Interview with CJ Hobgood

We at SURFBANG got a chance to talk to CJ Hobgood right after he won the Hang Loose Pro last week. The 2001 ASP world champ answered some of the questions we had about life on tour, surfing at home, and running a website with his brother. Check out the full interview after the jump.

SURFBANG: We really like that you guys run your own blog… what got you guys into posting and using vimeo and twitter?

CJ Hobgood: What first sparked all the interest was the way we wanted to run the next Hobgood challenge, and I new I needed to learn how to post videos and do updates, so 3 years ago I set out in practicing. I locked myself in a hotel in indo for a week and youtubed tutorials on how to start a website etc. That’s one of the reasons were at kind of a weird URL. I thought it would be hard for people to find me at blog.thegoodss.com as I was in the learning process. The economy went crap and I had trouble getting the Hobgood challenge off the ground, but blogs went mad and the rest is history.

SB: What are your top five all time favorite spots to surf?

CJ: Restaurants, J-Bay, Teahpoo, Gravier, Monster Hole

SB: Out of all the guys on tour, who do you like surfing against in a heat?

CJ: Kelly & Parko are the biggest challenges out there

SB: Growing up and surfing in New York, I make sure I’m somewhere on the east coast during the Hurricane season. Do you make sure you are home in the summer for hurricane swells?

CJ: No, it’s all luck. I travel and do the tour so I miss out on all that… just blind luck if I’m home

SB: The whole east coast went off during the Hurricane Bill swell. I know Andy was surfing Jersey for a couple days. Did you surf home or anywhere else during that swell? And how was it?

CJ: Inlet was fun for an afternoon

SB: I saw that the Rip Curl Pro Search is going to be ‘Somewhere in the Caribbean’ this year, I’m thinking it has to be Puerto Rico. Have you made the short flight from home to PR and surfed there at all? What are some of your favorite spots in PR?

CJ: I’ve surfed there about a dozen times since I was a kid and yes you’re right its meant to be in PR.

SB: How much time out of the year do you spend at home?

CJ: 3 months maybe

SB: What were some advantages you had growing up on the east coast of Florida?

CJ: Had to learn how to surf weak waves

SB: How many boards do you get in year and what do you do with the boards you don’t end up ridding?

CJ: About 30, and normally they go to charity.

SB: Where are you at with the boards you ride? Are you sticking with foam and glass or moving towards the epoxy set-ups?

CJ: Never stop experimenting. I always have an epoxy in the quiver.

SB: Growing up, who was the one surfer you looked up to and today is there anyone you look up to in the surf industry?

CJ: Kelly and Bob Hurley

SB: What do you think about the current stops on tour? Are there any spots you’d rather not surf on tour or are there ones you’d like to see added?

CJ: There’s better spots in Brazil then the current spot. Bring back Tavarua. Add G-land as I’ve never been there.

SB: Airline pricing for board bags is going up. What tricks have you learned to get around the fees? Have you shipped boards to events instead of carrying board bags through the airlines?

CJ: Yeah I go cargo all the time. Everything domestic is cargo.

SB: What do you enjoy doing on your time off from the tour other then surfing?

CJ: Spending time with my daughter and playing tennis.

SB: If you weren’t a professional surfer, what do you think you would be doing?

CJ: Working in the surf industry

Thanks for the interview CJ!