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INTERVIEW: MARLON LIPKE
First-ever German surfer on ASP World Tour speaks out
By:
Gregoire Puget
Photos: All photos: Pablo Martinez
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January 17, 2009
12781 visits
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Next year's ASP World Tour is going to see more Euros than ever before,
and Germany's Marlon Lipke is stoked to be part of the Old World movement. While Lipke finished 16th on the WQS after a string of consistent finishes at key 6-stars around the world, he was one spot from actually qualifying. Fortunately for the hard-working regularfoot, the ASP awarded him a wildcard for all his efforts throughout the year.
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First off, how does it feel to be invited by the surfers on next year's ASP Top 45? It feels great, it's just amazing. It's like a dream come true. It's even better the way it happened because I was just outside the ASP WQS Top 15 so I had already put it behind me. But at the last moment, I got the news from my brother. It will remain one of the best days of my life. The Hawaiian events must have been very hard for you, dropping from No. 9 to 16 in a couple of events. How did you deal with it? I super stoked going to Hawaii ranked No. 9 but I had already worked out that the rest of the top guys could quickly push me out of the qualifiers' group. Then it started in Haleiwa at the Reef Hawaiian Pro. I didn't do well and all the guys behind me kept getting through and I dropped back to No. 15 at the end of the event, the last spot to qualify. But I knew Phil MacDonald who was right behind me, would only need to place 3rd in his heat at the O'Neill World Cup of Surfing to push me definitely out. It was a very hard time, I was very sad after Haleiwa and it took me a few days to come out of this testing time. I had Pat O'Connell, Greg Martin and Jay Thompson supporting me a lot and they helped me get ready and amped for Sunset. We had massive waves there and I missed out the cut by very little but I was still happy with my surf in the big conditions. I actually really enjoyed it but I knew the Dream Tour was definitely gone for me so it did affect me. 2008 was your best year ever on the ASP WQS. What's the feeling after such a competitive year? I had a tough time in 2007 with bad results on the international stage, even though I had some wins in smaller European events and I finished the year with no sponsor. So I was in this state of mind where you want to give the maximum and just unleash and enjoy the tour. It ended up well for me with 2008 turning into my best year ever, great results and on top of that, so much fun all year long. It couldn't have been any better actually. "It's something unbelievable for sure, for German surfing, Portuguese surfing and European surfing with seven of us being on tour. It's just amazing."
You're the first German surfer ever to qualify for the ASP World Tour - what does that mean to you? I haven't really thought about that yet. I don't even realize I really will be surfing on the ASP World Tour this year. I think it will take a bit more time until I get the bigger picture and start feeling it more realistically. But it is something unbelievable for sure, for German surfing, Portuguese surfing [Lipke was raised and lives in the South of Portugal] and European surfing with seven of us being on tour. It's just amazing. Any plan to prepare the big start on the Gold Coast ? This is something else I haven't thought about yet but I believe I will get the usual things going and some serious training with my mate Gony Zubizarreta (ASP WQS Top 50 surfer) and our coach Sylvain Frei. I think I have to work on a whole new quiver and think about changing my approach and surfing a bit. I can't really say what direction I need to go but I have some time to find out, so no panic. Now that it's all guaranteed, what goals do you have ? Without having thought about it too much, I would say my main goal will be to make it to the Top 27 at the end of the year while gaining as much experience as possible. The idea for my rookie year is to get a clearer picture of what the Dream Tour really is, and possibly find the key to establish myself in there. What events are you looking forward to in 2009? Any preferences? I am looking forward to all events in 2009. One of the major things I learnt in 2008 that you cannot expect anything from this or that specific location; last year I did well at all events I thought I would do bad and vice-versa. So I will just take it as it comes and ready well enough. I must say I still have to train and get experience on the hollow reef breaks of the tour. MORE SURF NEWS SURFLINE HOME PAGE |