Surfing
Surfing
A win in Hawaii and top of the world rankings, Jack Robinson is on a roll
With four Championship Tour wins in his first 24 events, Jack Robinson's career has taken off at a lightning pace. We sat down with the world number one to find out just how high he can go.
The surfing world has long known about the talent of Jack Robinson. The kid from Margaret River, Australia, was part of a trio of Quiksilver-sponsored young guns who showed up at every Championship Tour event and turned heads in-between heats with the potential of their surfing. Whoever was doing the talent spotting at Quiksilver back then take a bow, as Robinson, Kanoa Igarashi and Leonardo Fioravanti have all become staples on the tour in their own right, with accolades and trophies following them wherever they go.
Jack Robinson and Carissa Moore are your 2023 Billabong Pro Pipeline champs
© WSL/Heff
While graduation to the big show might have come more easily to Igarashi and Fioravanti, it's Robinson setting the pace so far this year. After a breakthrough win in Mexico, the West Australian with world title aspirations has gone from strength to strength, and three events into the 2023 season he sits well clear of the field in the yellow jersey, the Billabong Pro Pipeline taking pride of place on his mantle. Now back on home soil and readying himself to soak up all of the Australian F1 action with the Red Bull Racing team, we caught up with Robinson to talk about it all. Enjoy.
You’ve got a first, a second and a third this year and you’re ranked number one in the world. Can you believe it?
Did you know it’s 10 years since you first competed in a Championship Tour event? You came 25th as a wildcard at the Oakley Pro Bali, all the way back in 2013.
Wow, I hadn’t thought of that. Crazy. I remember that event, I was 15 years old, surfing at Keramas.
Do you remember who won?
Parko won! Joel Parkinson. And I lost to Uncle Kelly (Slater). It’s funny, I’ll always remember that, I thought I could beat him and I was 15.
Jack Robinson laying it on rail in Hawaii
© Ryan Miller/Red Bull Content Pool
Was Kelly one of your heroes growing up?
For sure. Kelly, Parko, Mick Fanning, Bruce Irons and Taj Burrow were all in that event. Obviously, Andy Irons was someone I looked up to as well. They were my guys.
Let’s talk about your rookie year, 2021. You weren’t going to re-qualify, then you won in Mexico. What changed before that event?
I don’t know if anything changed about my surfing. It was more working through a whole bunch of things, getting comfortable with who I am and knowing where I want to be. I always felt like I belonged on tour, but I struggled on the Qualifying Series and I struggled that first year, too.
Robinson's breakthrough win, Mexico 2021
© WSL/Heff
2021 was almost a QS-style year on the Tour when you look back at it now. There were only seven comps, including the beach break events at Newcastle and Narrabeen, plus the Surf Ranch, and no Tahiti.
True. Coming into Mexico my coach, Leandro Dora, reminded me of how at first I might have been known for doing well only when the waves were firing, and maybe I struggled when they were a bit of a grind. He truly made me feel confident that I’d overcome that. Mexico wasn’t crazy waves either, but I started to feel really good, ended up getting my first win and I’ve kept it rolling ever since.
Jack and Julia Robinson at the WSL Awards with close friend Yago Dora
© WSL/Heff
You mentioned your coach Leandro, who’s Brazilian. You travel with Leandro and his son Yago Dora, and now their countryman João Chianca, too. Your wife Julia is also Brazilian. Is there something about the Brazilian way of doing things that agrees with you?
I think I’m just always happy with whoever is around me at the time. I’m good mates with Conor O’Leary and the rest of the Aussies, and Matt Bemrose from Volcom is one of the guys I’ve travelled with the most and I’m super close with. But, Leandro, Yago and João are my crew at the moment and it’s working, so why change anything?
Robinson's 2019 Volcom Pipe Pro win set the tone for more success to come
© WSL/Keoki
You have to be one of the most popular non-Hawaiian surfers at Hawaiian events ever; from the security guards to the beach marshals and the spectators on the beach, they all love you. Why do you think that is?
I’ve noticed that too, I love it. I think the locals see the time I put in outside of the contest and they really respect that. I’ll spend weeks at a time at the Volcom Pipe House surfing on the North Shore, soaking up the energy of the islands. The Hawaiians call it mana, and it’s the same in Tahiti too. I love it there and what you put out comes back around, y’know?
Jack Robinson's Sunset sessions are a sight to behold
© WSL/Bielmann
A lot of surfers get knocked out of an event and can’t leave town quick enough, but if there’s swell Kelly Slater will still be hanging around a week later.
It’s true. It’s a great way to be. We go to a lot of incredible places on tour so it’s nice to enjoy them.
You’ve lifted some prestigious trophies since Mexico, from Margaret River to G-Land and now Pipeline to start this season. They’re competitions people would expect you to do well at, because you’re arguably the best-surfer-in-incredible-conditions on the planet right now, but the waves weren’t necessarily at their best for any of those events.
I know. I’ve had a lot of conversations with people about that, especially Pipe. I’m probably more excited I won Pipe when it wasn’t firing because it meant I had to really out surf people.
Robinson and the Pipe poise that led to surfing's most famous trophy
© WSL/Heff
You beat Gabriel Medina and John John Florence on your way to the win so it counts no matter what the conditions were like.
True. I feel like if Pipe was big I could rely a bit on the time I’ve put in there over the years and how comfortable that makes you, so it was sweet to do it this way. Winning Pipe was a dream come true.
You squared off against Leo Fioravanti in the final. You guys have been mates forever. Did you talk?
No way. Game face on till the very end. We laughed about it afterwards though. Leo and I have known each other for a very long time, had the same sponsor when we were young and travelled together a lot, so it was cool to be in the final with him.
There aren't many surfers more comfortable in the tube than Jack Robinson
© Kim Feast
You’re the best tube rider in the world. Where does that come from?
Ah, I’d never say that, but I think growing up in West Oz played a huge part in who I am as a surfer. I was born in Perth, which was cool because the waves are small and I could get into them without any worries, then I moved to Margaret River when I was five and started surfing the little reef breaks around town. From there I’ve just worked my way up through all the different waves, and am pretty comfortable everywhere. It’s funny, I surf up and down the West Australian coast and feel at home, even though Gnaraloo is in the desert, thousands of kilometres away from where I live.
Tombstones, at Gnaraloo, has to be one of the craziest waves in the world.
It’s right up there for sure. It’s funny, at first you’re scared and you have to really work at it, you have to be smart and try and work out how to surf Tombies without getting hurt. Then you start to figure it out and that fear fades a little as you get more comfortable and suddenly you can just go without thinking. You’ll take off on anything.
Is that your flow state?
Yeah, maybe. It’s a crazy wave.
You need to take Lucas Chianca up there, and João.
Lucas keeps asking me about it. He’s such an insane surfer, it would be crazy to see him take it on, and João too. I’d really like to see Griffin Colapinto out there as well. We should get a trip together?
Tell us about the recent MEO Portugal Pro.
That was a great event. The waves were tricky, but I felt like I had good momentum and got on a roll.
The crowd looked massive.
It was crazy. You could hear every cheer from the beach after a wave or a wipeout, it was intense. It felt a little bit like Brazil. A lot of people were running down the beach and paddling out away from the masses, but before the final I was like, ‘nah, I want to feel the energy’ and went and sat right in front of the crowd, gathered my thoughts then paddled straight out. It was cool.
Jack Robinson is always in the zone
© WSL/Geada
The broadcast crew love showing you getting in the zone pre-heat. Most surfers have their headphones on and dance around, throwing tennis balls to their coach and psyching up, but you seem to just take a moment, zone out and clear your mind?
That’s exactly what it is. I like to block out the noise, slow everything right down and start with a clear mind.
Robinson slicing open Supertubos
© WSL/Poullenot
In the final João did what everyone expected you to do, clicked into rhythm and found every good set wave.
Yeah, he was on. I made a few mistakes and then just kept seeing him get bombs. Obviously, I wanted to take out the final, but to see how much his first win meant to him and how hard he was charging, I can respect that. I really wanted to get another result just to prove I could be consistent, so I left Portugal happy.
You flew straight to Red Bull HQ in Austria for the first time. How was that?
It was incredible. I went with Griffin and Molly Picklum and we didn’t stop the whole time we were there. We went and trained at the Athlete Performance Centre, surfed a river wave, rode jet boards on a lake, you name it. I saw snow for the first time and we had a snowball fight. I love planes, I’d love to get my pilot’s license one day, and we went up in a chopper and did a tour which was epic. I was hoping I’d get to fly it, maybe next time. There’s a hangar at the airport that’s full of toys, which is amazing, they basically own the airport in Salzburg. The whole trip was great. We really had the red carpet rolled out for us and it was unreal to meet so many of the people who support us. I hadn’t really hung with Molly much before either and she’s super cool.
Now you’re back on home soil, what’s next?
I’m all about the F1. I’m going to Melbourne before Bells and I’m taking some of the drivers surfing at the wave pool, then I'm going to watch the race live on Sunday.
Are you team Red Bull all the way, or are you a fan of fellow honorary Brazilian Lewis Hamilton?
I haven’t been awarded that yet. Maybe one day. Until then I’m not so sure. I’m crazy about F1, I love watching Drive To Survive and seeing the way Max Verstappen goes about it on the track, those guys are next level. I love Sergio Perez and we have the same management, so I’m all in on it. I jumped in one of the Red Bull cars in Austria, I tried to fit and got stuck, and almost broke the car. I had to jump out before security came, it was cool.
Any other athletes you’d like to meet?
I’ve met a few pilots, they were super cool. I’ve met Scotty James a few times, haven’t crossed paths with Valentino Guseli yet but I’m sure I will. I’ve hung with Zion Wright and a bunch of the skaters, but mainly I’d love to meet the F1 drivers, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. That’d be unreal.
Robinson has plenty of reasons to smile
© WSL/Bielmann
You're a happy lad.
Very. Life's good.
