Smitty: the New Col Smith, by Rory Russell, ran in the May 1978 issue of SURFER, when Smith was 21. This version has been slightly edited.

While traveling through Australia last year competing on the pro circuit, I had the opportunity to get acquainted with an energetic young man who is one of the best of Australia’s new, up-and-coming surfers. Competing against him in the finals of the Alan Oke event, I noticed his vibrant determination and his well-rehearsed wave-riding technique.

Being a fellow goofyfooter, we teamed up with a couple of other Aussies for a few hot surf sessions in some of the more obscure surfing spots on isolated Phillip Island. Lack of surf and almost all other means of entertainment found us either holding up the bar in the Western Port pub after engaging in some beer drinking, Aussie style, or rolling on the floor in hysterics while Smitty played a $20 game of pool against an overconfident Melbournite who didn't know his cue stick was supposed to have a rubber tip on it and kept insisting that something was definitely wrong with the chalk.

I later spent a week with Smitty in his hometown at Redhead Beach, surfing perfect hollow lefts at his favorite secret spot, and enjoying the gracious hospitality of his family. While there, I was able to see the elements that molded this young man into such a potential success.

Expressing his desire to break into the pro surfing ranks and the need to come to Hawaii to do so, he listened intently to every word I mentioned about the North Shore. I knew Smitty had the right attitude, the right approach, and the talent to pull it off.

Bidding farewell and a fond adieu, I flew back to Hawaii, smiling to myself about the last thing Smitty said: “I’ll see you at the Pipe!”

Later that year, he did show up at the Pipe . . . and Sunset, and Laniakea, and every other break, with a quiver of boards that made everybody take a second look. Riding a new concept of surfboard design based on channels running lengthwise along the bottom of the board, Smitty put on a display of positive, sometimes spectacular, surfing. Within days, people were asking who he was, and what was he riding. I for one couldn't accept the fact that his boards could handle Hawaiian surf conditions—but when the surf came on and the cards were laid on the table, Smitty didn't just surf, he ripped!

Winning the Pro Class Trials, the first contest of the Hawaiian season, and then putting on an exciting backhand display for the Smirnoff in big Sunset, Smitty then backed all that up with a 7th place in the Pipeline Masters, missing the finals by half a point and leaving no doubt in anybody’s mind that the man and his machines were for real.

Before he left back home, Smitty and I sat down for a conversation

How did it feel, coming to Hawaii for the first time and winning the Pro Class Trials?

Coming here for the first time I didn’t expect to win anything at all. The moment I actually thought I could win was when we got right down to the finals. I was standing with my good friend Rabbit [Wayne Bartholomew], observing the surf for quite a while. Because the waves were small, about four or five feet, I felt I had an advantage. Coming from Australia and being used to smaller waves, that meant I could go out and not worry about the wave size and positioning. By then I had ridden Sunset a few big days, but I hadn't quite got the lineup wired. On the day of the Trials finals, I was able to perform in conditions that were really comfortable for me.

A lot of people were disappointed by the lack of big surf for that contest, so there was some criticism about the outcome. How did you feel about that?

It's something you’ve got to expect. To come here for the first time and win, people maybe get that feeling like, “It’s small waves so he’s gotten lucky on that day.” Admittedly, I don’t think the big-wave surfers had the advantage that afternoon. I know all these people's abilities because I’ve read about them for years, and I respected them for that, But to be a pro you’ve got to be able to surf what's there, no matter how big or how small. And the other thing is, you know, I'm not new to all of this. The whole thing has taken me a long time. I’ve built up a lot of momentum over the past three years to come here to Hawaii and compete well.

The win in the Trials earned you an invitation to the Smirnoff during which the surf was much bigger, 10-12 feet. What ran through your mind before you paddled out in your heat?

The feeling was I knew I had to do good. There had been a lot of—I don’t want to say pressure, but I could feel the vibe of the people on the beach thinking, "Well, he’s won the Trials in small surf, but can he big waves?” Nobody had really seen me in bigger waves up to that point. We'd had a few swells, but not enough for people to really see my ability. So yeah, I could definitely feel pressure on the beach. I knew I had to do good in that heat, or at least just put on a reasonably good show, and as far as I’m concerned I did that.

Your performance and a near-miss to advance to the semifinals showed that you definitely have the juice to ride bigger waves. As far as the Pipe Masters, how did it feel to miss out on the finals by just one-half point?

It was lack of experience that kept me out of the final. I didn't get the deep tubes. I caught big enough waves, but they just didn't tube. I mean, Pipeline is a pretty heavy break, so to paddle out there my first year and get into that seventh position where I only missed the finals by one place—I’m overwhelmed, man. I’m very stoked and happy with the outcome.

You should be pleased ’cause you look at the people you surfed against in that last heat [Rory Russell, Reno Abellira, Jeff Crawford, Michael Ho, Mark Richards], and you’re looking at a lot of experience surfing at the Pipeline. For you to come into that situation with just a few good days of Pipeline under your belt, I mean, you did what takes a lot of people many years to accomplish.

Pipeline is something that I’ve always dreamt about, read about, heard about. I’ve seen thousands of photos of people surfing there, so when I got here, as I said before, I had built up so much momentum to try and surf it well that it actually came kind of natural to me. I think my actual surfing ability was nearly there; it was wave judgement that kept me out, and that was only from inexperience. So next year . . . .

There's been some controversy over your surfboards, which are rather strange. I myself had a lot of doubt as to whether or not they would work. Would you say your surfboards contributed greatly to your success?

They're part of the reason, not the whole reason. Coming here for the first time, surfing the big waves for the first time, and having completely different equipment compared to everyone else—yeah, a lot of people looked at my boards and said, "Hmmm, I don’t know." The guy who shaped them has never been to Hawaii, but I’ve been riding them at home for a year now, and they felt really good, so I was confident that I could surf these boards here.

Could you elaborate a little on your board design?

I brought four boards to Hawaii: a 7"10" pintail with no channels, and a 7'7" a 7'4" and 6'10", each with six channels that start one-third from the nose and run off the tail into triple wings. The wings are actually the lead-off release points for the channels.

Do you think this is a breakthrough in surfboard design?

Definitely. I think we’ve got to get away from the conventional bottom designs with the flat bottoms and vee. We’ve got to keep progressing. I feel it’s as significant a breakthrough as short boards and light materials were a few years ago.

What exactly do these boards do for you on the wave?

I get a little more juice off the bottom, just that extra bit of thrust, especially at Sunset. The channels funnel the water off the tail, giving me lots of thrust and a positive direction.

Shane Surfboards is my sponsor. Jim Pollard is the guy who shaped my quiver. He's really pleased that the channels worked so well over here; we plan on marketing them because we know how to build them the way they work best.

Most people don’t realize what you have to go through to become an internationally recognized pro surfer, let alone make a living from the sport. I know how hard it was for me to get where I am right now, and be able to make a modest living from it. Could you tell us how you became involved with surfing, and how you got where you are today?

I began surfing when I was eight. I surfed competitively in all the schoolboy contests and the minor surfing events, then all the way through to the state titles, and then finally the Nationals. I was surfing competitively with Mark Richards and Peter McCabe, who were my main competition in the Junior ranks. And then all of a sudden I was sitting in Australia and these guys had left and gone to Hawaii. That made me withdraw within myself, 'cause I couldn’t figure out why they got the break to go and I didn't. So the next two years were radical. I was getting bombed out by judges, in my eyes, and I don’t know if I’m right in saying this, but I just had a lot of bad breaks. I’d miss a final by a half point, or this or that, always coming out on the wrong side, and I got very annoyed with the system. I went through a bad personal thing ’cause everybody was progressing but I was at a dead stop.

I toweled the whole contest thing, gave it up, and went to Western Australia for twelve months. I just surfed and surfed. I got my head together, I got my ideas and attitude towards professional surfing together, and above all I learned to live with people. I think that’s one of the main ingredients to success. If you learn to handle people, then life becomes much easier, and you can concentrate more on your surfing. So when I came back from Western Australia, I was prepared to handle anything they dished out. I put these obstacles and hassles out of my mind and just focus on my own ability so when I get in the water, there’s no one else out there. I've got 20 minutes to surf to the best of my ability, and if that’s not good enough, well, so be it, I’ll try again. This system has worked so well for me since I’ve gotten back into it that there’s no way I’ll give up competitive surfing. I think you've got to learn to adjust to people and to yourself before you can actually go and hit the top.

Would you attribute your success and achievements to any outside influence?

My parents are unreal; they've backed me all along. They said, “We think you’ve got the ability, and you just keep goin’ at it and we’ll do whatever we can.” My father said there’s a door there you got to knock on, and keep knockin’ till it opens. It might take one year, it might take five years, but if you’ve got the spirit, it will open wide.

How did you get involved with surfing in the first place?

My father and brothers are commercial fishermen, and we've always lived near the beach, so it was probably inevitable that I would pick up surfing. I myself did commercial fishing rather seriously for a few years, and the knowledge I gained about the ocean during those years was invaluable.

I’ll go back home, settle down with me girl, and get into work. I'll work really hard in our development of the channels, and get them ready for next year’s pro circuit, which I'd like to cover in its entirety. So as I can give ya a good run for yer money at the Pipe, mate!

And with that, Smitty left the Islands, headed for Redhead Beach and home with a pocketful of cash, some thrilling memories of big waves, and a lot of hot surfing under his belt. But Col was yet to experience life's greatest gift, for the same day he left the Hawaiian Islands, he was blessed with the birth of a son—another example of the intense charisma surrounding this young man.

[Photos: Craig Fineman, Warren Bolster, Lance Trout,]

"SMITTY: THE NEW COL SMITH," BY RORY RUSSELL (1977)

Subscribe or Login

Subscribe or Login

Encyclopedia of Surfing

Interviews

The Sunday Joint

Videos