Red Gerard Wants to Go Pro in Surfing

Can you blame him?

Two surf-related interviews in one month on the Snowboard Mag site. Is it a sign global warming or just the end of summer slow news week? Not a bad career move either way. We caught up with Red Gerard about competing in his first surf contest because everyone else is in the Southern Hemisphere and the time difference is brutal for interviews. 

But back to the contest that happened last month that Red did. Red Bull hosted the Foam Wreckers event at the famed T-Street wave in San Clemente, CA. A popular break used by Team USA Surfing to train for the 2020 Summer Olympics, Foam Wreckers had much less emphasis on actual results, and mostly was just a good time for all who attended. As far as a snowboarding presence, Ben Ferguson and Hailey Langland competed alongside Gerard, and E-Stone from The Bomb Hole actually helped host the entire thing. After seeing the footage, we think it is safe to say Red won’t be trading bindings in for fins anytime soon…even if he wants too. 

Where you at right now? 
A new golf shop opening in Denver. Talking to people and taking photos. 

Won’t they notice you are on the phone? 
Haha, no. There are a ton of NFL players here. I’m good. 

How was your first taste competing in a surf contest? 
Haha, I don’t know if Foam Wreckers counts, but it was pretty sick. 

More nervous for your first surf contest or a slopestyle event? 
Haha. I guess it depends what event it is? Everyone expects me to screw up at a surf contest, so I’m going to go with obviously a slope contest. Just a bit more on the line, not as friendly if I mess up. 

Did you win your heat? 
Haha, no. I think I tied for fourth with Ben Ferguson. We are big fourth place guys. (Ben just missed the podium at the 2018 Olympics and Red suffered the same fate in 2022.)

What board did you spin for and have to use? 
I spun for a boogie but got a pro tip from someone that if you get a board you don’t like, grab anything you want before you go into the water. So I grabbed a little 5-foot twin fin and it was the shit. It made me want to buy one after. 

So you cheated and still missed the podium? 
Hahaha. I cheated and I still got fourth. 

Did Hailey beat you? 
I don’t remember. She just went to the Kelly Slater wave pool though, so it might be a bit different next time around. Got a lot of confidence. She’s gonna be up on her skills. 

[We did a little digging and without knowing how the scoring went at all, Red and Hailey both got fours and Ben got a seven. If that is WSL scoring, Ben got the best wave.]

If you could redo it all, would you try to go pro in surfing instead of snow? 
Hahaha, absolutely. No hesitation. Surfing hands down. Maybe this will be my retirement interview. Look, thank you snowboarding for all you have done for me, but I’ve been in the winter long enough now. I’ve seen enough snow and wind. I’m going to travel to warm places with really cool beaches and try to surf the best waves in the world. 

I love how in surfing you don’t have to do a crazy maneuver, you have to make the wave look the best it can possibly look. 

Little different than the mountain town circuit you are  on?
Completely different. You see more e-bikes than cars. I love the beach town vibe. Total opposite of the mountains. 

Who makes the best wetsuits now that you are an aspiring pro? 
Hahaha, Quiksilver no doubt. The Highline pros. I was actually in a meeting the other day, Highline pro across the board, like snow pants, jackets, surf wetsuits, boardshorts, and gear… that is their top of the line across the whole company, whatever the gear. Pretty cool that they keep that all under the same name, like that is the best you are going to get for any sport. 

You feel like you need to put more hours in the ocean now that you are on Quik? Going on trips with Mikey Wright and that whole crew? 
Haha, I don’t feel as guilty surfing more now that I am on Quik. I gotta sharpen my teeth in the ocean. No pressure, now just a nice excuse to do it. 

You think anyone will mistake you for a pro surfer now? 
If they were really drunk, yeah. Who knows, I will probably close out September around Southern California, and then I guess hit the road until at least June. The waves have been so good. 

Solid plan, see you this winter. 
Sounds good!