"Winning is the be-all and end-all. I've been a competitive barstard ever since I was five. I was one of those kids who, if they lost, would walk off the football field crying. I'd be at dummy-half, half-back and five-eighth, just because I wanted to win so much."
What makes a world champion? What is the "IT" that sets some people apart from the crowd, and earmarks them for higher office? Slater has it, and so does Nathan Webster, Tom Carroll had it, but Nick Wood didn't. Herro hasn't got it, but Powelly has. Unquestionably, mere surfing talent isn't enough. The "IT" that makes some people champions, that enables them to comfortably straddle the pitfalls of initial success and survive the rush into stardom, is way, way more than just talent alone. "IT" requires self discipline and focus, and the real support of a loving family, as well as lots of natural aptitude, to make it big in the big, wide world. Fortunatly, Micheal Lowe has all these factors on his side.
The 18-year-old from Windang has already made quite an impact, not only on the Australian surf scene, but on the world stage as well. The list of titles he has under his belt reads like a What's What of competitive achievement: four state titles, an Australian Junior Title, the World Grommet Champion in '93, as well as finishing at No.2 in the ACC Junior series in '95. He still has two more years eligibity to change that to a No.1, but he'll probably be too busy chasing the WQS tour, and a place in the top 44.
More recently he was chosen, along with some of the world's past and future greats, to take part in a made-for-TV contest in the perfect barrels of Tavarua. " It was great, two weeks in heaven, y'know?" said Michael. "You'd take off next to Gerry Lopez and kick off next to Shaun Tomson, it was pretty incredible." Michael, the youngest competitor chosen to compete finished third. "It was an honour."
As is often the case, he took his dad there with him. Phil Lowe is a keen surfer himself, and has been supportive of Mick's career since the first time he competed at age 11. "I surf with dad nearly every day. But there was never any 'Mick, you have to go in this contest, you have to do this.' It was more like 'Dad, can you take me to this contest?' 'Yeah, sure. When's it on?' Before I was ever sponsored or anything like that, Dad used to take me to contests, whether it be down in Victoria or in Queensland, we used to drive down together and I used to compete."
Though Mick says his Dad "Isn't competitive at all," it seems that Phil is not without a competitive streak, and plays not a small part in influencing Michael's outlook. While in Tavarua, Phil found himself on the receiving end of some sly hassling from none other than Lopez himself. Gerry paddled back out and said casually that he thought it was OK, because Phil seemed to be pulling back a little. To Mick's annoyance, Phil replied tenaciously that, "No, it's not OK, and I'll go at my own fucken pace."
After that Phil and Gerry became mates.
This same tenacity is apparent in everything Michael does. He hates losing, "Winning is the be-all and end-all. I've been a competitive bastard ever since I was five. I was one of those kids who, if they lost, would walk off the football field crying. I'd be at dummy-half, half-back and five-eighth, just because I wanted to win so much." He ended up captaining the Illawarra Under-12 rugby league football team, before giving up footy in favour of surfing.
Young Mick won his very first contest, and went on to notch up more good results, until achieving widespread magazine prominence with a series of photographs at a maxing left-hand point break near his home. Here was a sixteen year old kid, pulling into solid ten-foot-plus barrels, alone. It was obvious from the photos that this kid was charging, at a time when all the other grommets seemed to be tail-sliding around, concentrating on their aerial attack, and Australian surfers generally were losing a lot of ground on the international scene.
It was inspirational. It was the epitome of how Australian surfing had always liked to imagine itself, since Nat introduced the word 'aggression' to the world surfing vocabulary way back in the '60s. Mick is clear about where his inspiration stems from: "The foundations of surfing will always remain the same. An on-rail turn; a big old power Occy, Tom Carroll, Luke Egan turn, is gonna be better than any flick 360 that anyone can do."
Billabong used the shots in their national advertising, and Michael Lowe became a household name.
But while such attention would have turned the head of many a 16-year-old potential surf star, Michael's head remained firmly attached to his shoulders. He stayed at school, worked hard, and graduated in 1994 qualifying to study Law. "To stay at school for me was a good decision, when I could have been doing things that were much more appealing. It took discipline and discipline is an important part of me."
Certainly it is an approach that has helped in his contest career. His supreme focus is evident in his contest strategy. "When I'm competing there's no having a few beers. After the contest I might have a few beers, but during a contest there's no way I could wake up with a hangover and try and surf a heat. "Short and nuggety, he is as capable of grovelling in mushy surf as the next kid, but it is when the waves are large, round and perfect that he comes into his own.
Next year he plans to tackle the WQS fulltime, on the way to achieving his ultimate goal. "I'd like to be the best surfer in the world, and win a World Title. But if I'm not the best surfer in the World, then hopefully I'll get there another way. I don't want to have any regrets." If the other way means hard work and dedication, then you can bet it won't faze Michael Lowe.
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