WHAT ARE THE ODDS? TOBY MOSSOP RIDES SIDE SADDLE W/ CAM RICHARDS

It was a case of Wham-Bam, thank you Cam after the first few rounds of the qualifying series unfolded on the east coast of Australia. Cam Richards bagged himself a win at the QS 1000 event in Maroubra and backed it up with a 2nd at Cabarita comp a little further up the coast, slingshotting himself to the top of the WQS ratings in record time. He then bagged a 9th place at the Kommunity Project Great Lakes Pro (presented by Vissla), down at Boomerang Beach (this is Australia folks) near Forster on the NSW mid coast… and is still sitting pretty in 2nd place on the ratings.

So what were the odds of that happening? On a scale of one to ten, it probably ranked as a three in the eyes of Toby Mossop who always just saw Cam as the free surf guy. Then he rocks up in Oz and goes on a tear with a singlet on, and people were saying; how good is this guy?!

So they stuck with the game – What are the odds? – It seemed fitting as Cam was winning and the boys were doing what boys do, having a bit of fun. It’s basically a glorified game of dare that goes something like this: What are the odds of Cole Houshmand wearing his undies on the outside of his shorts while visiting a popular wildlife sanctuary? Pretty good apparently, as he cuddled a koala and posed for the obligatory tourist shot in his superman outfit. No nut flick for that one – the price paid for not following through on the aforementioned dares. “But Cole got a lot of sack whacks” adds Toby amidst fits of laughter, and it was seemingly nothing for him to walk around the entire day with his shoes on backwards either. (How is that even possible?) Groms huh.

But back to Cam and his winning ways. Turns out he’s a little superstitious in his routines, having to fist pump his entourage in a particular order every time he paddled out for a heat. Strange but true, and it seemed to work. Another interesting fact is despite his hot streak, Cam Richards cannot eat ice cream – a big problem in the seething Australian summer. An even bigger problem when the girl working at the local gelato store was a total stunner. No dairy intolerance could stop the other kids lining up multiple times a day though, while Cam tagged along for the ride. True story.

Another truth about Cam - The kid can punt. We’ve seen that in his clips and movie parts, and now in heats too. And punt he did, all the way to the top of the WQS ratings… for a few weeks anyway. Surfing NSW event organizers couldn’t help but take note, and extended him a wildcard entry for the QS6000 event in Newcastle.

Cam is taking it in his stride – “He’s pretty laid back”, says Toby, “He doesn’t seem to be taking it too seriously… Until he lands another giant, tail high reverse in the shorey.”

Toby is tagging along to the QS6000 events, surfing in the trials. No doubt the road show shenanigans will continue in Oz while he eyes off an opportunity to travel to California later in the year. Cam is seeded a few rounds deeper at the next event courtesy of that wildcard. A few more fist pumps and couple more rounds, and his entourage is saying he can go on to win another event and re-claim top spot on the ratings. What are the odds of that? Going on history, we have to go short! #Wham-Bam-thankyou-Cam.

Words by Brad Bricknell
Photography by Dan Scott and Ethan Smith.