Talented and competitive surfer, seventeen-year-old Jordy Collins from Carlsbad, California, is moving up the ranks in the local San Diego contest scenes. He is currently sponsored by Hurley, the clothing company, and is rapidly becoming one of the country’s rising young surfers. Some of his past sponsors include Famous Surf, Futures, Borst Surfboards, Surfrider, and Bony Acai.
To stay competitive, Jordy surfs three-four times a day except on Sundays. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he understands that Sunday is a day to attend church meetings and to spend time with family. In a 3 July 2016 interview with Deseret News, he said, “I usually don’t surf on Sunday, so I get questions. You explain and then they say, oh, OK, that’s cool.”
There are perhaps many young people who wish that they could be like Jordy and do something that they have a passion for on a full-time basis. His work conditions are also unimaginable. First, to get to “work” each day, he has to walk two entire blocks to get to the beach. Then he has to endure not only the heat from the sun, but the water as well. But that isn’t all. His “job” also requires him to travel to competitions in Hawaii, Brazil, Mexico, Barbados, Florida, Virginia, and North Carolina. And, every year he moves to Hawaii for a few weeks to train. He is able to keep his full-time job because he is home-schooled.
Seven months ago in an interview with stabmag.com, he was asked what three things he would take to a deserted island and he replied, “boards, friends and family. Maybe a girlfriend – do I get a fourth thing?” When asked what he hoped to be doing ten years from now, he commented, “I just hope I’m surfing. Whether it be on the tour, or free surfing, I just want to surf.” He also stated that the person who has influenced his surfing the most is John “John” Florence, a professional surfer from Hawaii who is known as “one of the most dominant Pipe surfers of his era” and for his tube riding and aerial abilities. And, he also mentioned that his greatest fear is of the big waves and the possibility of drowning in them.
According to the 3 July Deseret News article, “Last year he was one of 10 surfers — and the lone American — selected from around the world to compete on a Brazilian island for the title of King of the Groms (in surfer parlance, a young surfer). Sponsored by Quiksilver, it’s part surf competition, part photo session. In the end, Collins was named the winner.”
Jordy has numerous accolades to his credit. At 2016 National Scholastic Surfing Association regional championships – a culmination of 10 qualifying competitions on the West Coast – he was the winner of the junior (19 and under) championship, and placed third in the open men’s competition. His father, Daren, was the winner of the super senior division, marking the first time that a father and son had won trophies. In the Surfing America series, which uses a Grand-Prix type scoring system based on the results of six competitions, Jordy won the overall 2016 Series championship. And, at the Volcom’s global championships in June, he placed fourth in the junior competition. His ultimate goal is to qualify for the World Surfing League and make surfing a career. He also has hopes of making it to the 2020 Olympics as well.
At the young age of two, he learned how to surf while riding on the end of his father’s surfboard. His three siblings – Justin, a returned missionary currently attending BYU, Joshua who is serving a mission in the Czech Republic, and Jill, who lives at home, all grew up learning how to surf. His father, a 51-year-old sales executive, who still surfs several times a week and competes in local surf events, commented, “The family that surfs together stays together.” Jordy recalls, “As long as I can remember my dad would take me out surfing.”
Deseret News further reports, “By 4, he was boogie boarding and surfing in the white water close to shore. At 7, he began paddling out alone to catch the waves. He started competing in local surf events at 9 and then two years later began competing in regional events up and down the coast.” He has surfed waves in the 25- to 30-foot range, but also has a keen interest in Big-wave surfing (riding waves that top 20 feet and are as big as 70 feet) as well.
Jordy believes his values have given him perspective and helped him deal with the pressure of the sport. As for flying off to spend weeks with other surfers whose values and morals differ from his, he comments, “My parents trust me. They know what I’m about. They know that I’m strong in the gospel and that I have values.”