Living his life on the wave

By Lyndsey Shinoda
Daily Forty-Niner

He is a professional surfer, poet and aspiring rock star on the path to becoming a forensic psychologist.

Joey Montes, 25, is a double major in creative writing and criminal justice in his first semester at Cal State Long Beach. The Dana Point native spent three years in Hawaii surfing and going to Chaminade University.

Now Montes is back in California, studying, surfing and just trying to finish school.

He has been surfing since he was 10-years-old and hasn't stopped since.

"My dad used to surf all the time," Montes said. "Some dads take their kids to baseball games, he took us to the beach."

STUDENT FEATURE

Montes started doing surfing competitions at age 12 and won numerous trophies and local recognition. He has recently slowed down. His last contest was in Venezuela last November, where he was mobbed by his adoring fans - men, women and children.

He credits his parents for sacrificing themselves to fully support his endeavors.

"My mom could kick any soccer mom's ass," Montes said. "She used to wake up at 5 a.m. to drive us to Malibu to surf."

Montes is sponsored by VonDutch Surfboards, DSL Sunglasses, Becker Surfboards and Balls Deep Underwear. He surfs two to three times a day. His favorite surf spot is his home turf, or anywhere with his younger brother and friends. He says the spirituality of surfing is his favorite aspect of the sport.

"To become a pro, the major factors are contests, media, skills and the people you know," Montes said. "You have to be a major ass kisser to be a pro surfer. I never wanted to be a pro, it just came to me."

When he is not surfing, Montes is a vocalist and bass player for The Schemers, a punk rock band. The band practices twice a week and is cutting a demo next week.

"If The Supersuckers (a cowboy rock band) kicked Blink 182's ass, we'd be the background music for it," Montes said of his band's style.

Pushing aside daydreams of groupies doing panty slingshots, his creative side writes stories and poetry. Montes also enjoys painting and drawing in his spare time.

Montes expects to graduate from CSULB in a year and a half. He aspires to attend the California School of Professional Psychology. Montes also envisions himself using his writing skills for Surfing Magazine or being a professional poet.

He admires authors Ernest Hemingway and John Irving, as well as his mother, who raised two children by herself. His dream of being a rock star still lives on.

"In a perfect world, I would be wearing tight leather pants and be a rock star," Montes said. "I'd be 145 pounds of spikes, leather and cigarettes."

Joey Montes