Prior to last year's win at the Corona Open Mexico, Jack Robinson had never won a major contest outside of Hawaii. At a zone where top flight pros can go their whole career without a win, Jack clocked up four before the age of 22.
It's this kind of heavy water mettle that sees Jack supported by hardcore Aussie surfers - we've always liked the mongrel who'll get in and have a go. And now that he's rounding out his act with small wave gymnastics - including three wins outside of Hawaii - he assumes the role of the next most likely Aussie to wear the crown. Yet a closer look reveals that Jack Robinson is less a product of hidebound tradition than an original thinker happy to tread his own path.
As the Rio Pro begins, with Jack sitting in second place behind Filipe Toledo, Steve Shearer inspects Jack Robinson's recipe for success.
Australia, as a general rule, does not do child prodigies well.
They tend to flame brightly then burn out - unable to handle the excesses of fame, pressure, and frustrated expectation. Nicky Wood and Jason Buttonshaw are the classic cases. Both looked set for long careers and world titles. Both disappeared from the public eye.
For a few long, nervous years it seemed our most touted prodigy, Jack Robinson, was headed the same way. Stuck in the grind of the Qualifying Series, even falling outside the top 100 in 2017, then dropped by major sponsor Billabong when on the cusp of cracking the Championship Tour.
Kelly Slater observed the phenomenon, making the assessment that Aussie surfers found it hard to be world champs because winning the title involves “breaking from the pack”. More bluntly, he once commented that "being Australian is a poor excuse for getting on the piss."
Our last world champion, Mick Fanning, famously solved what we'll call the Slater Dilemma by creating and nurturing an alter ego: Eugene Fanning. Mick could be the ice-cold and intense competitor, one of the few to match Slater for pure mental toughness, while Eugene could be the party animal. It was 'Eugene' who could let loose in the nightclubs and party on with the boys, maintain the social capital by embracing the quintessential Aussie stereotype of the rock and roll surfing animal.
Jack Robinson has found an altogether different method of breaking from the pack. The perfect illustration happened after his recent Margaret's victory: Offered a drink, he waved it away - “I don't drink.”
Jack won four contests in Hawaii before tasting victory elsewhere - a phenomenal record for a non-Hawaiian. Here, Jack belts the lip and buries the blade on his way to victory at the Sunset Open in 2017 (WSL/Heff)
The embrace of Eastern methods of mind/body control isn't unique in sports. Nor is Jack the first Australian pro surfer to turn to the East to break from the pack and distance himself from the destructive aspects of Australian culture. Cheyne Horan, born what my old boss Lester Brien called a “Bondi peasant”, became by degree more entranced with esoteric practices of yoga and Eastern mysticism and set himself apart from the junk food, beer drinking working class culture of his contemporaries. Horan said the pub culture of the time was, “not a good breeding ground for healthy humans”.
A faint echo of Robinson can be found in an even earlier era. One of the original child prodigies was Ted Spencer, another boy from Bondi, albeit from more upscale circumstances. Ted's Dad was a surgeon, but Spencer went hardcore into surf, becoming a bona fide surf star in the late-60's. Like Robinson, he had the solid stance, the bowl cut, and the rock god looks. Even the speech patterns seem eerily similar.
In a 1973 Tracks interview, Spencer said of being a surf star: “It happened and I went along with it. Everyone projects some kind of image. That is, if you’ve got nothing better to do; if you’ve got nothing deeper [inside you]. “
While on the destructive nature of being a surf animal: “It was definitely cool to be an animal [laughs]. But I never made it to the top of the animal pile. I didn’t have it in me. It created an era in Australian surfing which, looking back, was really pretty gross.”
Seen through the prism of reaction to stereotypical Aussie surf culture, Jack breaking from the pack makes perfect sense. But it sure doesn't alleviate the weirdness of seeing it play out live in real-time. Who can forget after his insane Sunset performance to qualify for the 2020 CT, the pressers with the mid-Pacific twang to the accent. A function of how much time Jack has spent in the 51st state, yet it didn't make it any easier on the ears.
Meanwhile, Jack's Brazilian wife Julia and connection with coach Leandro Dora has seen him adopted as a de facto member of the Brazilian Storm. Who can forget the sight of Julia at G-Land, cheering for an Australian? It seemed during those unforgettable buzzer beater rides against Medina and then Toledo that he had somehow managed to harness the passion of the Brazilian surfing culture and use it for his own ends. What a strange paradox that would be, if Australia's next world champ owed a debt to the Brazilian Storm and its rabid fan base.
Though he wasn't wearing the yellow jersey, Jack arrived in El Salvador with a shock of bleached yellow hair. Style advice aside, it further propelled Jack's 1000-yard stare (WSL/Diz)
The sandgroper upbringing and the beer drinking Dad are as Aussie as meat pies, as is Jack's manager, Volcom boss and shredder Matty Bemrose. Bemrose is the classic prankster, lightening the load of expectation as Robinson deals with the ever increasing demands on his time. The slow ratcheting up of pressure can be dealt with by mindfulness in the water but is not so easy to alleviate out of the water.
Home schooled and managed by an eccentric Dad created its own bottleneck as Robinson struggled on the QS. Trev Robinson had his own unique way of interacting with the world, and that created tension with the industry sponsors who had so much invested in Jack. In 2017, Stab and WSL writer Jake Howard issued a now-deleted takedown of Trev, who was, according to Howard, getting a little too loose on the free beers at Teahupoo and in the process jeopardising Jack's career prospects.
Two years later, Jack's six-figure, five-year deal with Billabong, signed when he was 14, was not renewed, despite him being on the cusp of CT qualification. Those turbulent times are now well behind him. The team is solid. Bemmy to lighten the mood, a loving wife, and Brazilian support team.
It's hard to imagine a scenario, barring injury, where Robinson won't tread the cobblestones at Trestles in September. But can he win? He won't be the natural favourite. But if recent history is any guide that won't matter. At both Margarets and G-Land he overcame what were widely considered to be the best surfers at those spots.
It wouldn't be the weirdest development, considering the road he's walked down from child prodigy and the steps he's taken to separate himself from the pack, for Jack to bring home the first World Title to Australian shores since 2013.
Another paradox: While Surfing Australia's High Performance Centre promised the public a “pipeline for world champions”, it's a surfer from outside that system, both of the country he was born in and now running a program completely of his own making, who looks likely to be our next champ.
And if it ain't this year, it won't be far away.
"And certain of our young men, who turned in despair from the bar, upsetting a glass, and swore: "No more" (for the tin rooms stank of flyspray) are sending word that the mastery of silence alone is empire. What is God, they say, but a man unwounded in his loneliness?"
Randolph Stow (also a West Aussie; also much time elsewhere) "The Land's Meaning"
Is that you jebus? In all seriousness, woke / wise af
Not sure about the comments regarding support from the Brazillian fan base. Def doesn't gel with what i've been consistently seeing in the WSL instagram comments.
True but I think most of the Brazilian kooks commenting on social media don't even surf. Just mad soccer fans. The WSL Brazzo surfers themselves don't make it any better, all "Thanks god for the winning wave" but wanting to smash shit and kill the judges when they don't get their own way. The Brazilians I know and surf with are super cool guys embarrassed by their idiot countrymen, much like I am of beer swilling Aussie bogans. They are the ones that see in Jack what we all can IMHO.
Hoping Jack can hoist the tin cup at the end of the year.
(and Callum to get a sponsor)
It appears that Robinson has cast himself to the winds and is reinventing himself daily as he encircles the globe chasing his destiny. The apt analogy is less willow tree bending to the winds of fate and more malleable clay being moulded by every experience.
This the Brazilian taint to his accent in his Rio Pro post heat interviews.
I love watching it. Like a diamond, the more facets to a person’s character the more interesting they become. The dynamic pursuit of the spiritual aspect of endeavour makes Jack the most intriguing surfer on tour by a large margin. It doesn’t seem to be holding him back too much either…
Lest we forget the Padang Rip Curl Cup in 2018. Not a major victory? Sublime barrel riding! “It was worth the wait,” said the young Western Australian Robinson. “This is one of the best contests all year and one of my Top 3 for sure. It might not be a QS or a CT, but it’s against the best guys at one of the best waves.” https://www.surfer.com/videos/jack-robinson-wins-2018-rip-curl-cup-padan...
WSL would be looking at that footage thinking, WTF happened to G Land
Part Bruce Irons, part Bruce Lee. Unique character and almost looks like he can bend barrels to his will...and time!
If he doesn't drink, he's definitely not part Bruce Irons!
I was staying next door to a bra-boy who I won't name in Puerto, and some of the stories he was telling me about what himself, Bruce and Koby and a couple others got up to was pretty eye opening, they had a decent crack hahaha
haha. yeah the no drinking would be the Bruce Lee side. Sound like a bunch of characters. Can only imagine!
Just one thing though- adopting another languages 'twang' is a bit of BS in my eyes, be it pidgin, Brasillian, American, whatever.
I knew a chick who did a snow season (3 months) in Canada, came back sounding like a Seppo. Another girl I knew, pulled pints in a Pommie pub for 6 months- came back sounding like a Cockney street sweeper. A season on the north shore won't alter your dialect one little bit to have you sounding like a 10th generation Polynesian. And I'm skeptical that having a Brasso wife is all of a sudden going to have you speaking with a Portuguese accent. You'll have to excuse me but I think it's a bit of a put-on.
I've lived a quarter+ of my life in a foreign country and I sound exactly the same as the day I left. Except for co-opting a few words that I use commonly, there has been no change in my accent.
Zen you probably don’t follow motogp like myself but both remy gardiner and another jack, this time miller both have Spanish/norther Italian accents as they spend most of their lives there. Their staccato English must be to make themselves understood to their team and becomes part of their dialect.
Very true Mem, Greg Norman is another example. But, as you said, they spend most of their lives there.
A season on the North Shore or a few months working on a ski lift in my opinion would have no affect on your accent.
Worthy of further study I reckon.
I reckon having an Aussie’ non rhotic’ accent just gets to be too much of a pain in the arse in the States. You get sick of not being understood, so you start emphasising the /r/ sound, and before you know it you’re sounding like the Shark.
Word is the easiest Seppoe accent for Aussie actors - mostly found working in every juice bar and ‘coffee house’ in LA - is the Boston one. Also non rhotic.
A housemate from Cornwall would always have her mum on the phone telling her she sounded like an Aussie, and would then proceed to switch back to less understandable English dialect more to her mothers' liking.
https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/reality-accent-change-26998....
The analysis showed that accent change over the medium term is ubiquitous: large daily fluctuations in each sound variable are the norm, while longer-term change over weeks to months occurs in a minority of cases. Their results, along with previous studies, show that the dynamics of accent change over time within individual speakers — even in settings of intense social contact — are highly complex. The complexity of these dynamics rules out any simple path from social interaction to change in a person’s accent over their lifetime: despite constant interactions over three months, contestants do not end up all sounding more similar. Instead, the degree of accent change over time can be explained by systematic differences between people and sounds in how subject they are to change over time.
“People differ a lot in how susceptible their accents are to change over months -- we can think of "changers" and "non-changers," Sonderegger says. “This might help explain why some people never 'lose' their accent when they move to a new place, while other people's accents change so completely that people are surprised to learn where they are originally from.
I remember a few years ago every clip he’d put out was barrels and airs, nary a turn to be seen. It was unknown how his rail game would go and was assumed to be lacking in small surf……….well that’s all out the window. I mean he’s not John John or even Ethan on rail which is scary because he’ll be working to make sure it’s as good as the rest of his act.
Really impressed with him and really think he could win it this year.
John John still the best and most allrounded when fit and firing,but his knees are complaining too often too many times these days and aren't going to let him be as successful as he could've been it appears. Ethan doesn't have an air game like Robbo's it seems,which is a major point of difference the judging seems to be focussing on again lately. I have a sneaky suspicion the WSL is debating who they prefer to win the world title this year,Robbo or Toledo.
Yeah JR seems to have become more well rounded. It probably took JJF a few years to get better rounded as well if you think back to when he first came on tour.. JJF seems to love surfing the SW and vice versa with JR and the North Shore. JR probably has a closer surfing background to JJF than anyone else on tour.
Was surfing an east coast Bali right years ago when he was around 14 I think. Unbelievable surfing for someone that age, blew us older blokes away! Absolutely dominated the Box, was it last year? Anyway great to have an Aussie contender, go Jack....
Point of difference imo is that Jack’s not doing this for anyone or any country but doing for himself . Good on him !!! Lastly I’ve surfed with Trev about five years ago out at ullus/the peak and he seems like a good ct.
Thanks again FR, Jack is hard not to like.
We’re watching a person developing before our eyes…
A man never crosses the same river twice…
Not sure if they are paradoxes but rather situational irony.
Not confident that Ted Spencer was from Bondi ?
Don't forget the most recent Australian child prodigy that was hyped to take the baton from Fanning and Parko,Julian Wilson. Ok he didn't screw things up with being on the piss too much or anything like that,and he did carve out a decade long career,but it did fall about 80% short of what it was hyped to be. He just didn't have that same mental ingredient that leads to ongoing success such as guys like Mick,Slater,AI and Medina have. Taj had it,but someone else always had it better than him in the years he was a contender. Jordy is the other current example like JW on tour. Averaging a CT win every couple of years or so ain't ever got anyone a world title before. Need to learn how to win at least a couple a year,with consistancy across most of the other events. Looks like Robbo is already there. Just wondering how many Brazzos will be chairing him up the beach when he wins a world title will it be more than Aussies lol.
You can say what you like about Trev but I’ll tell you what,he dedicated every moment to get his son where he is now...He’s certainly got a very different take on this universe but he’s not a bad lad... Having coached for years, and dealing with many expectant parents, it’s always the ones that stand back and let their kids develop with others input that do the best(long term)..... Rock on Jack, your a class act and hopefully will help break the Brazo domination of wick,whack paddy whack......
Another great read FR. Few good comps coming up for Robo. Hope he smashes them. Agree it's hard for the seppo's to understand the Oz accent when you spend time there. I remember trying to make a doctor's appointment on the phone when I was there and my American friends were losing it with laughter in the background as the receptionist couldn't understand a thing I said.
So what’s the story with the old man? Step down from Damir Dokic or eccentric pushy surf dad?
Couple of sick airs at Rio
In 20 years drinking alcohol will be like smoking cigarettes - you'd have to be desperate for cancer to do it (I say that as a loyal consumer). Talked to Jack a couple times out in the surf and he is extremely polite and humble - a far cry from Australians of previous generations (Mick aside he is also a super nice guy)
No chance - alcohol has far more upside than cigs ever had
what's with the peroxide blonde, didn't work to well for the other Jack
..I saw him in his development stage take-off on some dry-sucking ledges that much more experienced surfers and his contemporaries at that time didn't want to know about - the incredible talent and confidence that he had at such a young age was a thrill to watch. Now its all power to him and his support group (Dad included) who have combined to turn that unique talent into a commercial outcome that Jack is clearly enjoying come to fruition.
Outside the system ?....not really , that thinking and mindset the norm for younger aussie generations. A bit out of touch with the young uns there freeride. He his only an outlier to the previous generations, not to his piers.
I agree, there's so much clean living and eastern philosophy going around in the younger generation these days
I thought i saw jack have a beer after his G land win, not that I'm judging but I find the alcohol seems to be a mandatory thing in surfing contests and perhaps even if indeed Jack doesnt drink full stop he might have to be seen to have a corona in his hand to keep the corporates happy
During a huge swell at Cloudbreak, Josh Bystrom shuns the safety of the boat and the familiarity of pros.
The Championship Tour has done its fair share of globetrotting of late: Australia, Indonesia, Central America, and now across to Brazil.
A short story about loosening the grip while growing the bond.
Budget has blown out to $100 million but worth it for a wave "comparable to The Right".
Since the state government assumed management of the Gnaraloo coast, free camping and illegal 4WDing has become rampant.
The MP Classic is back as an invitational one-day open event on Saturday 25th June.
In a situation that has faint echoes of Sebastian Inlet, Florida, Port Mac bodyboarders are nervous about changes to their local wave.
We're not done with the east swell just yet.
Burleigh turned it on last Thursday with turquoise bowls and barrels reeling down the point.
While the La Niña signal has started to weaken throughout the equatorial Pacific Ocean, it's not quite over yet.
'Thank You Mother’ was made four years ago and up until now has only been available to a small audience.
I'm honestly perplexed by the chatter that seeks to diminish Toledo's surfing as somehow nervous, lacking flow, even lightweight or not powerful.
Part two of Tim Bonython's journey documenting the recent run of large southerly swell up the East Coast.
Can an air be safety-surfed? Prior to last night I would have said “no way.”
Playful waves from an early season trip.
Follows on from John John a few weeks back.
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