Burleigh Bodyboard Shop

What is there that can be said about Thorpe Waluew that hasn’t been said already?

“The kid is a freak”. “One of the best bodyboarders in the world for his age”.

We’ve heard it all. The truth is Thorpe is really mature for his age and his surfing is

following suit. After keeping a low profile from the Bodyboarding Media of late, we

thought we would catch up with Thorpe and talk about his recent well documented

injury down South, Girls, school and of course his greatest love. Bodyboarding.

Hey Thorpe, first of all let’s get into the accident that happened down

South Recently. Run as through what happened.

Well, i went down south to hang with Sam Strachan and get some waves,

we went to Supers knowing there might be a wave. It was high tide and looking

weird but we still went out, my second wave i ended up getting pumped and not

remembering a thing. I just had pain in my face and back, so i got a lift in by a ski

and went to hospital. Ended up with a broken jaw and a really sore back for 2

weeks haha.

Fuck that’s heavy. I saw the photo that was taken from the water and I have to

say I am super impressed mate, do you think about charging big waves

heaps and is it something you want to do as you get older?

Yeah for sure, i want to get into bigger waves. I think that if you want to make it in

bodyboarding you need to go some big waves in your career, but also be tech in the

bigger waves.

Thorpe on the wave that nearly broke him

Mate you seem to have shot up to 6 feet tall in the last few months,

 has this had any affect on your bodyboarding? Do you find it harder

 to boost now? Is the extra leg length making your scoop easier?

Nah, not really noticing to much, just need to get some bigger boards

because of all the growing.

I imagine Mama and Papa Bear aren’t ultra keen on you jetting

 off chasing swells but have you got any trips coming up?

nope, i am wishing for trips.

The aftermath of the bomb pictured above

What about competiting. I noticed you weren’t at the last state

round are you planning on going in Nationals or any other

contests this year?

Dont know what is going on with comps, i will try to get to nationals this year but if

i dont i really dont mind, i will just try in the world tour events.

I can’t wait to see you charge the island in a comp. I haven’t seen a

 shot of you in a mag for a while. Yet we both know you could be in there

easily if the swell co-operated a bit. Is chasing photos something you think

of or does it just happen and you get lucky?  Does it frustrate you or push

 you when you don’t see yourself in the media as much as you could?

ummmm, well i want to get shots so badly, but this year everything has just gone

 down hill (swell wise) so i haven’t had many good surfs on the goldy.

It has probably been the worst Winter ever. You finally got rid of

that girly  hair a while ago much to the disappointment of

most of the gold coast female population, has your new look had

 much luck with the ladies? Do you have one in your life right now?

Girls are weird………

Couldn’t have said it better myself. What boards are you currently

riding mate? I remember a few years ago seeing some boards at

your house and they looked like they were for a midget.

Surely the length of your boards has gone up with your height?

41 now and they are going really good.

You may be young but you are pretty switched on. How are your grades

at school and what subjects do you enjoy the most?

School is sucking at the moment, probably gonna be failing a couple of things,

 and i hate every subject.

I used to love lunch time and that was it. On that note do you

think you will go to Uni or whatever when you leave school?

 What are your plans when the big day comes?

No uni, just gonna finish school and see what happens.

Your brothers are both really creative. Morgan being a ‘hands on’

kinda guy and Brandon being really good with photography, design

and arts. Do you think they have influenced you in any way? If so how?

Brandon has taught me heaps with drawing and what not, but thats it really!

Hahahahahha

Your family is super close and have a lot of love for our sport. After taking over

Eppos and birthing BBS you must be stoked to have such a supporting crew.

What does family mean to you?

Family =  Everything

Agreed. If you could be anyone in the world for 24 hours who would you

 be and why?

Don’t know. Being myself is pretty sweet! Hahahahaha

Hahahaha well played. I know I wouldn’t mind being your age and surfing

with Hardy and the crew. With so many good kids coming up on the boog these

days you must have a few rivalries going on… Fill us in on who you rate

amongst your peers.

Charlie surfs so mature, i like his surfing a lot.

Well i know you are busy doing English assignments so I will let you be.

Any last words or props you wanna throw out there?

Thanks heaps to BBS, Billabong,  NMD,  Stealth and the fam.

Thanks for your time champion.

Thorpe boosting. Mitch Payne Frame.

Interview by Stevie Lloyd