2003 GLOBE/GALLAZ PRO OCEANSIDE: DAY THREE

LIKE WINE
AGED WINNERS GERLACH AND MACHADO PROVE BEST IN SHOW FOR DAY THREE OF THE GLOBE/GALLAZ PRO

Brad Gerlach showing the groms a thing or two

Looking down on a couple of bright, white wave-blades lain softly in the sand, 35-year-old San Diego icon Brad Gerlach muses over his choices. One, a 6'1" Al Merrick Flyer complete with the classic "Curren" black rail-line; the other, built the same only with the pronounced bump squash-tail sucking its way into a kind of African fish-lip smile, and also a Xanadu, of the transplanted Brazilian artiste. Together they're a certain show of the prominence Mr.Gerlach continues to hold within the surfing world, one he entered professionally nearly 20 years ago.

And, whether he'll admit it or not (which he will), Brad Gerlach is here once again to prove just that. Picking up his babies, he begins to sway them equally in each hand, maybe some sort of weight test, you might say. Seeming to enjoy them both, eyeing their subtleties finely, something starts him for the release of a certain memoir. He says, "Back when I won the Stubbies, my sponsor at the time, Team Gear -- they were paying me $250 a month. After that, they upped me to $500 and I couldn't believe it, I was like, 'Amazing, I've really done it -- they're giving me money just for surfing!"

Looking down again, he opts for Xanadu, holding tight the other for backup. But, er, what about the end of his story? Looking up and across he recognizes this and a light-bulb dings, "You know, eventually I topped out at 10 gs a month, but . . . " He lets the thought roll for a moment or two, then adds, "As for today, well, I just want to rip."

Which, of course, he does, right? Oh, yes. And how so? Well, just put it this way, his opponent, Rob Machado, drops a Gerry flow reverse in the first 10 seconds of the heat, and it's worth 8.0. Plus, Laguna's Mike Todd's also in the mix, killing it. So, in the face of that, not to mention other advancing bangers from the day, like Bobby Martinez, Roy Powers, Pancho Sullivan and Gallaz fem fire-blowers Mel Bartels and Serena Brooke, The Gerr was as good as ever, maybe better. So, with a fresh Machado skin going into finals day, could he be storing up a win? There'll only be one way to find out -- put on your little connoisseurs spectacles and join us at Oceanside to find out. Hagan Kelley

 

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