WORLD champion surfer Barney Miller has been recognised for his achievements by one of the most iconic brands in surfing.

The Sawtell surfer joined the club of world champions including Gabriel Medina, Mick Fanning, and Tyler Wright to receive the prestigious Rip Curl “black sticker”, with the sticker seen in the surfing world as a mark of respect with members of the Rip Curl team getting the chance to proudly display their mark as a world champion.

Miller was bestowed the black sticker as part of his new deal with Rip Curl, and proudly put the sticker onto his surfboard during a recent presentation at Torquay.

Miller became a world champion in 2017 after winning the ISA World Adaptive Surf Championships.

The Sawtell local expressed his delight in being recognised as a world champion and being presented with the black sticker.

“Watching and being a surfer, your whole dream is to be a world champ, when it all happens and being friends with a lot of world champs in this family and to be a part of that elite cream it’s such an honour,” he said.

“This Black Sticker puts you on that little bit higher pedestal, it’s such an epic feeling.”

Miller’s life changed dramatically in 1999 when he was a passenger in a car which slammed into a tree near his hometown of Sawtell, which left him a C6 quadriplegic.

Despite this apparent setback, Miller never gave up hope of achieving his dream of becoming a world champion.

“Ever since I was a young grom I dreamed of being a world champion,” he said.

“When I had my accident and broke my neck 18 years ago, I thought that was one goal I had to let go of.

“To have the opportunity to represent my amazing country is already such an honour but to take home the gold and become a world champion, that means the absolute world to me!”

 

By Aiden BURGESS