23 Years After Public Altercation, Gerlach and Potter Face Off

Way back in 1991, when surfing was much more neon, full of pencil-thin boards, and awkward looking airs, two guys had a fight in the water. It was in Japan, and it wasn’t just some scuffle in your local line up – it was Brad Gerlach and Martin Potter, two of the best surfers in the world. And it was during a heat.

Potz, the, ’89 World Champion, was up against Brad Gerlach who, at the time, was one of the most passionate surfers on tour. He wanted a world title, and he wanted on badly. According to Potter, Gerr let a wave go in their heat, so Potter took advantage of it. After “blitzing the wave all the way to the beach,” he paddled back out with a smile on his face, and Gerlach went nuts. “He lost it,” Potter said to the ASP. “We ended up literally crashing into each other and trying to get each other with our boards. They called us out of the water and ended up disqualifying him. So that was the end of his run to the World Title.” The fight in Japan was just one incident in a career-long rivalry. Twenty-three years after the Japan incident, the ASP ran the new Heritage Series matchup with the two at the Hurley Pro Trestles. “We’re similar human beings,” said Potter. “Passionate, headstrong, stubborn, aggressive in the water – and when you get two guys like that, there’s gonna be fireworks.”

Rivalries are a funny thing, though. They make careers for both parties involved – without Kelly, would Andy have had the necessary passion to do all he did? Without Andy, would Kelly have had the desire to come back? It’s like Lex Luther and Superman: they need each other. And we need them. Sport is made up of stories as much as competition.

“The rival thing is extremely important for sport,” said Gerlach. “I look back at my whole career. If Potts wasn’t there, my career wouldn’t have been as joyous. But if you’d asked me that at the time, I would have said he should quit.”

When the heat began, that old fire wasn’t burning as brightly, but old habits die hard. ”We both know where we stand with each other,” Potter said in a pre-heat interview. “It’s a love-hate relationship.” Potter opened up with a 4.83 on one of those weird, lumpy, head-high Lowers waves that plagued the Hurley Pro for much of its entirety. Gerlach answered back quickly on a solid right-hander, powered through a powerful bottom turn, and neatly cracked the lip before wrapping up a few quick turns. The judges were happy, and Gerr earned a 7.83.

The rest of the heat followed in a similar suit, and Gerlach ended up with a solid win. ”I’m grateful I had the opportunity to go against Pottz. I’d also love to against Curren. He always used to beat me, too. Maybe I can beat him now that he’s 50.”