Surfers who grow up on Australia’s Gold Coast learn the fine art of dealing with overcrowded lineups out of necessity. If you want a wave, you need to learn the calculus of when and where you can take off.
Liam O’Brien, currently number 12 on the Championship Tour, went on Jack Freestone’s The Washed Podcast to talk about a slew of topics, including localism on the Gold Coast. O’Brien grew up in Burleigh Heads, which, according to Freestone, has a bit more of a localism edge to it than the lineups further south around Snapper Rocks.
“There was a little bit more aggression in the water when I was younger,” O’Brien said. “I mean, everyone was pretty cool. It was more like people would keep you honest, keep you in check. If you got a bit out of line, got a bit of a big head, someone would be pretty quick to pull you back into line.”
While O’Brien said a bit of “old school hierarchy” in the lineup can be good for a spot, he acknowledges that some localism goes overboard.
“It feels like you earn your stripes a bit,” O’Brien said. “You start as a grommet. You got to catch the little sh%t waves and stay down the point, and then you slowly work your way up the point and get a look at the top. I think it gives you a bit more of a respect for the lineup.”
“By the same token, it’s a power people abuse a lot as well,” he added. “Where you’re like, ‘Oh, I’m the local. I’m just gonna be a prick and just fade everyone out here and and not give any respect back.’ It’s a two-way street. You gotta get your respect and give your respect.”
During his travels around the world, O’Brien says navigating stratified lineups on the Gold Coast has helped him understand and respect the order in other countries.
“You definitely got to give the local crew their respect first and foremost,” he said.
He believes there is generally enough room for everyone to get their waves in a lineup if everyone shows respect, but there are exceptions where there are simply too many people for the number of waves coming through. That’s when you get “eggy lineups with a lot of grumpy people.”
O’Brien says, even having grown up in the thick of the crowds on the Gold Coast, he prefers to seek out less crowded waves even if they aren’t as good.
“I feel like I size up conditions on like a crowd-to-wave quality continuum,” O’Brien said. “If it’s sh%t and packed, there’s no way in hell I’m out there. But if it’s all time pumping and it’s packed, okay, maybe I’ll put up with it. Jump in for a couple.”
