Sunny Garcia: A Legend Is Free
Apr 17 2007 / Los Angeles, CA
|
Originally from the troubled West Side of Oahu, Sunny came from a broken home and like a lot of champion surfers before and after, he took to the ocean to soothe his saddened soul and vent his anger. Sunny burst into pro surfing in the 80s, a young, badass Cassius Clay determined to bring home glory to Hawaii. For 14 years Sunny had good times and bad times, won and lost contests, Triple Crowns and the Triple Crown by a hair. In 2000, Sunny had a new wife and a Kauai training regiment and he finally claimed the World Title he knew he deserved.
|
||||||||||
Over the years Garcia had made very good money in winning contests and sponsorships, but it was $400,000+ in foreign prize money that got him into trouble with Uncle Sam. Sunny was convicted of tax evasion in the fall of 2006 and sentenced to three months in Federal Prison – a relative open-handed slap compared to what could have happened. Sunny surfed the Hawaiian Triple Crown with that cloud hanging over his head, and then was off to prison (his term ended April 10) with seven months of house arrest after that.
Good times, bad times. Sunny has had his share of both, but being down is what motivates Sunny, and time will tell how he deals with life after success.
Lat34: Tell us about life after the WCT?
SG: There isn’t a life after the CT! I am not going to say that I miss it and I am not going to say that I don’t, there are times that I do and there are things that I miss about it. I miss hanging out with my friends, for sure, for twenty something years that I have been traveling on tour with the same guys, for sure I miss all my friends, I miss competing, but I don’t miss the traveling and I don’t miss having to deal with contest directors, the industry and the meetings, all that kind of sh*t, all the politics that goes on in surfing and shouldn’t be going on in surfing, that part I don’t miss at all. But as far as hanging out at home I’ve been living in California and dealing with my tax problems, unfortunately I will be going to prison for that, so for me life after the CT has been pretty hectic. I say there is no life, but I’ve been going to court and going to work and sh*t. Hardly surfing.
Lat34: That was the next question. So have you been surfing much?
SG: Well I live in California so the water's always cold and the waves aren’t that good, often more times that not the best time to surf is early in the morning with the morning glass off, but I usually get up and go to the gym, by the time I get back the wind is up and I'm over it by the afternoon.
Lat34: What makes Sunny Happy?
SG: I like being around my family. I like hanging out with Rena. But this year I would have to truly say I am at the bottom of the barrel, it's been a f*#%in truly sh*tty year, I have hardly been able to hang out with my family. All this tax problems have turned my marriage upside down. So what is truly going to make me happy is when I’m finally done with every thing in November 2007, when I get to come back to Hawaii after prison, house arrest (ed. note - Garcia is serving his house arrest in Newport) and probation all that kind of BS, get this all off my back, and get to be me again.
Lat34: What drives or motivates you the most?
SG: What drives me the most is people telling me I cant do something, from being a young kid, I was constantly told you can’t do this, you cant do this, you’ll never be a pro surfer, you’ll never be on tour, you’ll never be in the top 16, you’ll never be a world champ. That’s given me a lot of drive… to prove people wrong and to prove to myself that I can do it. It’s a fine line between crashing yourself lf out. If you don’t know where that line is its very easy to burn out or over motivate yourself and completely burn out, which I have seen a lot of great surfers do… it’s a fine line between being sane and being insane. I walk both sides of the line.
Lat34: I understand there was a point when you were younger, a little incident happened and you vowed you would never lose again, tell us about it?
SG: I just hate losing, I always hate losing, it doesn't matter if it's a card game, screwing around with my friends or competing in anything, not just in surfing. I don’t know what it is, just a competitive drive that never ends, I m not even on tour and when I am in the gym its about who can do the most reps or the most weights, you find these little things and it keeps you going. I don’t think you ever loose it.
Lat34: Do you think the kids of Hawaii get it like you were told? You can never do that! You will never make it! Do you think this is familiar for the kids on Hawaii?
SG: I think that is familiar with most kids around the world generally. From a young age you get told you can’t do this, you cant do that, I think there are certain people in this world who strive on that… f*ck that sh*t, you can’t tell me I can’t do this, I can f*ck'n do it. I think that’s the difference between being a world champion or not. Some people just take that and turn their cheek and do something else cause the got told they could not do that. The ones that are defiant are the ones that truly have that will to be champions and I think any kid in any profession what ever they decide to do whether it’s the general manager of a store or the president of a country its just a drive, not everybody has it.
Lat34: Are you worried about the fact that there are less Hawaiians on the World Surfing Tour and no native Hawaiians at all?
SG: I would say yes. But I don’t have compassion for weak people and if there are no native Hawaiian's on tour than it is nobody’s fault but there own. We have a lot of great surfers on Hawaii and not just white ones, we have a lot of local kids that rip, its in their own hands, god gives you talent and its in your own hands whether you are going to make it or not and whether you have that drive. I’m not really concerned, I like to help all the kids I can, but whether they make it or not is their problem, I’m not going to feel sorry for them, I’m not going to feel bad for them cause they were smoking dope and hanging out on the corner. No I don’t feel bad for you. I think a lot of Hawaiian surfers frown on that because I have been really hard on a lot of guys, especially the Hawaiian guys, but I believe that we have the best surfers in the world and fucken there the funcken jack ass’s that are not making it. I had a lot of great peers, like Dane Kealoha, Marvin Foster, the Ho brothers, Hans Hederman, those guys paved the road for me and all I did was make sure I paved the way further and if they can’t follow that road then that’s there own problem.
Lat34: Who do you see as the next native Hawaiian on the WCT or the global scene?
SG: We have this kid on the west side, I think he could be a world champ, his dad was one of my best friends growing up and he surfs really good, but he’s that kid, smoking and being cool and till he realizes his true potential before he burns out, I don’t think he’s going to go anywhere. There are so many kids… like John John Florence, this kids doing really well, I could name off twenty kids that could be future world champs from Hawaii but then again it could be the 21st, the one I didn’t name that is the one that will really be there, it just depends on who is the hungriest. I know I wanted to be world champ, I know I had the drive to be world champ, I know I would never quit until I reached that point. But I have had a f*ck'n rocky road, I could have never told you that I would have made it, I could have told you that I wanted it, I could have showed everybody that I wanted it, like I said, I walked that fine line between being sane and being insane, and I can tell you I spent more time being on the insane side than being on the sane side. It was very hard to keep on that straight and narrow path.
Lat34: The North Shore show! How do feel about your portrayal on the reality TV program?
SG: It is what it is! They don’t show the reasons, they just show the results, am I going to apologize for the results, hell no. I’m like any other person, if you’re going to f*ck with me, I’m going to f*ck with you. You know they show me slapping guys, you know no body’s going to feel bad for Liam, for slapping him, any body in the surf world. He deserved that slap, he probably deserved more. Those guys on the beach, for fucking with my wife, for that I will never ever apologize for that! If someone f*cks with my wife, they are going to get what they deserve, to tell you the truth, they should have got a lot more. I think they portrayed me just the way it is. What am I supposed to tell you, I didn’t mean to hit those guys, yeah I meant to hit them and hit them hard. It is what it is.
Lat34: Back in the 70’s the North Shore had an incredible locals only vibe with the breaks being heavily protected, do you believe this has changed much in the 2000’s?
SG: They have more cops here; people are more inclined to call the police. Whether that has more of an effect on it… not really, you're still going to get your ass beat, no matter what. It might have mellowed out a little more cause the average person does not want to get in trouble, before he gives somebody a beating they are going to think the consequences are a lot more extreme now than they were in the 70s. I think there are a lot of guys I would have beat up if I knew the consequences wouldn’t be as great. Its changed just somewhat, but I think the end result, there are still a lot of guys that still don’t care, so guys still get beat for getting out of hand. Unfortunately some guys do get beat for no reason, that’s an unfortunate thing about our sport, we have a lot of idiots all around the world that take that extreme to a different level and they are fucking with people for no reason and think that part is wrong.
Lat34: What’s your take on the crowded breaks and the mass influx of tourist surfers especially to the North Shore?
SG: That is the price that we pay for having some of the best waves in the world. It is an unfortunate thing, we have a season October to February, a short amount of time the waves are really good and there is only a short amount of breaks on the North Shore and so many surfers that want to be here. It becomes a problem some times, but fortunately for me I spent a lot of time trying to work my way to the top of the food chain, so I can surf where I want and not have to worry about being hassled. It is what it is, you deal with it the best you can. I go to other places like Snapper, there are way more guys out there. In Aus it seems like guys over there become great paddlers way before they come great surfers. So guys are paddling around me at Snapper and its frustrating, but I know this crowd and I know guys are going to be doing this so you just have to deal with it the best you can.
Lat34: Do you see the tourist thing a positive to the North Shore, and the income it brings to the locals?
SG: I would say that’s a good thing and a bad thing, but how many local people do you see here on the North Shore. For the most part I do really enjoy most of the people, but I can tell you more than half the people living here are idiots, they're not even from here, all they do is complain about every little thing, I think they should all f*ck off to the mainland or whereever the f*ck they came from, they are all f*ck'n kooks. People come to Hawaii cause they want to enjoy Hawaii, they think it’s a great thing, they see all these events, this is such a great place, and I want to buy a house here. Ok I buy my house here. Ok I don’t want you parking in front of my house, I don’t want you playing in front of my house on the beach and making noise and having fun. And now the surf contest makes too much traffic, oh we don’t want the surf contest any more. That is why the majority of the people from the mainland come here, cause its such a great environment and they want to change it into a Newport Beach, so no for the main part, no I don’t really care about them bringing business here cause most of the income they bring goes to all these rich f*cks that aren’t from here anyway, so it doesn’t affect the local businesses anyway. There are a few local business that are benefiting and I am stoked they are making money off it, but the majority of people making money out here are not from Hawaii anyway.
Lat34: The Wolfpak are doing a Reality TV show, what are your thoughts on that and are you involved?
Lat34: Can you define the difference between the Wolfpak, the Pipeline Posse and Da Hui?
SG: To me there is nothing else other than Da Hui. Wolfpak, Pipeline Posse are just spin-offs of us. Push comes to shove, this is our road.
Lat34: What do you consider them?
SG: They are visitors to my home. Bradien Dias (from pipeline posse), he is from Kauai, he lives here but he's from Kauai. Kala, (wolfpak), from Kauai. They are the boys, they come down here and regulate and it’s a good thing, but first and foremost for me, its Da Hui. We run it and let them do what they do.
Lat34: What is their purpose?
SG: Braden (Dias) started the Pipeline Posse with all the boys, it’s an image thing with the clothing, and then Kala started the WolfPak. Braden had the mellow guys and then the Wolfpak, they had more of the gnarlier guys. Its a little group regulating, I think its good. You know if you go out and if you drop in on the boys, which at pipe can be a dangerous thing, you now your not going to make it up the beach, its good and its bad, sometimes guys get carried away, but what can you say.
Lat34: Are you ever surprised at how far you have made it in surfing?
SG: I am surprised I have made it this far in life, let alone surfing! I never thought I would see the day I would make it to 30. Yeah the surfing part, I always had the drive, I always knew I would never quit, I was going to succeed, but how far I was going to go, I don’t know, I was surprised I won a world title, I was surprised I won 6 triple crowns. But did I think I was going to get there… in my own mind. Yeah.
Lat34: What is your biggest accomplishment and why?
SG: Being a Father! Ever since I was little I always wanted to get married and have kids. Unfortunately with some marriages comes divorce and that was a big disappointment for me, cause I always just wanted to be married and be with the same wife and be with my kids, you know things just grow apart and that leaves me with my kids. That is something that no one can ever take away from me, I have three beautiful children and they love me and I think that is the biggest accomplishment; to be a dad… and try to be a good one.
Lat34: How do you feel about your career as a whole?
SG: I thought my career was great up until the very end…. I always thought that at a certain point I would want to retire and having gone through the tax problems for as long as I did at the very end, I was almost forced into saying, well I am going to retire cause I couldn’t deal with what I was going through and compete at that level so I just made it my last year, unfortunately I didn’t go to a lot of my favorite events, I just couldn’t concentrate. I felt like I was surfing good, I was ready, I just couldn’t do it, having finished out of the top 30 in my last year on tour is just f*ck'n unfathomable, I can’t comprehend that I finished that bad. For me that was the biggest disappointment. Its almost racked my brain so much every day that I’m contemplating whether I should come back, requalify and go back on tour, just so I know that I can do it. Give it one last try without any kind of issues. No IRS, no wife problems, just come back and just focus.
Lat34: Would that be a 2008 thing?
SG: I think so. I have the next ten months to really get back in shape and focus, so that is my plan right now. I would like to go back on tour and give it a go. I don’t think I am going to be as quick or as agile as an Andy Irons or anything, I still think there are not too many guys on tour that can throw buckets of spray like I can. There are certain events I know I can win and there are other events that I know I can do good. I know how to win a world championship. If all the cards are right, I know it can happen
Lat34: What’s happening with the jail sentence?
SG: It is a weird thing, I’ve spent my whole life knowing certain things and right now everything is so uncertain. Being a controlling person that I am this is not a place that I am use to, not being able to control my world.
Lat34: What happens after you are let out of the slammer?
SG: I go to work and figure out if that come back is going to be a come back or do I go on and figure out the rest of my life.
Lat34: I understand as part of you parole you have to do some coaching?
SG: I am actually coaching the Huntington Beach High School surf team and I am really looking forward to spending time with those kids, I have already spent a little time with those kids and they are great kids. For me its good, I have always wanted to coach and Huntington is one of my favorite places, so I am looking forward to spending time there and coaching kids.
Lat34: When you were a grom who did you look up to?
SG: My favorite surfer was Dan Kealoha when I was a kid. Just before I started doing the tour I liked Occy a lot, I use to watch a lot of videos, Martin Potter, they were the surfers I looked up to. Dane was the most powerful surfer back in the day. Even though Mark (Richards) had those four world titles, I know one of them should have been Danes. Those guys to me were the epitome of surfing.
Lat34: Do you feel you have some kind of mentoring role to the next generation of Hawaiians?
SG: I think I have some kind of mentoring role to every group of surfers that I can, as much as I want to help the Hawaiians as much as I can. I want to help surfer’s period. I don’t care where the kids from. I like to see good surfing, I just want to see surfing grow, mentoring whatever kids I can into the sport, to me that is the most important thing.
Lat34: Explain the perfect session?
SG: Back door 6-8ft, slight offshore wind. Who’d be out? All the Hawaii guys, all my favorite surfers, Bruce, Andy, Dane Kealoha, Mark Lidel, Buttons, Kalani, the Foster brothers, the Ho brothers, Hans Hederman, all the guys I grew up with and all the guys I competed against. Dorian, Ross Williams, John Shamoka. Just all the guys I grew up with, every single one of them just getting waves, yelling, hooting… for me that would be the perfect session.
-Interview by Greg Weatherall
