This interview was recorded just minutes after Dean Morrison came in from his heat with Mick Fanning at the Pipe Masters, having just become the first surfer to defeat the new world champion.
While Mick was lost in a thronging scrum of media and fans, Deano was standing quietly off to the side at the Volcom house, dripping wet, grinning from ear to ear, his own dream of winning the Pipe Masters still very much alive.
TB - How was it being out there when the world title was decided? It was pretty amazing that you, Joel and Mick were all in the water together when it went down.
DM - It was awesome. I wanted to celebrate and have a beer with him but this is my dream too to win the Pipe Masters. It awesome, just unreal.
Could you ever have imagined as grommets that one day you’d all be out at Pipe together with a world title up for grabs?
Nah, that’s a far-fetched dream. But it happened.
There must be mixed emotions.
Yeah, what can you say? I’m so stoked for Mick but congratulations to Joel too. He had such a great year, and next year he’s going to be back bigger and stronger. There’s not much he has to work on. He just had a couple of really bad heats.
Was there much conversation going on between you?
Yeah, there was. Joel was saying, come on Dean paddle. Mick wasn’t really concentrating on the heat too much. He was just celebrating.
Did you all realise exactly what had happened after that wave of Gavin’s and that last wave Joel went for, that the title had been decided?
Yeah, we realised straight away. Mick was just ecstatic. I don’t know. It’s a bit of a dream run.
It’s amazing what he’s done in the last few months.
Yeah, I know. He’s such a great competitor and so great at what he does. He’s an inspiration to everyone in the sport.
It was a pretty manly effort for Joel to come down thebeach and carry him up.
I know. He’s such a good friend to Mick and he knows that’s what comes first and he’s stoked for him. For him to do that, to have such a big loss and do that shows so much character. There’s not too many people in the world who would do that. He was the first one down there to help carry him up. He wanted us to carry him up. It just shows how good a bloke he is.
How’d you go carrying him?
I’m glad I don’t have to surf again today, that’s for sure.
Are you going to have a quiet night tonight or are you going to celebrate?
Nah, I’ll celebrate. How can you not. It’d be stupid not to.
It seemed to me sectionsof the media wanted to see some spite in the title race, and pretend there was some hostility between them but it always seemed like they had it in check.
They just went about their business as best they could, and that’s what they do best. They do that to the highest of their game, at the highest level in our sport, and they put that aside and they’re the first ones to have a beer and hang out afterwards.
That’s the thing, competition has always been a part of your friendships. The stakes are a bit higher now but you’ve always competed against each other.
It’s amazing to be here with those guys. The guys that I grew up with are the top in our sport that I’m aspiring to, since I was 12 years old. I’ve always tried to beat them and surf as well as them. And now the whole pack chases them to be the best in the world at surfing.
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