With the retirement of Occy, there's no more rock n roll attitude excepting Chris Wardo. There's no more legend on tour excepting Kelly Slater. We miss the time of Occy, Sunny, Archy or the Fletchers... But everybody remembers one of the most charismatic and hardcore surfer ever in and out of the water. His name : Richie Collins. He was the youngest rider ever on the professional tour, a big charger, performing huge 360 air at a time when everybody was carving... I decided to call Richie the legendary surfer to make some kind of career interview. Let's rock...

Freaksurf Magazine : Can you present Richie Collins legendary surfer ?

Richie Collins : I am from Newport Beach, California. I started surfing very young, because my father was a surfer shaper.

FSM : Why did you choose surfing rather than other sport?

RC : When I was a child, I grew up hanging out at my dads surfboard factory and going surfing with his friends. I would watch him and all the workers shape and build surfboards. When I would go surfing I would always try and keep up with the big boys, like JEFF PARKER, DANNY KWOCK and PRESTON MURRAY to become one of them since they were always in the mags. By the time I was 11 years old, I had shaped and built my first surfboard. I shaped my first board when I was 11 and got into it when I was 14. I started to design all my own shapes and fins.
 I started shaping because of my dad lance COLLINS WAVE TOOLS. I watched him since I was a little boy and wanted to be just like him.

Tell me about your carreer legend, from the beginning down to the new Dream Tour.

A few years later when I was 14, I turned pro and started shaping and building all my own surfboards. I was learning a lot working with my dad. I was the youngest professional surfer shaper in the world. As a young pro I was being taught by some of the best surfer in California, like GREG MUNGALL, DAVE PARMATER and JIM HOGAN.
Surfing on the psaa tour was very hard. I was always getting beat by the bigger guys. I traveled back and forth to Hawaii so I could become an all around surfer.

It was awesome, thank you God. Well no time to celebrate, it was off to England and France. When I got to France I was a hero. I had fans and media everywhere. 1st comp was Lacanau, me and MARTIN POTTER in the final and I got 2nd. Second comp hossegor : lost to TOM CURREN in the semi for a 3rd. Third comp, me and MARTIN POTTER again in the final and lost once again for a 2nd. Wow, talk about a lot of surfing. For the rest of the year I did not do so well. Had a few ok results, to help me finish in the top 10 at # 8.

In 1990, things got ugly. I was not giving myself up to God and started to have some personal problems and could not focus on having a good time. The only good result I got was a 2nd against TOM CURREN in Japan with a couple of ok results. Once again I finished 8th in the world.

I told him that I was fine and I am just waiting for someone to call from the ASP to help me. Hours went by and still no phone call, but from pet called again offering to come and pick me up and if I needed any clothes. I was still in my wetsuit, because we could not take it off because of my back. I finally took it off 6 hours after the final.

Pet and his wife and a friend came to see if I was doing ok and asked if I needed a ride and I said yes. If it wasn't for them I would probably still be waiting for that phone call. They drove me back to where I was staying and then offered to put me up in there house until I could walk again. Packed up a couple of things and went to there house.

The next day i still had not heard from anyone. I had one week to try and recover until the next comp up in Sydney. I checked out of my caravan park and staid with pet. My back was still really bad, but had to fly up to Sydney to compete.

I can not remember how I got my bell, but I do have it. What a great feeling to win the most important comp in the world. When I got to Sydney I still was pretty bad. Since there were no injury wild cards back then, I had to try and compete. I did not do very well at all. At least I could say i was the World Champ for 2 weeks. I had a hard time the rest of the year.

I wish I could have taken some time off, but if I did, I would have lost my spot. By the end of the year I was burnt out and very tired. My whole life was in a scramble. I had a new sponsor Body Glove and kept trying to surf and keep up my results, but it just wasn't working out. I dropped out of the top 16 and finished 18th.

In 1991 the surfing world was changing. I had so much going on in my life and was so stressed out, that my focus was no longer there. I was still struggling needing a break and wanting to take some time off. There was no time off or we would lose everything. What the hell was the difference. I lost everything any way. In 1991 I had lost all of my sponsors. I was 8th in the world no sponsors and doing the tour. I felt like crap. Having a very hard year with barely in results I managed to finish 10th. I had a pretty good finish for the first time in Hawaii with a 2nd at Sunset, 5th at Pipe and a 9th at Haleiwa to finish 3rd over all in the Triple Crown.

Living with Ken Bradshaw for about 4 winters and was the best experience you could possibly ask for. As my career took off on the psaa I was making a great name for my self in the United States and in Hawaii. I was shaping all of my own boards and learning new ideas for big wave shapes from Ken. When I was 17 I was rated 2nd on the psaa tour and just got sponsored by Billabong. In 1987 I turned 18, I decided to take a stab on the ASP tour and go to Japan for my first tour event. I finished 17th. I decided to quit the psaa and go on Tour. I was always looking for a challenge and I got one. Travelling around the world at 18 was a challenge. Went to South Africa and placed 3rd in Cape Town at the spur steak ranch comp. Came back home did the Op pro and the stubbies. Went other places like Australia, Brazil, England, France, Spain, and Portugal.

Wow it sounds like so much fun and it was, but it really makes you grow up quick. In 1988 the first big comp of the year was the O'neill Coors cold water classic up in Santa Cruz California and it was one cold comp. Big and small, stormy and perfect the Collins kid takes his first victory.

"What a rush." by the end of the 1987-88 tour I finished 30th in the world. The following year in 1988 was very short. It started in Japan in may and ended in Hawaii in december. It was very difficult, but traveling to all those countries made me even more famous. I had fans everywhere and loved to give out autographs. I had a few good results to push me into the top 16 to finish 14th.

My 1989 year was big. I struggled a lot in the beginning and by mid way through I found some piece of mind with God, "Jesus Christ". After 2 years on the tour, I was losing my mind. The short 2nd year took a toll on all of us. I had about a month off before the Op pro, took some time with my friends and surfed the Op pro took the win defeating TOM CURREN in the final. What a huge victory for me. I was on cloud 9. Talk about the rush and the croud on the beach.

In 1992 the new year was here and time to start fresh. I decide to just take it easy and try to be mellow. The Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Australia was the first comp of the year. I staid by myself and away from the media the best I could, but the ASP decided to introduce a new kind of scoring system and make 2 tours instead of 1.

In 1993 I was still so fried, but I kept on trying to over come my pain. I struggled all year with no results and at the last part of the year my great grandma had died and my grandpa was very sick with cancer. I could not think strait at all and decided not to finish the year in Hawaii to spend time with my grandpa. Then 2 days before Christmas my grandpa died. 

Since there were so many surfers and not enough days for a comp they decided to change to a World Qualifying Series and a World Championship Tour. Everyone was confused and could not figure out what the ASP was talking about, so some of us just decided to forget about it and surf. WhenIi was ask about it I pretty much just said, I am here to surf and what ever happens, happens. To make things even more confusing the ASP came up with a new scoring system also.
We were scored by percentages, based on if you won your heat or got 2nd. Once again we were in a stump. What the hell are these people trying to do.

Finally after trying to figure that out, I just said forget it and surfed.

The comp had started and I won my first heat. Once again I was ask from the media what was going on and I just said I do not know or understand. I tried to stay away so I could just relax and not be seen. By staying away from all the hype, it kept me focused on what I was here to do. I actually enjoyed my time and surfed to a very hard final against the World Champ Martin Potter. Just before the final the head judge was trying to decide if he should make it a 30 min or 40 min final and Ii said to him, just make it 40 mins since there are so many people watching. The final starts and Potts and I were going wave pure wave. I kept getting the better and at 10 mins to go it would be my last wave. Something went wrong and my back had seized up on me and I could no longer surf.

Potts needed basically 2 9.0 rides to beet me. The ocean went flat enough to where there were no 9s coming in so Potts decided to paddle in knowing i was injured with still some time remaining, but said that he did not want to win like that. With my back tied up and in so much pain they could not even move me. Potts was the only one up on the stage when they gave out the awards.

I was cared off the beach in a stretcher and put into an ambulance and taken to the hospital. I sat in the hospital for about 4 hrs and not one person from the ASP or the Rip Curl comp had even called to see how I was doing. I had one phone call from a life guard named Pet who had helped carry me up the hill to see if I was ok and if I needed any help.

I was devasted. Two of the most important people in my life are gone. The two people who would look at you with all their heart and love no matter what. So that was it, I was done.

When 1994 started it was very hard. I was no longer on the WCT, but I had picked up some sponsorship from Town & Country. I decided to stay home and do the local BUD tour events. I actually was doing very well. I did not have to travel, but up and down the coast.

It was very refreshing. So I decided to hop on a plain and go down to S. Africa and surf the Gunston 500. The waves were pretty good and I won all my heats to a 1st place finish that would put me on the WCT for the following 1995 year.

The next year was very funny. I was not angry but very confused. I tried so hard to win that I could not even surf at all. I had lost every 1st heat and all my friends were blown away. It was like I did not belong there. What was I to do. So I surfed and finished I think 40th and then called it quits.

In 1996 my sponsors had dropped me once again so I stayed home and just surfed and tried to have fun. That is when I met my wife today. Now I have been married for almost 12 yrs and have 3 beautiful little girls...

Richie Collins' interview - Part 2