Warwick ‘Wok’ Wright, age 23.
It’s the junior final of the 2002 ISA World Games at North Beach in Durban. It’s a loaded final, with top junior surfers in the world vying for that number one slot. There’s hustling and tension. Wok gets a bomb. The crowd holds its breath. He proceeds to calmly and methodically rip the wave to absolute smithereens on his backhand. It’s an absolute heat winner, and the win is the ultimate victory to close his successful junior career.
Wok is one of the friendliest and most likeable surfers on the town beaches of Durban. With a big smile on his face and a greeting for everyone, he is popular amongst the fairer sex. Yet when he paddles out at the New Pier, Wok turns on: deep barrel rides, late drops, huge backhand blasts, and the occasional bombing left barrel into the Wedge. Wok has proven time and again that he has what it takes to beat the best. It was evident in his decisive win at the 4-Star WQS Hangloose Pro in Brazil in 2004 in solid beachbreak barrels. Other highlights include a semi placing at a 4-Star WQS event in France in 2005, four South African Championships, and South African rep spots at the World Games in Bali, Australia and the afore-mentioned event in Durban.
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