Former World Surf League athlete Owen Wright opens up about his brain health journey

Former world tour surfer Owen Wright says the battle with his brain health will be a lifelong journey in the aftermath of the concussions that nearly killed him. This is why.

Former world tour surfer Owen Wright will be competing at this weekend's Australian Boardriders Battle grand final at Burleigh Heads. Picture Glenn Hampson

Former world tour surfer Owen Wright says the battle with his brain health will be a lifelong journey in the aftermath of the concussions that nearly killed him as he prepares to return to competition.

The 35-year-old revealed he still has anxieties around his long-term future given the increasing awareness around Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), the brain disease that has affected former athletes.

Wright had to learn to walk, talk and surf again following a wipe-out in Hawaii in 2015 and he opened up about his ongoing mission to live a full life as he prepares to compete in the Australian Boardriders Battle grand final at Burleigh Heads for Culburra this weekend.

“If you have got the problem at 35, then 10 years from now it will be something you have to still focus on,” Wright said.

“It is going to be a lifelong thing for me, brain health. We have footballers, AFL players and more stuff is coming out about sports and concussion and adrenaline sports people who cop head knocks.

“I just try to make good choices. I eat pretty healthy, work out, meditate, journal and keep things in check. I get a functional brain scan every six months to make sure everything is working.”

Wright made a successful return to the world tour and went on to win a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics before retiring in 2023.

Owen Wright of Australia pictured after winning the 2019 Tahiti Pro Teahupo'o in Tahiti, Franch Polynesia. (Photo by Matt Dunbar/WSL via Getty Images)

Wright said he remained hopeful the medical world will come up with a way to “undo some of the head knocks” and now that he was in a good place he has become vocal about brain health in surfing.

His incident in Hawaii prompted the World Surf League to create concussion protocols while Wright has aided Surfing Australia with its own research into head trauma.

“Surfing is pretty gnarly because we are getting hit from all different sides and when it’s a wipe-out it’s a surprise,” Wright said.

“One of the biggest things that stops concussions is actually the bracing. In surfing the only time you are going down is when you are wiping out and that is usually a surprise.

“We did a lot of good research and there are so many good protocols now for the athletes now.

“They really do catch it and recover properly. I have been very vocal, sharing all my details and my recovery with the WSL and Surfing Australia and I’m stoked the next generation can benefit from something I went through.”

Owen Wright returns to competitive surfing for the first time in 2017 since a head injury at Newcastle. pic credit: WSL/Tom Bennett

Unfortunately the war with brain health is something the Wright family as a whole has had to take on.

Late last year Wright made the difficult decision to put his father Rob into a dementia unit after a long and hard battle with the disease.

“He actually looked after me through the worst part of my brain injury and drove me to all these appointments and drove me around so I could get back in the water,” Wright said.

“I feel like that was a complete full circle for me. I got to look after him all the way up to when he was in a home.

“It’s quite an emotional subject for me but I feel like he put everything into me and I feel like I got to give it all back.

“He hasn’t passed yet but there isn’t much left. I feel like I completed a circle with him.

“It broke me but I’ll break again for him any day.”