There are spots of success, such as Whangamata's Ella Williams winning the junior world title this year. Yet the story of New Zealand surfing is names coming and going, promise fading away, and a startling lack of presence on the major world tours.
A comparison with Australia tells the story. In 2001, Maz Quinn from Gisborne became the first and, until now, only Kiwi to qualify for the men's tour but he was quickly relegated. Since 1976, eight Australians have won a total of 14 world titles.
Paige Hareb from New Plymouth, the first Kiwi to qualify for the women's tour, has just dropped out after six years. Sarah Mason joined her briefly. Australia, led by greats Layne Beachley and Stephanie Gilmore, have owned the women's world title since the late 1990s.
Christie wants to change the professional profile, but his background fits surfing's bohemian reputation. He was 6 when mother Huhana - who teaches Maori literacy - left Dunedin, piling kids in a car and heading towards the Hawkes Bay town of Wairoa on a mission, in search of the Maori side of her family. Instead, the carload found nearby Mahia Peninsula, that lump of land which hangs on to Hawkes Bay by the skin of its teeth.
"I think Mum missed a turnoff and found this place called Mahia," he says.
"My brother Danny who was 12 was already a sponsored surfer and he saw a guy surfing and wanted to live there. Mum said we could give it a try and we did.
"Dunedin has really good waves and I would have followed my brother surfing there, but moving to Mahia completely changed everything.
"We definitely weren't in any super-structured environment. My dad [Rick] was always a bit of a hippy even though he works as a probation officer in a structured environment. Mum has always done things pretty loosely.
"When we first got to Mahia we were sort of homeless. It wasn't easy for Mum to find a job and we just stayed with a bunch of distant friends, trying to find our feet. As a kid you don't know what's going on but it was pretty out of it."
Ricardo - christened Richard but given a nickname by his brothers which stuck - was 8 when Danny pushed him into the waves, on a board with all the cool stickers. Danny's sponsorship also meant he had boxes of the good clothes. The seeds were being sown.
"Heaps of his mates would stay and they were having so much fun which inspired me to do the same," recalls Christie.
"And anything I do, I just want to get better and better. I'm quite obsessive. I was the same playing rugby as a kid."
Christie's career took a quantum leap forward this week when he qualified for the 34-man 2015 World Surf League. However, his career threatened to take a major step backwards in 2013, when failing form and finances led him to quit the qualifying tour, known as "The Grind".
His initial foray had been backed by a sponsor but when that deal ended he did qualifying the tough way - cramming bodies into cars, sleeping on couches, being smart with what little money you have. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. He said it toughened him, and gave good life lessons.
"I love travelling, learning about different cultures, getting a perspective, watching how things work," he says.
"When I was growing up, I thought everyone was so different. In fact everyone is so similar, whether you speak the same language or not. That's my perspective - we are all one people."
Christie knew he needed a break last year. He quit the tour and worked for builder friends and in a surf shop where he streamed the events he was missing surrounded by posters of surfing mates. Game on, again.
He conservatively estimates $50,000 is needed to do the qualifying tour. Crowd funding via a website provided $20,000, enough to do about half the 2013 tour.
"It was a really hard thing to do, putting myself out there [for funds] like that," he said.
"I'm sure a lot of people weren't sure I had what it takes. But I had so many people saying to me 'don't give up' and asking what I needed.
"The crowd funding was a bit less personal than someone putting money directly into my account, and they could also get something in return that way. It was a bit of a last resort to be honest, though."
Success breeds success, and his finances are now firmly on track, aided by a publicity surge around qualifying for the major tour. Christie finished 16th on the qualifying tour, but in a nail-biting finale grabbed the final spot in the top 10 because six ahead of him were double qualifiers.
Brothers Danny and Ryan, who live in Sydney, will be among the fans at the Gold Coast to watch his first tour event in March.
"With the money side sorted, I can just surf for a change, and see how far I can push myself," he says.
"On the qualifying tour, you surf mainly junky beach breaks. The world tour has all those perfect waves, at places like Jeffreys Bay and Bells Beach. I'm one of the bigger guys so I feel I'm a bit more powerful than a lot of guys.
"I'm pretty keen to surf all the big slabby, gnarly reef breaks like Chopes in Tahiti - this year it was 12 foot and really scary looking. I need to get out there and get confidence in those bigger waves.
"The Gold Coast has a right-hand sand bar point, a perfect barrel - it's going to be so much fun and I still can't believe I'm going to be there."
