Richie Vass… on Monsters and Fighters

Richie Vass Vaculik has featured in many years of Australian Surf Movie Festival (ASMF) tours. [CLICK TO BOOK YOUR TICKETS TO JAN-FEB 2014 SHOWS] His big wave surfing career has spanned 14 years and he has taken on some of the Earth’s monsters. Apart from throwing himself over the falls into glory he has a life on dry land that involves keeping fit and competing in Mixed Martial Arts. Richie features in the upcoming tour on the adventure to Spot X.

Richie grew up in Maroubra where surf culture and localism are well known and held high. He was taken under the mighty wing of friend and ASMF regular and professional big wave surfer Mark Mathews who introduced him to the passion and adrenalin fueled sport of swell chasing and big wave surfing.

Tim Bonython first met Richie at Cape Solander “Ours” in 2007 with Mark Mathews. Tim says “when Ours is on, Richie is there if he isn’t training for MMA.”

What makes Richie stand out Tim says is “for a small bloke he really stands out big time, he’s totally fearless and doesn’t hold back. His reputation precedes him and he has chosen to do all the right things with his life, made the right decisions and now his is an elite big wave surfer getting better and better in the water.”

Tim has been on more trips than he can count with Richie and Mark, who always travel together. Leading up to the 2014 Australian Surf Movie Festival Tim was keen to take Richie, Mark and Ryan Hippo Hipwood down to SPOT X in South Australia. Tim says “Richie’s got a great style going and the trip to South Australia he didn’t disappoint, it was the best surfing I’ve seen from him, he got the best waves of the trip. He was just frothing to be part of the trip from the start and made the most of it.”

We took a couple of minutes out of Richie’s hectic training schedule leading up to his international Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut in Brisbane on 7th December, to chat about his big wave career and mixing it up with the MMA.

Tim Bonython Productions: Where did you first drop into a big wave?

Richie Vass: Back when I was ten or eleven out at Maroubra. The boys took me out and I was pretty scared, but that’s what it’s all about. I knew I was being looked after the older guys keeping an eye on me. I got hooked on the adrenalin and the feeling of being out there and when I was about 16 I started planning trips with Mark Mathews and Koby Abberton. They took me under their wing and showed me a great path. I started doing the Australian Junior Surfing Series as well which kept me focused on surfing and pushing me to keep achieving something.

TBP: Where does your adrenalin and energy come from to let go of the jet ski and take the drop on a monster wave?

RV: For me there is no thought process. You see it coming and you want that wave so you go for it. The more you think about it the more rattled you get. So it’s really just about swinging the board around and paddling hard or getting whipped up by the jet ski and thrown in. When I see the right one, I just go.

TBP: Describe the hold down, we see a lot of scenes in the ASMF where it’s hard to know whether the surfer is going to make it back to the surface in time…

RV: Depending on where you’re surfing it can be really violent and shake you up real bad, you’ve just gotta stay as calm and relaxed as you can there is no point fighting it. The waves are usually super shallow so you just curl your limbs up and try to relax your body, if you start to panic its all over. When its big you just have to learn how to go with it and do the best you can to make it back to the surface.

TBP: Everyone has their wipe outs, no doubt big wave surfers suffer more than your average beach break surfer…Have there been any close calls on your travels?

RV: I’ve had my fair share of wipe outs. There have been a few for me down at Shippies, down there, there are a few factors to worry about. Your limbs just feel like they’re getting ripped off your body, you always come out of it a little bit sore. Shippies is pretty deep but you get whipped around and have no idea where you are.

TBP: Tim says we’ve got some great footage to look out for in the upcoming tour of the South Australia trip you did.

RV: Yeah, In South Australia I had a lucky day, I got so many great waves and avoided the wipe-outs. I just loved being out there in that part of the world. As soon as you land the adrenalin is pumping and the excitement kicks in. The red dirt is everywhere, the waves are pumping and no surfers anywhere and you know there are big fish out there – You’re out in the real Aussie outback with pumping waves and I love it. You never know what you’re going to come across out there.

TBP: Tim posted a spooky shot with what looks like a pretty massive shark fin on instagram tell us about that…

RV: I was actually paddling back out after I got a wave and Mark and Hippo were just scrambling in as fast as they could screaming. When you’re surfing in that part of the world sharks are always on your mind, it’s their turf. I turned around pretty quick and paddled back in towards the cliffs, it was the only way out. The boys said it was way too big to be a seal and I was actually talking to a local a few days before who saw a big white pointer that week but I kept it to myself. We never found out what it was and there are plenty of sharks down there so… It’s all part of the experience it’s why I love going down there, I love the pace of it and the environment is beautiful, so different to the fast Sydney life. Time just moves so slow and when you’re in the water its just you and the ocean.

TBP: Any advice for any grommets who come along to the Australian Surf Movie Festival and want to get into big wave surfing?

RV: Basically, you have to love it, you have to put yourself into these situations where you can get yourself into a bit of trouble more often than not, sometimes its life and death. You’re scared shitless a lot of the time. I’m just so happy to be out amongst the big surf. You need to be confident from the start but your confidence grows with the with every wave as well. You have to love it to do it, the adrenalin won’t get your through the whole time.

TBP: Who’s got your back out there?

RV: Mark Mathews is the man looking after me most of the time, he’s plucked me out of plenty of hairy situations and he’s been there with me since I first started. He’s always watching waves and forecasts and has always got something on the go out in the water.

TBP: What’s the best part of the ASMF for you?

RV: I love seeing all the big heavy ways around Australia from the year – I miss out on a lot these days dividing my time with MMA and its great to catch up on the craziness and the swells Tim’s been able to capture.

TBP: Tell us about your life training with Mixed Martial Arts, you’re building some momentum with it all…

RV: I got involved to stay fit during the flat swells. It’s an incredibly well rounded active sport and great for fitness. Mixed Martial Arts is basically a combination of all the combat arts; wrestling, boxing, Brazilian Ju Jitsu, Karate etc. It all started for me with the cage fighting and it snowballed from there after I got a taste of the adrenalin. I love getting down to the beach after a hard training session at the gym and also the reverse. I love both sports equally, they are both challenging physically and mentally. On Saturday 7th December I have my debut with the UFC Ultimate Fighting Championships in Brisbane, it is the biggest promotional event of MMA in the world and is only being shown in Australia this year. I got the call up to perform and I want to win, and win impressively to kick my career off.

TBP: You’ve been in the big wave scene for nearly 15 years and loving it, where do you see the future of the sport?

RV: Such a tough question, I never imagined it could be where it is today, 10 years ago. You scratch your head and wonder how big the sport can get. I look back in old magazines and see the heaviest waves in Australia and now they look like a nice easy shories. Everyone is so passionate about hunting big waves these days. At the moment it seems that the sport is moving a little bit away from using the jet skis for tow-ins and people are really moving back into trying to make the paddle into the waves, it’s a much bigger achievement to paddle into a big wave, but there are some waves out there that you just can’t paddle into.

There have been such massive advancements in the last few years with life vest as well, they are not much thicker than a wetsuit and have a string to pull that inflates and sends you to the surface. You can get out there and get some waves you never could have before because you know the equipment you’ve got will save your life, it’s not just about holding your breath and more.

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Richie is supported by his sponsors RVCA, PCCS Surfboards, Maxum Watches and Body Science.

Richie features in the amaysim AUSTRALIAN SURF MOVIE FESTIVAL presented by GoPro touring Australia in Jan-Feb 2014, buy your tickets now!

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The AMAYSIM Australian Surf Movie Festival presented by GoPro is touring
Australia in January and February 2014. For dates, tour info and to book
your tickets to Australia’s favourite surfing night out click here.

To watch the official trailer click here

Written by Sally Mac