When the Nutri-Grain Surf Ironman series resumes in Maroubra this weekend, the name Joe Collins will be on plenty of lips.
The Kiwi young gun is currently tied for the series lead heading into rounds three and four of the competition, following a stunning start to the summer’s campaign last month, in which he secured his second race win of his career.
"It was pretty poetic, I couldn’t have really asked for much more," the 21-year-old told 1News from his home on the Gold Coast, where he relocated four years ago.
Collins finished the first weekend of racing with a second place finish as well, to leave him tied with four-time champion Ali Day.
"If I can carry that on I’ll be pretty happy, and hopefully go down as one of the good ironmen from New Zealand."
It's the sort of result that makes every sacrifice worthwhile for Collins, whose love for the surf began in New Plymouth some 15 years ago.
His dad, former Waikato rugby player and former Chiefs chief executive Michael Collins, had shifted the family to Taranaki.
"To get a kind of beach safety, they enrolled us at Fitzroy Surf Club and I’ve never really looked back."
At just 17, Collins took a risk and traded in the black sands of Taranaki for the golden beaches of the Gold Coast to have a crack at the sport.
His commitment is still such that he trains around working as an accountant, and physically gives it his all.
In fact, after round one of the series, he told the TV interviewer about having to stop and vomit while in the water.
"It happens quite often," he explains to 1News.
"I push my body to the kind of breaking point... I reckon I do it like 70% of my races."
Collins is also part of a close knit group of Kiwi competitors, including some who inspired him at high school.
"On the computer, at the back of the class, and we'd be watching the Nutri-Grain series highlights and stuff," he recalls.
"We'd see CT [Cory Taylor] and Max [Beattie] flying the New Zealand flag and they’d get us pretty fired up."
In the form he’s in, Collins may just be doing some inspiring himself in Maroubra this weekend.
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