As Tyler Wright continues her remarkable rise, older brother Owen is taking time out in Thirroul to "revamp" his career.
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Growing up at Culburra beach, the No 1 international surfing family moved to Lennox Head four years ago but Owen has now settled on the Illawarra northern beaches.
The 23-year-old goofy-footer is battling an ongoing back injury, which forced him to withdraw from the Rio De Janeiro leg to ensure he is fully fit when the tour resumes in Fiji on June 2.
In the meantime, Tyler took out her second tour victory in Brazil, moving to the top of the women's standings after beating close friend, Gerroa's Sally Fitzgibbons, in the final.
While Tyler previously stated Owen was a big inspiration in her emergence as a title contender, Owen in turn credits his younger sister with helping him focus on a successful return.
"Tyler is an inspiration this year and shown what you can do with some time up your sleeve to revamp and work on some things," he told the Mercury.
"She really did that herself, taking about six months out, and while I don't have that long, it's something I'm looking at and trying to copy.
"Tyler has been right there each year this is her third year on tour and she's been finishing top five; it takes a lot of work to get there.
"She's stepped up with four finals to start and that's a huge jump for her and put her in a situation where she is a contender.
"It's a progression where she is constantly looking to better herself."
Owen announced himself on the world tour when he finished third in 2011 behind Kelly Slater and Joel Parkinson. But after he finished 10th last year, his troublesome back hampered his progress in 2013, to the point where he decided to take a break and undergo intensive physiotherapy.
He admitted it was a difficult decision to make.
"The day I made it, I slept," he says.
"I don't think I slept all week before that but I knew the decision was coming up and once I made it I was out cold. It was a big weight off my shoulders.
"Some people could look at me right now and say I'm injured, the way I see it is, everything is coming together for me right now."
Owen said he enjoyed his move back to Thirroul, which allowed him to be close to his board shapers Byrne Surf at Fairy Meadow, as well as surfing some of his favourite breaks along the South Coast.
While Parkinson finally broke through last year to dethrone "King Kelly", Owen remained confident he has what it takes to follow Tyler'slead to the top of the world.
"Kelly and Parko and Mick [Fanning], those three guys have the world titles between them for the past decade as well as Andy [Irons]," he said.
"To beat those guys, I feel like my surfing is there [to do it], it's a continual progression.
"What I'm working on most is my mistakes in heats and mental preparation and body fitness.
"You can go out and be slightly off your game physically and it might be the difference."
At 191cm tall, Owen possesses a "wingspan" of more than 200cm and he is still trying to harness the powers of his big frame to find a competitive edge.
Owen revealed to the Mercury he will be back in the water sometime next week.
When Parkinson beat Slater to the title, the American missed an event through injury, providing some hope that Owen can be a contender this year.
With his favoured events in Fiji, Bali, Teahupoo and California to come, Owen is ready to make his mark.
"My strength is more the Pacific high performance barrelling waves [at] Fiji and Keramas, Teahupoo [French Polynesia] and Trestles [California] that leg is always my best," he said.
"I'm looking forward to that rather than worrying about injuries. I know I'll be 100 per cent for those events.
"Using my height as an advantage is definitely something I have been working on.
"But I'm still figuring it out.
"My strength comes into play with bigger waves, paddling in early is an advantage, but I'm looking to use it in small waves and power situations.
"I have a big frame, so I should be able to generate enough power to be more exciting on a wave than some of the [guys] shorter than [me], but I'm still mastering it."
WORLD TOUR
Association of Surf Professionals men’s events:
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - May 8-19
Tavarua/Namotu, Fiji - June 2-14
Keramas, Bali, Indonesia - June 18-29
Teahupoo, Taiarapu, French Polynesia - August 15-26
Trestles, California, US - September 15-21
South West Coast, France - September 26-October 6
Peniche/Cascais, Portugal - October 9-20
Pipeline, Hawaii, US - December 8-20
