The Local Rag chatted to local surfer Navryn Malone about his love of surfing, the early days and his success at comps so far.
When did you first start surfing and who put the time in with you early on?
First started surfing when I was between 5-6 down the inside of Manu Bay just getting the little waves, 1ft waves and riding them onto the rocks. My dad and I would take an 8ft Foam surfboard out and both ride it; he would stand behind me holding me so I didn’t fall.
Did you take to it straight away?
I fell in love with it straight away and haven’t stopped surfing since then.
When did you first start competing? What kind of events have you competed in?
I first started competing when I was 12 in the under 14s in all the New Zealand comps. Didn’t start off doing too good until I got to 13 or 14, then I started to make some finals and started actually liking competing. I’ve competed in all of the New Zealand comps and won a few of them and made some finals and done 2 Australian comps.
Tell us about your success and what have been your more recent achievements?
I’ve won the Billabong grom series once in which I had to do 3 events and place in the top 3 three times to win it, and I’ve won the New Zealand surfing nationals once when I was younger. Got 2nd in a comp the other weekend too.
How do you cope during competitions? Do you get nervous?
The only time I will get nervous is if I haven’t done a comp in a while, and if I make the finals I start to get nervous too.
How do you incorporate surfing with school?
I was in the Surfing Academy at Raglan Area School which made surfing a lot easier, and I was able to surf during school hours which worked well. I didn’t really like school so if the surf was pumping I’d take the day off school and just go surf all day; this was before they started the surf academy.
What do you really love about surfing?
I love surfing because I can surf with my mates and there’s a group of us that surf around here; we push each other and make each other get better. I also like surfing cause if you do a good turn or get a good barrel you get an adrenaline rush which feels good.
Where do you hope to take it into the future?
I don’t really intend that my surfing is gonna go far, but I might do a couple of Australian comps and see how that goes. Growing up I’ve always wanted to be a pro surfer but don’t think that will happen now.
