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May 2007 Issue
Frank and Pat Curren/ Andrew Bennett
PAT & FRANK CURREN INTERVIEW
By Bill Tover
How old are you, and how many years have you been surfing?
Pat: 10 years old. I have been surfing for four years.
Frank: 12 years old. I have been surfing for four years.
Free surfing or competitive surfing?
Pat: Both. I like to free surf because you don’t have to be so nervous, and I like to compete because you win lots of prizes.
Frank: Both, but I like free surfing better because you can stay out in the water longer.
Do you compete in the NSSA?
Pat: Yes. I'm in the “Menehune” division.
Frank: Yeah. I'm also in the “Menehune” division.
Best contest results?
Pat: Volcom--1st place with lots of prizes.
Frank: Christian Surfing Association (2nd place).
Where have you traveled to for surf?
Pat: Australia, France, Panama and Hawai’i.
Frank: The same as Pat, but I surfed bigger waves.
Favorite surf spot in Santa Barbara?
Pat: Sandbar at the harbor. I own that wave.
Frank: The Pit on a good day. Pat doesn’t own that wave; I do!
Did you guys really surf four sessions in one day at Snapper Rocks?
Pat: Yup. It was really hollow, but crowded.
Frank: I liked the barrels, but not the crowd. They were very aggressive.
Favorite music?
Pat: My dad’s music.
Frank: Switchfoot
Last book that you read?
Pat: “How To Make Your Mom Happy By Doing What She Says”
Play music?
Pat: drums
Frank: guitar
Do you feel that there is a connection between your surfing and playing music?
Pat: Uh, yeah. I get amped when playing the drums and surfing big
Rivermouth!
Frank: Like when I play guitar, I get so amped just like when I drop in on Pat
into a macking, gaping left barrel!
Favorite surfers?
Pat: My dad, Taylor Knox, Kelly, Rob Machado and Erin Smith.
Frank: POPS, Ollie from Bali, Taylor Knox, Gramps and Rob Machado.
What was the heaviest wave you surfed this past winter?
Pat: Pipeline
Frank: V-land
Your WORST wipeout besides the one at Cortes Bank, 100 miles due east of San Diego?
Pat: Oh yeah, I remember that one. At the Pit, a guy shot his board at me as I was going over the falls, but I had my helmet on.
Frank: A gnarly one outside Ledbetter on a big day at a minus lowtide.
Do you guys stay fit by “cross training” like your coach, Brandon Smith?
Pat: Brandon WHO?
Frank: You mean, “Sponger Smith?”
What’s your favorite maneuver?
Pat: Barrel
Frank:Barrel
Have You learned anything from Uncle Joe?
Pat: He talks to me about my cutbacks.
Frank: Same thing, cutbacks
How about your dad?
Pat and Frank: Paddle hard and set your edge when you go in to the barrel.
Any last words?
Pat: Don’t sell your boards. Ever
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Making Strides: Andrew Benett
By Chuck Graham
Paddling out at dawn in the rivermouth at Rincon, there’s no mistaking the big redheaded kid pig-dogging it on a sand-sucking barrel. He resembles a young Luke Egan (former world #2), utilizing his size to his advantage.
However, it wasn’t until this past fall that 19 year old Andrew Bennett put it together in the NSSA, where he vaulted from 50th in the open season ratings to 5th in a matter of just a few contests.
"He’s a bit of a late bloomer," says his coach, Mike Lamm of the goofy-footer. "But I think in the next 18 months he’ll make some inroads."
Making Strides
So how do you explain jumping 45 placings in the open season ratings to 5th overall?
I’ve been working with Mike Lamm for over a year now. But after returning from Indo last September with a ankle injury, I missed the first NSSA and didn’t do well in the two that followed. So I trained really hard with Lamm, and last November I won my first open, got a second in another, and I’ve won a couple of Explorers since then.
How did you hurt your ankle?
Down at the Mentawais at Macaronis, I pulled into a barrel, and as I was coming out the lip cracked me and compressed me. It was the ankle on my back foot. The doctor told me I crushed my cartilage, strained ligaments and bruised the bone. I’ve been going to therapy, but I was back in the water after the first day.
How do you feel about your jump from 50th to 5th? Is this a big surprise to you?
It kind of was a surprise, but I’ve been working hard with Lamm, especially the mental approach. It’s been a goal of mine.
What sorts of things has Lamm been working with you on?
Real technical stuff. He basically gives you a real exact goal you’re trying to attain when you’re surfing; what the pros are doing, and what’s different about their approach. It’s a different way of thinking about how you surf.
I’ve seen you surf at Rincon, and thought you were a pretty good surfer, but you hadn’t put it together in the NSSA yet.
For a while I wasn’t. Then outside of contests, I put a lot of energy towards it, surfing in the type of contest surf we have to surf. I also got some really good boards from Robert Weiner, which was a change at the same time as my jump in the ratings.
Any other sponsors coming your way since your turnaround?
I’ve been getting clothes and wetsuits from O’neil.
What are your immediate plans?
Depending on the nationals, I’m already surfing WQS events this year, and I’ll do a lot more next year. Hopefully this will be my last year in the NSSA.
How has the WQS gone so far?
Those are tough. I’ve made it through a few heats, and at my age and experience, I’m pretty stoked. It makes you realize how many good surfers are out there.
Congratulations on your recent success, and good luck in the future.
Thanks.
Posted May 2007 Blue Edge Magazine. All rights reserved.
