CHRIS DAVIDSON CAUGHT DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE

ASP/Cestari

Former CT surfer Chris Davidson brought a signature rawness to surfing, and dazzled as a grom in early Rip Curl Search films. But he also came up in a time when professional surfing hosted two world tours: The official one, consisting of jerseys and prize purses, and the unofficial one, which championed the last man standing at the bar each night, and the ability to show up and blow up the following morning, Mad Men-style. Davo’s pro surfing career was a far cry from skipping ropes, trainers, energy drinks and warm up bikes: He’s better known for wild behaviour, and too often his life and career have been dictated by his vices. Which is precisely the case in his most recent entanglement…

On October 1, Davo was allegedly caught high-range drink driving after he wrapped his mum’s car around a tree in South West Rocks, on NSW’s mid-north coast. A resident heard the crash, went outside with her husband and found Davo slumped in his seat. He wasn’t moving. Police and an ambulance were called and Davo was taken to Port Macquarie hospital with various injuries, some internal. The crash caused serious damage to the ligaments in his neck, and he still can’t move his right arm (he’s been seeing a specialist for surgery in Sydney).

Davo has been living with his Mum to avoid the more easily-accessible indulgences of his native Sydney. Removing himself from temptation has often been Davo’s go-to safety measure: In 2009 he qualified for the tour for his fourth time, and at the end of the Aus leg, instead of heading to Bali for boat trips with more Bintang than water, he bunkered down in Torquay for the winter to behave. Unfortunately, the same strategy didn’t work out this time.

A high-range charge isn’t a good prospect for anyone, but particularly not for Davo, who’s felt the weight of the big book for DUI before. Back in 2006, he was given a 10-year driving ban, which would end in 2016. And according to Stab‘s source, Davo’s last courtroom appearance featured a magistrate warning Davo that if he set foot in court again for drink driving, he’d be headed straight to jail.

Davo now faces drink driving and unlicensed driving charges, meaning that his luck will likely run out, and result in a prison sentence.

Better times for Davo in Portugal, 2010. A fighter til the end and a danger in any heat. ASP/Kirstin