“What I didn’t realise was there’s a reason why the best surfers in the world weren’t looking at those waves.” [Laughs] Twig

Thursday, February 25th saw some of the world’s most decorated surfers take on Waimea Bay for the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau Invitational aka big wave surfing’s holy grail. With the biggest swell in 18 years, the event goes down as one of the most memorable for the invitees and big wave enthusiasts alike.

Durban’s Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker, the only South African to crack the nod for the hallowed event, always ready to step up, grabbed the Bay by the horns. Taking nothing away from Twig, his free fall wipe out in the first round, one of the highlights of the swell, had spectators gobsmacked, wondering if he’d ever resurface.Or would he just disappear like Bodhi at the end of Point Break (the original Keanu Reeves version). But he did, as always, pop up and continued to blow minds thoughout the event, negotiating some mountain sized waves into the channel.

We caught up with Twig, the morning after the Eddie and got him in a reflective mood over his morning cuppa, ruminating on some of his most memorable moments (and yes, that horrific, skydive-like scrubbing) from the previous day’s event.

Twig navigating his way down the Waimea rollercoaster.

Zigzag: So it’s the day after the Eddie, and what a memorable day that was, reflecting back on the event, how does it feel to have taken part in your second Eddie Invitational?

Twig: Phew, I’m hurting today bru. I didn’t feel it yesterday with all the adrenaline going but this morning I woke up and could hardly move. But I’ll recover and that all pales in significance with what I witnessed yesterday. It was the most amazing day to be involved with and by far the best and most exciting event I’ve been involved in. The wait was certainly worth it!

I saw you had some sick waves the day before the event and I heard through the grapevine that you have been recovering from a slipped disk in your back? Doesn’t look like the injury slowed you down at all.

I had a great warm up surf two days before at the Bay in what has now been recorded as the biggest swell to hit Hawaii in 18 years. Ive been struggling for the past 9 months with a back injury and hadn’t surfed much at all leading up to the first ‘fake Eddie’ call. But somehow my back improved every day after I arrived in Hawaii for the two weeks leading up to the actual event and after that surf two days before, I almost felt my normal self.

How do you mentally prepare for the event with an injury and what precautions did you take, physically, to take you’re mind of the injury and allow yourself to focus on performing your best during your heats? Do you stretch it out or strap it up? Acupuncture, or any special muti?

Big wave surfing is all about mental confidence and that comes directly from your physical conditioning. So feeling like I did in the final days leading up to the event gave me the confidence to put it all on the line on the day. If the event had run two weeks before there’s no way I could have done what I did yesterday so for me it was a matter of good timing. Massages, stretching and surfing my big boards the week leading to the event was all the muti I needed.

Twig and Kelly share a wave.

After navigating a drop that almost had you on top of Kelly, you paddled out and swung for an absolute bomb, everything looked good paddling in, from your perspective what happened there that resulted in the three story free fall?

The Bay is a tough wave to surf at its apex because of the amount of lift and reverb you get in the lip, but my plan going into that heat was to sit a little inside on a smaller board and try to ride the double ups on the bowl. I saw that not many guys where doing that and I believed if I could pull it off, it would win me the Eddie. What I didn’t realise was there’s a reason why the best surfers in the world weren’t looking at those waves. [Laughs]

That wave came through towards the end of the heat, I knew I needed a big score and was going no matter what. I got a little chip shot and was perfectly positioned just behind the peak with what I thought was enough speed to carry me over the ledge and onto the face. As I got to my feet the wave hit some backwash and ledged further under me than I thought. It just flicked me into the air. I had a split second to decide to try and stick it or eject, from there my instincts took over and I did the dive.

Paddling back out I was kicking myself for not at least trying to stick it but after watching the replay I believe I made the right choice. If I had got stuck in that lip and fallen awkwardly it could have been really bad, even career ending.

“With the safety in place it’s going to be hard to die, but a bad injury was a very real possibility and I was willing to risk that for a win.” -Grant “Twiggy” Baker

What goes through your mind when you find yourself in a wipe out situation like that in waves of consequence?

Instinct and experience take over right there and all your years of wiping out give you the muscle memory to try and make it as pleasant as possible. I try to keep control of my body and land like a cat in those situations so I can penetrate and not skip down the face. Once through the water its time to relax and enjoy the ride. Its like the best ever amusement park rollercoaster. [Laughs]

In situations like that, I understand it’s just you versus the volume of the ocean but, with all the jetskis and water safety out there does it push you to go harder and ease your mind when you have a big fall?

Yes for sure. Firstly its the Eddie, an event that hasn’t run for 6 years and something that I’ve put all my energy and focus into for all that time. I stay in Hawaii for 4 months every winter, I live down the road from the Bay and I can see the church tower from my local spot I surf everyday. Mentally I was prepared to do everything possible to win the event. With the safety in place it’s going to be hard to die, but a bad injury was a very real possibility and I was willing to risk that for a win. In the end it was a matter of fractions, a little further in, paddling a split second earlier and one extra stroke could have seen me sticking that drop for a 100 point ride and the victory. Next Time!

With John John winning the event and everyone stepping up, what was your most memorable moment from the Eddie?

John John surfed amazingly well and thoroughly deserved the win, but for me it was the showing of the older guys that really impressed me. 6 of the top 9 finishers where over the age of 40 and they along with guys like Clyde Aikau at 66 years old, charged as hard as guys half their age. Inspirational stuff and in my opinion it proved once again that you can do your best big wave surfing after 40. It has given me the confidence to get back home and start training again to hopefully keep charging for a good few years to come.

And what’s next for Twig? Home to the family and a phenomenal cyclone season, or a few weeks hunting big waves in the Pacific? We can always go find some surf if you’re coming home.

Lets do it Leppan, I’m heading straight home on the weekend to see my baby girl. She was born a month ago and I had to leave after two weeks for the first call. I was going to head straight home after that but Kate told me to stay and she had a feeling the event would run! I keep wanting to fly home and she kept telling me no, wait it out and boy was she right. If I have one piece of advise for the youngsters out there, it’s make sure you choose the right woman to be your partner in life, their support and love will make all the difference to your happiness and success.

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Beaming in confidence with the years to come, the recovery of a back injury behind him, the support of a great woman and the inspiration of a beautiful daughter ahead, Twig’s future is unwritten right now and we, along with the surf God’s, cannot wait to witness his next chapter.

*Interview by Chris Leppan.