Chris Carter interviewed Greg Mungall for the November 1981 issue of Surfing magazine. Mungall was 25 years old.

Not really. I've just been working a lot. I've been surfing the contests, though. Three in the last month. Got a second, a third and a fourth. Three-sixties keep beating me. I gotta learn how to do those things. It's kind of a killer. There was this one wave in the Rancho Cota contest where Byron Wong scored 19 points by doing two 360s. It's just really poor that they score those waves that high. Just for loops. I saw the wave. I was inside and I thought one loop was neat, but the rest of the wave he really didn't smack the top and he really didn't smack the bottom. But he's an unreal surfer. Real good.

How were the waves for that Rancho Cota event? [Held at K38 in Baja in June.]

It was good. I've never seen K38 break all the way from the outside into the bay where you could kick out on the beach. Never seen it that good. It was probably, if you put it on a 1-to-10 rating for a contest, surf-wise, I would say it was an eight or nine. We had waves the whole time.

I heard some complaints about the judging. Body Glove sent us a petition signed by all their team riders saying they wouldn't support another event run like this again.

The Body Glove guys pulled out because a lot of the judges were drinking. But it's something, though, that we've got to overlook, cause . . . we need to show people that the professionals will come out. So down there at Rancho Cota there were about 150 surfers. All your name guys. You've got Sarlo, Benevidez, Barela, Peter Townend. All the guys that weren't overseas were there. Completely. Hollingsworth was there. Joey Buran, David Barr was there. David got disqualified for taking off after his heat, which was really dumb, 'cause I thought he was the guy to beat. So I think it's the start of finally somebody realizing that we can support a full pro circuit in California.

Yeah, the East Coast has already done it. That's where I came from.

It used to be called the EPS, Eastern Professional Surfers. You got the Florida Pro, which is $10,000. The one in South Carolina is worth $5,000 I think. I think they've got eight contests that are each worth $3,000-plus down there. And the best thing is they have a points system for all those contests. Whereas here nobody gets any points. If they come up with a points system and all the contests here used it, like the Redondo contest and the Stubbies and the Katin . . . if they took all those and used that system, then we'd have something. We could have a circuit. It'd be really easy to do.

You could come up with a California champion.

That's it. You get a champion, and that's where you're going to get your sponsorships. Another thing, it's really good to have these contests as pro-ams. Some of the best surfers here right now are your amateurs, just because they surf so many contests. The kids, they surf a contest every weekend. It's incredible. You just improve so fast that way.

Probably your top guy right now is Joey Buran, and two heavy up-and-coming ones are Davey Smith, who has been around for a long time, he's going to be unreal at the Stubbies this year. And then Bud Llamas. Two powerful surfers. And you've always got Mike Benavidez and Chris Barela to watch out for.

What happened to you in the Stubbies California Trials?

Oh man. I caught a 26-hour flight back from Brazil, which is only supposed to take 11 hours. I flew in about nine at night, got to sleep, had an ear infection and strep throat, and I didn't know it, but I had hepatitis. So I drove to the contest that day and I surfed through it and just had no strength. I was rollin' in the sand, my head was killing me. I took three aspirin after every heat. I couldn't warm up. The morning after the awards ceremonies I woke up with yellow eyes. It took three months to rebuild myself. Partially. I still relapse when I do anything really strenuous. It's the worst health thing I've ever coped with. Just when you think you're over it, it comes back.

What do you think about the Katin contest?

The most unreal contest in the United States is the Katin. I love it. It's the best contest there is.

Does that have anything to do with the fact that you won it in '79?

Nah, I'm just intrigued with it because of Nancy Katin. She's an unreal lady. She puts out all that money and there's no other company out here that does that. Nancy doesn't sponsor nobody, but she comes out with $5,000 out of her own pocket. She pays for everything. There's no profit. It's the best contest I think there is.

What do you think about California having its first world tour contest this year, at Malibu?

Can't wait. It's gonna be great. It's gonna be IPS-rated, which means a lot of kids are gonna be trying to get in there, and the trials are just going to be insane. Especially for Malibu. It's such an unreal wave. I've only surfed it twice, but I love it. The first time I was there I saw Sarlo run some kid right over. I mean, I saw Alan Sarlo go off the top, off the bottom, off the top, off the bottom and some jerk takes off in front of him and Sarlo came off the top as the kid was dropping in and ran him right over. Never even stopped. (Laughs) And I just went, "Fuck, who 

Yeah. Real good. Y'know, we joke around. We've had wiggle contests, off the lip contests. Sarlo's really big, and I call myself a mini-Sarlo. He's the Hulk and I'm the Mini-Hulk.

Oh, man, no way. He's like four inches bigger in the chest and three inches bigger in the legs (laughs). He's great. He's so funny. I roomed with him in South Africa.

Are you riding three-finned boards these days?

Y'know, the first time I saw one of the new tri-fins was on top of your car as you passed me on the San Diego Freeway going about 85.

(Laughs) I rode one for three weeks, four weeks. Totally got off my twin-fins. For me, they don't work. My twin-fins are faster for California surf. Now when you get to places that are more hollow, say like Salt Creek on a hollow day, or on a bigger day when you don't want to go out in the flats like you do with a twin fin, then the things work. I've seen Simon ride 'em and they work unreal. But for most waves I've ridden in California, like Trestles or where the contests are held, I'll stick to my twins. Tri-fins, it's just that when you do a cutback they bank off the whitewater and slow up. There is a definite style to riding them.

What kind of style would you say it takes?

You gotta stand on the tail. If you've ever seen Simon surf, it's just all power. You put your foot down and you look where you're going. I've ridden 'em at Swami's when it's pitching and you've got 20 guys wanting to take off and only three make it—that's when tri-fins work, because you can take off so late, so far behind everybody, because you got that fin hangin' back there on the tail. They're unreal for big waves. Right off the bottom and up into the pocket. But how often is it like that here?

Getting back to the Katin, I watched that whole contest in '79. In fact a friend and I filmed the whole thing, and I had no idea who you were prior to your win. All I remember was seeing this guy out at Huntington in the dead of winter without a wetsuit and he was ripping. Was that win at the Katin what launched you into the professional limelight?

That was the second time. I won the Florida Pro in '76. The first professional contest I entered. That one had Crawford, Purpus, Tabeling and Pat Mulhern. And David Balzerack, who was known in Hawaii and stuff, he took second. So that was actually my intro. And I was supposedly going to go to Australia, but I decided to go to Japan instead, because so many people told me how hot the Aussies were. So I got kinda scared I guess, and decided to go to Japan, where I had great fun. I wish I would have gone to Australia now, 'cause I went there this year and the surfing was incredible.

 magazine it looks like they really took a liking to you. Named you "Icepick" didn't they?

Yeah, I had a good time and got a lot of respect. Made a lot of friends, too. They want me to come back and I want to go back.

I'd worked my brains out before leaving, but when I got there things just happened to click. I got through the trials and into the main event at Bells. I had to surf against Cheyne and lost by three points, which is just about a point a wave.

In the Coke I won two or three heats, then lost in the next one due to a small stipulation. But there's always that. You can say that was the reason, but it's just the breaks.

We could sit here all day and go over close calls.

Easily (laughs). But the Australians are unreal surfers. I've got a good friend named "Spit the Winkle" Mark Scott over there.

(Laughs) His nickname's Goober, but his real name's Mark Scott, and he does this insane thing called "Spit the Winkle." I won't even say what it is (laughs).

Oh yeah, I've heard about that. Does it have to do with a certain part of his anatomy and a garden hose?

Did you actually surf Bells without a wetsuit?

Good ol' psychological trip, yes. It works. The only time I put it on was during that Expression Session. And I wasn't much expressing myself in 15-foot surf (laughs). I was the only one from California invited, and I was going "Send somebody else out." 'Cause I don't surf big waves, and I'm not afraid to say it. Ian Cairns and them, they helped me out, they showed me where to go out and stuff. And I learned a whole new respect. That's why I want to go to Hawaii this year. I didn't go last year cause of the hepatitis. But I got a whole new taste for bigger surf. I'm gonna try this year. If I do good, I do good. If I do bad, what the hell.

Why don't you wear a wetsuit when it's freezing cold?

It's a psychological thing. Mind over matter. There are times when wetsuits are definitely necessary. I do wear 'em. But in competition the most I'll ever use is a vest. It gives me an edge. Paddling, swimming, movement, no restrictions. My boards are so much smaller than everybody else's, for my weight, that any additional weight on my body is just a psychological disadvantage.

So do you actually do get cold out there? It's not like you're immune to the cold or anything?

Oh yeah, I get cold. But sometimes it does feel like I'm immune to it because I get so psyched up when everybody else 

 to wear them. I've had people in fullsuits get cold just by looking at me. I enjoy it (laughs). They can't figure it out. They don't understand how I can do it. I don't understand either, really. I guess it's because I hate really warm water so much. Put me in warm and forget it. I can't do nothin'. That's why I moved to California.

I think it's been a good promotional stunt, too. You've gotten a lot of mileage out of the simple fact that you don't wear a wetsuit.

That is another factor. I like drawing attention. I'm a known prankster. Not using a wetsuit is one way to draw attention to myself. Everybody asks, who in the hell is that nut out there? And they find out—it's me (laughs).

You also have a tendency, when I've seen you in the water, to be very . . . boisterous.

Yeah, I do. It's so boring to sit in the water with everyone being all quiet and everything. Because, believe it or not, I stir up the competition. Everybody's so dead out there. So I scream and yell and get people hyped, and it hypes me to do it. It creates competition. I make people want to try and surf better than me. If see somebody good in the water, I'll pick him right off the bat. He's the one I'm going to surf against. I don't know if he's gonna do the same thing with me, but I'm going to surf against him whether he likes it or not. I'm going to show him up. So as far as being boisterous, I've gotta be able to back it up. It pushes me, it's my push. But I think it also relaxes everybody in the water and makes the whole experience a little more fun. Mostly, though, it's to push myself. It's just too mellow here. Like I used to go home to Florida, I'd go surf Sebastian, and when I'd get back to California from Florida, all the kids would ask me why I surfed so much better. And I'd tell them it's because in Florida you've got the hype.

So you're saying that everything is much more laid back in California compared to other surfing areas?

Yeah, at places like Sebastian, they understand it. I had a good friend named John Freeman, and we got so good that we actually hated each other. Because one guy would surf better than the other guy. We'd actually get into fights. Same thing with Jeff Klugel. After I met Jeff, he was like my protegé, then he developed a better cutback than I ever had in my life. And then I'd beat him. We had the same attitude. That's when you're really making something work. When you hate the other guy because he surfs better than you.

It's like a buddy-up system. I've probably lost a step being here in California because I haven't had somebody to surf with who would really push me. But now the IPS is my push, and this coming February I'm going to push myself all the way around the world, 'cause those guys are great: Cheyne, Mark Richards, all those guys. It's incredible to watch. You learn so much. That's what I think is going to be unreal at the Malibu contest. Everybody will get to see how hot they are.

You've been out here in California for four years and you grew up in Florida. Were you born there?

Yep, Cocoa Beach. I used to surf Sebastian Inlet, RC's, all the local spots. Never went to Puerto Rico or the Caribbean.

Yeah, if I went to Puerto Rico I probably would have been into bigger waves. But I never had an interest, because my attitude was that most contests are held in small waves. That's also why I consider myself a small-wave champion. I'm not afraid to ever say that I'm scared of big waves. Surfing Sunset and a break called Avalanche is what did it to me. Sunset scared the shit out of me, and Avalanche—I went out there and got pushed to the bottom on about a 10-foot set and couldn't get up. I pictured my leash stretched all the way to the surface and the nose of my board wiggling at the surface, and I couldn't get up. Finally I floated to the top and had just enough time to suck in some air and here comes another one. Went through about six of those. That's what did it to me. You have to have good lungs to be a big wave surfer. And since the hepatitis, I've been operating on about 75 percent of my strength a lot of the time.


When you say big waves, what's your scale?

Mmm . . . 10-foot Hawaiian. Probably 10-foot Hawaiian surf is where I start gettin' skittery. Anything that this place [California] could throw at me here, I'm OK. Anything in Florida, Brazil. Around eight-foot, ten-foot, that's my limit. Four-foot and under, especially around three-foot, that's where I'm deadly. I weigh 180 pounds and I'm only 5' 9", and people just can't understand how I do what I do. It's because I've surfed small waves all my life. When you're in Florida and you're in two-foot slop and you gotta make yourself look good, man, you gotta know how to use your board potential and you gotta learn how to unweight.

I've always heard that about Florida surfers. That since they surf a lot of slop, that they're masters at finding the juice in small waves.

And when we get in good stuff after surfing the chop . . . well, just watch out for Pat Mulhern. And Matt Kechele, another kid who's a flame.

People tell me that your mom has always been a real supporter of yours.

Yeah, she's unreal. Big bond there. She's my number one fan. My mom is full on. She'd drive me to contests and pack tons of food and do everything she could to help out. She loves the sport.

It sounds like you have a pretty good perspective of where you stand in the surfing world.

I've got an idea. I'm surfing beneath my potential right now. There's a hell of a lot better inside me. I'll be 26 in August, and my peak is past, really; my peak was four or five years ago. But next year I'll kill it because I'll put all my interest and energy in it. So far this year I've made it to the finals in the contests around here, so I don't feel too bad. All's I need is a 360 now.

[Photos: Gut Motil, Jeff Divine, Larry Pope]

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