, I try and work out what it is, and if there's something there I can learn from. I'm never close-minded.

Lots of things. Lendl versus Becker. Mike Tyson. All of it, just watching different sports, anything can inspire me to do better.

For one thing, I really look after myself. I'm careful about eating and sleeping, and I handle the travel really well. I always want to make sure I'm giving it my best. I don't want to get to the end of my career and ask myself, "What if?" or "Could I have done more?"

What kinds of things bother you about being a professional athlete?

The thing that gets me down is that you're being constantly scrutinized and having so many opinions being thrown at you. If you listen to all them you’ll go crazy, you'll lose it! That’s why I try to divorce myself from what people say. I also think there is a lot more to life than professional surfing. It’s great, I love to do it, it’s my whole life at the moment. But to some degree I think it's important to view pro surfing as simply a way of seeing the world. There's more to life than riding waves.

Does it feel special being a surfer? Do you think that you've got a rich life?

I just feel really fortunate. And whenever I'm having any doubts about what I'm doing, I just picture myself working in the steelworks. I did enough plumbing before I turned pro to know how hard manual labor is. So I try and never forget how lucky I am.

Subscribe or Login

Encyclopedia of Surfing

History of Surfing

Interviews

Features

Videos