So it was down to this, the final contest of the year: the Rip Curl Cup at Sunset Beach, Hawaii. C.J. Hobgood had started the day narrowly leading the points race, but eight hungry competitors now trailed close enough to be within range of surpassing him and claiming the title for themselves. A victory at this event would secure the world championship for the 22-year-old Floridian.
If only it was that easy.
The day’s second-round heats began well for C.J. as friend and fellow Floridian Ben Bourgeois knocked veteran Mark Occilupo out of contention. Brazilian Renan Rocha also contributed to C.J.’s cause by defeating rising star Andy Irons.
It looked as if C.J. might continue to control his own destiny, as he carried a narrow points margin over wildcard and Rip Curl trials winner Myles Padaca. But with the final seconds ticking away in their heat, Padaca converted one final wave into enough points to overtake C.J.’s narrow 2.32-point edge. C.J. was sent to the shore.
His chances didn’t look good: The six remaining competitors needed only to advance to the semifinals to overtake the points lead and lay claim to the championship. C.J. stayed off the beach for the rest of the contest, expecting the worst but hoping for the best.
The surprise eliminations continued. First, Sunny Garcia went down to the hard-charging Mick Fanning, and the then-No. 3 Cory Lopez lost to Shane Beschen. The next contender to disappear was No. 4 Taylor Knox, followed by No. 7 Shane Powell of Australia. Only Jake Patterson and the ninth-ranked Australian Danny Wills remained.
Hawaiian Kalani Robb came through on C.J.’s behalf in the final minutes of his second-round heat by taking out Powell. That left Bourgeois in position to do his friend a second favor of the day. And what a favor it was: Bourgeois dominated the heat and sent Wills paddling out in defeat.
“You couldn’t write as good a story if you were thinking the most fiction stuff,” C.J. would later tell Surfing magazine.1 The contest continued, but ultimately C.J. claimed the 2001 world title. It was only his third year on the Association of Professional Surfers (ASP) World Championship Tour.
Although C.J. realized his great debt to Bourgeois, he offered his public thanks first to Jesus. “[Jesus] pretty much is my life, and I try to be on His path,” he says. “He has given me everything that I have; this has nothing to do with me at all. I’m stoked to be able to thank Jesus Christ for everything. I’m able to enjoy all I have so much more because of that.”2
For C.J., it was a meteoric rise to the pinnacle of pro surfing. Yet it was this very quest to fulfill his lifelong dreams that initially revealed a spiritual emptiness within. As C.J. strove to achieve surfing’s highest awards, his path eventually led him to surrender his life to the God who controls the wind and the waves.
East Coast Kid
Like many other surfers, C.J. got his first wave-riding experiences back in his preschool days. Thanks to his lifelong surfing dad, Clifton, C.J. and his brother, Damien, were boogie boarding at age 4 and stand-up riding at 6. Clifton passed on his passion to his oldest son well. He passed on his name, too: “C.J.” stands for “Clifton James.”
“Our parents loved the beach, and that was a way that we could all get out of the house,” C.J. says. It also didn’t hurt that the twins had only a five-minute bike ride to the break at Satellite Beach, which provided them with plenty of time for practice. Every afternoon was similar: race home from school, throw down the book bags, grab the boards and bolt for the beach.
“Back then, all I could ever think about was how fast I could get home and go surfing,” C.J. told Transworld Surf. “When contest weekends came around, I’d be thinking about the contest. Or if there wasn’t a contest, I’d be thinking about getting a new board, or watching surf videos and deciding which pro I was going to imitate for my friends during our next freesurf.”3
Both Hobgoods were involved in team sports, including soccer and baseball. “I was the pitcher, and Damien was the catcher,” C.J. says. But surfing conquered all after the bros got their first taste of contest surfing when they were 10. Both came home with a trophy, and from that time on they were hooked. No more playing all season for a chance to bag some team hardware. With the mad skills the ‘Goods had, every competition provided a realistic shot at instant victory gratification.
It wasn’t long before the boys were attracting a lot of attention and receiving sponsorships. At 13 they went national, appearing in a Sports Illustrated for Kids photo spread. One two-page shot captured the essence of Hobgood childhood: It depicted the brothers on their bikes at the beach with their boards in hand.
C.J. and Damien continued to hone their skills at Sebastien Inlet, the East Coast’s premier wave, where they had the opportunity to observe and learn from Kelly Slater and former pro stars Matt Kechele, Charlie Kuhn and Bill Hartley. At 16, both made the U.S. Surf Team and continued their assault on the National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA). By the time he was 17, C.J. had claimed five regional and national NSSA championships.
Despite the success, C.J. kept a humble and grounded outlook. He maintains that he was never billed as the next Slater and that it was his hard work that brought him so far.
Next Step
“I’m not very patient,” C.J. says.
But he is a fearless, hard-charging competitor both in and out of the water. Perhaps the combination of these traits fueled his rapid ascent to the top of the ASP.
“When I was 18, I thought, I can do this and I can make it. I can make a living, be productive, you know. I’m gonna surf the rest of my life whether it is competitive or not, but, yeah, I can do it [make it professionally],” C.J. says.
In 1998, C.J. screamed through the World Qualifying Series, qualifying for the top-flight World Championship Tour in only one year. It usually takes even exceptionally talented surfers three to five years to move up. Not to be one struggling at the lower ranks of the world’s then top 44, C.J. claimed the 1999 Rookie of the Year award and entered the elite ranks at No. 18. In 2000, he brought home the hardware as the Most Improved Surfer, jumping 11 spots to finish the year ranked No. 7. And, as you already know, the 2001 season closed with C.J. claiming the World Champion title.
Unsatisfied
In the eyes of many a grom and adult surfer alike, C.J. had it all. But behind all the public success, a sense of deep unrest was growing within C.J. He was realizing his potential and achieving his dreams of reaching the pro ranks of surfing, but doing so had left him with a feeling of emptiness rather than the satisfaction he had expected. “I realized that no matter what I did in this world, no matter what I tried to accomplish or tried to achieve or get, it wasn’t happiness,” C.J. says.
Like his brother Damien, C.J. had been raised in the Catholic church. Their mother taught Sunday School, and C.J. had learned a lot about God. But he admits he had no relationship with God. “It was like God was an hour on Sunday, but I still had my life,” C.J. said in the Walking on Water film Noah’s Arc.
As C.J. continued his rise through the surf world, he began to hear about changes that were taking place within a crew of surfers on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. C.J. went back to grommethood with some of those surfers, such as Noah Snyder and Jesse Hines. From their teens, the two East Coast crews had regularly road-tripped back and forth to make the most of hurricane-season Hatteras and warm-water Florida.
Word was that Noah and the whole crew had accepted Jesus. C.J. heard the news, but he didn’t dwell on it. However, over the course of the next few years, C.J. began to notice that these guys were different. Instead of partying, they were conducting Bible studies. Although they had always been friendly, they now began to demonstrate a genuine concern for their friends. C.J. could see that something had changed. The Hatteras crew was living out God’s love.
Buddy Favor was C.J.’s longtime roommate. While driving back to Florida from North Carolina, Buddy heard how God had changed Noah’s life and decided to surrender his life to Christ. Buddy was now a new man, too, and the spiritual growth he experienced began to rub off on C.J.
“The snowball started going on up [in the Outer Banks], and we had our own little snowball that started going on down our way,” C.J. says in Noah’s Arc. “How thankful I am that Noah shared with Buddy and that ultimately his faith started affecting my life. Going back and putting fingerprints on everything, I’m thankful that God was working in people’s lives and ultimately in my life.”
In the summer of 2000, C.J. placed control of his life in Christ’s hands at Calvary Chapel in Melbourne, Fla. “I think a lot of people find the Lord when they are either at their lowest point or their highest point,” C.J. says. “I think I came to the Lord at the highest time, because I realized that no matter what I did in this world, no matter what I tried to accomplish or tried to achieve or tried to get, it was not happiness. I was reaching my dream to make the world tour, and right when I reached that dream is when God was right there in my face.”
C.J. maintains that even though he had a choice about accepting or rejecting Christ, God’s call was too powerful to resist: “I think there is a time when the Lord calls you, and no matter what, if He wants you, He is going to get you.”
Life in the Spotlight
The process of encountering and eventually surrendering one’s life to Christ is highly personal and often unique. Although it perhaps represents life’s deepest transformation, becoming a new creation, as the Bible describes it, can provide some interesting challenges when it occurs in the public spotlight.
This is especially true in the world of professional sports, and surfing is no exception. Camaraderie can quickly become overshadowed by a serious competitive streak. Image means everything to the potential corporate sponsors who finance the travel expenses necessary for a surfer to keep up with a worldwide roster of events—thus making or breaking that surfer’s ability to pay the bills.
In the beginning of his new spiritual life, C.J. was well aware of the scene and had some fears about how his newfound faith might be perceived. He remembers thinking at the time, Nobody’s going to like me on tour. There are all these people I look up to who are not going to want to hang out or talk to me because I’m, like, a weirdo and blah, blah, blah.
But what initially felt awkward became more natural as C.J.’s new faith began to deepen and he realized that God had placed him in the spotlight for a purpose.
“It was like Damien and I needed to take the smallest step of faith, and God would use it for His glory so much,” C.J. says. “That’s always been His thing. I was talking to God, saying, I do this little step, and You take it and blow it up. There are missionaries and people who do a lot of things all about God. I do what I love. I surf. I say a few things, and You are taking it and using it for Your glory. You’re making me think I’m some, like, preacher guy who knows everything about You. What’s going on here? Let me get my act together a little bit more before You start going crazy.”
When you’ve found the peace and fulfillment that have long eluded you, it’s natural to talk about it even if you do have some initial concerns about how you’ll be perceived. C.J. and Damien were quickly presented with plenty of opportunities to represent their faith on the public stage. Both appeared in the Christian films The Outsiders and Noah’s Arc. They continue to be questioned regularly about their spiritual lives by both secular and Christian journalists. And they receive invitations to speak to churches and other Christian groups.
Perhaps it’s the ‘Goods‘ willingness to be real with others—fellow pros, industry representatives, friends, media and fans—that has helped them maintain their high level of respect in the surf community. (Their rad surfing talents help too, of course.) The guys are genuine and humble.
“The thing I respect most about C.J. and Damien is humility,” film producer Matt Katsolis says. “A five-second walk off the beach takes them a half hour because they make eye contact with each kid, shake hands, truly listen to him and take the time to encourage him by telling him things like, ‘Oh, you’re surfing? That board’s too big for you. Try this.’ That blows my mind. It’s not a front they put on for any video; they are like that. They are respected and well-known—both are in the Top 10 in the world—yet they treat every person with so much respect and dignity.”
C.J. is also honest, even about his own shortcomings. When questioned for a 2003 Transworld Surf article about living as a Christian on the World Championship Tour, C.J. spoke honestly about his failures within the ASP’s world-class party scene and about his struggles to maintain sexual purity after a not-so-spotless past. (He was not yet married at the time of that interview.)
As the Transworld interviewer put it to C.J., “You could have sex with any girl anywhere in the world because of who you are.”4 Although the statement was somewhat of an exaggeration, C.J.’s abstinence was not due to a lack of opportunities, thanks to the way our culture views celebrity athletes. And let’s face it: There are a lot of beautiful women on the beaches of the world. But C.J. maintains that life as a pro surfer is not much different temptation-wise from any other walk of life. “There ain’t no temptation I deal with that you don’t deal with going to a job that’s 9 to 5,” he says. “The world’s the world whether you’re in a square room, or in a bedroom, or in Brazil on the beach.”
Since getting married in January 2003, his wife, Rachel, has provided built-in support. “I am accountable to my wife, and she travels with me a lot,” C.J. says. “You just don’t do things that are gonna make you fall. Don’t dance around the fire if you are clumsy and you are going to trip. I try not to put myself in compromising situations.”
New Outlook
Some of C.J.’s recent lessons have come as a result of being a new father. His daughter, Genevieve Hobgood, was born July 5, 2005.
“People can tell you how much God loves you, but having a kid, you can see how much God loves you,” C.J. says. “You have this human who can’t really do anything when she’s young, but you love her so, so much. I’m sure when she grows up and she does bad things that I don’t agree with, I am still gonna love her so, so much.”
The experiences of fatherhood have also given C.J. a new perspective on God. “You can see why we call God ‘the Father,’ ” he says. “He loves us so much no matter what—no matter how bad we are, no matter what we do. It’s the same with Genevieve. I can actually realize that from experience. That’s kind of where my life’s been lately—just realizing God’s love for me through my love for my daughter.”
Since his championship season, C.J. has remained in the top 10 surfers in the world. He’s a fan favorite and continually ranks high in the annual Surfer Poll awards for favorite surfer. His down-home genuineness and good-natured spirit also make him a favorite among his touring pros. But now he is known and respected as much for his spiritual beliefs as for his fearless and powerful riding.
“C.J. and Damien are both constantly bringing up God with all they do,” says pro surfer Timmy Curran. “With their wins and everything, they are constantly going ‘To God be the glory,’ and when I hang out with them, that is what I get.”
The swell on C.J.’s horizon looks bright: a red-hot career as one of pro surfing’s elite, a legitimate shot at claiming another world championship, the love of a growing family and, most important, a real relationship with his Creator that brings peace and purpose.
Although the rest of us may not necessarily achieve C.J.’s surfing success, he believes that anyone can experience similar spiritual contentment. “Mark my words,” he says, “you’ll come to a crossroads in your life where you won’t have anywhere else to turn. You’ll have a decision to make. Everyone goes through it; everyone’s human. There will be a time. Give your life to Jesus.” 
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THE SOUL OF SURFING
Surfing is spiritual. The pull of the tides, the pounding of the waves, the mystery of what lies beneath the surface and the vastness of the ocean all point to the power of the Creator. Jeremy V. Jones is Breakaway's associate editor and loves to surf whenever he gets the chance. He recently wrote the book Walking on Water: The Spirituality of the World's Top Surfers, which tells the stories of C.J. Hobgood, Damien Hobgood, Timmy Curran, Tom Curren, Bethany Hamilton and other surfers who know that the sport is meaningless without a satisfying relationship with the One who made the waves. |
