There’s still no one like Clay. And there probably never will be. Photo: Screenshot
No matter the wave, no matter the conditions, Clay Marzo surfs the way he wants. For those watching from the beach or doom-scrolling clips at home, Clay’s aggressive, yet subdued style carries a sense of play. It’s a spectacle to watch — old and new all at once, with a wild side. His fluidity in and out of the barrel is easy on the eye, even in the most critical sections. Clay embodies what Andy Irons once said makes a surfer voguish, “(if) it doesn’t give you a headache watching them. It’s someone smooth, makes a hard situation look easy, pulls it off with grace.” And when Marzo does his signature “Clayback” in the tube, grace and fluidity come to mind.
When it comes to his mind, Clay is a unique personality in the surfing world. During the interview, he was a man of few words. Naturally, it surprised me to learn that he’s an author of sorts. And it really explains Clay’s outlook to the laymen. JUST ADD WATER: A Surfing Savant’s Journey With Asperger’s is, “about how my mind works and a little about my life. Of course there’s some great stories too,” says Marzo. The late Bob Yehling, the penman behind the biography, said that the 2015 project started as scribbles on a bar napkin. Unraveling the details from Clay proved more difficult, but the process was worth it. Once Yehling got Marzo talking surf, he’d swear he was sitting across from a NOAA oceanographer. “Be the wave,” was Yehling’s entry point into the mind of Marzo.
Clay’s journey as a surfer on the spectrum is well documented. But it has brought awareness for those who live with Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD. But he thinks it has only enhanced his wave riding. “I think it’s great for me,” says Marzo on how ASD has impacted his surf career. “It helps me to stay quiet and hyper focused on surfing. I feel like it helps me in a way, to see things before it happens.” And that’s probably the best way to understand some of the ways Clay is able to contort his body into a beautiful symphony with the surf. He sees movements that no one else can visualize. And he then makes them happen.
For Clay, the hardest part of being a pro surfer is other people. “I can’t explain it. I get thrown off… I just want to go to my room and sleep. Staying in the same hotel with a bunch of pro surfers should be like a piece of cake. But it’s not.”
Still, it hasn’t stopped him from making a living as a surfer. Just like in nature, uniqueness can be an advantage. And this peacock can fly. “I’m continuing to be a part of surf trips, getting clips and photos to make my sponsors happy,” he says. “My approach to surfing is a lot different from others, so that helps.”
Another way to say “different” is one-of-a-kind. That’s why Clay and Album Surf are a model match. A well-built, aesthetic board for a speedy, artful surfer. “I ride for Album Surfboards,” he says. “I’ve been changing up my quiver and trying some twin fins and quads. They are so different from a thruster and so much fun.” But in terms of the magic board, it’s still the classic thruster. “I will always go back to my thrusters, it’s hard to find that magic one. They are definitely my favorite.”
Clay’s got some serious jam and funk in his surf. So much so, that many onlookers still wonder how he would do on the Championship Tour. Clay thinks he’d spice things up. “It has always crossed my mind,” he says. “It would be good to have some diversity, a different style. I feel like everyone on tour surfs very similar to each other. They need a good barrel rider like me on tour, something different.” Shots fired? I think not.
Clay’s future isn’t on the pro circuit. At least, it’s not likely. He’s going to travel, surf bigger waves, and make his own movie. This bull is on parade — and when the bull is running, everyone stops to watch.
