Rusty Friesen

Very stoked to be apart of Custom X again. I rode for Custom X from the ages of 13 - 16 and even after that I have always had a good relationship with them. I am not really sure how it all came together, I just think all the pieces of the puzzle came together at the right time.

PMA is a legend in the bodyboarding world. PMA was the person who got me picked up by Custom X when I was 13. We met in the water at Cherry St. in Carlsbad, that was both of our local surf spots. As far as my signature board models... I will be sitting down with the bodyboard guru this week to gather our ideas and start putting together the magic board. So I am guessing the final product will be available sometime in the beginning of the summer.

Well the Pipeline Pro went ok I guess. I went into the contest feeling really good and having high hopes to do pretty well. I ended up making it through trials on the South shore and then lost in my 3rd heat at Pipe. It wasn’t as good as I would of liked to do but sometimes it just doesn’t work out. I think now I just really understand how important wave selection is out there. You have to be aggressive in your heats but you also need to be patient at the same time, that’s the hard part. Man, there are a lot of good riders out there. I really like watching lil Frenchy boy PLC. He was surfing with big confidence and attaching the lip, but at Pipe it’s all about getting barreled and I thought Toby player had a good run and was riding the barrel very good.

As a rookie on the tour I just want to go out there and make as many heats as possible, but not just that. I'm also learning what it takes to win at each stop on the tour. I really just want to win, haha. My goals for this year are to make at least one final at a big event.

Of course, I think an American can win a world title. I just don’t think any Americans are confident. I think once one mainland American rider makes top 5 in the world, it will get a lot of other riders thinking, "Ok, ya I can do this." I think as long as you're surfing a lot throughout the year and pushing your riding every time you surf it will be do able.

Unfortunately, yes it is pretty hard to get motivated surfing Cali waves (well at least in the winter time). I just think I get spoiled after surfing good waves with warm water in other countries and then coming back to cold small waves, HARD! Cause I know when I was a grom I was on it all the time no matter the size or temp of the water, but now its just getting back to that state of mind. If I’m not surfing in Cali I’m either playing some basketball, working on my surf and bodyboard camp (www.socalsurflessons.com), chillin out with my sexy GF, working out at the boxing club, taking my friends money in poker, or just watching lakers games.

Weird stories? Geeez that house was filled with weird stories. I just thought it was cool because we had 4 West coast RXYM riders and 3 East coast bodyboarders staying there. It was a good random mix with good trippin-balls moments. All I have to say is listen to: Empire of the Sun - “We are the People" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj_Nlm0871E. Andre "the lion/wolf" Botha is a close friend of mine and we have spent many travels together (best bodyboarder in the world). Dre has lots of respect for RXYM and loved the goodtimes at the RXYM North Shore house.

Please stay tuned to www.rusty2009.com. I promise it will give you plenty of eye candy. You can follow me with my crazy, fun, wild, and good time travels all over the world. I will be updating my blog 24/7 and it will be filled with non stop action. Please contact me with all your thoughts, & feel free to speak your mind with me. I love your shizz talk and anything else that is on your mind. Check it out!