Santa Cruz Surfer Zoltan Torkos Could Bank $10,000 in Contest

I call him and ask the questions everyone else seems to be missing.

After two rings, there is a distinctive “hello” on the other end: It's Zoltan the Magician and surfer extraordinaire. I start off with the traditional "how are the waves looking" dialogue (he is actually on his way out the door to go check the surf) before we get down to business.

The life of Zoltan has always been one of positivity and appreciation. His day job up until about three months ago was as a butcher. It's almost a Rocky story, if you will—traveling to different meat departments up and down the coast, his fellow workers mocking his passion for surfing.

“Just because you are a butcher doesn’t mean you can't be a surfer,” he would always tell them.

I ask Zoltan how life is right now.

“I am so amped out of my brain, right, because I pulled the first legit kickflip ever on a surfboard. It’s been such a long road, and I did those first two earlier this year, and I was really stoked to finally pull it for real."

Zoltan is in the news for something he has tried to accomplish for some time. He has trained every day in a feverish attempt to pull off a kickflip on a surfboard to win The Volcom Stone KickflipOff. The prize: $10,000, plus a two-page TransWorld Surf Magazine ad and your name on the cover.

He posted a few other videos of attempts at pulling the kickflip, only to get sent back to the lineup (see photo for rules of contest). This time, he may have actually met the criteria to win the contest. After talking with Zoltan, he had submitted the most recent footage and was told he would be notified by Tuesday.

His YouTube video has garnered more than 85,000 views since Friday. It's going viral as industry magazines and blogs across the Internet continue to magnify its exposure. 

Surfing at the Lane is always a front-row show for everyone on the cliffs. And this was no exception to Zoltan’s obsessive attempt to complete a kickflip. Zoltan has to block out all of the heckling, cheers and jeers while he attempts to stick to a maneuver most surfers will never care to complete. Most people have no idea why Zoltan is so hell-bent on making this happen.

So I asked the question. Why?

A lot of people would say it’s for the $10,000, the chance to see your name on the cover of the surf magazine or even the fame of having a one-of-a-kind trick never before documented. But it's for a much more profound reason.

His best friend, Carl Reimer, who would share in this craziness of pushing surfing to another level, was gunned down and killed while leaving a house on the Westside in April 2010. That day Zoltan and Carl were pushing each other, with Carl pulling his first front-side 360. Carl told him to keep trying and he would pull the kickflip, that he deserved to make it happen. Carl would never see his friend complete the kickflip.

Once again, this weekend Zoltan is out surfing at The Lane, and he lands it.

He relives his moment.

“It was so weird that it was so clean and so smooth," he says. "I thought in my head, do I need to try it again? I am, like, am I on it? I surfed down the wave and had that first rush of the Reimer flip; I am doing it for Carl. I fell on three right before that and my energy was so low. Then it just came together' I screamed 'CARRRRRRL!' It was for him.”

Zoltan is an inspiration.

“I want to push surfing and the revolution of kids doing tricks. Pull tricks, not triggers; shoot a photo, not a person. Use your life positively and not negatively.”

Pure Zoltan.

Well, I know I will be paying close attention this week as the results of his success are determined, and we will see once again how Santa Cruz influences the surfing community at large. Stay tuned.