Joel Parkinson has revealed he was admonished by the Association of Surfing Professionals for flipping the bird to Kelly Slater in the heat of battle on the Gold Coast earlier this year.
The photograph of Parkinson giving Slater the one-fingered salute during their final of the year's first event was plastered across the back pages of Australian newspapers and went viral on the internet.
Standing in a barrel, Parkinson made his gesture when Slater was forcing him to pull out of a crucial ride.
Slater had priority, meaning he could take any wave he wanted.
He blocked the path of Australia's world champion in legitimate spoiler tactics before winning their man-on-man final at Kirra to the consternation of the intensely pro-Parkinson crowd.
"It got me in some trouble," Parkinson told AAP.
"Not too bad. It was all good. Just a little rap across the knuckles from the ASP. It's a professional sport and there's a lot of emotion in the middle of a contest like that. I meant no disrespect to Kelly.
"But it's like any sport when someone is passionate about what they're doing.
"You don't hate the player you're up against, you just hate something that has happened in the game. I wasn't angry at Kelly. I was angry that I could feel myself losing our game.
"They (the ASP) did talk to me about it, but there were no fines. No nothing."
The Tahiti Pro was put on hold on Sunday ahead of a new swell forecast to hit the reef at Teahupo'o on Monday.
Slater and the Australian on top of the world rankings this year, Mick Fanning, are already through to round four while Parkinson is yet to surf his third-round heat against Tahitian Alain Riou.
The supremely fit Parkinson is about to release a mobile phone app in which he details the routines behind his strength, endurance and agility.
He reveals how he thinks training can be tailored for different kinds of waves.
But watch him strolling around the village of Teahupo'o, and you see a less complex part of his fitness work: the humble push-up.
Every half an hour, Parkinson drops and punches out 10.
