Max Brooks

25

YEARS OLD

NSW

NEWPORT SLSC

9th

2019/2020 SERIES

ski

STRENGTH

Stats

Name: Max Brooks
Competitive club: Newport SLSC
Original Club: Newport SLSC
Best round of 2019/20: Bulli Round 3, 5th
Best series finish: 4th Place in the 2017/18 Nutri-Grain Iron Series
Aussie Titles Results: 2019 Ironman - 1st, 2019 Surf Teams - 2nd, 2018 Taplin Relay - 3rd

Bio

Max Brooks’ love for his surf club, Newport SLSC, is second to none. Having been involved with the club since he was 5 years old, Brooks claims he was never any good at the competition side of surf lifesaving and it was his passion to train harder than anyone else that drove him to the Nutri-Grain Iron Series. He was 19 when he made his series debut, with his first series round victory at North Cronulla beach in 2017 a highlight of his career.


Max, how old were you when youstarted surf lifesaving and why?

5 yrs in old in Nippers. I started focusing on the sport when I was around 14.

Who was your hero growing up in surf lifesaving?

I used to watch Shannon Eckstein and Zane Holmes battle it out all the time, which I loved. I loved watching Tom Atkinson in the series when I was younger. He taught me a lot about how to be a good bloke.

What is the best piece of advice that you have ever been given?

Pretty sure this is in a Macklemore song but it’s my favourite quote and how I try to live my life – “put the work in and don’t worry about the praise.”

Your advice for aspiring Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain athletes?

It is a very tough sport. Don’t have high expectations unless you are willing to give it everything. I think most athletes will agree that the sport for us is not so much the racing – it’s the early mornings, the lonely sessions and the repetitiveness of doing the same thing but trying to continually get better. It requires A LOT of sacrifices – this doesn’t mean there won’t be some fun along the way.

What do you think about during a race?

Managing the pain I guess. Focusing on where I am in the race and which targets I am aiming for the beach so I take the right line in. And then as always… hoping for a wave!

Max, what has been a high and low in your IronMan journey?

2018/19 season. I had a chance to win the world ironman title in Adelaide at the last turning can with Ali Day and Ben Carberry. I missed the apex can and couldn’t get my ski back with the wind and I took Benny with me – not sure if he has forgiven me. I think he still ended up 3rd. I then couldn’t get a result in the series that year and felt I was racing really well. I felt I needed a mental break, so I missed branch. I then injured myself the week before State in a charity wheelchair basketball match so couldn’t race there. I then was having an okay Aussies but wasn’t very happy with a lot of it, especially how our club was going. I then managed to come out and win the Aussies Ironman which was a very special day for me having so many of my family and friends there.

Do you have any race day superstitions?

Not really, I usually have a bowl of porridge.

What is your go-to meal before a carnival?

Porridge.