Just finished reading TC - Tom Carroll, authored by his older brother, Nick Carroll.

I highly recommend it, a top story, very candid.

Here's an excerpt from part 4 in the book.

"All of it was frightening, and I had no idea how I was going to do it, I really didn't.
My response was to get outta there and try to figure myself out.

About that time I started to switch again. I hated the feeling of ecstasy and its aftermath.
It was really depressing. I'd try to manage the supply, and it was really hard to get a good one.
It was also really dangerous. A lot of e had a cocktail of other stuff mixed into it:-
it coulda had heroin in it, that sort of stuff. It became a really nasty experience, and really dicey mentally.
I felt up and down, not knowing if I would feel happy or sad or really angry.
I was hanging on by a thin thread.

"I'll quit it , I thought. I'm not going to be involved in this.
My ecstacy dealer wasn't using e; he was just putting a little amphetamine in water and drinking it.
So one day I said, just give me a bit of that.
I thought I wasn't into the idea of speed or anything of that nature.
But in fact it was a perfect combo for where I was at in my hectic life.
It sharpened my mind and kept me going.
It felt like it lifted my capacity to deal with reality.

"So it wasn't long before I was totally addicted to it. I never liked alcohol - it didn't fit my pathology.
I'd probably have a couple of drinks with Lisa at night and that was about it.
Even that wasn't where I wanted to be.
I didn't like smoking pot anymore - it was really confusing and mentally damaging at that point.
I could really feel the effects and was scared, because I was already hanging by a thread.
I can imagine people who smoke a lot of that and are on the dicey edge ...
I've seen people coming out of that state, and it's horrible.

"At the time I felt like I had to lift my capacity to pull my end of the bargain somehow.
My perception was that I didn't have the energy.
My perception was that I needed to be able to do more.
I thought, how am I going to keep up with all this ?
It takes so much energy with a young family, to try to hold it together.
And amphetamine is perfect. It's like an extended cup of coffee.
It can sharpen your concentration like caffeine.
And this discovery seemed to sit with my pathology better than anything else.
I was able to pull the amphetamines off for awhile without too much damage.
I don't know what the Newport crew saw in me at the time. They probably just thought I was full of energy."

Seen a lot of mates fark there lives up on wiz....looking forward to reading TC's book. So good to see him make it threw his dark days. He surfed so good at the last Legends heat at Pipeline a few months back on a remake of one of his old faithfulls

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MickPC said...
Seen a lot of mates fark there lives up on wiz....looking forward to reading TC's book. So good to see him make it threw his dark days. He surfed so good at the last Legends heat at Pipeline a few months back on a remake of one of his old faithfulls

Reckon he could still give the young bucks a run for there money in solid Pipe with the way he surfed. Do you reckon his performance had any of the pros questioning their equipment?

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thedrip said..

MickPC said...
Seen a lot of mates fark there lives up on wiz....looking forward to reading TC's book. So good to see him make it threw his dark days. He surfed so good at the last Legends heat at Pipeline a few months back on a remake of one of his old faithfulls

Reckon he could still give the young bucks a run for there money in solid Pipe with the way he surfed. Do you reckon his performance had any of the pros questioning their equipment?

I would love to see a heat between John John & TC in solid pipe, that would be awesome to see...I'd say a lot of Pro's would be having a good look at TC's board for sure. I remember hearing either a replica or one of TC's old boards from the early 90's is hanging up in bar on the North Shore somewhere. The commentators might have been talking about it while the heat was on. But yeah I'd like to go & take a look myself if I make it over in September

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MickPC said..

thedrip said..

MickPC said...
Seen a lot of mates fark there lives up on wiz....looking forward to reading TC's book. So good to see him make it threw his dark days. He surfed so good at the last Legends heat at Pipeline a few months back on a remake of one of his old faithfulls

Reckon he could still give the young bucks a run for there money in solid Pipe with the way he surfed. Do you reckon his performance had any of the pros questioning their equipment?

I would love to see a heat between John John & TC in solid pipe, that would be awesome to see...I'd say a lot of Pro's would be having a good look at TC's board for sure. I remember hearing either a replica or one of TC's old boards from the early 90's is hanging up in bar on the North Shore somewhere. The commentators might have been talking about it while the heat was on. But yeah I'd like to go & take a look myself if I make it over in September

ITs hanging in the Quicksilver store.. Boards of notoriety are hanging all over the place in Haleiwa

Great post Waveslave

Agree amazing story and riveting read......of all the things I have seen/know of Tom Carroll (admittedly not much) for me this book is the most impressive, really lays it out there, the links and themes through his life and all the rest of it make it a really interesting and imo valuable story, most people would have allowed it to slip past....god knows he's not the only person/pro surfer to accomplish something and then let exactly that happen (slip by). Amazing story and amazing he's willing to share it so openly.

And JB that board wow..... like most I'm sure when people say Tom Carroll to me I see that board from footage from the pipe masters, coming off the bottom and snapping at Pipe that event and his surfing in it still some of the best surfing I've ever seen imo

I read this while I was travelling through central america

www.amazon.com/In-Search-Captain-Zero-Surfers/dp/1585421774

Hes bit of a burnt unit but a good read, especially if you know some of the places he talk about in the book

I recently read Kong's book. Couldn't put it down. Amazing story.

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TOAD said..
I recently read Kong's book. Couldn't put it down. Amazing story.

Yep loved that..