Beyond surf
contd
CleC: Do you play a musical instrument?
ST: No, and my voice is terrible.
CleC: You have conducted motivational speaking engagements with top companies such as Google, Cisco, General Motors and Microsoft. Do you get nervous before a motivational speaking engagement?
ST: I got nervous once, because I was opening the event and the two speakers following me were Malcolm Gladwell and Sir Richard Branson. It was in front of a few thousand people. When I walked out on stage, it felt like I was at the Banzai Pipeline, paddling for a huge wave and I was just about to go over the edge. But then, like surfing ‘Pipe’, you take that drop and commit and that’s one of the things I often tell people - 'If you’re going to go, go hard and commit’.
CleC: It’s evident that you like to win, but do you lose gracefully.
ST: When I first started on my competitive career, my dad, who had been a great athlete in his career before it was cut short by a shark attack, told me this: “When you lose, lose like a man, and when you win, win like a gentleman,” and that ethos I’ve carried with me in every event I have ever entered.
CleC: What colour crayon are you?
ST: I’m a blue dude!
CleC: Stir fry or steak?
ST: Steak.
CleC: You have developed, managed and run big clothing brands such as Instinct. Are you a suit and tie kinda guy?
ST: Sometimes I have to wear a suit, but not too often and I never wear a tie.
CleC: You received a SIMA Environmentalist Award. Can you briefly impart to our readers what it is they can do to help maintain the sensitive ecosystems that make up our oceans?
ST: Every coastline has its challenges related to water quality, development and construction or pollution. Every surfer can give back what the ocean has given us. Every wave is free, but ultimately there is a price associated with that wave being free. That price is that some of your time should be devoted to helping with the issues that are prominent within your particular coastal region or your local beach. It is very easy to do something about it, and in doing so, you will be the benefactor in the long run.
CleC: Do you eat crayfish?
ST: Of course. I love crayfish. My son, who is only four, also loves crays!
CleC: Sies!
Shaun Tomson