My Last Two Winters paints a vivid portrait of Ian Walsh's surfing life

Ian Walsh: It was a good season. We had a monumental January run, a lot of Hawaiian swells, The Eddie ran and a lot of West Coast stuff too. I did a strike to Todos Santos in Mexico, which was great for a couple of days, then I went snowboarding and now I’m home. It’s fun, but it looks like that’s ribbons for the winter, we’re just riding out the last of it. Should we talk about the edit?

Quite a bit. The last few seasons have been so constant that it’s been easy to move on to the next swell without stopping and thinking too much, but I’d definitely like to have another crack at that wave and be two feet closer to the channel. I might have avoided so much of the airdrop, got over my board a little more, and ridden out. There are definitely some things I can take away from that one and I’ve definitely replayed it a few times.

That might have been the most violent pounding I’ve ever had underwater. I woke up and had whiplash. My ankle was sprained from the leash. I got rag-dolled underwater and lost my vision for a couple of seconds when I first surfaced. That was a unique, violent fall and I hope I don’t have many more of those still to come in my career.

That’s a really good question. I’d lean more into it, being the type of person I am, and big-wave surfing has enhanced it further. It’s consumed me to the point of obsession, where sometimes it’s hard to find the balance and get back to normal life.

I try to surround myself with those kinds of people, whatever the project is. If it’s a sailing expedition or a big mountain project, a lot of the other athletes I’m around seem to be pretty like-minded, and as far as big wave surfing goes, attention to detail is absolutely non-negotiable. We’re a long way removed from land. We’re way out there and reliant on whatever we’ve put together ourselves in the way of systems and safety in case something catastrophic goes down. I want to be with people who are thinking things through and are really set up and well-dialed in so that we can push ourselves with confidence knowing that we’ll be looked out for.

The impacts are very violent and you definitely feel them. When you get smoked on a big day, you’re going to have whiplash, there’s going to be things you’re going to feel, but the next swell could already be arriving so a large part of your preparation is doing whatever will allow you to get back out there quickly.

This winter, for example, I surfed Jaws, caught a red eye to California and the went to Baja and surfed Todos Santos. After that I raced home, had a few days to get ready for the Eddie and flew home straight after the event ended. I then towed Jaws the next morning, had one day to come up for air then the next day at Jaws was pumping again. You get in these rhythms and your body gets resilient. It’s pretty amazing, but you’re still waking up sore. Sometimes the best way to work out the kinks is by keeping moving, keeping things going.

In the past, I used to surf year-round, winter would finish in Hawaii and I’d head to the southern hemisphere and surf Australia, Indonesia, Tahiti, Fiji and South Africa. I’d do that cycle and then by September, I’d get injured and limp into the northern winter again. The last few years, I’ve started taking time to reset after our winter. Then I’ll do a big training block leading into the new season around August as well. Right now is the end of our winter, and in the past, I’d be hanging on by a thread at this point, but these days I finish every season feeling strong.

Lucas is definitely a bit of a cannon, he’s a very good time, but he’s also very purposeful in the surf and an incredible jet ski driver. Kai, Lucas and I had a Nazaré trip where the three of us rotated as surfer, driver and safety for five days of huge waves, and it was a massive success. Before Lucas goes out on a big day, he’s running through a checklist of what he wants to do, and how he’s going to make that happen. Make no mistake, Chumbo’s calculated on the big days and knows what he’s doing. He’s also a great guy to win an event with, don’t worry about that.

For sure. As things are evolving, it’s not weird to see a guy pull on a helmet and that’s great. On the safety side of things, we’ve learned how instrumental jetskis are and how pickups in the white water are crucial rather than letting someone get pounded, and we pay more attention to whatever is needed to keep more surfers’ heads above water.

Totally. He comes to Maui, trains and spends a lot of time in the surf before his winter season kicks off. Over the years of our friendship, I’ve seen up close how dedicated he is to his passion. It’s a common trait amongst all of us who deal with an obsession, it can be daunting and come at the cost of things outside of that, but it can also be a blessing to focus all your energy on one thing that you’re entirely committed to.

Gerry Lopez, has to be. He moved to Bend, Oregon in 1992, has been in the snow ever since and is pretty much a wizard in the mountains. He’s the grandmaster, still getting after it. Kai Lenny’s good. He’s gotten into it more and more over the years. The first time I went snowboarding was in Jackson Hole and we did a big surfers trip, Shane Dorian, Andy Irons, Joel Parkinson and Mark Occhilupo. Some guys were terrible, but the trip was so funny and Shane got right into it afterwards, he’s good too.

I was in high school, I would have been 15 or 16. I used to go down and watch the guys tow out there, then I’d scurry off to surf another wave that pumps on the same swells. In the back of my mind, I was laughing that these guys were spending all day at Jaws when this wave was as good as it gets. Then, one morning, as I was on my way to school, my neighbor came out and said he’d take me out to Jaws in the afternoon. I couldn’t bail school quick enough that afternoon, left a note for my mom and was out of there.

I still vividly remember the first couple of waves I got and I immediately understood that this was why everyone ends up getting consumed by it. Straight away, I knew I never wanted to miss a swell out there, and sitting here now, I don’t know if I ever have since, apart from the two times when I’ve competed at The Eddie (Aikau Invitational, held at Waimea Bay on the North Shore of Oahu). I still remember my first couple of waves, thinking if I could be deeper, where I could do turns, really analyzing it all, and it’s been like that ever since. The talons sunk right into my back that day. That was me done for life.

That’s a good question. I want to keep pushing myself in big surf and keep refining my equipment to allow my boards to go where I see them going in my head. I enjoy traveling and the last few years have made me appreciate it even more. Now I like to take a bit more time wherever I am, to experience the local life beyond the ocean. There are always more projects to work on and I’ve got a few exciting things on the go that you’ll have to wait to see come out. I’m really happy doing what I’m doing, so as long as I keep waking up psyched, I’m going to keep going.