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Interviews

TALKING CHUBBY WITH NIC VON RUPP

Is it true that you asked the editor to “Not to run that shot, run it next year, cause I’ve had so much coverage already this year recently…?’
Fark, well yeah, that is true, he’s such a gossip the Editor, isn’t he.  He just can’t help himself.
Are you worried about over exposure?
Over exposure, no, not at all. Just sometimes, well ahh, with the timings of incentive contracts, it can be smart to spread it out.
This time of year people generally feel guilty about having eaten too much…  it must feel like January year round to you?
Oh my God, Evans (the editor) told you to ask that didn’t he? He just can’t let it go, he just has to keep pushing the same buttons over and over. I mean he’s referring to a trip we did together about seven years ago, when I was like 15. I was always hungry, just eating all the time and not overweight, but say a little chubby, and Evans has been going on and on about it ever since like a dog with a bone.
If it is any consolation, he just did a marathon in Miami and had to walk half of it.
(Explodes with laughter) Really, what a kook. Ha, ha that’s good, I really need to talk to the old boy about that.
Speaking of over exposure, your clip “Divine Intervention” from the recent Irish sessions has caused a bit of an online flurry. Word on the street is that you were the man over there.

I’m not sure about that, but yeah the clip has had more than 10,000 views or something. The other day I was at Pipe and one of the Hawaiians I really respect out there came up to me and said, “I saw the clip and it was insane bro.” I was like what the fuck, how did you see it? So it’s given me confidence, that I can battle it with the best. Maybe it’s a step closer in the long journey to getting a bomb at Pipe.
Tell us about the sessions.
Well I had never been to Ireland to surf, and I was lucky Monster hooked me up with a ski and a local driver Barry Mottershead. The first session was at Mully and you know I have had no tow experience whatsoever, but the opportunity came. Barry was like “C’mon man, it’s pumping,”  totally amping. It was really big, 20 feet or whatever and I was really scared. But the local guys, Ollie O’Flaherty and Pete Conroy were going mad and there was just a few of us, so I had a go. It was just so pure, so surfing. That wave is absolutely crazy, beyond crazy, and I was lucky I didn’t think and just went.
The other session was at PAMPA, that looked equally crazy?
Yeah, you know we thought the swell was going to drop, but it just pulsed, like 10 feet solid  slabs. I had the perfect board, a 6’4” quad and I felt so good, as confident as I have ever been. For me it was just a perfect session, so magical. Like some of the other guys, like Kohl Christensen and Alain Riou broke boards or were washed over the rocks, and so were unlucky, but I made every wave, everything just went my way.
What now, full time slab hunting or WQS mush chasing?
Well I’ve qualified for the prime QS events this year, so I’m going to be chasing those this year. I was lucky to grow up in good waves in Portugal, and winter there is always time off to chase those slabs, but for now it’s Pipe first and them the comps.

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