Boarding School : Malloy Went From Classroom to Pro Surfing Circuit

HUNTINGTON BEACH — Hurricane surf rumbles up the coast from Baja, big waves bursting off the south side of the pier, filling the air with a white mist.

A swell has arrived just in time for the U.S. Open of Surfing this week. The boys down on the beach, the young professionals in their sponsored eyewear, hoot and holler.

“It’s macking,” the guy on the loudspeaker declares.

It is the sort of day Dan Malloy used to dream about while fidgeting in class at St. Bonaventure High in Ventura. He dreamed of flying off to join his older brother on the pro tour.

“I begged my parents to let me go,” Malloy said. “But they made me finish school.”

Which only makes his current freedom and good fortune all the sweeter.

The 19-year-old finds himself traveling from South Africa to England and back to Southern California for the World Qualifying Series, surfing’s version of the minor leagues. As one of the new and aspiring surfers, he is slugging it out for points to make the World Championship Tour.

Surfer magazine has dubbed him “an American to be taken seriously.”

“Dan is really looking like a good talent,” said Ian Cairns, a former world-class surfer who now works for the Assn. of Surfing Professionals. “He’s got the ability and he’s got good wave selection.”

He also has the bloodline.

His oldest brother, Chris, holds big-wave credentials from Oahu’s outer reefs. Keith, his middle brother, earned a No. 46 ranking on the WQS tour last year.

Even before Dan hit the tour, he and his brothers made a career outside of contests, traveling around the world for magazine photo spreads.

“Contests are great but a lot of times they have them in bad waves,” Malloy said. On magazine trips “there can be just five guys out and the waves can be perfect.”

The exposure has helped them in the business of surfing, which sometimes has little to do with actually riding waves. Born of California good looks and bright smiles, the Malloys have attracted a handful of lucrative endorsements from manufacturers of clothing, sunglasses, watches and surfboards.

Dan won’t reveal how much he makes, saying only that it pays for travel with some left over to save. The sponsorships have allowed him to forge a name for himself on the water.

So far, his best performance came last winter at the OP Junior in Haleiwa, Oahu, Hawaii.

“It was such a dream for me to surf a contest at Haleiwa,” Malloy said. “I went over to Hawaii a month ahead of time to prepare.”

The surf ran a clean three- to six-feet as Malloy cruised through the early rounds, reaching the final heat alongside Taj Burrow of Australia, one of the world’s top young surfers. His brothers were too nervous to watch.

“Good luck,” they told him. “We’re out of here. We can’t handle this.”

The finalists matched each other wave for wave. With 30 seconds remaining, the announcer told the crowd that Burrow held a slight lead. Malloy spotted a clean wave on the horizon.

“Things were just going my way,” he said.

Throwing huge cutbacks, he turned that final ride into a victory. Back at his home spot, Emma Wood State Beach, the regulars were suitably stoked.

But Malloy had little time to savor his victory. After a few weeks off, he started his first full season on the WQS tour.

Life can be hard for rookies. Some struggle to jockey for waves during the short, timed heats. Others can’t handle the travel.

“You’ve got to make sure you don’t land in Biarritz when you should be in Newquay,” Cairns said. “And you’ve got to get there with enough time to handle any problems, such as your luggage going to South Africa.”

Most of all, the newcomers face stiff competition.

“You see that mob?” Cairns said, pointing to rivals milling around the beach. “When you get on the tour, every one of them wants to see you fail.”

Again, Malloy enjoyed the benefits of family. He travels with Keith and their friend, Tim Curran.

“We stay focused and we push each other really hard,” he said. “Those guys have always told me that I can make it.”

Last year, competing in and around school, Malloy scored enough points to rank 77th on the tour. As of the Glodina Beach Night Classic, a South African contest held last month, he has improved to 67th.

There is plenty of room for improvement. Only the top 20 WSQ surfers move up to the big circuit. At the U.S. Open this week, Malloy went out in the early rounds. Cairns says he must sharpen his mental approach.

“He’s a mellow guy,” the former professional said. “Mellow is cool. But competition is aggro.”

Malloy must also learn to do the little things, like picking the right boards to ride in various conditions and picking out waves that will show enough face for those huge maneuvers the judges crave.

The sort of waves he used to envision while sitting in class at St. Bonaventure.

“I got my schoolwork done but I was always thinking about surfing,” he said. “This is all I’ve ever dreamed about.”

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Surf’s Up!

* What: The G-Shock U.S. Open of Surfing.

* Where: Huntington Beach, south of pier.

* When: Continues through Sunday. Competition is 7 a.m.-5 p.m. each day except Sunday, when it’s 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

* Tickets: Free sand and bleacher seating each day of the competition; premium stadium seating packages available for Saturday and Sunday.

* Website address: Surflink will provide regular scoring updates and photos during the competition at https://www.surflink.com