The Winston Mccall Interview

In the right circles Winston McCall needs little introduction. Paving a name for himself as the front man for one of Australia’s premiere hardcore / metal acts, Parkway Drive, this furiously energetic individual has a little known past rich in bodyboarding history.

Transitsurf and Le Boogie magazine managed to get a hold of Winston during a short break between Aus and US tours to ask him a few questions.

TS: You come from a family rich in bodyboarding history. Your father, Chaz, was the first bodyboarder to surf Shark Island in the late 70’s and soon became renowned for his fearless wave riding approach. Did he push you to pickup and ride a bodyboard or was it something you saw others doing and wanted to give it a try for yourself?

Both my parents charged. My earliest memories are of sitting on Cronulla Point and watching my parents take waves that surfers couldn’t / wouldn’t. I was in the water from an early age. I tried surfing, but I found I liked the feeling of riding a bodyboard in the barrel lot more than on a surf board. I think you can ride parts of the barrel with more function on a booger as apposed to a surfboard.

TS: A lot of the early bodyboarding video’s by guys like Sean Manning and Chris Stroh featured predominately punk rock soundtracks. Growing up watching these films would it be fair to say the music influenced you as an artist?

Soundtracks are what got me into punk in the first place. It was this music that made me just want to get in the water and go crazy. It got stuck in my head and just seemed to fit wave riding so well. I’d find the bands on the soundtracks and go the local CD shop and order them in. That’s were it all started.

TS: Despite fading from the mainstream bodyboarding spotlight your relationship with one of bodyboarding’s premiere brands, Unite, continues. Tell us a little bit about your relationship with Joel Taylor and what it was like to be growing up in such close proximity to each other.

I’ve know Joel for years. I think we met at school when I was about 14, he was from Lennox, which is a town just down the coast from Byron. We used to bump into each other in the waves and went on some trips together. We hung out a bit, went to contests together and both pushed each other pretty hard. I know for a fact I wouldn’t surf like I do now if it wasn’t for Joel’s influence. In the water he was a freak. It was always the case of thinking you nailed the biggest move of the session, then Joel pulling some freak move out of nowhere and put you straight back in your place.

I was out at pipe the day of the accident. I can remember the helicopter coming over, and I just had this horrible feeling it was for someone I knew. I freaked out and thought of my little brother who was out that day, but he was on the beach when I came in so I was really relieved. Then he told me it was Joel and my heart just sunk.

After about a year of recovery Joel stated filming me in the surf. I’d go pick him up for an early and we’d treck around in my shitty car and he’d film my pre dawn sessions in the cold morning air. He told me the idea for Unite around that time and I can remember think, this is going to be big, simply because I knew Joel’s personality and determination. If he’s going to do something, he’s going to do it well, and he’s going to do it right. From him showing me the first couple of designs and cuts, to building a mini empire, I’ve seen him do it all off his own back.

TS: A lot of your live shows you are wearing unite tee’s. Has there ever been any discussion on a possible PWD / Unite collaboration?

Not really, simply because I’m the only bodyboarder left in the band hahahaha, so it wouldn’t really fit too well, but personally I’m always going to back whatever Joel does, so me repping Unite isn’t going to change any time soon.