"I'm returning to my roots."
The Australian Olympian or Irukanji Julian Wilson has lit up Instagram with his shock decision to, well, not exactly retire he says, but draw the curtain on his pro surfing career immediately following the Olympics.
Wilson, who turns thirty-four in November, is currently rated seventeenth on the tour after a pretty ordinary start to the year, two seventeenths, two ninths and a fifths.
It ain’t exactly the world tour year Wilson was hoping for before the window of opportunity closes for the class of 1988, which also includes South African Jordy Smith.
“I’m returning to my roots,” Wilson told the WSL. “I’ll be found surfing the points at Noosa on my longboard and I will also be found chasing some fun high-performance waves around Australia. I have a few projects coming to life that I’m really excited about and I’m just really looking forward to take a step back for a little while.
Wilson has orbited the tour since 2011, was a rookie of the year, made Gabriel Medina cry when he beat him in Portugal in 2012, he beat Medina in the final of the Pipe Masters in 2014 and three years later beat Medina to win the 2017 Tahiti Pro.
Whether or not he comes back as nears forty, if there’ll even be a tour to come back to or if this sparks an exodus of pro’s from a fading tour, will be revealed over the next year or so.
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Damnnn!
He watched the replay of recent WSL events and realized “hand jams” aren’t really a thing and surfing in a pool is stupid – over it!
good decision. its obvious the kid is completely burnt.
As a professional he had a great career, wish i had made as much cash as him by my early thirties, moneys not everything and now he can hang with his family and enjoy the rewards of his career, well done i say to a good cunt.
You’ll understand Portuguese in a couple of years time just from listening to all the winners speeches.
The writing is on the wall. The WSL’s downward spiral begins! The proverbial ‘journey’ to Hell.
If I remember correctly, Julian started out as a young high performance longboarder, right? So really it’s not that shocking
Next longboard world champ
Yaaaawn
Who gives fuck
Pro surfing doesn’t need boring young family men in its ranks, never did.
It needs halfwitted crazy cunts who can also surf well, like it always will do.
Julie’s best known on TV for his ability to cry on cue, shark or no shark…
He is what most Stab Readers would like to be ?
a)White
b)Rich
c)Married to a former Model
b)Has dabbled in the dark arts of skateboarding and surfing oversized silly antiquated vintage pieces of shit longboards and possibly Twin Fins ( I forgive you Julian , you were only in your teens at the time , it was a family thing ….and not like you were a former has been or start up VAL or Josh Kerr ( giggles ) )
I was in Hossegor France the year he got a wildcard for the Quik Pro France , they released Scratching the Surface …..and he was already cashed up …… then Nike gave him the Golden Ticket , which was converted into the Hurley Golden Ticket and then Redbull sprinkled fairy dust on top of the treasure bath for a decade ……. All this after 2007 …..
It is called pro surfing …… the pro means ….for money …..HE DID GOOD
and will hopefully be as happy …..and as rich as former runner up Taj B .
Good riddance, his surfing on tour has gotten super boring to watch.
The waves are boring. Tour needs more G-Land etc…
That too
At least he’s not getting a longboard and surfing the bluff, I’m sure the old boys at the bluff would welcome Julian and his high performance mal with open arms
The Bluff is epic ridden on anything over 8ft , ride it on short board its lame as fuck.
Agreed, Im saving the bluff for my retirement longboard
Im so glad i pre date the thing called bluff locals.
I call them other things, give me gerries any day
Come home Julian, come home
Good on him but seriously – “taking a step back for a little while”?? Prefer him to shit all over the wozzle
good for him. lucky man. class act. one of the few who truly belongs to that increasingly generic heading of “the worlds best surfers”
I will take a slightly opposing view…..perhaps with no real sponsors, a realisation that he can not compete with the big boys anymore and a bank full of dollaroos. He is making the decision before someone else makes it for him. A shame as he is still young relatively speaking with a lot of life left to live. Or maybe, just maybe someone is starting up an alternative tour to the Wozzel and he is the first to jump…………..now that would be exciting.
Jonny Cash ….. There was a whole recent generation of family men on tour who were cashed up enough to tour with their kids, possibly starting with a young Parko …. through to Bourez , Jezza Flores , ACe B …..etc
Is it not possible that COVID robbed an aging Julian the chance to take his young family on an endless surfing summer / winter CT Tour ?
Do you mean its a shame he’ll be longboarding?…cunt better be wearing his fcs leash out 1ft t-trees aye?!
Totally understandable. Not even Slater could handle going bald on tour.
From the wording I’m tipping rebel tour.
Just need some rebels.
God…I hope one day I’m important enough for my life to be classified as “a journey.”
#goals
JH your Journey Continues from Today !
And you are all along for the ride!
#heroes