Rider Profile: Matt Hicks

Chula Vista, California

Winter 2005

Saving lives with water is what Matthew Hicks does for a living as a firefighter. When he gets off work he jumps right back into the substance he saves lives with on a bodyboard.

His bodyboarding career all started one day when he decided to make a purchase.

"I went out to my local surf shop and bought an old school, warped, neon green, looked like a cat used it as a scratchin post, BZ bodyboard," Hicks said.

That was six-years ago when the 21-year old Chula Vista native bought his first bodyboard. Ever sense then he has been hooked.

Now riding a Cartel M2 Hicks is not your average beach bum. He may be saving your life one day.

"I'm a Firefighter/EMT," Hicks said. "As for it affecting my water time, well lets just say this is a perfect schedule to keep me in the water."

He works a full 48-hours then gets three days off. He says it's like having mini vacations. Next time you see a blonde, blue-eyed guy (because there is only one in So Cal, right?) at Imperial Beach DK don't drop in on him because he might be saving your burnt ass.

When he's not saving lives or working out he is in the water throwing buckets at Imperial Beach, La Boca Rio or La Jolla. He enjoys living and surfing in Southern California.

"Its great cause Baja Malibu is about 20-minutes away," Hicks said.

He does travel abroad to experience different waves.

"The best experience was in Fiji 2002. It was our second to last day there and the swell had picked up to 8-to-10 foot perfect left and right barrels at a spot called Desperations," Hicks said.

The whole trip was not like that though.

"One day was insane! Fiji had triple overhead surf we shouldn't have even been out there. The wind was blowing 20 knots offshore and the currents were pushing us deep inside the boat dropped us off on the outside, supposedly. All I remember was paddling over a wave that just broke and on the other side was a wave the height of a two-story house, feathering at the top ready to break on my skull. I got tossed like a rag doll and was held down for at least 40 secs, which really felt like 40 minutes. I still made it out that day and I caught about five of those waves."

When he is at his home breaks he has high hopes for the state of bodyboarding.

"I believe within the next five years it will begin to be rated up there with pro surfing," Hicks said. "Its accelerating at full throttle and there's no slowing down!"

When asked if he ever wished he stand-up surfed instead of bodyboarded he answered with a polite:

"Hell no... no offense."

He does think the surfer/bodyboarder feud is somewhat dwindling.

"Let's just say a couple knife fights and gun slings later we're still here, so I guess you can say it's getting’ a little better," he said.

In the long run though he sees himself 10-years down the road ripping waves and fighting fires in Chula Vista.