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Riding High
Surfer Graham Wade is turning heads
 | | At 15, Graham Wade has already won many surfing trophies. |
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In the five years that 15year-old Graham Wade has been riding waves, he has surfed his way around the world, placed third in the Eastern Surfing Association Championship and has received sponsorship from Billabong, FCS, and Local Motion. Graham sat down with Splash and talked about his favorite surf spot in the world, the best wave of his life, the reality of surfing competitively, his aspirations as a film maker, Americanization of foreign coasts, and reflected on connecting with nature while in the ocean doing what he loves most.
Q. When did you start competing in surfing contests?
In my second year of surfing I started surfing competitively and thats how the whole sponsor thing got started. Whenever I did well enough to qualify for the regional championships, my first year competing, Innerlight sponsored me and through Yancy I got my first few sponsors. After that Bryan Hewitson from Billabong saw me surf and I got offered (a sponsorship) which was pretty cool.
Q. How far do you hope to go in competitive surfing?
I am going to see how far it will take me. I’m into film making too. It’s a backup plan. A lot of kids that are into surfing and are doing really well in contests at my age, you know, won’t make it in competitions and won’t make a living off of surfing. It’s really hard. You have to be really good at what you do and there are only a handful of people that can do that, but I am going to see how far it will take me.
Q. What kind of films are you interested in making?
Surf films. (laughs) Action sports videos with music soundtracks. I’ve been editing film for a few years. It is something I like to do. I have a couple fallback plans. I play drums too. I was banging on pots and pans when I was three and then my parents bought me a drum set when I was like five and I’ve never quit playing.
Q. Where are all the places outside the U.S. that you have traveled to surf ?
I’ve been to Fiji, Australia, California, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Costa Rica.
Q. What is your favorite surfing spot in the world?
Costa Rica definitely. I know a lot of people there and the way the waves break at this certain spot that we normally stay is just so fun. It is the most fun wave that I could imagine.
Just the vibe down there is really good. A lot of the places you go you encounter what is called localism. It is where a lot of the guys from there are not open to other people coming there to surf, but in Costa Rica there is none of that. It’s just all love. I like it. Costa Rica has changed a lot though. Every year I go you can kind of see developments move farther and farther down the coast. The farther away you get from the airport the more you see the american influence go down until you are out in the country and it is just unspoiled, pure Costa Rican. In about ten years I think it will all be commercialized. Which is a shame, but it is good now.
Q. Where did you catch the best wave of your life?
That was in Fiji. You have to take a boat out to this spot. It’s this barrier reef out in the middle of the ocean. The way the waves come in they wrap around this reef and peel perfectly and go along for really long. The reef is pretty shallow and so the lip goes over and creates a little barrel and its just the longest most perfect, hollow wave and you can just take off on a long swell and tuck in and get a really long barrel. I did that over this summer and it was so good. Every day I surfed there I would say “That was the best wave of my life!” and then I would come back the next day and say “No, that was the best wave of my life!”. It was fun.
What is the longest ride you’ve ever had on a wave?
A couple times at this spot in Costa Rica the waves were so long my legs felt tired after I kicked out at the end. I stayed on the wave for like 30 seconds some times.
What is it about surfing that really grabbed you? Why do you surf ?
It’s the speed of the wave and the thrill you get sometimes and just the sheer fun it is. It is unlike any sport there is. You are out completely away from man made things. You have your board and you. The rest is nature. You can’t control anything out there. It’s that element of danger mixed with the pure fun of being out there in the water with everything that lives in the ocean. You’re just out there with nature and I like it. There’s no referees that can blow the whistle. You ‘re totally at the will of nature. Sometimes you can eat it pretty bad and get held under and you can come up or not. It is that element that is fun for me. Where would you like to go surf next?
I want to go to Indonesia really bad. Thats where everybody wants to go these days. I think it would be a cool cultural experience too. Indonesia is definitely the place to go.
What do you want to do after high school?
As soon as I get old enough I am thinking about film school in Southern California, maybe UCLA, or maybe Hawaii. I just have to have waves to surf.
Thanks to Graham Wade for sharing his time, thoughts and dreams.
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