Foreword by RXYM's Ray Machado
What's up, come on in.. make yourself at home and welcome to the first installment of Rusty Friesen's "Tripped Out World Tour". Before we hear from Russ Dogg.. let's get a few things out of the way that you might be wondering... like where the hell is RUSTY2009.com!!!! Yeah... about that. Straight up, excuses are for a-holes so we'll skip those and just say, sorry. Can you forgive us? Well if you can't, move on cause it is coming! But with 2009 pretty much gone & so many things changing so quickly with Rusty and his schedule, RXYM's new "The END Collection" hitting stores in March 2010, and the constantly improving 2010 IBA World Tour.. look for his new site to drop early 2010. Consider this a prelude.
Ok.
Many things have been said about Rusty and his riding that it's even tough for us to keep up with all the rumors, truths and BS. And if you don't know this by now, it's not an easy task to separate the truth from the BS with any top pro in any sport and broadcast it for everyone to read. But the main objective of all of this is to give you, the riders and readers, a truthful depiction of who Rusty is as professional athlete and what his life consists of. Cause make no mistake, Rusty Friesen is without a doubt mainland America's greatest hope for a World Champ (if he decides to do the tour that is). Call it a claim, call it whatever you want.. he didn't say it (Rusty's beyond humble, if you know him personally) but we did. Cause if you've ever seen him surf massive PIPE or Wedge in person, you know that as the waves turn on and get bigger and better, so does his riding.
So let's talk 2009. He started off 2009 staying in Hawaii for a few months, getting amped on bodyboarding again and focusing on the PIPE event. During that time, he traded sponsors and was riding multiple boards from multiple companies. He wasn't even truly signed with Custom X and riding his own signature board until midway through the winter season. He made multiple heats in the PIPE event but didn't truly feel satisfied with his performance. So after Hawaii, he came home to Cali, trained and jumped a plane to Chile for the Arica Event. And that's when everything kind of hit the fan for Russ. He was surfing well prior to the event and Arica is a wave very similar to his beloved Pipeline, a wave he was looking to make a statement at. But as the event unfolded, Rusty experienced his first real professional letdown.. a first round knock out of the Arica event. WOW! Shocking to say the least. With so much being built up for 2009 he was pretty bummed and had to do some soul searching & give his career, and the remainder of 2009, a gut check. Was the World Tour something he even wanted to do? At a true low in Chile, he had some encouraging words from a surprising hero, bodyboarding legend Mike Stewart. Who knows what Mike said to him after the Chile event but it was a positive in Rusty's outlook & with a few fun casino trips with 2X World Champ and good friend Damien King, Rusty came home to Cali smiling and re-focused. He decided to just enjoy his surfing and skip the European leg of the World Tour. He surfed that massive Mexico swell with his travel partner and best friend Andre Botha (check the full article and pics in the upcoming issue of Bodyboarder Mag) and then booked an around the world ticket. So as you read on please understand, Rusty is doing his own World Tour. A tour not filled with competitors and jerseys and judges (maybe that will be next year). No, this tour is filled with new waves, new friends, and new goals. He is doing what we all dream of.. surfing the best waves around the world, in the best conditions, and falling back in love with the sport that came so naturally to him, bodyboarding. Thanks for all the support of RXYM and it's riders. Rusty is truly an ambassador of American bodyboarding and RXYM. If you have any comments or want to say what up to Rusty.. write to us on our Facebook account at facebook.com/RXYM FASHION USA. Leave it on our wall or message us. Follow us on twitter at twitter.com/rxymfashion as we all move forward into 2010. We will definitely get back to you and keep you updated on all the future travels, videos, and articles of Rusty's "Tripped Out World Tour". Until then, get in the water, there is a massive swell on the way.
Get Radical!
RXYM FASHION USA
Rusty's World Tour Journal #1:
Sydney Australia being the first stop.
Arrived at Sydney with Alex aka "the big price " aka "leo" Leon picking me up. For the 8 or 9 days I stayed with Alex in his home town of Cronulla about a 20 min drive South of Sydney. He lives walking distance to the world famous Shark Island, but unfortunately it never broke while I was there. Here are a couple pictures to show you our daily events. 
Second stop: Western Australia
Spent one week in Perth. Went over to catch some waves and go to Chris Whitey's wedding. Cruzin and surfin the right wedge in Mandruah with all the boys (Mitch, Hughs, Jake Stone, Chad Jackson, Hardy, while Whitey and Tonzey shooting ). Spent some good times in Perth hanging with bodyboard legend Nathan "Nugget" Purcel.
Third stop: Durban, South Africa
Staying with 2 x time World Champ Andre aka "the lion, dr. dre, wolfy," Botha. Been surfing everyday around Andre's local spots where he grew up (North Beach and Lighthouse). His mom gives great support and videos us every day. Dre is getting very focused on the upcoming event in Canary Islands, straight training and surfing all day.
Still to come..... Cape Town - Europe - Switzerland - Canary Islands - And More...
-RF