HUNTINGTON BEACH, California (Monday, June 8, 2009) - It’s no secret that perennial ASP World Title contender Joel Parkinson, 28, showed up on tour hungrier than ever to claim his first crown this year. His dominating performances on the Gold Coast and at Bells were more than enough proof to stamp Parko’s intentions on the 2009 season as nothing less than a maiden ASP World Title and despite a disappointing 17th place finish in Tahiti, Parkinson has maintained a clear frame of mind and is more focuses than ever entering Brazil. Surfline.com sat down with the current World No. 1 to see how he’s feeling after the first three events on the Dream Tour. This... is their story...
SURFLINE: You’ve been training and traveling with Wes Berg, an Australian ironman champion how has that affected your whole act?
PARKO: Well, he’s made me aware of what it means and what it takes to be an elite athlete. I mean, take for example in Tahiti, in a place like that, when you could surf all day and it’s such a beautiful place and there’s people on the beers every afternoon. I was staying with Occ, who was working on the web, and after he’d worked all day he’d get home and crack a few coldies and eat dinner and talk story and it’s kinda hard to say I was realistically working, you know? It’s easy to just get caught up in Tahitian time and just slide away and lose focus. With Wes there though, he kept me on my toes. We are both just making sure I’m doing what’s right for me right now, and that I’m not overdoing it, or surfing too much. I mean there were days where I could have surfed for 20 hours, but I held back. I was a little knackered the next day still, but not as knackered as I would have been. "...on the other hand I have to be a bit of a selfish prick and put myself in a bubble if I want to achieve the results."
It sounds like you have a new sense of discipline. Obviously, you’ve had that before, but have you stepped it up?
Most definitely. I mean I’m still running by my motto for not only this year, but the years after, in that I’m going to..."
For the full Joel Parkinson article, check out Surfline’s ’Joel Parkinson Interview’
For more on Joel Parkinson, check out his ASP WORLD TOUR PROFILE
Photo: Sean Rowland
