Ben Cousins' big break
Rebecca Williams | January 10, 2009
WHILE the rest of the football world was engulfed in the Ben Cousins circus last year, the man at the centre of the frenzy hit the surf.
With his football future hanging in the balance before last year's drafts, Cousins packed his bags and headed down the West Australian coast to take refuge in the waves at Margaret River.
These photos, taken in late October, show a relaxed and smiling Cousins as he lapped up the breaks in Gas Bay.
And the star midfielder and Brownlow medallist showed he was no slouch on a surfboard.
Cousins, who is settling into life at Punt Rd after being given a lifeline by Richmond in last month's pre-season draft, said the waves were a sanctuary.
"When everything went pretty crazy with footy, it gave me the opportunity to do stuff like (those surfing trips), which I've always wanted to do," Cousins told Australia's Surfing Life magazine.
"It's been a big positive to come out of it.
"I certainly wasn't going to sit around and get dirty on myself.
"I've surfed on and off through my footy career, but never really been able to put a consistent 12 months into it because of the cycle of a footy season and injuries.
"But I always hang out for a trip at the end of the year."
Cousins revealed a surfing expedition in May to Gnaraloo, north of Carnarvon in Western Australia, resulted in a hip flexor injury that took more than six weeks to overcome.
"I went up in May and pulled my hip flexor and I had to come home halfway through my trip," he said.
"I left really good waves.
"I was filthy, and flew home with the intention of spending two weeks in Perth and heading straight back up.
"But it ended up being a six-eight (week) injury, so I didn't really get the most out of the year in terms of surf."
Photographer Tim Jones snapped Cousins in the Margaret River waves and said the former Eagle had revelled in his surfing escape.
"It was all when all the s--- was trying to hit the fan and he just wanted to get away and go surfing with the boys," said Jones, who met Cousins 12 months ago through mutual surfing mates.
"He just came and stayed with all the fellas down there and just got away from all the hype and the bad press and just enjoyed himself.
"We were doing a training camp for a magazine and we just asked Ben if he wanted to come down and hang out with the boys, so he came down and just hung out.
"It was a good way to get away from everything and go surfing."
Jones, who has photographed the leading professional surfers all over the globe, said Cousins held his own in the water.
"He goes pretty good," Jones said. "He is a big, bulky footy player and he is probably one of the few boys that can actually surf and go all right."
Cousins said his surfing adventures had taken him to the Maldives and the Mentawais and Lombok off Indonesia.
And he loved rubbing shoulders with top Australian surfers Taj Burrows and Ry Craike, making him ponder what it would be like to chase the world's best waves for a living.
"It's always sick in the water with Taj," Cousins said.
"Watching Craikey, too, it's a privilege.
"It's very humbling. I'd swap kicking a football to be able to whack a surfboard like they do. I'd trade it any day."
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,24892856-19742,00.html
