So it might come as a surprise to many that he sees this weekend's annual Dropknee Sessions event at Lighthouse Beach as just as prestigious as any world tour event.

The 37-year-old who now spends most of his time as an artist and then bodyboards casually at Long Jetty said he was just as hungry to win the one-day competition for a fourth time.

"Port has always been the hub for bodyboarding in Australia with Eppo and Kingy and world champions that have come from the area and the club is one of the biggest as well," he said.

"Port is like a second home to me; I've been coming here for about 25 years and ever since I was a grommet."

While this year's event will see only New South Wales entrants hit the waves, it has previously attracted competitors from Peru, Hawaii, the United States of America, Central America and Europe.

"This would be more prestigious to win than any world tour event," Molony said.

"It's pretty cool someone would travel halfway around the world to surf in a contest that only goes for one day."

Molony said the dropknee division had a small number of riders, but the close-knit environment was what set it apart from everything else.

"Anyone that does dropknee does it because they love it; no-one is out there making a living anymore," he said.

While his memories of the world tour were starting to fade, the Central Coast product said there was still the expectation of performing every time he paddled out.

He hasn't put a rash vest on since last year's event.

"Once you put your rashie on you still want to be worthy of wearing it," he said.

"You've got that number in the event that someone else has wanted so you've got to do it justice and inspire someone younger to pick it up.

"You obviously still want to do well, but you're not going to cry about it if you don't."

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