This is an article written by Matt Higgins a reporter from the New York Times. He covered all our ESA Great Lakes (east lakes) surf contests last year and even surfed in one competition at The Bridge.

Surfing Maverick Rides Solitary Wave to Success
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By MATT HIGGINS
Published: July 30, 2006
Booted from the top tier of competitive surfing five years ago, the Californian Rob Machado has found that living well is indeed the best revenge.

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Sean Rowland/Covered Images/ASP via Getty Images
Voted off the Professionals’ World Championship Tour in 2001, Rob Machado of California reinvented himself and became a surfing icon.
Machado is a favorite at the United States Open of Surfing competition this weekend in Huntington Beach, Calif. He has defied the odds and ridden a wave of success by turning his back to a contest series that has traditionally been a surfer’s surest bet for fame and prosperity.

“Rob chose the most difficult path,” said Pat O’Connell, who competed on the world tour and has known Machado for 20 years. “One in 1,000 do what he’s done and become an icon in the sport.”

Machado’s transformation began five years ago during a personal low-water mark on the Association of Surfing Professionals’ World Championship Tour. He had been on tour for a decade through the 1990’s, ranking as high as second in 1995 and third in 2000. But in 2001 he missed several competitions because of a broken wrist; complications with his wife’s pregnancy; and the birth of their daughter.

Machado failed to earn the necessary points to qualify for the following year. Still, he expected to receive a wild-card berth because of his hardship. But a vote among his peers sent Machado packing to the grueling World Qualifying Series, the minor league of surfing.

Machado did not attend the meeting in Hawaii that decided his fate, instead sending a letter. Meanwhile, another surfer, Shane Dorian, also seeking the wild card, showed up on crutches and got it.

Machado had long been a vocal critic of the Association of Surfing Professionals and did not play politics on tour. When he failed to show for the vote, it reinforced the impression that he was not committed to being on board, according to O’Connell, who was present.

“Rob didn’t realize that he needed to be there to plead his case,” O’Connell said. “That was the bummer of the situation.”

Rather than accept the demotion, Machado returned home embittered. “I got voted out by my fellow surfers,” he said, effectively ending discussion about a return to the world championship tour. “My career ended. It’s hard for me to be with those guys.”

Suddenly off the tour, and still only 28, Machado reinvented himself. Soon he began traveling to the world’s most idyllic surf spots as a subject for videos and photographs, appearing in magazines and advertisements. The rest of the time he spent on promotional assignments for his sponsors and surfing in six events a year.

His new lifestyle affords him more time with his wife and two daughters. He is also involved with charities, notably Life Rolls On, which is dedicated to raising awareness and money for spinal-cord injuries. The charity was founded by Jesse Billauer, a former pro surfer who was paralyzed after a wipeout.

All of which has created good will for Machado. “He does things the way I think people wish they did things,” O’Connell said.

Going into today’s finals, Machado was among 12 surfers remaining from an original field of 288 at the Open. The finals will draw a crowd of tens of thousands packed into a stadium on the Pacific shore.

Machado, 32, has been hearing the cheers all week. He has won the Open twice, including a legendary battle in 1995 against the seven-time world champion Kelly Slater. He has also been runner-up three times, including last year, when Andy Irons of Hawaii narrowly edged him, prompting boos from the partisan crowd.

Although he lives in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Calif., an hour’s drive to the south, Machado has been accorded honorary local status. A section of the beach, where he likes to wait for waves, has been named in his honor.

His popularity stems from his status as the embodiment of the soul surfing ethic: someone who eschews competition, surfing instead for the stoke, or pure joy.

“People who wear bright wetsuits and want to be famous, they’re looked down on,” said O’Connell, explaining Machado’s crowd appeal. “To the common person, they think Rob is a throwback. They feel he does it for the love, and they root for him.”

Other competitors admire him. “He’s always been, for sure, one of my favorite surfers,” said Brett Simpson, 21, a qualifying series pro who competed at the Open. “I’d like to see him get another shot at a W.C.T. title.”

Machado does not miss the pro tour’s 11 months of travel. “It’s great not having to surf events week in and week out,” he said. “I like competing, but most of the time you’re losing. You’ve got to remember that.”

When asked if the short commute to the Open allowed him to spend more time at home, Machado laughed, saying, “I’m home more often, so my sponsors can use me more often.” Then he added: “I never complain. I think I have one of the best jobs in the world.”

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