Rider Profile – Darshan Gooch

What’s your Name / Nickname?
My name is Darshan Gooch.  My nicknames are GOOCH, goochie, goocher, the guru…the list goes on and on with a name like Darshan Gooch.

Who are your sponsors / supporters?
My sponsors are Body Glove, Black Flys, Oneballjay, U.S. Hemp Co., CA Grown.

Where is your hometown and home break?
My hometown is Santa Cruz, CA. and my home break is Pleasure Point.

What is your current quiver?
My quiver ranges from a 5’6” Eaton bonzer all the way up to a 10’4” big wave gun shaped by Steve Colleta.  My short boards are usually around 6’4” and I have plenty of boards from retro shapes, to longboards, inbetweeners, single fins, twinny’s, twinzers, and thrusters. I’m open to almost anything.  I’ve recently grown an interest for the wooden Alia’s that Rob Machado and others alike have been playing with.

What is your favorite food?
I can eat like a horse, but I try to be aware of what types of things I eat.  Usually, I eat at home and find myself cooking chicken and veggies, pasta, rice with tofu, and salads on certain occasion. Sometimes I’ll make a big old fashion breakfast with potatoes, eggs, bacon, toast, or pancakes but usually I will eat oatmeal with some fruits and nuts or cereal. Wow, this is making me hungry!

What is your favorite music?
I listen to a bit of everything these days and have this weird obsession with English rock bands from the 1980’s.  Such bands like New Order, The Smiths, Joy Division, Tears For Fears, and The Police.  My dad’s from England so we used to rock all those cassettes when we’d do road trips and stuff like that.

What age did you start surfing?
I grew up going to the beach, and as a kid, my dad would buy me the most colorful neon suits so he could take off to surf and still see me from far away. I had a great respect and fear for the ocean growing up because I had been swept off the beach by a wave when I was about four. There were a few moments where I thought that was it, before my dad had rushed in and grabbed me.  Then on my ninth birthday my dad set up a lesson for me by a friend  (Marcel Sorros), but it wasn’t until I was about twelve until I was committed.

What was your best session?
Wow, that’s going to be a tough one. I’ve had so many special moments in the ocean whether it was shared with my friends or it was by myself.  I had a session a few months back with Tyler Fox at an undisclosed location on the central coast.  All the elements came together.  The surf wasn’t much bigger than overhead, but the waves were nice and round.  The winds blew light offshore, and a couple of spectators were on the beach.  But the beauty of our surroundings and the sunset (as cheesy as it sounds) was out of this world.  It felt like a fairy tale or something.

What is your favorite wave?
That’s another hard question. There is a lot of good surf everywhere, but preferably anywhere that’s nice and round without a crowd, that would be my cup of tea.

What was your scariest surf session?
My scariest surf session was when I was about 18.  I took my first trip to the North Shore of Hawaii.  We happened to be staying right on Sunset so I was getting use to surfing some bigger boards and trying to get comfortable in waves of consequence. It wasn’t long before I found myself in a few scary situations.  I’ll never forget this day, a big set started stacking up on the horizon, and I found myself in a panic scratching out to sea as a west peak set was about to wipe everyone out.  I was in way over my head, and started pleading to God for my life.  As the first wave of a massive set was about to land on my head, I stood up in desperation and dove down as far down as I could, in disbelief that I might make it.  I popped out the back of the wave, and my board was in one piece but there were a few more waves coming behind it.  Needless to say after I made it up on the beach, my tail was in between my legs.

Where is your dream surf vacation be?
My dream surf vacation is in Jeffery’s Bay, South Africa.

If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only bring 3 items, what would they be?
My three items would be sunscreen, trunks, and a surfboard

What are your top 5 surf movies?
My top 5 surf movies are “Surfers Take Two”, “The Sprout”, “Kelly Slater’s ‘letting go’”, “Sipping Jetstreams”, and “Searching for Tom Curren”.

If you could surf with anyone who would it be?
I would surf with Dave Rastovich.

Who has great surfing style?
My personal favorites are: Tom Curren, Parko, and Rasta, just to name a few.

Who are your surf influences?
I draw inspiration from so many people.  When I was younger I used to emulate Jason “Ratboy” Collins’ every move.  But these days I’m more focused on others techniques and try to put my own twist on things. In the longboarding world, my eyes were really opened by Dane Perlee and CJ Nelson.  I always admired how they where riding waves differently than what I was brought up on around the point. These guys weren’t afraid to ride just about anything.

Other than surfing what do you do for fun?
Other than surfing, I like to dabble in art a bit, mostly painting boards but on occasion.  I’ll also take off across town on a bike ride or practice yoga.

Any shout outs?
Major shout outs to all my friends and family out there, thanks for your help and support. And to all my critics, I love you all!

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