I interviewed Bobby Martinez last fall in Mundaka, at one of the least-attended events in ASP history (not counting every Brazilian event, of course.) I already posted the first part of this unused interview - here's the second part of our discussion, which centered on the apathy that swept through the ranks as Kelly dominated 2008.
Bobby somewhere in Mex. Photo: ASP/ Sean Rowland
Lewis Samuels: Seems like a lot of top guys are pretty over it right now.
Bobby Martinez: Almost all the guys in the Top 10 have been here for years. I don’t know if they’re over it or not, I just hear that from you guys. For me, no way. I’m not gonna quit, not gonna give up, I’ve worked too long and too hard to give up. I’ve struggled for years while these guys were up on top, so I’m never gonna quit.
A lot of guys follow the Dane/ Kelly “I don’t care” attitude whereas you’re pretty focused on every event. Is it hard to see the top guys have that attitude? Do you think it’s disrespectful to the sport?
I think they’re lying to everybody… I honestly think, deep down inside, if you didn’t care, why would you be here? The QS is the worst tour, why would you go through that if you get here and don’t care. I think it’s all bullshit. Personally from what I’ve experienced I think you go through the hard yards to get here for a reason. If Dane didn’t care, he wouldn’t surf a wave and try a backflip twist every wave. He cares. I don’t care what he says. I look at him, when he needs an 8, he’ll surf a wave. When Kelly needs a score, he’ll surf a wave. That’s bullshit to me. I honestly feel like why would you be here… I do look at it as kinda disrespectful, because people work so hard for this. You know, people in these other countries, Brazil and stuff, where it’s third world and they don’t have anything, this is their life. Same with me, I don’t have nothing, this is my life. To hear people come and say they don’t care, for some of us who maybe have a different mentality, I kinda look at it as a let down. For people who have struggled for a positive way of life, come out of bad neighborhoods and shit… I could never say I don’t care, cause I do care.
Bobby in Chile. Photo: ASP / Sean Rowland
Do you ever feel like you’re coming at it from a perspective similar to the guys from Brazil?
Yeah, I do, I feel like I have more of a connection to those guys as far as where I come from, it’s different - the school I went to, the neighborhood I grew up in, there wasn’t one kid who surfed. Brazil, you go there, there’s so much poverty, the people are struggling, that’s how it was where I’m from. There would be like 15 people, families, in a 2 bedroom house, struggling, just trying to make a better life. I’ve seen that, and they don’t quit, so I don’t understand how people can go through this tour and act like “I don’t care.”
Fans kinda feel cheated when those really good guys don’t give it their all.
I think heart succeeds sometimes more than talent. If you grow up in a neighborhood where shit happens, and you want to leave where you’re from, you give it your all when you have that opportunity. People are striving for a better way of life. That’s why people who come from nothing, and strive to succeed, sometimes that heart is worth more than talent and an “I don’t give a fuck” attitude. If you live where everything is all good, why would you care? If you’re striving to get more for your family, which a lot of guys on this tour are, it means more for you, it’s deeper, more meaningful. This tour is our life – it’s how we make money, how we survive. I’m not writing Kelly or those guys off if they don’t care. I mean, Kelly, he’s done his job. He’s in a position not to care. It would be great to be there but it’s not where I’m at. Cause he’s the freak of our sport, it’s understandable if he doesn’t care. And Andy, he got 3 titles. They’ve got their titles, accomplished their goals, where a lot of us haven’t got there yet, and we might never get there, but at least we’ll know we tried. But the people who haven’t got there, and already don’t care… it trips me out. How is that possible? It trips me out, it’s weird to me.
I completely agree with Bobby’s wider point. Nevertheless, I would like to maybe call bullshit on him. I don’t know the details about Bobby’s life story and I’m not going to doubt that he’s gone through some shit nor am I going to doubt the seriousness of the problems in his community. But regarding his acting as if he’s been underprivileged, let me just ask the following:
Didn’t he have a six-figure contract (with Counter Culture?) when he was 15 or 16? Wasn’t he driving to Rincon in his new BMW when he was like 17? And, if I remember correctly, didn’t he go to El Salvador with Surfer when he was a pre-teen?
yeah, life certainly begins at 16, right? I seem to recall other stories about Bobby’s friends and/or family being killed in bouts of gang violence. While SB’s not South Central, it’s got its trouble spots for sure. And poor is poor, no matter where you are. Just think if AI, Bruce, Machado etc. had Bobby’s drive…
I think his point is that he came from a background where earning a lot of money from surfing is not something to take for granted and he doesn’t. That is a perspective that he shares with many of the guys from Brazil.
Given the well-publicized spoiled baby attitudes of a lot of the top pros, I’d say it’s refreshing to see.
It was about 10 years ago now but I surfed a lot of sessions around SB with him. He was always stoked and courteous in the water in my experience. Absolutely ripped too.
You guys are right, I agree. And I wasn’t trying to “hate”. Really.
But anyways, let me ask one more, potentially incendiary, question:
I know it’s more difficult for Brazilians to make it internationally as pro surfers, but aren’t most Brazilian surfers kind of the middle-class or even the bourgeoisee of Brazilian society?
>I know it’s more difficult for Brazilians to make it internationally >as pro surfers, but aren’t most Brazilian surfers kind of the >middle-class >or even the bourgeoisee of Brazilian society?
can’t say for sure on the brazilians, but wouldn’t this be a safe a bet for the vast majority of pro surfers (that they the come from typically well off backgrounds)?
hey lewis, since you’re such an intrepid reporter, let’s see an article on the socioeconomics of pro surfing.
Bobby nailed it. There is a primadonna vibe amongst our sports elite surfers. The scary part about it is how its trickling down thru the surfing ranks. I’m so stoked Curren was mellow and humble, I think he was very instrumental in steering a whole generation of surfers in a solid direction. Come to think of it, SB does churn out a solid surf citizen: Curren, Bobby, Timmy, Dane… Maybe Al has something to do with keeping these guys grounded.
[quote] hey lewis, since you’re such an intrepid reporter, let’s see an article on the socioeconomics of pro surfing.[/quote]
I agree: it would be a challenging, yet rad undertaking.
I hate 99% of surfers 99% of the time, Bobby represents that minority i respect, he speaks truth and he speaks from the heart. To real for a pro surfer. Much Aloha to Randall P. he compliments my list.
>[quote] hey lewis, since you’re such an intrepid reporter, let’s see an article on the socioeconomics of pro surfing.[/quote]
>I agree: it would be a challenging, yet rad undertaking.
it would be great and lewis is the person to do it. the real question would be if he’s willing to do something more than the ’so-so isn’t surfing up to his potential’ gossip pieces.
what say you, lewis? you talk about adding a voice to surf journalism, but it seems to me that you’re just perez hilton for surfers. it’s better than reading nothing but the glowing reports from the industry, but come on. give us something real.
Bobby Martinez and the rest of the tour are equal in their want/need to be on the tour. Each of them have their own manufactured story that markets them to the world. Bobby is the “gangster” who was lucky to have an out from the mean streets of Santa Barbara (yes I know santa barbara has “rough” neighborhood’s but I compare it to the “gang riddled” violence of La Jolla). Dane is the Joe the Plumber of the tour, a surfer for the people which is why his world tour profile reads drinking beer as his hobby (who can’t relate to that). Which leaves Kelly Slater who is the King of the sport, the man that everyone loves when he wins but at the same time secretly await the next in line (is it Dane or Jordy). What does this rant mean? Nothing, surfing sold it soul along time ago in order to be like every other sport with one goal, to make money.
Also the mean streets of da ‘bu, Laguna and Newps… We’re getting old my fellow brothers and less and less relevant. Our surfing forefathers were possibly a bit more legit, but still out to satisfy their primal need for surf, chicks, power. Hey wait those guys (fathers) are running the industry now and taught us everything we know. Sages, they are. Now we can pass on, or have passed on what we know! We’re screwed! Jack sang it best: “where’d all the good people go?”
I like this Bobby Martinez guy. He has his moments where he’ll look like a hypocrite, but he isn’t scared to say what he thinks. He’s not overly afraid of offending someone even if it’s one of his friends because he’s just saying it how it is. Not going out of his way to take shots at people either, but not avoiding calling bullshit when he need be. good interview.
Hi, i’m from Brasil and to mention only the Brazo surfers on CT this year (which are only three, the least we have seen in years…), i can say Heitor Alves probably is a guy from the slumbs of the northeast region of Brasil, very dry, hot and poor land, as well as uneducated, which is even worse than the climate. When he played tennis with Kelly on one of this islands venues, who turned on his usual competitive mode, did the whole job and won the matches, Heitor candidly said he had never played tennis before in his life, which led Kelly to question it “Really?”. Well, he said the truth.
Jihad maybe is from a poor middle-class family, but i’m not so sure about it cause he came from Parana, a welthy state from the south, colonized mainly by germans, italians and other europeans, which resulted in a rich state. I know his father is an arab and has his own small bussiness and that’s why he putted his son name as the “holly war”. And i know he was helped by former CT surfer Peterson Rosa.
And Adriano comes from a poor family from the state of São Paulo, the richest state in the country, which i think helped him get a local sponsor to begin his career. He won his first professional event, competing against adults, at the age of thirteen years old, the same age i started surfing. A precocious kid.
Bobby has been coddled by garment whores since his NSSA days. He represents his neighborhoods dilemna in the same way that El Pollo Loco does. Gratuitous credibility. And he doesn’t need it, he kills. Shut up and win BM, you had an entire youth funded by those no longer invested, no longer interested. Mirror time ripper. You have the skills…..
Bobby is head and shoulders above most of the WCT in terms of maturation and respecting the opportunity he’s been given. I hope he gets an even bigger pot of gold when he reaches the end of this rainbow.
bobby kills it, hopefully he can get a handle on that anger before it turns into bitterness. We don’t really know what type of sheeite went down between him and reef. nobody can deal with grumpy employees right now. there’s too many hungry rippers out there with solid attitudes- i think… side note, i saw richie collins the other day, big smile and totally stoked.
i like what bobby says about, “i hear that mostly from you guys,” in regard to what writers like our mr.samuels who takes a page from the Hollywood gossip press in publishing the “i’m so over it…” comments from pros burned out by the rabid questioning of surf press newcomers trying to piggyback the fame and popularity of surfing while these professional surfers are trying to focus on winning a world title. As an active participant in surf/pro surf culture for the past 25 years, I’ve often seen outsider journalists offer up diluted opinions in magazines in need of content to fill their pages. my fellow surfer individuals don’t buy into what guys like mr.samuels is peddling, summing up the entire asp world tour with 5 line opinions of each surfers abilities, shortcomings….c’mon, before we know it the press is gonna be the one calling all the shots and i think this is one of the points bobby and several other wct guys try to get across, our individuality of sport and spirit isn’t something for sale.
WHan WHAn STEVE713… sounds like you must be a shitty industry stooge surf journalist who tried to write pretentious articles about the “individuality and spirit” of surfing… but no one wanted to buy your crap because it probably sucked ass and now your jealous that “mr.samuels” has been succesful without being an industry kiss ass for 25 years first.
It’s totally Lewis’ fault that AI, Bruce and the rest are over it. Has nothing to do with them being too dumb to realize that their careers are short and the money is good. Just ask Machado, who quit the tour to be soul and then ended up losing his family as he struggled to keep his sponsors happy and his paycheck coming in.
Funny that someone in the “pro surf culture” for 25 years would be against selling out the individuality of the sport…
claim it stu! keep claiming it bro! 25 years dude you are OG man yeeeeaaaah!!!
Steve = can’t keep a job or zeldo?
er, meant can’t keep a job zeldo. no or.
Hey Steve 713…. Rush limfuck needs a new publicist with a comprehensive lack of perspective. NO PRO SURFER has EVER been asked questions like tradiitional sports journalists would ask. You are a shill. Your tenure exposes you for your position, it that’s true. Protecting your idols while you paint their podiums is disingenous at best. NOBODY questions these guys. They are fed to the “media” prepackeaged and sterile, that’s why they don’t resonate with us. And the product is rad, that’s why all the superficial fluff is so offensive. The “industry’ operates independently from our collective best interest. Surfers (me) will always study the cutting edge, but don’t mistake that for a credibility outside of that brief relevance.
joe the plumber, dane, zeldo and cote’…….. only one surfs. Common guys, which one is it? While that guy plays the “I’m over it” card before he makes an impact, whose lead is he following? The circus is adrift because it forgot it’s premise, long ago. Everyone wants money, some people earn it. Advertising isn’t reality unless Kelly is selling.
well, looks like that old, old, old drew courtney guy just whipped up on young angry bobby in R2 at D’bah.