EP 189: Wayne ‘Rabbit’ Bartholomew - Snapper’s return to the CT in 2025, Standouts from the event, Coolangatta as a World Champ breeding ground, Calling the World Champions heat, and Bugs’ bold predictions for World Champs

1978 World Champion, WSL Commentator, and one of the Founders of
the ASP/WSL, Wayne "Rabbit" Bartholomew joins us for the inaugural
episode of The Lineup podcast’s, On The Road Series. The On The
Road audio-only format aims to bring you quicker, deeper and better
insight by checking in with our commentators and experts on-site at
our various WSL events, and airing these episodes as quickly as
possible. These are the stories, the background, and
behind-the-scenes from the mouths of those closest to the action on
the ground. In today's episode, Bugs and Dave chat about the
Challenger Series season opener, the Bonsoy Gold Coast Pro
Presented by GWM, standouts of the event so far, and how the wave
at Snapper brings out the best in everyone’s surfing. They talk
about the region of Coolangatta as one of the most potent real
world experiments as a World Champion breeding ground, with the
location being a home to elite surfers like WSL’s first World
Champion, Peter Townend, Chelsea Hedges, Stephanie Gilmore, Mick
Fanning, and world-renowned shapers like Darren Handley and Jason
Stevenson. They discuss the area and history of the Tweed River
Sand Bypass and how Australia is pushing for legislation to protect
its surf zones and surf breaks. Dave and Rabbit dive even deeper by
discussing Bugs' autobiography, Bustin’ Down the Door, and the
incredible documentary of the same name, and how the surfer’s of
his generation influenced the progression of our high-octane modern
day competitive surfing. Dave and Bugs bring it all together by
coming back to Snapper and its integration back into the
Championship Tour in 2025, the mindset of battle-hardened surfers
relegated to the CS vs the momentum of the up-and-coming regional
qualifiers, and calling the World Champions heat between ‘99 World
Champ Mark Occhilupo, 2012 World Champ Joel Parkinson, 3x World
Champ Mick Fanning, 8x World Champ Stephanie Gilmore, and 11x World
Champ Kelly Slater. Finally, they close out the pod by discussing
what boards the surfers have been riding, fins being the last
frontier, and Bugs’ bold predictions for the men’s and women’s
World Champion this year. Follow Rabbit here. Watch the Bonsoy Gold
Coast Pro Presented by GWM, Apr 27 - May 4. Stay up to date with
the Vissla CT Shaper Rankings. Join the conversation by following
The Lineup podcast with Dave Prodan on Instagram and subscribing to
our YouTube channel. Get the latest WSL rankings, news, and event
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