David Phillips: Work to surf

All of David Phillips’ money earned working at Kayak Wailua is used to fund his obsession for bodyboarding.

That’s how it is when you’re an amateur operating in the shadows of the more-lucrative professional surfing world tour.

“All my money from work goes for bodyboarding,” and a substantial chunk of change will be needed for travel to California (Huntington Beach), then Chile, said Phillips, whose primary sponsor is BZ Bodyboards (boards, leashes, board bags, moral support, etc.).

But he’d like to help change that, and sees a place for a world professional bodyboarding tour, he said during a telephone interview.

“It’s hard as a bodyboarder. There’s not as much money as surfing,” and those who are amateurs do it “because you love it,” he said.

The national tour, U.S. Bodyboarding Association events, is “good for any bodyboarder to push himself,” and to get good seedings in professional International Bodyboarding Association events, he explained.

Phillips, 20 and a student at Kaua‘i Community College, finds his work with Kayak Wailua the “perfect” job, close to home, close to his favorite waves at Kaua‘i Sands on Wailua Bay, and good cross training as he conducts kayaking and hiking tours along the Wailua River.

Bodyboarding for 12 years, Phillips said he is sure that sponsors, contests and bodyboarders can sustain a world professional tour. “Yeah, definitely. Yeah, I think it’s possible, definitely.”

Photographers are needed, to provide exposure for the young and not-so-young rippers of Kaua‘i and elsewhere, he continued, saying Noah Hamilton is his favorite Kaua‘i-based photographer.

He is still jazzed about a seventh-place finish he mustered in the 2009 Turbo Bodyboards Pipeline Pro earlier this year, contested in 6-8-feet Hawaiian-measured waves, meaning waves had faces of 12 to 16 feet.

His 360 maneuver on one of those Pipeline monsters had everyone on the beach murmuring in awe, and the image caught by a local photographer shows what appears to be an out-of-control Phillips heading for a nasty landing.

“The landing was actually really soft, to believe it or not,” he recalled. He said he made sure he finished riding the wave to make sure the judges saw it.

They did.

And, he didn’t think the wave or ride were all that great, or as big as it was, until he started having people congratulate him on the beach afterwards.

Still, it was bittersweet, because he was one place from making the final heat, which was his goal. “I was stoked about that,” he said of his seventh-place finish, which has placed him in a tie for 16th place in the world rankings.

Along the way, he eliminated fellow Kauaians David Hubbard and Jeff Hubbard, current and former world champions, respectively, said David Hubbard. Jeff Hubbard is currently in 26th place in the world standings, and David Hubbard is 31st, with Ryan Hardy of Australia, winner of the Pipeline event, in first place.

The conditions made for good rights at Back Door Pipeline, and Phillips commented further about what goes through his head when he’s eyeing down one of the huge Pipeline waves, preparing to charge.

“You always weigh consequences to benefits, and there are large consequences,” and then you normally charge, he said.

Asked about his favorite non-Kaua‘i surf spots, he said, “If I could surf Pipeline, uncrowded, that’d be it.” There is also a spot near Sydney that is called “Aus Pipe,” which is as close to Pipeline as an Australian break can be.

Back home, he wanted to give some recognition to his girlfriend, Tania Hensley. “She’s really supportive of me,” and recently sat on the shore at Ke‘e Beach at Ha‘ena State Park and filmed her boyfriend ripping there for four hours straight without complaint. Today is her birthday, and he also wanted to extend his birthday wishes to her in this printed format.

His other sponsors include Ebodyboarding.com and Viper Fins.

The Hubbard brothers had only good things to say about Phillips, whose nickname is “D-Phil.”

“D-Phil has been inspiring me for years, and I’m really excited to see what he can do on the World Tour,” said David Hubbard. “He’s already had stand-out performances in his debut events that have really opened the eyes of the industry. These would include posting the highest scores of the events, and achieving ‘maneuver of the event’ status in both instances,” David Hubbard added.

“He’s following Jeff’s path towards aerial acrobatics and is definitely pushing the limits for the future. He is representing the next generation of Kaua‘i bodyboarders, and making everyone proud.”

Jeff Hubbard said this about Phillips: “D-Phil is a young Kaua‘i native who has been pushing the boundaries of aerial bodyboarding on Kaua‘i’s shorelines, and blowing my mind for some time now.

“He has recently emerged from the shadow of the Garden Island in to the international limelight as a new face in bodyboarding’s future through his inspirational aerial antics and semi-final placing at the IBA 2009 Pipeline Pro on O‘ahu’s North Shore. D-Phil’s recent contest successes are sure to aid him on his dream of becoming a full-time professional bodyboarder,” said Jeff Hubbard.

Phillips and the Hubbard brothers all participated in Saturday’s Kaua‘i Loves You! Triathlon, with David Hubbard winning his age division, and Team Hubbard (father Mark Hubbard and sons Jeff Hubbard and Mike Hubbard) won their relay division as well.  

Asked about the strangest thing that happened to him while on the road bodyboarding, Phillips talked about a contest in New York state, where he did not compete, but where several of the competitors were staying at a hotel on Long Island and were the only guests in house.

Bored, they journeyed down into the basement of the hotel, where they saw a dilapidated refrigerator, a table saw and other creepy things that seemed out of place. Someone got grabbed by someone, they all freaked out, checked out of the hotel, and ended up sleeping, comfortably, on the beach where the contest was held.

Paul C. Curtis, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or pcurtis@kauaipubco.com