Dan Ross Interview: Witness The Fitness

In Australian lingo, the term "Mallee Bull" describes a tough beast that increases in strength as its environment gets harsher. Have a close look at Dan Ross's forehead next time you see him. He might be growing horns ...

One of the most focused and fearless surfers on the tour, with a monk-like fitness regime, he also has a pretty epic back story for those who may not know too much about him.

Dan was born in Coffs Harbour to mum Josephine and dad Gary, he was raised in the pretty hamlet of Mullaway before Dan and his mum then moved an hour up the road to Yamba.

At six, he and brother Ben started surfing on the back half of an old longboard, as Dan remembers: "I got addicted to surfing and spent all my years on the beach, even if the surf was small, my mates and I would be jumping off the rocks, diving, spear fishing or anything we could that involved the ocean."

Inspiration came from varied quarters; mentor and step dad David "Baddy" Treloar, the Angourie guru and Morning of The Earth icon, gave Dan advice on all aspects of wave-riding; while Jake and Paul Paterson, who'd regularly stop at Angourie, also became active role models for the smiley-faced kidlet.

By the time he got to Hawaii at 14, none other than Rabbit took Dan out at thick Waimea and where the thin country kid proved his moxy among the closeout. It soon became apparent that though the kid surfed smoother than an oil slick, he had more grit than a sock full of crushed diamonds.

Rossy next turned heads in the small stuff, defeating the likes of Durbidge, Dunn, Munro and Cansdell to win the Australian Junior Series, including one memorable win at Duranbah just weeks after tearing his knee ligaments.

On seeing him surf, visiting Californian photocrat Aaron Checkwood concluded: "A very complete surfer from his array of power slashes in two-foot surf to deadly drops at The Box in West Oz."

He joined Kieren Perrow and Nick Wallace as the progressive face of French hardware co. Salomon. Shots of Rossy turned up all over the place, dropping into cobalt triple-sucks on his sky blue boards. One such shot was the first thing international tourists saw when they got to Australia; a massive billboard of Rossy dropping into The Box outside Sydney Airport.

Of the recognition that came his way, he later told journo Ross Curtis in typically downplayed fashion, "If you're confident and thinking right, shit just seems to come to you!"

Like Tiago Pires, Dan was mega unlucky not to make the cut for the elite tour on a number of occasions and always seemed to be missing out by some sort of torturous mathematical anomaly at the end of each year.

In his 2007 charge to the WCT, Rossy also took time out for one of the landmark surf sessions of the year - a trip to Micronesia with Ted Grambeau, Shane Dorian and Mark Mathews. It was a session that was only topped at Sunset six months later when he not only qualified but was the standout of the event to most naked eyes.