Kyuss King made his first appearance in the surf when he was two years old. ‘I was on the front of my dad’s longboard on small days at The Pass.’
A lot of waves have been surfed since Kyuss was a toddler and now the 20-year-old is looking toward a professional career.
King decided at a very young age that he wanted a life of surfing, he entered his first competition at just eight years of age and won the Surf Dive ‘n Ski Australian junior surfing title a few years later in 2015 with a perfect 10-point wave.
When a passion turns into a career
King says he got into surfing as a passion and now it has become his career, even finishing his education with Southern Cross Distance Education to free him up to surf. ‘I’m loving the journey. ’Is definitely hard. The level of surfing talent is going through the roof these days.’
His future plans involve doing more with his art, music, free surfing and hopefully qualifying for the World Championship Tour (WCT), though, everything in regards to competition and travel came to a stop in 2020 and it affected everyone in the surfing industry.
Fortunately, it’s not only surfing that keeps Kyuss going. ‘I have an art colab coming out soon with one of my sponsors! I like to do various types of punk-metal abstract and sketch art and my music style is like stoner rock/sludge/doom/metal. I play guitar and my little brother Rasmus plays drums and sings. For now, we are just jamming in garages.’
Like most professional athletes King says he is surrounded by a great team. ‘I have had my fair share of injuries but during the off-time at home I was able to lock in a really good training program, working on my strength and injury prevention. I’m fortunate enough to have a great team around me.’ King’s team includes surf coach Adam Dufner, strength coach Linton Fafie and Jason and Meaghan McMillan for Chiropractic and bodywork, and Jason Patchell.
Training for King is getting into his routine. ‘I do a few days a week in the gym, then a couple of days doing surf training in the ocean with competition strategies and mock heats.’
All of this is made easier living in a surfing family. Kings says his little brother Rasmus is a sponsored surfer and his dad surfs most days. ‘Mum doesn’t surf much due to crowds but she has a classic vintage style stance on the longboard.’
King’s most recent event was the Vissla Central Coast Pro at Avoca Beach where he placed third.
King’s distant plans are hopefully to be travelling again soon. ‘I’m keen to get some good waves and enter more Qualifying Series events.’
