Dane Pope has been riding for BBS for over a year. In this time he has managed to win Nationals and the Rebel Sport Pro Tour. Dane surfs amazing, he is super smooth and powerful, consistent and oozes style. Dane is one of the most under rated DK riders in the country and BBS are stoked to have him on the team.
We recently caught up with Dane to talk about Travel, Boards, Red hair and Victory.
G’day mate, firstly I would just like to congratulate you on all your comp success over the last year. You took out nationals and won the Pro tour and had another good year at DKS. How do you feel about your results?
Pretty happy to take out the two wins. It was a big week and to finish on top was really satisfying. Would have been nice if the waves were there for the finals, but i have surfed worse that is for sure. Was awesome just to have a huge QLD contingent at the presentation getting loose and cheering on. I wasn’t too happy with how i surfed in the DKS comps, but there is always this year.
You have done a bit of travelling and have some awesome photos and footage, have you got any other plans to travel in the not to distant future?
Yeah i have a couple of trips in the mix at the moment, just really need to start putting some coin aside and get as much value out of each trip as possible.
You’re clips on YouTube are impressive and you’re surfing seems to improve everytime i see you. Do you feel like you are surfing to your full potential?
Not really, its pretty tough working a 9-5 away from the beach. You really have to work hard with the time you have just to stay competitive. It would be nice to be able to get in the water a bit more that is for sure.
For those who don’t know fill us in on what your career involves. You seem to work really hard and must be rolling in the cash. Do you still get much time to play in the ocean?
Well I’m glad you asked because I am certainly not rolling in money. I work as a geotechnical engineer, which takes me from 20m deep basements in the Brisbane CBD to places like one of the biggest open cut coal mines in Indonesia. It’s a challenging job. I guess i dont get as much time as I would like to surf, but i keep fit playing indoor soccer, riding to work and my least favourite activity, running.
Running is like watching paint dry. So what are your plans for this year? Comps? Travel? What are Dane Pope’s short term goals?
Well i guess I am going to have to defend the two titles. I hope that doing that will entice some of the underground lads to come out from the woodwork and try to take them off me – i think that will be really good for the sport anyway. Plus it’s always good to catch up with the DK crew from around Oz. I will be competing in DKS 2010, because it is the event that every serious DK rider should attend, and not because of the competition, it’s just awesome to catch up with everyone, and feed off the talent that is gathered at these events. It helps your surfing a lot. Take a look at the caliber of riders that have won it in the past. It is the benchmark for competitive DK. As for travel, i would like to get over to WA for a bit, explore Victoria a bit more and a couple of pacific island jaunts may be on the cards as well.
Do you think having red hair helps your surfing?
Yeah like a broken leg helps DK? Short answer no, its too easy to get burnt.
Besides riding for us (BBS) who else is giving you gear? The board you are riding now looks amazing. Do you ride your own shape? If so, where does the inspiration come from?
I have been riding Glenn Taylor shaped customs for a while and am happy to have recently signed with Designs Customs. Both Glenn and Gregg are really supportive of their team and have a positive attitude to all aspects of the sport. I also have been riding for Beyond Industries clothing for a couple of years and its epic to be a part of a really talented team. Reeflex have helped me out with some warm rubber to get me through the cold months in VIC when i pop in down there for a visit. The board i ride at the moment is basically my own shape however it came about from my favourtie aspects of Dubb/Roach shapes. Its different to both and i think it fits my style just right.
Thanks for the chat Dane, congrats again on all your comp success. Anything else you would like to say?
Just a big thank-you to BBS for supporting underground DK riders and really getting behind their team riders at all levels. Much appreciated. Also like to thank Trev from surfphotos.com.au and Matt Brockie because a lot of their hard work and time goes unrewarded and without guys like them around, I would be stuffed. Finally, Clayton Pickworth (DKS) for just being an all round top lad. His passion and support is amazing. And Mitch: one of these days we will strike gold ha ha. Peace and DK 4 life.
Cheers Dane and best of luck for this year.
Images provided by Trevor Ross. Check out his site. You may just be on there!
Interview by Stevie Lloyd
