Yep. You read that correctly.

Mark Occhilupo, the 1999 ASP world champion and professional surfing icon, will be competing on a new stage in the coming months, as a celebrity on the hit show Dancing With the Stars.

Occy has charmed surfing audiences for decades with his squeaky voice and cheeky aphorisms, making him one of the most loved characters the sport's ever produced.

For many of his surfing fans, just watching Occy walk into a room is entertainment, so watching him do the tango, cha-cha and jive will likely qualify as must-see-television.

Though I'm sure he'll be given a load of abuse for his exploits, in the end, my guess is this adventure will make Occy an even more endearing character.

As you can see by his facial expression in this promo photo, he seems to be taking this quite seriously.

I have no problem admitting that I'll be scouring the web to watch him in action. In fact, I wouldn't miss this one for the world.

Go get 'em Occ.

Tom Curren celebrated the 25th anniversary of his first world title yesterday by beating Mark Occhilupo -- the same guy he beat at Bells back in 1986 during a semifinal showdown that earned him his championship.

On Saturday, Curren, 44, looked as spry as he did a quarter century ago. Occy had his moments too, but struggled a little more in the mushy conditions. Their match was the second round of their Clash of the Icons series. Occy took the first one last July in Jeffreys Bay.

The heat at Bells was a nice flashback moment for hardcore surfing fans. Curren's first ASP world championship was a watershed moment for pro surfing. After more than a decade of Australian dominance, his victory ushered in an era of American resurgence and, ultimately, dominance.

At the time, Mark Occhilupo was rapidly becoming his biggest nemesis. He was Australia's best answer to the freak-ish American. Occy boldly proclaimed in the press that he would do anything to "stop these American wankers." He was the perfect yin to Curren's yang: Australian vs. American; goofy vs. regular; brash vs. reserved, and it didn't hurt that they were the two most exciting surfers on tour. Crowds flocked to see them.

Their semifinal clash at Bells in 1986 escalated a Cold War between Australia and America that helped propel the fledgling pro surfing circuit to a new level, which set fire to today's multi-billion dollar global surf industry.

Seven months earlier Curren won his world title at Bells Occy handed Curren a stunning loss at the Op Pro in Huntington Beach in the final. Suddenly, pro surfing had its hero and villain. But who played what role depended entirely on your taste. Naturally, they traded white hats in their respective countries.

Pro surfing has had its share of great rivalries: M.R vs. Cheyne Horan, Kelly vs. Andy even Parko vs. Mick -- but none impacted the larger surfing world like the Curren vs. Occy one. These guys changed surfing forever. And now -- more than ever -- it's a good thing we're celebrating that chapter in our history.

Here's hoping they get some good waves for the rubber match.


Photos of Curren and Occy by ASP/Kirstin

One of surfing's most legendary rivalries will be rekindled once again. American regular foot, and style icon, Tom Curren, will surf another expression session style heat against Australian goofy foot, and power master, Mark Occhilupo. It's all set to go down during the 2010 Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach. Curren and Occy at Bells decades later, this should be good.

The heat coincides with the 25th anniversary of their legendary battle back when they were both establishing themselves as two of professional surfing's elite. The year was 1985, surfing was in the midst of Australian dominance, but America had been given hope in the form of a stylish young surfer from a land of point breaks. Santa Barbara, CA native, Tom Curren, paddled out at Bells against the future of Australian surfing, Mark Occhilupo, and the rest is history. He surfed "Black Beauty," his black railed Channel Islands surfboard, to victory over Occhilupo. That year, Curren would go on to win his first ASP World Championship Title, which would usher in a period of American dominance in professional surfing.

That was 25 years ago. Kelly Slater was 13 years-old, and his biggest rival, Andy Irons, was 7 years-old. What about Dane Reynolds and Jordy Smith? They weren't even born yet. This is the second time the ASP has brought these two surfers together to relive one of their historic battles. The first being last year at the Billabong Pro Jeffery's Bay. Curren still has that magical bottom turn that he uses to draw perfect lines, and Occy can still throw buckets with those tree trunks he calls legs. Style meets power once again in 2010.

Photo: Tom Curren in their first rematch at last year's Billabong Pro Jeffery's Bay.

Pro surfing has had some good rivalries in its brief thirty year history, but none have rallied nations against each other more than the Tom Curren vs. Mark Occhilupo clashes in the early-to-mid 80's. At the time, Curren was the firt American hopeful for a world title in well over a decade, and the day he jumped onto the world tour in 1982 he was percieved as a true threat to Australian dominance. As the son of a big wave pioneer, and student of Australian 'Free Riders' Ian Cairns and Peter Townend, Curren represented a new breed of American performer ready to break free of the repressive 70's surfing that rendered Californian surfing obsolete. The Australians, meanwhile, led by Mark Richards, Rabbit Bartholomew, Cheyne Horan and Tom Carroll, had been ruling since the mid 70's, yet they weren't exactly sure what their response to Curren was going to be, until a young Mark Occhilupo bursts onto the scene in 1983.

For the next several years, the clashes between Curren and Occy helped propel the fledgling sport forward, breathing life into a emboldened surf industry in the United States. Curren and Occy met in epic clashes in the Op Pro in Huntington Beach, as well as the famous semifinals battle at Bells Beach in 1985, where Curren won his first world title. But sadly, the two never had the opportunity to face each other at Jeffreys Bay, arguably the sport's most renowned race track. Curren had boycotted South African events for much of his career, while Occy lit the wave on fire in smaller events like the Country Feeling Classic from the first moment he set foot in the tiny town. Occy considers J-Bay a second home now. Curren was a late bloomer there. His first real visit came in 1993. Being raised in pointbreaks, there was little doubt he would take to the wave. And he sure did.

That the great Curren and Occy clash at Jeffreys Bay never happened is one of surfing's greatest wrongs, and one Billabong has set out to remedy this year by inviting the two legends down there for what is arguably the most long-awaited showdown in surf history. "The second they brought it up to me I started doing sit ups every day," said Curren, who was spotted last week down at Trestles sneaking in some training sessions at the NSSA Nationals, where his kids were competing. Curren is off to Jeffreys with his entire family. The Billabong Pro waiting period begins Thursday the 9th, with a decent looking swell due to arrive on Monday.

The Occy Grom Fest went down last Saturday at Goldenwest in Huntington Beach. Since that's a two minute drive from my house, I decided to cruise down and check it out. Just as I arrived Occy was coming in from a surf and was being hounded by groms, and grom dads alike. He's more of a hero to the 25+ generation, which is the age group of most of the surf-pops in attendence.

There was waves, but it was little weird, due to the signature Huntington winds that turn on everyday just before noon. The kids made the best of the conditions, and all-and-all a good time was had. Here's some photos I took:


Occy giving an interview for another company that ends in TV.


The Bong Bus.


Occ-o-graph sess.

Results:

10-13
1st - Matt Passaquindici
2nd - Jake Marshall
3rd - Colton Overin
4th - Ethan Carlston
5th - Jay Christensen
6 - Jake Saenz

14 - 16
1st - Trevor Thorton
2nd - Scotty Weindhart
3rd - Daniel Bocater
4th - Colin Moran
5th - Sean Pearson
6th - Ian Ryan

Open Girls
1st - Leah Packpour
2nd - Lulu Erkenoff
3rd - Kandi Patterson
4th - Nicole Hines
5th - Chrystal Dean