“Don’t Flop Around”: How Crosby Colapinto Went From Late Bloomer to 2024 CT Rookie of the Year
Photo: Brent Bielmann/WSL
In 2015, a 13-year-old presumably angsty Crosby Colapinto scribbled several lines on a notepad. The yellow paper was filled with phrases meant solely for Crosby to improve his surfing. “Train: 3 times a week. Surf: 20 hours a week - surf every morning. Technique: Work on getting low and rounder bottom turn.”
Then there are motivational messages like “Don’t flop around!!! You have to: ignore your friends. Don’t play in the street anymore. Either school or surf.”
That’s how badly Crosby wanted to improve on his surfing. He was tired of losing and watching his younger brother get on the podiums. So Crosby put his head down and got off the San Clemente streets. And nine years later, the 23-year-old just finished No. 10 in the world on the Championship Tour in his first season, taking home the WSL’s Rookie of the Year honors (a feat Griffin did not accomplish in 2018).
Now back in San Clemente and awaiting Griffin’s second shot at a world title on his home break, Crosby hopped on the phone to talk about the CT learning curve, the power of mental muscle, his brother’s influence and where he wants to improve on the tour. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
SURFER: Can you reflect on what your mindset was when you wrote those goals as a 13-year-old who wanted to be a better surfer? And what was it like seeing that years later?
Crosby Colapinto: When I read that recently, I was blown away thinking about where I was then compared to where I am now. I wasn’t the best kid coming up. I was losing a lot and hated it. But I was seeing Griffin’s success and he became my mentor. He was almost my coach. He told me to surf a bunch and kind of guided me to the next level. When I really started getting into it, I was surfing as much as I could every day. Seeing the improvement out of that was exciting. The more I surfed, the more I improved. The more I improved the more I got into it because I saw I was getting better and where I could go with it.
There was a phase after covid when I was struggling with contests again. That’s when I hit the QS and you see how good everyone around the world is at surfing. Some doubt came in with that, and I thought for a bit I wasn’t going to make it. But I had to get back into the mindset I once had, continue to work hard and figure out the things that were wrong for me and make them my strengths. And from there I ended up qualifying. So to think about where I was back then to where I am now I’m grateful for the whole process. And I’m grateful for Griffin pushing me. He was a huge part of being a surfer. Honestly, if it wasn’t for Griffin I don’t think I would be surfing right now.
Fortunately, you are surfing right now, and you finished top-10 in your rookie year. Was that something you set out to accomplish this season?
It was definitely one of my top goals for the year. I also had get into the WSL Finals, because shoot for the moon, always. I was super happy to be in the top 10 with how gnarly the tour is right now, I’m proud of myself for doing it. Especially in the first year because it takes time to get used to surfing with everyone on tour. I didn’t make a bunch of finals days. I felt like I didn’t have a contest where I was really able to open up and rip the whole time. But I’m happy with how the first year went. It was a perfect learning year.
What was your biggest learning curve?
I think the unknown going into the year was a bit scary. I didn’t know how I would fit in with the tour because I’d been thinking about it for so long. Before going there I didn't know how I would get scored or if I was ready. But overcoming that, and a big part of the tour, is about believing in myself, not getting the belief from the result.
Photo: Aaron Hughes/WSL
Did beating Gabriel Medina at Pipeline in your first event give you confidence afterward?
It’s funny because we ran the first day and then had four days off. But we had the heat draw so I had a lot of time to think about it. Which is kind of a good thing and a bad thing. Then for some reason a few days before I had this feeling I was going to beat him. I don’t know what it was, it was just a belief, but putting that out there goes a long way. Once I beat him, it put some confidence into the start of the year. And that was a huge heat to get past Gabriel there because if you lose in those first-round heats as a rookie then it sets your seed up really bad for the next couple of events.
Your crew seems very tight-knit. Did it take some mental adjustment for you after Kade Matson and Eli Hanneman missed the Mid Year Cut at Margaret River?
It was a bummer when they fell off. But it was more of a bummer just not being able to hang out with them. It was sad losing your friends who you travel with. We had a lot of fun times before. I still had Griffin and Cole Houshmand on tour, so it wasn’t like the fun times left.
Related: Colapinto Brothers Unwrap Oversized Gifts at The Box (Watch)
Matt Biolos and the …Lost Surfboards team blew everyone out of the water on the Vissla Shaper Rankings again. How involved are you in choosing your boards for events?
Matt’s just down the road from us, so if we need a new quiver we usually drive down and place an order based on what type of boards we think will suit the waves. We’ll adjust a few things, but this year the boards were feeling super good so we didn’t change much at all the whole year, just the sizes.
If the waves are good, what are you grabbing off the rack?
Driver 3.0. It’s a great all-around board. I rode it at almost every contest I went to. It’s reliable and consistent. It fits really well in good waves.
Photo: Ed Sloan/WSL
Is there a venue on tour you’re keen to dial in?
I think everywhere. These waves are so new to me that I feel like I can improve on a lot of the spots. I’d watch guys with a lot of experience know what the waves going to do, what the reef is going to do. Experience on the tour will help me everywhere. But Brazil is a hard one. You gotta have backside airs there down.
What was your favorite event of 2024?
I’d say Portugal. We rented a few houses and we had a few friends come hang with us. There are a bunch of fun beachbreaks over there. Griffin ended up winning the contest and I got third. We had good momentum with each other the whole contest. We almost had a final together in the third event of the year. So the feelings with that were super, super fun.
Related: Watch Griffin and Crosby Colapinto Dominate the Meo Pro Portugal
What did you learn from Griffin after spending a whole CT season with him?
He’s really good about owning all his decisions. He works hard on the mental stuff and goes inward on himself. He can just be himself wherever he goes. It shows a lot because if you can be yourself always you can make your best decisions. Including in contests. Also watching how he approaches contests and all the hype around him, going into big heats, surfing in against the top guys.
Related: Griffin Colapinto on His Brother Crosby Joining Him on the Championship Tour in 2024
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