The keys to a versatile surfer with Miguel Tudela

Interview with one of the very few on the planet who ride Jaws, Mavericks and Pico Alto, tube Pipe and Indo and fly two-foot waves (and accomplish everything in between)

April 21

Presents Billabong - Cover photo by WSL

There are very few surfers who, like Miguel Tudela, can go down Jaws, Pico Alto, Mavericks; tube in Pipe, Indo, Fiji, Chopes, and compete in championships on 20-centimeter waves, and win them.

In addition to all the possible combinations that exist in the world of surfing. In fact, this well-known club of 2 to 20 feet has a good part of its members of Peruvian nationality (Villarán, Del Castillo, De Col, Malpartida, to name a few). From there you would have to go to Hawaii and find a John John, a Jamie O'Brien, or a Bruce Irons... A Kelly, why not.

What is certainly not easy is finding examples, and Miguel Tudela is a clear example. The Peruvian is one of the few surfers who has competed in CTs, in big wave world tour events, and in QSs in small waves, where he has done very well.

For this reason, it was pertinent to find the keys that make up the versatility of a Tudela and the vicissitudes that one overcomes being favored with that talent, such as going from surfing 40 feet one day to 6 the next.

Below is the interview and the clips and photos that prove what is being said.

The same Tudela who gets tubes in Pipe...

Is it difficult to be such a versatile surfer? Is this something you set out to do or did it just happen naturally?
It's more a matter of taste than difficulty. Being a versatile surfer means that you like surfing big waves, that you like competing, that you like riding small waves; that you like to improve.

I think it's a matter of taste, because if your goal is to get into the CT, you don't necessarily have to know how to surf big waves. On the other hand, if you're a free surfer, you wouldn't have to compete or ride small waves, you'd focus on something else. It's not something I've thought about, but something that happened naturally. I like to compete, I like to surf big waves and good waves, and thanks to that I became a versatile surfer.

See this post on Instagram

A post shared by Miguel Tudela (@migueltudelach)

What is the main challenge? I mean, it's probably happened to you that one day you surfed Pico Alto and the next day La Herradura and the next day Señoritas, for example, what happens inside you when these scenarios occur? How do you make these adjustments?
It's not that it's difficult, but if you start by surfing Pico Alto and then go to La Herradura and then Señoritas, in that order, you end up super tired. By Señoritas you no longer have a body. If it's the other way around, suddenly you get to Pico Alto with a feeling of a small board and suddenly that can also play against you a little bit.

"It's not something I thought about, but something that happened naturally. I like to compete, I like to surf big waves and good waves, and thanks to that I became a versatile surfer."

I think it's more about adapting to these scenarios because they're always going to happen. You don't always ride Pico Alto and you don't always use longboards, so every time you go in you're going to have a board that you've already got on from previous swells.

Tell us about an experience in which you have radically changed conditions, something that you remember that caught your attention.
At the Pico Alto big wave CT (an event on the World Big Wave Tour) we surfed a giant, super heavy, strong, difficult sea, with a lot of wind and a lot more water. It was one of the most complicated times I've ever seen at Pico Alto in my life. The next day I had to compete in the La Herradura championship, which I almost didn't make it through in the first heat. I was super tired, I almost didn't make it, but I ended up winning the championship. I think that was the most radical change I've ever had.

See this post on Instagram

A post shared by Miguel Tudela (@migueltudelach)

Maybe you keep it a secret, but it's really hard to find a flaw in you when it comes to surfing waves, big, medium and small. What do you think it is?
I think my biggest flaw is getting into a backside tube, whether in small, medium or large waves. It's what I find most difficult, what's most difficult, and that's why I like training the most, but here in Peru it's more difficult.

Tell us about your board quiver to be an all-around surfer like you?
I have big wave boards, three in Peru: an 8'2, an 8'6 and a 9'6. From there, in Mavericks I have a 9'5 that is in Al Merrick's factory, there in Santa Barbara, and in Jaws I have a 10'5 and a 10'2, which are my boards for surfing big waves that are spread out around the world. Then in Hawaii I have boards from 6'2 to 6'10, which I keep there for the Hawaiian season, and here at home I have a few 6'2, 6'4, 6'1, which are my boards in case the sea gets rough for El Paso, Peñascal, Punta Rocas.

And from there I take care of myself on the girl who is from 5'8 to 5'10, which are the boards that I use regularly. All Al Merrick. The models that I am using the most are the CI Pro, Proton and the Happy Every Day.

Without humility, I count 50 surfers like you in the world, how many do you count?
I think so, we are like 50 surfers all around. I think not many people are looking for this, or don't have it naturally, but we are definitely few. It may be even less than 50.