Surfer Profile: Ross Clarke-Jones

Highlights:
first place Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational 2001 Second place Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational 2004

Big wave surfing and motivational speaking are two things that don’t seem to go hand-in-hand, but Ross has made it work and is working out a career path that includes both. There are similarities between the two that you can’t see initially. “That moment when you decide to go for a big one,” says Ross, “can be compared to making a gnarly business decision. You know, when you have to rely on gut instinct, when you have to make a split-decision, when you have to just turn around and go, that’s just the same as making big calls in business. When there is a sudden gap or turn in the stock market and you have a few seconds to make a decisions, or when there is something else that involves a whole lot of guts and instinct, that’s the same as surfing in big surf.”

So what happens?

“I simply describe what goes through my head, my thought processes, as I decide to go for a big wave. These businessmen in the suits are simply blown away by what I’m thinking, and how relevant it is. They ask me questions, like, how do I deal with the fear, and how much time do I have to consciously make the decision to go, and when I tell them, they are amazed and make notes.”
Ross has all the experience to tell The Suits. From winning the Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational to towing some of the biggest waves ever surfed at Jaws, to surfing the Pororoca in the Amazon to a number of surfing experiences in between. “The questions they ask me could actually be relevant in all sorts of surfing. The decisions you make while surfing are on such a pre level whether it be big waves or small waves. It’s just about the way you look at things.”
Ross has genes that force him to look at things a bit differently. He is a descendent of the Dayak tribe of head-hunters from Borneo, and has always felt a bit of a pull from his roots. “I guess it has made me a bit restless, and always wanting to do things a little differently.”
These things include chasing a typhoon in Japan to surf some monstrous waves, the Pororoca wave in the Amazon as previously mentioned, and the project he is on right now surfing some mega waves near Tasmania.
“I love coming to Cape Town. When I was competing on the Pro Tour I won an event in Cape Town. It’s great to come back here every year. it’s also great to compete against the local surfers as they do push us all in their home turf.”