Thirteen years ago I found myself on the side of a motocross track in Australia shooting images of a kid on a Kawasaki with the 287 number plate emblazoned across it. He was 15 and stood head and shoulders above his rivals. Not just in a physical sense, but with his skill and command over his bike. I knew instantly that this was a special racer when I met him. He was polite and humble – even after winning two Australian junior titles that day. I asked him how he managed to gap the field so well on the fastest section of the track. He smiled and replied: "I just trust my tyres, I trust them not to let go".
Over the past few weeks that friendly, smiling kid has been racing through the most remote parts of Argentina and Bolivia in the 2016 37th edition of the great Dakar Rally. In the past two weeks he's trusted his tyres across almost 9000km of desert, rocky mountains and desolate backcountry. On Saturday (Argentine time) Toby Price rolled into the finishline at Rosario to become the first Australian rider to ever win the iconic race and the first to ever win it on only their second attempt. In the 13 years since I first met him, he has worked tirelessly to hone his craft. He has had ups and downs, won races with broken ankles, battled back from a broken neck and has buried team mates. To see all the hard work pay off for the talented rider is simply inspiring.
Closer to home and it was Raglan ripper Billy Stairmand who rose to the top at the 2016 NZ Surfing Championships. The win was his third consecutive title and his fifth – equalling the record national title wins held by legendary New Zealand surfers Wayne Parkes and Iain "Ratso" Buchanan. Hot on Stairmand's heels was his board shaper Luke Hughes (son of the late great Craig Hughes), Maz Quinn and JC Susan.
2013 World Pro Junior Surf Champion Ella Williams, of Whangamata, took out the women's to claim her first New Zealand title. Local lad Elliott Brown won the U18 men's title in stunning fashion – a worthy reward for the hard work he has been putting in these past few years.
With all these athletes we see their star rising when they achieve a big goal, but for all of them that journey started way back when they first developed their work ethic, first steeled their mind for success and first began to do the things that others would not. Be inspired by them all.
See you at the beach ... Derek
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