Riding The Crest

Durban-born professional surfer Jordy Smith first hit the big time in his teens almost two decades ago. And now that the sport has entered the Summer Olympics for the first time, we get to know the surf star who could likely be representing SA in Tokyo, Japan, come 2020

- Bernd Fischer

GQ: How’s your relationship with the sport evolved over time?

Jordy Smith: I started at three years old and my dad is a surfboard shaper. You start surfing because it’s fun, and because I started at such a young age, I just thought it was part of life – you have to learn to walk, you’ve got to go to school, and you surf. That’s just life. I was actually saying to a friend earlier, just the fact that we have a wave pool now is extremely impressive. That’s something I only ever dreamed of as a kid.

GQ: What’s been your favourite moment in your career?

JS: Definitely winning a world-tour event at Jeffreys Bay on such a big stage and beating some of the best in the world for the first time. I’d been running up and down that beach at J-Bay for tens of years, collecting signatures, and then to be in the actual event was one thing. And then to come away with the win was just like, wow, something special. In a way, I feel like I didn’t just win it for me, but I won it for South Africa. I won it for all my friends and family. And I was the first South African to ever win it, so it was quite a big thing for me.

GQ: When did you start to feel like you could do things on your own terms? Was there ever a moment?