Déjà vu. The identical twins were in the water going head-to-head at First Peak Sebastian Inlet. Although the scene was the same as many a childhood competition for Florida locals C.J. and Damien Hobgood, the 1,200 spectators lining the beach were a quick reminder that these stakes were much higher. This was the Globe Sebastian Inlet Pro, a four-star event kicking off the 2006 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) contest schedule.
C.J. launched—literally—to an early lead in the four-man heat. On a long, wedging right-hand wave, the goofy-footer threw a big backside air reverse that scored a 7.50. Damien answered several minutes later, boosting big and landing an inverted, upside-down reverse that the judges awarded an 8.83. The gloves were off.
The twins traded a few more waves. With several minutes left in the 30-minute heat, C.J. mounted his final assault, throwing a towering 360-degree switch-and-turn. But he slid off his board at the last second and failed to pull in the big points.
At the final horn, Damien stood triumphant, claiming the impressive air-show victory and beating his brother C.J. in a pro heat for the first time. “I was stoked to be battling my brother,” Damien says. “We were messing with each other out there, but he got me fired up the way he was surfing. I knew what I needed to do.”
Call it high-stakes sibling rivalry. Damien brought home a $10,000 cash prize, and C.J. pocketed a not-too-shabby $5,000 for his second-place finish. But what might matter most to the twin surfing superpowers are brotherly bragging rights.
“He’s going to rub this one in, which stinks,” C.J. says. “So I’ve got to put up with him for a while.”
Wonder Twins
Damien and C.J. are among the world’s elite surfers. Their list of accomplishments is impressive—and eerily similar. C.J. claimed the world championship in 2001, and Damien’s No. 6 ranking when this magazine went to press gives him a legitimate shot at a title of his own. C.J. won Rookie of the Year in 1999; Damien claimed the award in 2000. C.J. took Most Improved Surfer honors in 2000; Damien received that prize in 2001. And both have consistently been voted among the Top 10 favorites by fans in the annual Surfer Poll Awards.
Competition is nothing new to the ‘Goods. And going head-to-head against each other is as old as the 27-year-old brothers. Think you’ve got a bad case of sibling rivalry? Hate being compared to your bro or sis? Try having a twin—one who looks just like you, loves the same sport and chooses the same career path as you.
Welcome to the Hobgoods’ world, where brotherly competition has been both a thorn in their sides as well as a tool that God has used to teach them. I caught up with C.J. and Damien and talked with the two about their family relationships and faith in Jesus. (And I Mistook CJ for Damien. Hey, who would’ve expected C.J. to answer the door at Damien’s house?)
Breakaway: Do you guys have any weird twin-sense that people hear about?
Damien: Nah, but I do know C.J. well. I know when he is in a bad mood, when he’s grumpy or when I can’t even talk to him. But when things happen, he’s always going to be right there. We have an understanding that no matter what happens, he’ll always be there for me, and I’ll always be there for him. Even though when we’re surfing or doing something together, we want to beat each other really bad.
How do you describe each other?
Damien: C.J. is a passionate, strong and loving person. He stands up for what he believes.
C.J.: Damo’s a more patient person than I am. He’s more book smart than I am.
Are you more alike or different?
Damien: I think more different because I don’t get to look at myself, so I just see him. I know when I look at other twins, I trip out, like, Whoa, they are exactly alike, and it’s kind of freaky. I can’t even tell which one’s which. Then I get an idea of how people think of me and I go, Oh, that’s weird.
What’s the biggest similarity?
C.J.: Our lives are so similar, even if we don’t try. We have a lot of similarities that are kind of freaky. He blows his shoulder out in Tahiti, and then I blow my shoulder out. Same injury. Same arm [left], and it’s from surfing. It’s like, why does that happen to him and it happened to me, too? Obviously there are twin similarities; those are pretty obvious. And we both love surfing. We both love Jesus.
You seem to have a good relationship now. Did you fight a lot when you were teens?
C.J.: Yeah, man. Damien and I are both 27 now, and we’ve realized that we spent so much time as kids trying to find our identities and being comfortable with who we were. You know, you worry about so many things growing up. We both did sports and, more times than not, we did them together, even team sports. We played soccer, and we played baseball. I was the pitcher, and Damien was a catcher. We really started getting into surfing when we were 12 or 13 and realized that it was gonna take over all the other sports. It kind of progressed, and we were surfing contests and then everyone was noticing the Hobgoods. We had the same sponsors; we surfed the same way; we’re both goofy footers. When you have an identical twin who looks exactly like you, it takes sibling rivalry to a whole new level.
Damien: From about 13 to 17, we were trying so hard to find our identities and be individuals. The more we’d try to be ourselves, there was this other guy doing the exact same thing.
C.J.: Going to school, whoever woke up first in the morning put on jeans, and the other person couldn’t wear jeans. And if one of us got in the shower first and came out in a white T-shirt, then the other couldn’t wear a white T-shirt. And it was like “What classes are you taking? ‘Cause I don’t want to take those classes.”
Damien: It was like conscious effort all the time to be different, to be separate and to have our own identities. We wrestled with that, and more times than not, it brought us to blows.
Was there ever a point when one of you considered giving up surfing to get away from the other by pursuing something different?
Damien: There was never a point where we were compromising surfing. That’s what we love, and it’s an individual sport that we could do on our own.
C.J.: It did come to a point where I didn’t want to be around Damien. I never wanted to travel with him. It was cool to see each other at contests, but I didn’t want to hang out anymore.
How did being twins work out as your surfing careers began to take off?
C.J.: When we were about 20, we had different sponsors, and we thought, Cool, this will fix it. But it didn’t matter. They still mixed up all the magazine photos. And sponsors were still like, “Why do we need to pay both of you guys the same amount? Can’t we just pay for one of you and get both of you because you are both the same?”
How are things now?
C.J.: We’re at a time in our lives when we realize this is the way God made us. No matter how hard we try, no matter how much energy we spend being different, it is the way God made us and how it’s supposed to be. I think everyone can relate. So now at this point we both ride for Globe and enjoy being two different people who are similar and both love surfing.
Damien: The Lord really hooked it all up, too, because at the same time, He was giving us the understanding that He made us the way He wanted to and that He uses our trials to teach us lessons. And at the same time, He gave us a sponsor with the same frame of mind. The people at Globe were like, “Hey, we think two of you together are like three people because being twins and top surfers is such are rare thing.” It was amazing how God timed it all.
It’s still a work in progress, somewhat. It was about six years ago that we really submitted our lives to the Lord, and it is funny how He can really show you a lot of things on the way. Understanding our identities is just one of the really great things that He’s helped us realize lately.
So what advice do you have for Breakaway readers?
Damien: I believe that the Lord puts dreams in all our hearts. You’ve gotta do some checks and balances to know that it’s from Him, but listen to what the Lord’s putting on your heart. Listen to the Creator of your heart.
C.J.: Mark my words: You’ll come to a crossroads in your life where you won’t have anywhere else to turn. You’ll have a decision to make. Everyone goes through it; everyone’s human. There will be a time. Give your life to Jesus. 
GET ADVICE ON HANDLING PROBLEMS WITH YOUR OWN SIBLINGS.
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THE SOUL OF SURFING
Surfing is spiritual. The pull of the tides, the pounding of the waves, the mystery of what lies beneath the surface and the vastness of the ocean all point to the power of the Creator. Jeremy V. Jones is Breakaway's associate editor and loves to surf whenever he gets the chance. He wrote the book Walking on Water: The Spirituality of the World's Top Surfers, which tells the stories of C.J. Hobgood, Damien Hobgood, Timmy Curran, Tom Curren, Bethany Hamilton and other surfers who know that the sport is meaningless without a satisfying relationship with the One who made the waves. WANT A SAMPLE? |
