World junior champion Sammy Lowe insists he won’t be star struck when he pulls on the singlet at the Gold Coast Open next week even though he faces one of the biggest tests of his young career.
The 2024 Junior Surfing World Champion is to compete at the five-day event, which was recently upgraded to a World Surf League Qualifying Series 4000. It’s the second-highest-ranked open contest Lowe has tackled, behind last year’s QS 6000 Krui Pro in Indonesia.
It shapes as a genuine proving ground against the region’s brightest emerging talents and a handful of seasoned campaigners chasing precious points towards qualification for the 2026 Challenger Series.
If the spotlight feels brighter, Lowe said he was well prepared for it.
The teenager has already been fast-tracked into Surfing Australia’s high performance program where he has been rubbing shoulders with world champion Molly Picklum and Olympians Tyler Wright, Jack Robinson and Ethan Ewing as part of a 45-strong squad of the nation’s elite.
The 2026 Bond University ADCO Sports Excellence scholar said training alongside the world’s best was an invaluable experience.
“When we train in camp, it’s not split into upcoming surfers and surfers on the world tour,” Lowe said. “The top surfers are in the gym and out in the surf when I am, which allows me to take notes from what they are doing.”
The Bachelor of Business student relocated to the Gold Coast from Thirroul on the NSW south coast in January, and was relishing having some of the world’s top breaks in his backyard.
“It’s such a blessing to be here where the level of surfing is so high,” Lowe said. “My new local is Duranbah and every second person out there could basically qualify for the world tour – it’s such a good environment to be a part of.”
Lowe has grown up battling stars of the sport for waves. His dad Mick Lowe was a former world No.6 who won the junior world title 30 years before his son.
“Growing up as the son of a professional surfer in a small town, everyone expects you to follow in his footsteps – it’s almost like it’s your destiny to be a pro surfer,” he said.
“Dad was great at teaching me all the fundamentals, but I’m not following in his footsteps anymore, I’m trying to be better.”
Lowe’s resilience was tested when he overcame a broken nose, a torn MCL and a ruptured urethra to win the junior world title two years ago, but it was his love for the ocean that drives him daily.
“Once you’re out there submerged in the water, no matter what situation you’re going through, you become free of those negative emotions,” he said.
“The ocean just takes everything away.”