The Smithy Sessions

Just before this issue went to print we got to hang with current world number one in the welsh hills. For two days Jordy sessioned the surf Snowdonia pool and hung out with stoked O'Neill retailers who had no idea he was going to be guest of honour. We made a little film and had a chinwag...

- Sharpy

Is this first time visiting Surf Snowdonia?

It's actually my second, I came here two years ago for the Red Bull event but I was injured so couldn't really surf. I paddled out on a soft top and caught a few little ones but this is my first time really surfing it and it's really fun.

Did you go to the test site in the Basque Country before this one opened?

I did when they first started, it was pretty small, and was difficult for me to ride. It was back when it was just a small left on the black tarp, like a pond. They've come a long way.

How about other pools, have you been to the Dubai one?

No not been to one of those style pools, Dion's clip was incredible, and Julian's night clip from Tenerife was nuts. But the Ocean Dome in Japan looked like the funnest to surf until they shut it down. And now there's Kelly's one...

You were there for the test event, how was surfing Kelly's ranch?

It was incredible to surf it. It's still a bit small for me but apparently they can make it go bigger. And it's really wind dependant like here, so it'll be offshore one way and onshore the other so it was hard to get barrelled for me. The actual shape of the wave is really good.

Is it as mechanical as it looks? Every wave seems to be a carbon copy.

Exactly. You end up just counting ... 1,2,3, set up, tube, come out, two turns, air. That's kind of the run.

Do you think pool surfing will end up like a gymnastics routine?