Rider Profile – Colin Dwyer

At only 18 years old, Colin Dwyer has some big shoes to fill as his hometown breeds big wave chargers such as Shawn Rhodes, Matt Ambrose, and Colin’s dad Steve Dwyer just to name a few.  He is on the path to filling those shoes and then some with his skills of being able to surf anything from 2 ft to 20 ft.  Sit down, relax, and read up on Colin as this will be a name that you will definitely being hearing a lot more of in the surfing world!

NCS: Lets start with your stats?
CD: Colin Dwyer, I’m 18 and I live in Pacifica, Ca

NCS: How long have you been surfing and how did you get started?
CD: I think I started when I was like six or something but I wasn’t that into it I thought it was pretty lame. I started surfing everyday when I was like 10 or something, so probably 8 solid years of surfing.

NCS: Where is your local surf spot?
CD: Rockaway

NCS: Who do you surf with?
CD: Brian Tognozzi, Travis and Tyler Payne, Joe Grohowski, and my dad Steve Dwyer. That’s who I call to surf most of the time.

NCS: What song plays the most on your ipod?
CD: The song with the most plays on my ipod is stranger by Van She, sick song from stranger than fiction. Other than that, Iron Maiden is really sick. I like metal, techno, indie stuff, pretty much everything except reggae. Hate reggae.

NCS: What boards are in your surfboard quiver?
CD: My main shortboard lately has been a 5’11″ 18 1/8″ 2 1/16″. I usually get my boards from Robert down in Ventura. He makes really good boards. Other than shortboard’s I have a few grovel boards and a couple step ups but my favorite boards are my Mavs boards though. I have a 9’1″ and a 9’4″ they both go great out there, they’re both shaped by Randy Cone he’s my shaper for guns. I have a 9’8″ coming that I’m pretty excited for.

NCS: I was watching a video clip of the Uncle Dicks contest not to long ago and you dominated it. 3 divisions and you won all 3? What?
CD: Haha! Yeah, I guess I got pretty lucky. I was stoked the surf was about as good it could for the second day and I was just having fun. I wasn’t even paying attention to what heat I was surfing or anything like that, I was just so relaxed. Every heat I surfed, I was just taking turns with my friends and yelling them into waves and stuff and it was just really fun. I felt really loose and relaxed and everything just kind of came into place for me.

NCS: Not only are you killing it in the smaller waves but you have been drawing some attention to yourself lately surfing out at Mavericks…. Is your dad your main influence for surfing Mavericks?
CD: Yeah, definitely but one thing he has always said to me about myself and other people is you can’t force Mavericks on yourself or anyone else. He kind of took me out there showed me the ropes when he thought I was ready and then after that he left it up to me.

NCS: Your dad is one of the originals out at Mavericks right?
CD: Yeah, he started surfing out there in the 90s and into the 2000s and he was one of the main guys for years getting bombs out there. It’s pretty sick in my opinion to not only have a dad who was out there all the time but charged it and one was one of the guys pushing it out there.

NCS: Pacifica seems to be breeding some big wave chargers such as Shawn Rhodes and Matt Ambrose. Have you spent some time with them out at Mavs?
CD: I think your kind of expected to be a big wave guy growing up in Northern California but a lot of people just really aren’t into it up here. Shawn and Matt have definitely been big impacts on my desire for surfing Mavericks. Those guys are the second biggest reason for me wanting to go out there, my dad being the number one reason. I have seen a lot of photos and video of them just charging that place and growing up in their town I wanted their approval and stuff so I figured the obvious thing to do would be to try and carry the torch at the best big wave spot in the world. That’s how you get respect in a small town like mine, trying to pick up where those guys left off. Shawn and Matt are both still crazy out there and I have the utmost respect for everything they’ve accomplished out at Mavs.

NCS: What was your first reaction when you found out you were selected to be on the alternate list for the Mavericks contest?
CD: Tim West called me and said yeah buddy you stoked or what? I was kind of confused I asked him, uh why? Tim’s a super cool guy and I’m stoked to have kind of a mentor out there but he likes to mess with me a little haha! He broke the news and told me I cracked the alternate list. I didn’t believe him at first because I hadn’t done any campaigning for myself to be in there and I kind of thought I was going to have to, so I was pretty surprised and really stoked at the same time.

NCS: Are you doing any kind of training?
CD: I hit the gym as often as I can. I also cross train and play a lot of xbox, haha! I get a bit pre-occupied with my college classes so sometimes all I can do is surf.

Where would you like to see yourself in the next 5 years?
CD: In five years I will be twenty three! Well, I definitely want to have already competed in and won the Mavericks contest. That’s my number one goal in surfing for the next 5 years. In five years, as long as I’m happy, making enough money to travel, doing a few contests here and there to keep me satisfied, and surfing everyday, I will be perfectly happy.

NCS: Got any surf trips planned for 2009?
CD: Money is pretty tight to be honest I just don’t have the means to really go anywhere but I think me and Tyler Payne are going to make a trip down to Puerto Escondido for the WQS there and to get some waves too. Other than that, just try and save some money so I can bail to Indo sooner rather than later. My dad wants to prove to me he can still ride a barrel better than I can.

NCS: Who are your sponsors/supporters?
CD: I just got with O’neill clothing and wetsuits so far they’ve been really supportive and cool, so I hope to build a good relationship with them. NorCal Surf Shop and all the guys behind the scenes there are a huge support. Electric, Creatures of Leisure, and Adio keeps me in product which is nice but my parents are definitely my biggest sponsors and supporters. I have a lot of really close friends and family that all surf so I’m very fortunate.

NCS: Is there anyone that you would like to thank?
CD: My mom and dad! All my friends, family, and all the guys pushing me to be a better person and a better surfer. Also, norcalsurfers.com for finally recognizing that California doesn’t stop at Santa Cruz!!

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