Carlos Burle Is Retiring, But He Ain't Leaving
Brazilian big wave legend talks evolution of the sport and what's to come
Through a glitchy video feed, Carlos Burle assured me: “One day, you’ll understand.” Exactly what he was prognosticating about eluded me, but the gleam in his demeanor was reassuring. Or maybe it was just the spotty connection.
“You’re too young now,” he said. “I’m almost 50 and I have two kids. But one day…”
At 49 years old, Burle has an air of wisdom about him. He’s a veteran of big wave surfing, a pioneer of the sport, from forging a path at waves like Nazaré to putting his homeland of Brazil on the map as a potential breeding ground for future heavy-water hellmen. And he currently sits at fourth on the Big Wave Tour rankings – he placed second at the Nazaré Challenge – towering over guys much younger and hungrier than himself. But despite his prominent standing, Burle has decided to call his competitive career quits.
“I’m there because I have a lot of experience, I can surf big waves, I can make heats, I can make finals,” Burle said. “I still have the feeling that I can go out there with the best guys, but I’m not as good as the young guys anymore. I want to say goodbye while I am at the top.”
Instead of floating into obscurity, however, Burle maintains that he’ll remain in the world of big wave surfing – from training up-and-coming Brazilians like Lucas “Chumbo” Chianca to helping the BWT realize its full potential. During our discussion, we chatted about this and more, including the coming Brazilian (big wave) Storm, what’s wrong with the world of big wave surfing, and what’s in store for the future of the sport.
How was that last swell at Maverick’s?
Thursday [Jan. 26] was amazing. So beautiful, as good as it gets. For me especially because I didn’t get to surf Maverick’s last year. And it’s my favorite big wave spot. It’s the most perfect one. You just sit there. There isn’t any other place in the world where you just sit in one spot. Even places like Jaws: it’s a perfect wave, right and left, you can get barreled, do turns – but the lineup shifts a lot. But not Maverick’s. You just sit right there and the wave comes to you.
Were there any particular highlights from this past session?
The young kids, seeing what they’ve been doing there, has been amazing. They have so much control on the big wave boards. Guys like Francisco Porcella and Lucas “Chumbo” Chianca, they’re surfing big waves and doing turns. Or air-dropping then pulling in the barrel. Before we didn’t think that was possible. Now, this new generation has a lot of talent – they’re physically and mentally prepared to charge and do things differently.
As someone who’s been in the big wave game awhile, you must be acutely attuned to noticing progression year after year.
It seems like, right now, everyone is so much more prepared as far as physical preparation, mental preparation, lifesaving equipment, flotation vests, CPR and rescue courses. You have this whole movement that’s far beyond what we had in the past. Before it was, ‘okay, we love to charge big waves.’ We did it for the love, and we still are, but we want to get better, we want to evolve. There is a future if you want to be a big wave surfer. You can get sponsors, you can become a world champion, you can make a lot of money.
It’s a perfect time for me, because I see the young guys doing things that I’m not able. If I’m not able anymore, then what am I doing here? I don’t want to take the place of someone who’s better than me. I felt like it was the right time to step away. Now I want to work out of the water. I want to help the big wave surf community to evolve. We have a lot to work on to get better.
Why did you feel like after Nazaré, it was the right time to retire?
I’m 49, gonna be 50 this year. That’s a pretty long career. I made this decision because big waves aren’t a joke. You can get hurt. I’ve been through bad injuries. When you get older, it’s kinda hard for you to recover. It takes me much longer to recover than it did 20 years ago, even 10 years ago. And it’s only going to get worse.
And to be honest with you, I wanted to say goodbye while I am at the top. Right now, I’m fourth in the rankings with all these young kids. I’m in a good position. But I don’t want to get kicked off. I wanna say goodbye but still be involved. By coaching Lucas, I’ll still be traveling around the world following the tour and getting to see my friends and surf with them, but with a different approach. It’s an approach that might lead me to be one of the helpers to work on a better reality for our sport.
What’re your thoughts on the controversy that came out of the Nazaré Challenge?
I love controversy! [Laughs.] I think it’s good to spread thoughts around. To be completely honest, I thought the contest was amazing. We had perfect conditions, the waves were there, sunny, offshore winds. As a wave, Nazaré is unpredictable. It’s the other way around than Maverick’s, Jaws, Todos Santos, any other place that breaks in a small area. Nazaré breaks everywhere. Just like Puerto Escondido. It’s a big wave but it’s a beachbreak. Of course, when you surf a wave that you cannot read very well, it can be more dangerous. You are subject to get more pounded, to fall easier. But isn’t it part of the game to be a good waterman?
In your mind, are there any ways that competitive big wave surfing can be improved?
I’m not really worrying about safety, because I’ve already experienced the evolution of safety. It’s here already. We haven’t been losing any big wave surfers in the past couple years. The big wave community is looking out for each other all the time. We have the jetskis, we have the flotation vests, the flotation on the wetsuits, we have people taking life safety courses everywhere. People are more aware of how to handle those situations. I’m not saying it’s not going to happen. But I’m pretty satisfied with everything that’s happening in terms of safety. It’s getting better and better.
I’m more worried about the money, about the infrastructure. The WSL is doing a great job. But surfing big waves is a tough sport – you need to have a good sponsor and you need to have money to invest in traveling, equipment, and a healthy routine. You don’t want a big wave surfer sleeping somewhere where he’s not comfortable, or unable to eat healthy, or unable to train – if you do those things, you’re elevating the risk.
Brazil isn’t traditionally known for big wave surfers – is that starting to change?
The future of big wave surfing in Brazil is a bright future. To have Pedro Calado with that much talent and guts, then Lucas Chumbo also. I’m sure that Lucas is going to be on the tour next year. I’m pretty sure he’ll get invited via the ‘Best Performance of the Year’ to be on tour next year. We’re gonna have these two guys then there are more coming from Brazil. And Brazilians are hungry – you know how we are. We don’t have that much opportunity in life. We don’t have the biggest waves or the best waves in the backyard. We have to travel around, we have to invest a lot, we have to be serious, we have to be focused. And the more serious the entity of big wave surfing becomes, it’s better for the new generation to understand that they have to be professionals, too.
It’s funny because if you look at the surf industry right now, a lot of people are saying, ‘we’re in a crisis right now, only a few people are getting good sponsors. Surfers are crying about lack of infrastructure, no sponsors, whatever. I don’t want to push that energy on Lucas, or Pedro, or anyone else coming out of Brazil. I feel that I’m a warrior – I’m 50 years old and I’m here because I did my best. I’m harvesting everything that I planted a long time ago. And I want you guys to have the same mentality, and even better. If they’re not better than me, it shows that I’m not doing a great job. You have to be better than me.
So, you’re saying you want to coach these guys both in the water and out?
There’s a lot more that goes into it. The guys that are on top of the game are doing things that not everyone does. Guys like Laird Hamilton, Garret McNamara, John John Florence, Gabriel Medina, Billy Kemper, Nic Lamb, Greg Long, Grant ‘Twig’ Baker. Those guys are really hard workers. They’re true champions. You’ve gotta evolve in so many senses in your life. As soon as you become an example for the new generation, you have a lot of responsibility on your shoulders. You can’t just go get your waves, then drink yourself to the floor, or do things that aren’t nice for you or the sport’s image.
Before you sell your house, what do you do? You clean the house. You don’t let people into a dirty house. Clean your image – that’s how you sell your house, that’s how you sell your ideas.
What do you foresee as the future of big wave surfing?
What I want for big wave surfing is for it to get recognized for what those guys are doing out there. Right now, we don’t have as much value as the CT. They have more prize money, they have more fans. Our numbers are a lot smaller than those numbers than you find in the CT, but I want to change that. I want to bring our numbers higher. I want the big wave community to be a big example for our sport – just like Kelly Slater, just like Medina, like Fanning, Adriano De Souza. But I want them to understand that, in order to do that, they have to evolve. They have to work hard to accomplish these things. Those things combined, we’ll bring the infrastructure that will be very important to extending the limits.
My strong point is out of the water. I had to works so hard to be here with you today. When I started, I didn’t have a tour. Not even a career. Nobody knew what big wave surfing was when I started. I had to invent everything. And every single day, I’m reinventing myself.
Fonte:
By Dashel Pierson
February 7, 2017
(http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/brazilian-big-wave-legend-talks-evolution-of-the-sport-and-whats-to-come-carlos-burle-is-retiring-but-he-aint-_145174/)