EVOLVING
So what is the secret to Brian’s’s success and incredible thirty year career in water-sports? After retiring from the PWA world tour Talma could have easily faded away, but instead he has continued to bring new energy, ideas and concepts to the table and is always in the spotlight of the media. Brian explains: “The key to my success is evolving. I am fifty and still surviving in the business. It is competitive out there and everybody is trying to manoeuvre. The one thing that kept me alive is creativity. Ideas like my Boat and the BCWT have helped maintain the interest. With the boat I said ‘Ok, what can I do here?’ I know, I’ll make a Brian Talma museum and celebrate my thirty years in the business. I’ll make it something people want to come and see and a landmark on Barbados. I look within myself for inspiration, I was called the ‘Irie Man’ for a long time but then said to myself, Brian who are you; the ‘action man!’. I am authentic to who I am, so the word ‘Action’ started up and I moved on. Back in the day I had a budget for boards and rather than spend all my money on new gear I spent some of the money to make music. Everybody laughed at my music but it worked! All the top level competitors went to the event but I was the one who was invited up on stage even though I was ranked maybe 25th.
All these concepts created me a fan base and I have always managed to work my way in with the media. These ideas separate me from the rest, that’s my angle! The boat separated me, the music separated me and the Beach Culture World Tour has separated me! Freestyle separated me for five years while I was in the top ten, but then I moved on. I am investing in the Beach Culture World Tour because I believe in it and it is working! It’s a competitive environment, so you have to be creative and define yourself. You have to be brave to take these chances, but I roll with my ideas and put myself out there. With my creativity I take the same chances as a windsurfer riding Jaws or throwing a fifty foot back loop. I am on the edge just the same as those guys and a lot of people are scared to do something different. That’s fine by me! My brain is continually conceptualizing. Everything I do I want to make better. I never stop, I even wake up at night with new ideas; my brain is never switched off!”