Q. First of all, why Fergie?
A. (laughs) something to do with my red hair being the same as that of the royal Fergie!

Q. Can you give us a thumbnail sketch of your career?
A. For 14 years I competed on the ASP World Surfing Tour (association of surfing professionals) now known as the WSL. In 2003 I was ranked third in the world. I loved every moment of my time on tour, travelling to new places, surfing new surf spots, meeting lots of different people and making best friends.
Although it wasn’t easy starting out, with perseverance I found myself good sponsors and lived the life on tour.

Q. Are you still surfing professionally?
A. In 2007, I retired from the world tour, but still take part in the World Master Games and have two World Masters Titles. I still compete locally and have eight SA titles.

Q. What did you do after you retired from the world tour?
A. Although I’d made some dollars on tour, living back at home without a job they soon started to disappear and I found myself having to look for a “real job”. I managed a fish and chip shop on the South Coast and I stuck it out for almost 6 years. But I became unhappy working the long indoor hours and not being able to surf as much as I love to.

Q. A very personal question – is there someone special in your life?
A. During my time at the fish shop I played a bit of indoor cricket in the evenings which is where I met Menize, in June 2012. I fell head over heels for her and it was terrifying as I did not see myself as gay. I was very fortunate in that my parents also smaaked her which made my choice a lot easier for them to accept. She eventually plucked up the courage to ask me to marry her in Nov 2014 and we got engaged.

Q. Did the relationship have an effect on your surfing?
A. At the beginning of 2016, Menize said to me “Why don’t you do what you love and coach kids full time?” The thought of starting a new career was really scary but with Menize standing by me 110%, and having the support from family and a few good friends, I decided to take the plunge. I quit my job and opened my own surf school, Heather Clark Surf Adventures. We’re based on the Natal South Coast at St Michael’s beach and have been growing from strength to strength ever since.

Q. Are you glad you made the decision?
A. Obviously anything new one takes on can be very stressful. But after lots of tears, lots of prayers and amazing support, I have never been happier 🙂

Q. where did you draw your inspiration from?
A. I remember calling up a few good friends, one of them being Llewellyn from FTB. Llewellyn has always been a very positive person and has his own successful surf school, Waves School of Surfing. I really bent his ear asking him tons of questions like: “But what if this happens and what if that happens and what it if and what if?”, and he said to me “Ferg you’re stressing way too much, worry about the what ifs when they happen, and believe in what you can do”.
I know he’s a busy man so I really appreciated the time he took to answer my questions. He gave me some really good and positive advice which I still use daily. Thanks Lu for the helpful advice and words of encouragement

Q. What do you love about FTB?
A. Llewellyn’s label FTB (Focus Trust Believe) tells you exactly what it stands for – Focus, Trust, Believe. Only someone who is as positive and focused as he is could come up with that philosophy, which is so true.

Q. How would you sum up your life?
A. Surfing is in my blood it bring me happiness, excitement and is my way of life……I live to surf!