At only 16 years old, Rhys Barfield has already has an impressive CV, with 3 Under 18 Welsh Championship wins, represented Team GB during the ISA World Junior Surfing Championships and picked up by Quiksilver at only 11 years old!
This week Urban Surfer had a quick catch up with the man himself, Rhys Barfield.
What does a typical day of the Rhys Barfield lifestyle consist of? A typical day in my life consists of early morning surf check, usually get in there and see all my mates surfing, get out and play a game of skate or some darts while recharging for the next surf, eat, and maybe sleep.
Surfing is becoming ever more popular, what are your tips for those looking to go pro? The best tip from me is too enjoy yourself and have fun as that's when you will do your best surfing. And also the best training for surfing is surfing so get in the water as much as possible!
We'd imagine that having Quiksilver as a sponsor would be pretty cool. How are you finding them as a sponsor? Having Quiksilver as a sponsor is every school boys dream, being on the team with the big names they've got is awesome. At the minute the company is having a bit of re shuffle so waiting to see what comes next. Hopefully more good times!
We understand that you enjoy travelling, do you have any favourite holiday or surfing hotspots? One of my favourite places is the south west of France, you can find some mental beachies with no one out. But I'm happy to go anywhere Quiksilver send me!
Kelly slater was recently in the news for apparently surfing near a shark. Do you have any close encounters to share with us? Yeah I don't particularly enjoy surfing with sharks! One that jumps into mind was when i was in Australia this year surfing South Wall Ballina and got called out the water due to a big school of fish with supposedly sharks swimming around them feeding off them. Got back in there after it had passed though!
The ocean is a big place to spend a lot of your time, naturally, people can become fearful of it. Do you have any tips on how to overcome those types of fears? Hard question! But my best tip would be know how to play safely in the ocean and if you don't feel comfortable on your own or with a bunch of mates then try to go to a beach where lifeguards are on duty.
We hear yoga is getting fairly popular amongst surfers. What are your thoughts?Yeah yoga is good too improve flexibility and core strength, great for surfing!
We all have memories of embarrassing times at the beach. Do you want to share some of yours with us? Probably putting my leash on the wrong foot when I was about 10 years old! And obviously the classic of getting your towel whipped off by your mates in front of the whole beach!
We like to ask all our surfers what their top five surfing tips would be for any amateurs looking to get into the sport. What are yours? 1. Have fun 2. Stay compressed to your board. 3. Where you look on the wave, you will go. 4. Make sure you're on the right equipment e.g board, fins etc... 5. Practise makes perfect.
Finally, can you sum up surfing in one word? Freedom?
