Danny Wills (September 30, 1975-) |
 The Largest Surfing EncyclopediaA-Z: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Advertisement
|
|
|
He was a surf movie star at the age of 12; at 23 he was the outsider kid challenging the greatest surfer in modern history. The fact that he's still "Danny who?" to many surfers around the world tells you a great deal about Daniel Wills' mellow attitude to surfing fame.
A third generation surfer groomed for stardom from grommethood, he's still a country kid, who, in the final analysis, if given a choice between the jet-setting life of a pro hero and a quiet life at home, might honestly choose home. Of course, his home is rather alluring. Wills grew up around the country soul paradise of Byron Bay, Australia, a pointbreak heaven where the water seldom calls for more than a springsuit. The Wills family goes back a long way around Byron. Will's great-uncle brought one of the first boards to the area just after World War II and his father, Graeme, is a well-known power surfer who had Danny standing on a surfboard in the local shorebreak at the age of three. Byron's rain forest surrounds and tropical ambience has since made it Australia's Hippie Central, but Wills -- whose dad did the night shift in the local meatworks -- was anything but a hippie. He surfed hard under the eyes of Graeme and Byron's '70s performance legend Gary Timperley, developing an elegant and fun-to-watch style that seemed both mature and risk-taking. At 12, he was plucked from the scholastic contest ranks to represent Aussie grom fever in the Quiksilver movie, All Down the Line. It was a hit of stardom so sudden as to rock the planet of many a kid, but Wills absorbed the experience and seemed none the weirder. On the contrary, instead of trying to jump the surf-stardom queue, he settled down to work hard at school, largely bypassing the high-powered Aussie junior scene until he'd passed his final high school examinations. A return to serious competition in 1993 saw him pick up a third in the famous Pro Junior event at Narrabeen, Australia. The placing, earned almost solely on Wills' natural surfing talent, reinforced his reputation as a top pro in waiting. Afterward, he went back to Byron, but the die was cast, and by 1995, he was on the grinding ritual of the ASP's WQS tour. He finished 1996 by qualifying with friend and touring partner Mick Campbell. While Campbell had a highly successful first year at the top level, Wills struggled to solve the puzzle of a man-on-man heat and didn't really manage it until the first half of 1998, when he strung together two major event wins in a row -- the first pro surfer other than Kelly Slater to do this for seven years. Eliminated from a fourth-round heat of the Pipeline Masters at year's end, Wills' third place behind Slater and Campbell nevertheless acted as an encouragement to other tour surfers that the dream of a top-five finish was way possible. Wills has since had a quiet year, cruising to 21st on the rankings, but many pros believe this ranking is deceptive and that he will pick up momentum over the coming seasons, perhaps challenging again for the world crown. When not touring, he lives with his wife Kirsty and 2-year-old son Jayden in Byron Bay, the one place on earth where he's a household name. -- Nick Carroll, October 2000
|
|
