Royden Bryson

Nickname: Brys

City: Hout Bay, Cape Town, South Africa

Date of Birth: October 27,1983

Favorite music: Love it all... Ben Harper, John Butler, Dave Mathews, U2, Pearl Jam, Zeppelin, Tool, Kings of Leon, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Metric & Placebo.

Favorite food: A good cup of Java, smoothies, fruit & vanilla yogurt

Hobbies: Music, hiking, squash, reading, yoga, poker & collecting LPs.

Philosophy for life: Equality

Other sponsors: Oakley, Safari surfboards, Hurricane Accessories

Red Bull gives me ... "wings for my dreams, and a legal buzz."

Achievements: 2008 WCT Qualification, 5th - WCT Rip Curl Bells Beach 2007, 3rd - 5 star Rip Curl Board Master 2007, 4th - WQS 2006 - WCT qualification 2007, 3rd - 6 star Prime La Santa Pro Canary Islands 2007, 1st - 6 star Billabong Pro WQS Japan 2006, SA billabong Under 20 series champ 1998-1999-2000

Five Minutes w/ Royden:

How do new acquaintances tend to react when they hear that you earn your living by surfing?

Not very many believe me when I tell them it's a serious profession. They think it's incredible that I can go to the beach every day and travel all over the world ...

Make us envious: what does a typical day in your life look like?

Much less glamorous than you'd think. If you want to be one of the world's top 44 surfers you have to subordinate every aspect of your life to the sport. I train hard, stand on the board three times every day. And I often just sit by the sea and watch the waves, make a mental note of even the smallest quirk.

How has the WCT changed your life?

Nothing beats the WCT for a professional surfer. It's different from the WQS because now I can really surf in the most beautiful and demanding spots in the world. In a way my life has already changed: after I qualified I bought myself a house.

How would you describe the Royden style on the board? And which talents does one need to be as successful as you are?

Energetic and futuristic. What one needs? Single-mindedness and a lot of practice.

How did you discover surfing?

When I was 4 years old my parents moved to the sea. Since then everything in my life has been focused on the ocean. At first I started with bodyboarding, then when I was 10 my cousin introduced me to surfing.

Thanks to you and some of your compatriots, like Warwick Wright, South Africa is well on the way to becoming one of the great new surfing nations. Can you tell us something about the scene there?

Because there is almost no sponsoring and the surfing industry isn't very big, competition between the surfers is enormous. So if you really want to be successful, you have to work your way to the top in a very short time.

Do you have any tips on where to find the best surfing spots in South Africa?

I'll keep them to myself! But I'll say this much: there are countless brilliant places to surf on the west coast and in the far north, close to the border with Mozambique.

The coast around your home town East London is also a great surfing spot - but it's also notorious for its shark attacks...

When I was about 12 to 16 years old it was really bad. Four people were killed then, some of them were friends of mine. We learned to watch the sea and tell when it was dangerous and when it wasn't. But I'm not afraid. The ocean has given me everything that I have, if it took away my life then let it be.