After a best-ever result, Corlette surfer Mike Clayton-Brown has his eyes on the Port Stephens Pro

Fresh off a career-best finish at Boomerang Beach, Corlette surfer Mike Clayton-Brown is looking to bring his red-hot form home for the Port Stephens Pro at Birubi Beach.

For Mike Clayton-Brown, the timing couldn’t be any better.

Fresh off his best-ever result on the WSL Qualifying Series (QS), the 19-year-old surfer from Corlette will be bringing his red-hot form home for the Port Stephens Pro, which kicks off at Birubi Beach on Monday.

“It’s awesome. Last year I did it and having all my mates there watching me was just a big confidence-booster,” he said.

“You’ve got the support of the home town, everyone there is really supportive of my surfing, so it’s really good to have an event at home.”

Clayton-Brown has every reason to be feeling confident.

After an underwhelming 33rd in the year-opening Tweed Coast Pro at Cabarita Beach two weeks ago, the 19-year-old finished fifth at the Gold Coast Open at Burleigh Heads and then backed that up with a career-best third-placed finish at the Great Lakes Pro at Boomerang Beach on Friday.

“It was funny, because I thought I was surfing my best before the Tweed Coast Pro but I just didn’t get the waves in the heat and got knocked out early,” he said.

“But I bounced back with a fifth and a third. I feel like I’m surfing really good. Heat surfing is a lot different to just having a free surf, but I feel like my surfing is there, I just need to get my head switched on before each heat.”

Corlette surfer Mike Clayton-Brown will enter his home event on the back of a career-best result at the Great Lakes Pro. Photo: WSL/Natalie Meredith

With two impressive fifth-placed results at Indonesian events in Krui and Nias last year in the bank, Clayton-Brown’s recent form has seen him rise to third place on the Australia/Oceania leg of the QS.

The top seven surfers on the QS – nominally the third tier of world surfing – qualify for the second-tier Challenger Series, where they have the chance to fight it out on the WSL’s Championship Tour (CT), the pinnacle of world surfing.

“My main goal is to qualify for the Challenger Series this year, that’s the long-term goal for the year. But the short-term goal is to make a QS final and win a QS event,” he said.

Clayton-Brown finished an impressive fifth at the WSL QS event in Nias, Indonesia, last year. Photo: WSL/Federico Vanno/Liquid Barrel

If he was to achieve one of those goals next week he would almost certainly secure his spot in the top seven – although Clayton-Brown says he’s unsure how much home break advantage he’ll actually have.

“It’s weird, because the sand changes at Birubi so quickly, it changes day to day,” he said.

“The support is great, but it can also be hard surfing at home because you have some expectation on you. But you’ve just got to try and block that out and just lean into the support of everyone.”

It won’t be the only event on familiar territory. Although the 19-year-old still lives in Corlette, he has been a member of the Merewether Surfboard Club for the past few years, meaning that he’ll hit the waves at his second home during Surfest at the end of March.

“For Surfest, I’ll still be able to sleep in my own bed, which is just the best feeling, especially with all the travel we have to do,” he said.

Clayton-Brown’s goal is to qualify for the WSL Challenger Series in 2023. Photo: WSL/Natalie Meredith

In fact, he credits the decision to join Merewether as being key to his development in the past few years.

With a long history of producing world-class surfers, none more famous than four-time world champion Mark Richards, the club is currently going through another purple patch in production, with Ryan Callinan and Jackson Baker currently on the CT, and Morgan Cibilic finishing the 2021 season ranked fifth in the world.

“There are so many good surfers coming out of Newcastle. You’ve got Ryan Callinan, Morgan Cibilic, Jacko Baker, Philippa Anderson, and surfing with good surfers makes you a better surfer.

“Just going to the boardriders, watching how they surf and competing against them now just gives you a really good edge,” he said.

“It was a tough decision to leave the boardriders club I grew up with, but I don’t regret it. I’ve become a lot better surfer surfing for Merewether and I still look forward to surfing with everyone at home as well. It was just an all-round good move for me.”

Indeed, if Clayton-Brown continues his good form, he may very well continue to surf alongside his clubmates – but not just at Merewether, on the world tour.