Meet Our New Ambassador: Charlie Verco
Q. Where did your love of the ocean come from?My parents brought me down to the beach my whole life. I remember my dad taking me to learn to surf when I was five years old. We were at North Bondi Pool, and he taught me to stand up on a foamie.
So, I've always been around the ocean, and all of the most fun parts of my life were there. I did Nippers, where I made some of my closest friends, and whenever I'd go and socialise, it would be going down for a surf or just hanging out at the beach.
It's just been ingrained in me over many, many years to love the ocean.
Q. What's your favourite thing about being in the ocean?
I think my favourite thing about being in the ocean is the fact that it's never the same. It's always got something different to entertain you.
Sometimes that's really frustrating because you want to go for a surf and it'll be dead flat, but you have to find some other way to have fun out there. You'll never be bored in the ocean.
Q. What's your least favourite part of training?
My least favourite part of training is swimming. Getting up early when you're already exhausted, when all you want to do is stay warm in bed, but you have to get up knowing you're about to jump in a cold pool.
But it's also one of the most important parts of the training, so you've got to get there.
Q. What's the toughest physical challenge you've faced in a race or rescue?
It's hard to decide between two.
I did a paddle during my first year training for Molokai 2 Oahu, which was actually along this coastline. I misjudged how fit I was and how long it was going to take me.
I ended up having to race against the sunset behind the cliffs between Bondi and Sydney Harbour, and I basically could barely paddle anymore. I was out there on my own, and it was a huge swell. I was very scared that I was going to be lost out there at night-time and not be able to get back.
So, that was pretty horrible.
The other one was last year in the Molokai 2 Oahu race. I tried to push myself a little bit too hard, trying to paddle for a fast time when the conditions weren't going to allow it. I learned a pretty tough lesson. I blew up about three hours in and had to limp home for another two hours because I was in so much pain.
I ended up having to turn my watch away because I couldn't watch how slowly the time was going down and how the kilometres just weren't changing.
Q. What was going through your mind the moment you were crowned world champion?
The first year going over to Molokai 2 Oahu was all about just seeing if I could paddle that far. It's such a formidable crossing, and the channel's so treacherous that I didn't know what I was in for.
When I got to that finish line, I was first of all just so grateful for my dad and all the people who helped me get to the race and get to do it.
I guess I was pretty proud of myself that I was able to cross that body of water, and I felt very lucky that I was able to do that in the fastest time that year.
Q. What's a goal you're still chasing in the sport?
Lifesaving is such a unique sport, and one of the reasons we love it is because there are so many factors that go into it. Outside of being fit, strong and skilful, there's a randomness element, and that always interrupts things.
Something I've never been able to achieve is winning the Australian board title. It's something I've been working really hard to do, and I've come close before. I got second a couple of years ago, and that's my number one goal that I'd like to achieve before I finish the sport.
But at the same time, I've achieved some results that I'm incredibly proud of and never thought I would get to.
So, if it happens, it happens. But it's something I'd really like to continue working towards.
Q. What does power mean to you?
Wow, that's a loaded question.
I guess power means the freedom to have control over what you want to do. If you have power, you get to dictate what your freedom is, I guess.
In the example of a powerful car, it means that if I want to tow a trailer and drive on the beach, it'll have no trouble doing that.
Q. What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?
My great uncle used to say something to me a lot when I was a kid: "If it doesn't make you nervous, then it's not worth doing.
I was pretty scared of a lot of things when I was a kid. I was terrified of surf, which is pretty ironic because I'm a professional surf athlete now.
That philosophy allowed me to keep pushing myself to do things that I was scared of. That's what's led to some of my proudest achievements and some of my most memorable experiences.