Cory Lopez Cold water soul
Exploring the mind of the Florida surfer as part of our new Cold Water Classic photographic brief.
More like this...
Surfing, like life, can get bogged down in numbers – figures and facts that decide who wins and who loses. For those who brave the O’Neill Cold Water Classic, stats on a scoreboard don’t really mean shit when you’re duck diving into icy extremes. At the point when flesh hits sub-zero conditions, it’s not about the heats you win, the points you score or the trophies and pay-cheques you may or may not carry home. It’s about the moments that fall in between.
Name: Cory Lopez
Age: 34
Home: Indian Rocks Beach, Florida
What is happiness to you?
Waves and family.
What’s the greatest lesson you’ve ever learned, and from who?
To treat everyone how you want to be treated. Not sure who taught me that – I think that's just common knowledge.
What are your worst and best traits?
My wife says my best traits are that I'm good with electronics and that I'm very current. My worst, well, she says that I'm impatient, but I think that's only if I'm hungry or the waves are good.
What has been your greatest regret?
Letting Paul Canning catch a wave to beat me in the final seconds at Bells, thus losing the world title.
How do you keep your ego in check?
My older brother and my friends have always kept me in check.
What qualities do you most like in people?
Kindness and sharing.
What qualities do you most despise in people?
Bullies and greed.
What does the future look like?
Good – if we all get through 2012.
What gets your blood boiling?
Not much. I'm pretty mellow. I did chase down a car full of tourists, one time, that threw trash out of their car on my local beach.
What gets your heart pumping?
Big waves and the play-offs when my teams are in them.
What would you do with your life if the oceans dried up?
Look for water – then probably die with everyone else.
Would you rather be too warm or too cold, and why?
Too warm. I hate the cold. I'm from Florida.
What gets you up in the morning?
When the waves are good, the waves. Every other day, it’s my kids.
Who or what inspires you?
Surfing, I'd say. Guys like Dane Reynolds, Kelly Slater, Occy. In life, my family inspires me to do better and work harder.
When were you last surprised?
At a surprise birthday party for me and they got me so good, it was sick.
When did you last let yourself go?
Superbowl this year was a blast.
How much is enough?
When I'm full.
Check out the full feature in HUCK #026, out now
Subscribe to HUCK for six issues
Only £21 (UK) / £44 (EU) / £59 (Rest of the World).
Cory Lopez (text) by is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Add Your Comment...
Please note: Your comment may be held in moderation for approval by an administrator to prevent spamming. This usually doesn't take long, please be patient.