Ryan Callinan pivoted in 2026. Having, in his own words, not won a heat in 12 months, he has taken some time off competition. He’s focusing on himself, his wife Nina, his young daughter Penny, and his surfing.
“I ain’t gonna lie, it had been a tricky year,” the 34-year-old said. “Balancing new family life, with going away for events, weighing up competition versus trying to get barrelled. I felt I was surfing great, but that wasn’t translating to results.”
He likened the last few years to banging his head against the wall. Injuries were sucking the joy out of life. The heat wins were inversely proportional to the work he was putting in. Every surf came with an objective or a task. Boards were tested. Fins adjusted. Free surfs were planned. Risk was removed. Eventually, he pulled the pin. He would take an extended time off tour, and for the first time in 15 years, surf for the pure joy of it.
“It’s been really interesting since I made the decision,” he said. “It's just given me so much freedom. I’m excited to just go and chase some waves without a time limit or criteria. See how good I can get in good waves, surfing the way I want to surf.”
He recalled a recent trip up the coast. It was a dreamy North Coast setup not far from his Newcastle home. Blinding white sand. Gin-clear water. Dark cabbage palm greens. Copper blue skies. Offshore peaks are wedging up and down the platinum runways. Just three people on the beach. Three in the water. All his mates.
“Now, when I look at the ocean, I get really excited to paddle out,” he says. “Or when I pack up the car and head up the coast, I’m thinking, how creative can I be? What’s the best surfing I can do today?”
Like with any big decision, it’s not been all cut and dried. Life doesn’t work that way. He says it wasn’t easy watching his good mates and former CT travelling partners Conor O’Leary and Leo Fioravanti make Finals and score waves on the Gold Coast and El Salvador. He questioned whether he had jumped the gun on his competitive career. He knows he still surfs as good as those guys. He also admits that even before taking a break, he may have already left some competitive morsels on the table.
But the upsides are already beginning to show in his life and his surfing. He’s been restocking his Konica Hexar camera with 35mm film and training his considerable artistic talent on chronicling new adventures with Penny. He’s been looking at home, both literally and metaphorically, through a new lens. After a decade on the road, being in Merewether, in a routine, trying to be the best Dad and husband he can be, and spraying the odd golf ball, he says, is a gift. Especially when he has the freedom to commit 100 % when the waves turn on.
“Stepping back and taking a new perspective and actually trying to be more creative on a wave has been immense,” he said. “My froth levels are so high. Like this particular little trip up the coast, the waves aren't perfect, but it’s what you dream about when you just pack the car and surf all day.”
It’s also not a forever decision. He’s going all-in on trying to be the best surfer he can be. It’s a new path, and he’s not sure where it may take him. Even he isn’t sure what might happen without the competitive guardrails in place. Free surfing, lightning strikes, or gutterballs remain in play. Alternatively, the new freedom could ignite the competitive juices, and he’s not ruling out a competitive return at this stage.
“I’d be pretty disappointed in myself if, in years to come surfing-wise, there was still potential out there to be filled, or that I missed out on some opportunities,” he said. “I'm excited to just go and chase some waves and find that excitement and joy and see where I can take my surfing.”
So are we, Ryan, so are we.
Words by Ben Mondy
Footage Supplied by Jack Taylor