Bill Curry

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Known as “Mr. Iron Man” for his ability to compete in multiple divisions at surf contests, Bill Curry has been surfing competitively since the 1960s. He has taken home several amateur titles, was the first surfer from North Carolina to win the Men’s Division at the East Coast Surfing Championship, and was a member of the U.S. Surfing Team.

“For me, the whole surfing contest thing is not primarily about being the best. I used the competition as my yard stick, to measure how much better I was getting year after year,” Curry once said. “I learned early on that I needed physical endurance, mental focus, and proper equipment to succeed.”

A versatile athlete, Curry’s first love was longboarding. He also enjoyed shortboarding, kneeboarding, bodyboarding, skimboarding, and prone paddleboarding. In that mix, he found his niche, consistently using a fitness approach to achieving success. He made a study of surfing — including ocean conditions, surfboard design, contest tactics, and other surfers — and came to learn that practice makes perfect. “It’s the regularity you need in your life to keep yourself balanced,” he once said. “Surfing is my regular sport.”

While many surfers concentrate on excelling in water-based activities alone, Curry became a dedicated triathlete. Swimming, biking, and running with incredible confidence and commitment, no one trained harder than Curry. His strive for fitness was both a personal and professional achievement: “From my perspective, I grew up on Wrightsville Beach as a kid surfing, and surfing has been my life. Anyone who lives the ocean lifestyle, in and by the sea, embraces the fact that the ocean can teach you things no person can. I love being in the ocean, and I’m raising my kids that way.”

Curry founded the Wrightsville Beach Longboard Association in 1999, and became the service manager at Two Wheeler Dealer Bicycle Shop in Wilmington. He found time almost every day to take a dip in the brine. “It’s really cool being recognized for something you did in your life,” Curry said of his induction into the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame in 2004. “I feel fortunate that I can get out there in the ocean or sound and do it every day. Living in a place like Wrightsville Beach and having my family in the water, well, it doesn’t get any better.”