Julian Wilson Interview: DailyStoke Exclusive

We recently had the chance to catch up with one of Quiksilver’s hottest talents – Australian wunderkind, Julian Wilson – during his brief return to Australia for the holidays. Julian is resting up at home, fresh off a year of traveling and shooting his first major solo project, “Scratching the Surface”. Drop in and see what he’s been up to in 2009 and his plans for 2010.

Did you stay in Australia for the holidays and where are you right now?

Yeah. I’ve been here for the holidays and I’m really glad to be home for a little while. Last year I was traveling about 9 months out of the year, so it feels good to be home right now. Right now, I’m driving down the coast to see my grandmother in Melbourne, then back to Queensland.

Tell us about “Scratching the Surface”. Have you finished up filming yet?

I really dedicated all of last year to filming. I didn’t really compete on the WQS last year, just so I could focus on the movie. We started shooting about 12 months ago and we’ll keep shooting until the end of June. I still have a bit of time left before it’s all wrapped up. This year, I’m going to be finishing up the movie and doing the WQS. It’s definitely going to be a packed year.

What are your competition plans for this year?

I’m going to go and do every event I can until I qualify for the World Tour. I don’t really have a set plan. I’ll definitely be doing every 6 star or 6 star prime I can get into, and I’ll be in the Quiksilver Pros on the Gold Coast and in France.

How do you feel about your contemporaries and friends making the World Tour this year, guys like Owen Wright and Dusty Payne?

Yeah, it’s exciting. They just kept competing after the Juniors until they made the World Tour. I decided to take time off to do the movie instead. I’m bummed that I’m not going to be able to travel with them this year, but at least I still have plenty of friends on the WQS to hang out with.

What do you think of the “Rebel Tour”? What do you know, and any chance you’d be a part of it?

All rumors really. I know that nothing’s going to happen this year. If it does come out, it will be pretty cool. I’d love to try to be a part of it. I think that’s what competitive surfing really needs, a real shake up. It’s a real wake up call for the ASP.

How does it feel beating the unbeatable Kelly Slater in a heat?

It was really cool, especially doing it at home. The Quiksilver Pro on the Gold Coast is like the biggest event we have in Australia and it’s just a 2.5 hour drive down the coast from my house. I had a lot of friends and local support there and there are just so many people on the beach who come out for it. Just to surf in front of all those people and surf against Kelly in that event is unreal. I’ve had two wins over him now.

How about the “sushi roll”? Was it a planned maneuver or did it evolve out of something else? Are you still pulling them?

The maneuver wasn’t really planned. I was trying to do the rodeo clown and it came about from trying that. After that it felt pretty good and I kept trying them until I landed them. I’m still doing a few, but I’m not trying them on every wave. You really need the right waves to pull them.

What’s next in your arsenal? Working on anything new?

Yeah. A few things. I’m trying lots of different grabs. I’ve been trying to do a 720 alley-oop. I’ve come pretty close to landing one. I’m definitely trying to pull one before the movie’s finished filming.

Who are some of your favorite people to surf with?

I’m always traveling somewhere surfing with new people. When I can, I always enjoy surfing with Dane Reynolds, Ry Craik, Dusty Payne and Matt Wilkinson.

You’ve become a real inspiration to surfer’s young and old. Who inspires your surfing?

Dane Reynolds is at the top of that list, and Taj Burrow. Taj was the guy when I was growing up. I watched all his movies and tried to surf like him every day.

You’ve generated a lot of positive attention for your raising breast cancer awareness. How did you get involved?

It started because my mom had it. She beat breast cancer and she helps out a lot with raising awareness. Right now, I focus my efforts on grabbing attention for it at the Quiksilver Pro on the Gold Coast because its such a big event. Each year, I ride a pink board to raise awareness and help out where I can. The pink board was my mom’s idea. It gets some good attention and then we raffle the board off after the event to raise more money. Last year I ended up breaking two or three of the pink boards in the contest.

Where are some of your favorite places to surf?

Indonesia is one of my favorites. There are just so many different waves there. The water is warm year-round and the surf is always fun. I really like going to Hawaii too.

So you prefer warm water?

Yeah. The water at home is pretty warm most of the year. Even in winter, I’ll only wear a 2 mil fullsuit at most. Once you get into a fullsuit, hood, booties and gloves, it just makes you not want to surf.

So you won’t exactly be looking forward to the Cold Water Classic events?

Ha ha! Yeah. I’ll bring bottles of hot water.

Any interesting upcoming trips?

I don’t really have anything planned right now. I’m kind of on call to go to Hawaii on a moment’s notice to shoot Honolua Bay in Maui if it goes off. Otherwise, the guys from the Irons brothers’ production company who are shooting my movie are coming to Australia to shoot me around home.

What are you doing when you’re not surfing?

Playing golf, riding dirt bikes… Golf is definitely at the top of the list. I’m alright as a golfer. I’m probably about a 13 handicap. I don’t usually drag my clubs with me on trips, but if I’m going somewhere where there’s good golfing, I’ll usually find some clubs and some time to play.

Have you played with Kelly yet?

Yeah. I played with Kelly a few times. I haven’t beat him yet… but I hope to… one day.

What would you do if you weren’t a pro surfer?

I think I would have been a professional skater, bmx biker or dirtbike rider if not a pro surfer. I’ve always been really good at all of them and still do them all.

Have you had any bad injuries from any of these?

No. Luckily, I’ve never hurt myself doing any of them. I did break my leg snowboarding about 5 years ago. That really sucked. I was out of the water for months.

Well, be careful and thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us. We look forward to catching up with you towards the end of the season to congratulate you on securing a seat on the World Tour.

Ha ha! Cool. Let’s hope so.

NOTE: A week after this interview, Julian rolled his ankle on an air at Rincon.  While nothing is apparently broken or torn, he’s still awaiting a full diagnosis. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him back in action quickly as the 2010 season is on the cusp of kicking off.

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