celebrations alongside me. He was always the
positive influence in all of my surfing and gave
me the traditional inspiration that I adopted
after we moved to Burleigh Heads from Noosa
years ago, ironically right in the heart of the
home of shortboard domination. Mark shared
his knowledge with me, he really took me in
and he virtually adopted me. Every moment we
spent together was just too much fun, with his
priceless advice always being provided. The
Australian Titles was Macca’s comp, so this
time I’m going back for the both of us, to do
him proud and showcase the surfing Macca
20
wanted me to portray. That means logging and
performance surfing so if you’re a hipster sorry
haha!
This time it will be different though, a number
of the favourites from last year wont be there
so the underdog tag will be replaced with the
weight of expectation right upon me, which will
be different for me - a challenge I’m looking
forward to. Two of the biggest wins in my
career have come down at the Aussies so I’m
definitely amped to repeat those performances.
It’s always a great event with professional