Mark Occhilupo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1966-06-16)16 June 1966 (age 59) |
| Spouse | Jessica Crawford |
| Children | 4 boys |
| Surfing career | |
| Weight | 194 lb (88 kg) |
| Website | markoccy |
| Sport | Surfing |
| Best year | 1999 ASP World Tour |
| Career earnings | $652,125 |
| Sponsors | Billabong,FCS traction and fins,JS Industries surfboards,Globe (historical),Oakley (historical), |
| Major achievements | World Surfing Champion 1999 |
| Surfing specifications | |
| Stance | Goofy-footed |
| Shaper(s) | Jason Stevenson (current). Rodney Dahlberg (historical),Rusty Preisendorfer (historical), |
| Favorite waves | Bells,Kirra,G-Land,J Bay |
Marco Jay Luciano "Mark" Occhilupo (born 16 June 1966) is an Australian professionalsurfer and winner of the 1999 ASP World title.[1][2]
Occhilupo, also known as "Occy", began his professional career in theWorld Championship Tour (WCT) at the age of 17. In September 2019, he made a brief return to the international surfing circuit and took part in theSo Sri Lanka Pro 2019 tournament which also marked his first visit to the country.[3][4]
Occhilupo was born on 16 June 1966 inKurnell inSydney,New South Wales,Australia. Occhilupo's father was Italian and his mother was originally fromNew Zealand. Marco began surfing at the age of nine, and soon moved to the neighbouring suburb ofCronulla, where he was previously enrolled intoCronulla High School inSydney’s south.
He won his first amateur schoolboys' contest at 13 and followed up with two Cadet State Titles. After the tenth grade, he left home as an ASP trialist. Virtually unnoticed, he advanced to the Top 16 at year's end and secured a seed for the following year.
In 1984, at age 17, Occhilupo's high performance standards took him to the top of the ASP ratings. AtJeffreys Bay, his powerful and aggressive style were an advantage in backside surfing. Occhilupo hovered around the top five in the rankings, and was becoming popular in the United States whenTom Curren was at the peak of his career. The two were rivals in surfing's biggest spectator event, the OP Pro, which Occhilupo won in 1985 after beating Curren in a three-heat final and again in the 1986 OP.[5][6] Aspiring to be an actor, Occhilupo played himself in the 1987 Hollywood Cult-Classic,North Shore.
The young surfer struggled withdepression and substance abuse during his years on the tour,[7] and eventually, exhausted by his lifestyle, he threw a quarterfinal heat at the Op, headed home to Cronulla, and quit the World Tour.
Over the next several years, he made a couple of half-hearted comeback attempts and remained in the public eye as a repeating star of Jack McCoy'sBillabong videos. He married Beatrice Ballardie in 1993 and built a house near Kirra. After reaching a weight of 111-kilos, he began a training program under McCoy in Western Australia that helped him shed 34 kilos and regained his form.
Occhilupo re-entered professional surfing in 1995, and re-established himself as a top competitor on his first full season back on the ASP World Tour in 1997, finishing the tour as runner-up toKelly Slater.[8] Occy's comeback was solidified at the Bells Beach Super Skins event that year. Although a non-rated event, his form earned him 11-straight heat victories and more prize money than the winner of the Bells Beach Pro WCT event that year. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest surfing performances of all time, withMick Fanning declaring that Occy's performance would still garner perfect scores on the tour today. He carried this momentum into the following year at Bell's to claim the 1998 Rip Curl Pro - his first WCT event victory in 12 years and tied withBarton Lynch and Johnny Boy Gomes as the oldest WCT event winner at the age of 32.[9][10]
After some further major wins he won the world title in 1999 at age 33. He has since retired and lives inBilambil Heights, New South Wales, with his wife Beatrice and stepson Rainer. He made a comeback return for an international surfing event in 2019 after 20 years and competed in So Sri Lanka Pro 2019. However he recorded a modest score of 8.74 and was knocked out of Round 3 of the event.[11]
Occhilupo has won 12 WCT events, placing him12th in all-time wins as of 2024.
| ASP World Tour Wins[12][13] | |||
| Year | Event | Venue | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Country Feeling Classic | Jeffreys Bay,Eastern Cape |  South Africa |
| 1984 | Tutti Fruitti Lacanau Pro | Gironde,Nouvelle-Aquitaine |  France |
| 1984 | Beaurepairs Open | Cronulla,New South Wales |  Australia |
| 1985 | Gunston 500 | Durban,Natal | South Africa |
| 1985 | OP Pro | Huntington Beach,California |  United States |
| 1985 | Swan Margaret River Thriller | Margaret River,Western Australia | Australia |
| 1985 | Pipeline Masters | Banzai Pipeline,Oahu | United States |
| 1986 | OP Pro | Huntington Beach,California | United States |
| 1998 | Rip Curl Pro | Bells Beach, Victoria | Australia |
| 1999 | Gotcha Tahiti Pro | Teahupoo,Tairapu,Tahiti |  French Polynesia |
| 1999 | Quiksilver Pro Fiji | Namotu,Tavarua |  Fiji |
| 1999 | Billabong Pro | Anglet/Mundaka | France Spain |
Occhilupo is currently a presenter on the Australian cable television channelFuel TV.[14]
He was a contestant in the 2011 season of the Australian version ofDancing with the Stars onChannel Seven, and was partnered with Jade Brand. They were the third couple to be eliminated from the competition.
His surname, Occhilupo, isItalian and means "eyes of the wolf." However, his nickname is "The Raging Bull."
He currently resides with his family inBilambil Heights, a hillside suburb of theGold Coast neighbouring townTweed Heads.
He currently operates a successful podcast called theOcc-Cast which features Occhilupo talking to some of the most famous and interesting people in surfing, includingKelly Slater andMick Fanning.
| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Association of Surfing Professionals World Champion (men's) 1999 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
