Stories from Torrey Meister | Washed Podcast - Ep #2

Torrey Meister. Big wave surfer, contest shredder and all around legend of a human. Listen to the tales of Torrey as he talks about the harder things in surfing. Ups, downs and in between.

Transcript

SPEAKER_05 0:00

Welcome first guest to another episode of We Don't Have a Name Yet.

SPEAKER_07 0:06

I love that name.

SPEAKER_05 0:07

Working title. We have our first guest though. Tori Meister. One of my oldest friends in the whole world. And he serfs and stuff.

SPEAKER_10 0:30

It's weird when you say my full name. I feel like I'm in trouble or something. That's what I used to do when we lived together.

SPEAKER_03 0:37

Tori Meister, get your ass in here. Do the dishes.

SPEAKER_05 0:40

Get all that fucking shit out of the fridge so I have space. But yeah, what are we gonna cover with Tori today there, Jack?

SPEAKER_02 0:51

Yeah, we're stoked to have you here, dude. This is cool. Be our first guest, too. It was pretty cool. Yeah. I think we already talked about everything in the car, but it's not.

SPEAKER_05 0:58

That's what I said. I kept quiet the entire time. I know, Albia.

SPEAKER_02 1:01

You actually did, dude. You were like, there were some good topics coming up, and even I was just like, oh man, we can start with our Rocky session, who kind of blitzed the whole heat.

SPEAKER_05 1:10

You kind of smoked me.

SPEAKER_07 1:12

I'm not gonna lie. I saw you last week.

SPEAKER_10 1:14

Ellie was out there and he was talking about how you did a six show of it. Yeah. Thank you. I wasn't gonna tell you about that because I didn't want to hear the explosion. Yeah, it's too late.

SPEAKER_02 1:22

I've been pumping him up all day. I gotta rip you down tomorrow. I've been pumping you up all day today. I gotta like burst your bubble tomorrow.

SPEAKER_04 1:29

It's been crazy. Yeah. I don't know. I'm feeling awkward about it.

SPEAKER_02 1:31

You kind of smoked me twice today. Well, I'm glad we covered the session.

SPEAKER_10 1:35

Um, that's it.

SPEAKER_02 1:42

Yeah, I'm gonna go in trying stretches. Yeah, that's it. I'm gonna trade my board in, yeah. Gonna go, yeah, really dial in, not speak to you. Yeah, thrusher. Walk down headphones off.

SPEAKER_05 1:56

Wait, speaking of competition, when when did you guys first meet?

SPEAKER_02 1:59

Oh, Tori and I. I I again it's like not it's I think it was just like in competition kind of realm, right? Yeah. I feel like I think I'm I've I've again this is like outside Australians looking into like all the US surfers. It was it we I I heard all your names before you probably heard mine. I still don't buy that. But you but you don't you don't understand that like it was Australia, like I feel like the epitome when I was a junior, it was like who's doing good in the NSSAs, like was like the shit. They were like the cool, and I feel like all your names were in there, like there was you guys, there's Granger, there was uh Coloha, it was and it was kind of endless. That's kind of like the who's who of junior surfing were at NSSAs. That's kind of what we thought as Australians. I don't know, was that that's crazy?

SPEAKER_10 2:52

Well, we thought the junior series was like that. I remember thinking that. Like the junior series was crazy in Australia? In Australia, we were always like looking at those guys.

SPEAKER_02 3:01

That's before that, though. That's when I knew your guys' names, and before that. Oh before entering the junior series. Yeah, you are. Oh, you're old.

SPEAKER_10 3:08

You're old as no, I actually do remember, I don't think we met, but I remember seeing you surf for the first time, and it was at that um event at Chengu. Yeah, Keanu one. Do you remember that? I think you were out for Quicksilver at the time.

SPEAKER_00 3:23

Oh yeah, I do.

SPEAKER_10 3:24

And I remember going.

SPEAKER_02 3:25

Who was in the who was in the final? Um I don't know. I think Keanu. I just remember you and Ice Pieron. Huh? Was it Ice Pier Ryan? Oh, yeah, yeah. I can remember that. Yeah, yeah, I was good friends with, I was really good friends with Keanu. Yeah, and I think that's kind of how we can. Yeah, yeah, I think so. Yeah, because I used to. Always in the realm of competition. But I remember watching for the first time. You must have been like 15. I think so. Around that.

SPEAKER_10 3:46

I thought you served quite dang.

SPEAKER_02 3:49

Thanks, man. Huge compliment. I've got nothing but like really good compliments on this podcast, which is pretty cool. Jesus Christ. I think I need to get my head ripped down.

SPEAKER_05 3:57

We're just warming up, bro. Albi's been humbling you at Rocky's. Yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_02 4:01

It's kind of it's kind of balanced out, whereas like Albie's Albie's just like floating away into the stratosphere. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 4:06

Yeah. Once we loosen up, we'll start ripping each other down a little more. Those are just early days in our show. It's an early friendship. It's like a relationship, you know, it always starts going.

SPEAKER_02 4:16

But yeah, I can I I think in saying that, I can remember you always in the content. You were like one of the guys. I was just like, oh, you get Tori's name in your like alongside you, I'd just like, oh man, it's gonna this heat, this is gonna be a hard heat.

SPEAKER_10 4:28

Oh, thank you. Yeah, yeah, I felt the same.

SPEAKER_02 4:30

And you've always been like that ever since, ever since like as a junior. Every time I saw your name in the drawer, I was like, oh. Or if I came close to your name, I'm like, fuck, hopefully I don't get Tori. Especially in the yeah, juniors, like heat. I don't know we ever have a heat. No, but there were so many times. We had a couple, maybe like a QF heat a long time. I don't know. I think maybe long, I don't think we really ever drew each other that much, but um there was a lot of times for that. Yeah. Vice versa, dude. Yeah, yeah. No, but I can remember like one of the things I wanted to talk to you, like you were really close to qualifying it a ton uh like a few times, yeah? A couple times, yeah. Yeah, how many times?

SPEAKER_05 5:14

What's the closest you ever got?

SPEAKER_10 5:16

I think I was like 19th or 20th. But like how many to qualify? Five ten.

SPEAKER_02 5:23

Okay. But outside looking, like you were you had like a really close, you would put yourself in a position to have like, especially in in the triple crown, like you you could make it, right? You could like if you made a few more heats, you would have been on two, yeah. Yeah, there was a couple. Because I swear, was there not a time where you like you're in sunset and you got like third or something, but if you won, you would have to do that. Yeah, they kept saying that, and then oh yeah, that was your you qualified.

SPEAKER_11 5:48

Yeah, re-qualified. Oh yeah, in the semis, right?

SPEAKER_02 5:53

Yeah, I had to get a fifth to get to a certain position, and I I don't you might have been in a position as well. Yeah, you and Tanner get Oscars. But you yeah, Tanner needed to get second in that final. He didn't know he needed to get third or better. Was it third or better? And he got fourth. And if you I think if you won, you would have qualified. Yeah, you would have taken my spot or something.

SPEAKER_10 6:14

As soon as this final started, like you know how you're like getting ready for your for your final and you're gonna cut your board, and you're like, yeah, I'm gonna win. You know what I mean? Like you're all psyched up. That was like the one thing they told me to psych me up.

SPEAKER_11 6:26

Oh yeah, Tori got away. If you win, you you still won't make tour.

SPEAKER_02 6:30

Oh, you're just like, ugh. Who said that to you? Did someone know one of the commentators at the time. Oh, dude, that's so disheartening. Because I I can remember watching the final. Well, I can remember watching the final and just being like, fuck, like you were on so you were like so on fire. I was like, there's no like you just like the the ball was rolling. I was like, yeah, for sure he's gonna be a good thing.

SPEAKER_10 6:54

That was a crazy event because everyone did good in that event. Everyone there was like 20 guys that could have made it and like all 20 of them did good.

SPEAKER_02 7:01

Yeah. It was really hard. It's usually the complete opposite. Yeah, it's usually like no one does good, and like or it's like someone misses out by heat, but it's not really it's not really like a ton of people who need to do good do good. Yeah, there was that was wild.

SPEAKER_10 7:17

That was wild. Especially at sunset too.

SPEAKER_02 7:19

Yeah, I needed to get fifth and I got fifth. Exactly.

SPEAKER_10 7:23

Zeke got fourth, right, in the semi, and he was bumped.

SPEAKER_02 7:26

He so he yeah, I needed to get third in the semis to get a fifth, and I had to beat him by one spot, which I did, and it was so brutal. He got fourth in the semis and I got third.

SPEAKER_10 7:39

I remember they were saying that before that semi started that he made it already.

SPEAKER_02 7:42

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_10 7:43

Yeah. The announcers were crazy and I did it. Yeah, they were.

SPEAKER_05 7:48

That's a conspiracy. Maybe they were doing that to give someone else a little bit. Oh, also lobby my own. You know, that morning.

SPEAKER_02 7:55

That morning, dude, that morning I came in from my heat, my first round heat, all my fin plugs were um taken out. My fin screws. Whoa. I didn't know. Wait, st still to this day? Still to this day.

SPEAKER_05 8:08

You have no idea who did it.

SPEAKER_02 8:10

There was two fin screws on either side that were missing, and one was taken out.

SPEAKER_05 8:13

Oh my god, let's get to the bottom of this. So who you were against Zeke? That was what you had to beat him now?

SPEAKER_02 8:18

No, no, no, no, no. This was like, this was going into a um, I can't remember what heat it was, because in the last day you kind of surf a fair few heats. Yeah. You surf like four. Yeah, but there must have been like a hand. So I think it was like the round before the quarters or something. I don't know who was in my heat. But I can I came in and Peter Mel was on the beach and he like touched my fin and he was like, oh, your fins aren't screwed in. And then I was like, what? And I went up into the into the competitors area and I looked and there was no fin screws in my and it's wild because I think that's bad. No, but no, but the fins stay in the whole time.

SPEAKER_10 8:55

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 8:57

They stayed in anyway. At sunset. At sunset. Wait, so you found out after you surfed? I came in. After you surfed. Yeah, Peter Mell came in and like touched my fin and was just like, oh, your fins aren't in it. Like your fin screws aren't in it. And I was like, holy shit, I made the heat. That's a crazy space. My fins stayed in the boat and I came in and there was- but uh the you want to know the wild thing is it must have happened at my house because I well no, it might have happened at the event site, but um I rode that board once when I first got to Hawaii, like a month or two months prior to that, and I put it in the room and like in a safe spot when no one could get to it. Because it was a Magic 6.8, and I only pulled it out that day. How good's a Magic 6.8? Good Magic 6.8. But yeah, man, that was crazy. Like crazy.

SPEAKER_10 9:42

I wonder who did that.

SPEAKER_02 9:43

I have no idea. I wonder what it is. So my my I never even looked, but it was like my fin screw, my middle fin screw was taken out to a point where you could just pop it out, and my other two were completely gone. It could have been anything. Could have been it isn't it? That was a win, actually.

SPEAKER_04 10:05

Was it Albi? Tori hired me as caddy. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 10:11

Albi's like, I don't want this guy on tour, I want to do free surfing trips with me.

SPEAKER_10 10:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 10:15

How how long did you chase the dream on the QE? Me? Yeah. The dream? The dream. You chased the dream tour.

SPEAKER_10 10:24

I thought you were gonna talk to him because he actually got there.

SPEAKER_05 10:26

No, I I'm saying chase the dream. I didn't say achieve the dream.

SPEAKER_10 10:30

Jack and Cheat, you chase the dream. Um gosh, I don't know, a long time. I mean, I guess I started when I was like 18-ish. Yeah, and then they I went like a couple years where I wasn't doing as many in my 20s when I got when I got dropped. I didn't have a sponsor, so I was trying to like I was doing a few events during that time. But and then So no sponsor, that was all credit cards? Credit cards, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:59

Racking up the debt.

SPEAKER_10 11:00

Yeah, it was my it was my last year before I gave up before I got sponsored by O'Neill.

SPEAKER_13 11:04

But um I was gonna give up because I was just self-finance too.

SPEAKER_10 11:08

The self-finance?

SPEAKER_05 11:09

Yeah, like run it, okay. That's something I actually have been very interested in because I never did it. So literally like smart.

SPEAKER_02 11:16

Well, there's not smart, but you can do the QS on a budget.

SPEAKER_05 11:20

Like it's like Yeah, but run run me through. How many? So, how many events when you were actually chasing, like trying to qualify, how many events did you do in that year?

SPEAKER_10 11:30

Jeez. Well, like the event with that I didn't have a sponsor or the events that I did.

SPEAKER_05 11:34

No, no, no, like a typical year, like when you're like, okay, this year I'm doing everything I can to qualify. How many events are you guys doing?

SPEAKER_10 11:41

Oh my god, actually 18 at least, huh?

SPEAKER_02 11:43

Yeah. The year that I qualified, I actually tried to do less because I was it was still when it was six thousands in like primes. Yeah. And I just was like, I'm only doing six thousands in primes. That's all I did.

SPEAKER_10 11:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:55

And I even then I think it was around 12 plus. 12 plus, yeah.

SPEAKER_10 11:59

I remember one year it was like Jesse Marillo Jones was he was doing the QS. I remember it was during Hol Eva, and they're like, Yeah, this guy has done the most events out of out of anyone this whole year. This is like right when I start first started doing it, and he's like, he's done like 27 events or something crazy. 27 events. And then what?

SPEAKER_04 12:20

So you have to have you ever even done 27 events in your life?

SPEAKER_05 12:24

Back in just the same, maybe. I don't think I've ever done 27 pro events. Probably not. No chance, actually. Okay, okay, but I really okay. I'm curious about this. Okay. So how many? So you're doing let's say 14, 15 events?

SPEAKER_02 12:39

Yeah, I would say that's pretty much.

SPEAKER_05 12:41

How many of them are like in a different country?

SPEAKER_02 12:42

Yeah, I'd say around that. Uh not that many. Like in in in your own country? No. Is that what you said? Yeah, no, how many are like in a different country? Oh, in a different country.

SPEAKER_05 12:53

Well there's three in Hawaii, and then a US Open. Three in Hawaii, US Open. And then it was kind of scattered. It was Australia, Brazil. Yeah, Europe. Europe. What what are you what would you what would you call a tab chasing the QS stream? If you were doing it like kind of on a budget.

SPEAKER_02 13:10

Kind of on a budget?

unknown 13:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:11

You're kind of traveling with a lot of like gosh, yeah. I guess you'd have to break it down perfectly.

SPEAKER_13 13:15

Like how much the Brazilians or the Europeans did it, like traveling in a group, sharing a fucking rental car, like staying in the pros, and how much like guys that were sponsored fucking had budgets, had coaches like fucking add budget.

SPEAKER_05 13:29

Well, yeah, okay, okay. Just guess estimate for either of you. What would you say you spent on a year trying to qualify? Well, I probably spent less.

SPEAKER_02 13:37

Yeah, I'd say I spent a bit more because I had a coach with me. Um I'd say per I have to break it down to like per event. Um like probably like two to four grand per event almost. Wow. What about you? When you say like closer to two?

SPEAKER_05 13:57

Yeah, for sure, yeah. Closer to two, probably. And then so it would be like way cheaper when you do the girdle thing.

SPEAKER_02 14:04

It's hard to break down.

SPEAKER_11 14:05

Because you were paying for two people too, right?

SPEAKER_02 14:07

Yeah, but I I'd try and f like I'd try and budget it where it was like a you know. Yeah but even then it was yeah, it was kind of pretty hard. For me, I was yeah. That's two grand multiplied by two.

SPEAKER_05 14:18

And then how often are you making like any bit of prize money back?

SPEAKER_10 14:22

Back then you kind of made a bit of prize money.

SPEAKER_02 14:24

You did, yeah.

SPEAKER_10 14:24

Yeah, yeah. You could, I mean, if you won an event, yeah, you're 20 grand, right?

SPEAKER_02 14:28

Yeah, you're walking away with a good chunk of change.

SPEAKER_10 14:31

40 on some, right?

SPEAKER_02 14:32

On the primes? Dude, I swear the US Open got up to like 100 grand.

SPEAKER_05 14:37

Yeah, that was that was one of them.

SPEAKER_02 14:38

Yeah, yeah. That was a few times it was a hundred grand, but average was 40. Yeah. Primes were 40, 6,000s were 20.

SPEAKER_05 14:44

And then what what if you lose first feet? Do you make any money? Usually, right?

SPEAKER_02 14:48

Yeah, around that.

SPEAKER_05 14:50

If you were like seated at a time.

SPEAKER_02 14:51

So in in the primes, you kind of break it even. But for yeah, like I was paying around probably like four to five grand event an event. That's what I would say.

SPEAKER_10 15:00

Yeah. I would, I think when I did all the math on it, it was like 35 grand of the year of events for everything.

SPEAKER_02 15:10

And that's two completely, I feel like pretty different. Like you were traveling with other surfers, yeah, three guys splitting everything. Yeah. I was kind of doing it the opposite.

SPEAKER_05 15:20

Do you think as a whole, watching the QS, do you think it was way more likely to qualify when you saw the people who were like, put a little extra money in to travel alone, stay alone, have a coach, and do all that stuff? How much do you think they gave them on up rant?

SPEAKER_02 15:36

I can only speak from personal experience. So I thought it did for me. Yeah, for me, it it gave me heaps of I mean more so confidence every event that like I'm rocking up and I'm like, I'm giving this my all. That's kind of how I felt. And I was I had someone who I really trust who was giving me like really proper good feedback and insight. So I feel like I showed up to, especially when the years I call the year that I qualified, I was pretty I I felt pretty sharp, pretty confident almost every event. Yeah, but do you think if do you think I think having a coach is super important?

SPEAKER_05 16:09

Really? I mean definitely it helps, yeah. I think it's the dumbest thing ever. But I've never been a competitor.

SPEAKER_02 16:17

Well, there's a lot of second a lot of you wouldn't you wouldn't, I don't know if you'd know it, but a lot of second guessing goes on.

SPEAKER_10 16:22

There's a lot of second guessing. Yeah. And a board looking good or not looking good, or just there's just so many little someone like to remind you that hey, you're surfing alright.

SPEAKER_02 16:30

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Like all these little like mental kind of factors really contribute to how you perform. And if you got yeah, and it's all the little things that you second guess in yourself, like mentally, physically, on a board, like yeah, you just traveled halfway around the world.

SPEAKER_10 16:45

Not only that, I think they had like some mastermind scout on that that was like a QS scout that like found all the worst waves in the world.

SPEAKER_11 16:53

Oh, this is the hardest wave in the world to surf.

SPEAKER_10 16:56

This isn't gonna be an event.

SPEAKER_08 16:57

Okay, this is oh, like, oh, you feel like your board is buckled in a hundred places? Oh, six stars. Well, okay, this is a collection. Every time it's amazing.

SPEAKER_11 17:05

Every wave is the hardest way you'd ever surf.

SPEAKER_02 17:07

What was your least favorite wave to go to? What was your least favorite? What was your least favorite event that kept popping up that you that you had to keep going to?

SPEAKER_10 17:16

I never did good in the Azores. I just could not, and it was the most beautiful place ever. So hard to get to. Halfway across the air. I mean, I had once in a while I'd do okay in Brazil, but it depends on the spot.

SPEAKER_02 17:32

Yeah, yeah. Brazil was Maris, did uh oh and Sakarima, dude. That I liked it back. Oh, I could, yeah. I only did okay there once.

SPEAKER_10 17:40

It's like a beautiful place.

SPEAKER_02 17:41

Beautiful place. I just yeah, that was hard.

SPEAKER_10 17:43

I liked uh Fernando.

SPEAKER_02 17:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_10 17:45

That place was sick.

SPEAKER_02 17:46

I never got to get that one. Yeah, that wasn't cool. That looked insane. The the the crazy beach, right?

SPEAKER_10 17:50

And Florinopoulos was kind of cool too. Yeah, yeah, Florinopoulos was sick. Yeah. It's so funny. You talk to people about this, and you can understand why you can go to this place in the world and it could be like the most beautiful, sick place. Like if you went there with your chick, your wife, or uh just had like a holiday, you'd be like, this place is insane, I love it. You could go there and just lose her friend three years in a row, and you go like God, this place is hell.

SPEAKER_08 18:19

There's no place worse than this place. Yeah, like food sucks, waste. Well, I remember that because competition does like in ruin a place, like utterly ruin it forever.

SPEAKER_00 18:32

Dude, I totally understand.

SPEAKER_10 18:38

I hate the North Shore, the way it's stuck. Yeah. We could name some names, but we're not going to. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 18:49

But you know, like no, I remember that when we so funny.

SPEAKER_05 18:52

When we were shooting a tractor distraction, when we picked you up, Tori was in Kaiju. Yeah, we're talking about this the other night. Yeah. And he was just like, we picked him up.

SPEAKER_02 19:01

Almost dying, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 19:02

And he was just telling us how shitty this place was and all this stuff. We were like halfway through our trip. We're like, dude, we've been fucking scoring. It's the best. Like surfing the cave, scoring, eating the best food ever. Yeah. Yeah. And he picked Tori up. And now you'd probably say Portugal's your favorite destination, right? In the whole world. The whole world. Yes.

SPEAKER_08 19:21

Do you think that would have happened if you didn't use it?

SPEAKER_11 19:23

No, if it wasn't for you, like literally.

SPEAKER_10 19:26

You'd probably still have that same hatred of that little crappy hotel room that just on my bed every night, and I lost first round.

SPEAKER_02 19:36

Every tier. Abandoning Keanu.

SPEAKER_10 19:40

Abandoning Keanu. I got rescue from that now.

SPEAKER_06 19:43

We'd have to.

SPEAKER_13 19:46

Because to me, that's like the what I find interesting with the QS is that for some people it's a fucking nightmare. And for others, it's fun because they're traveling their buddies. Yeah. Or it's insane because they're good enough at fucking getting over their loss and driving an hour south and getting to like.

SPEAKER_02 20:00

Yeah. For sure. Well, yeah. I always tripped.

SPEAKER_13 20:03

You don't just like tucktail meet on a plane and fly home, you're like fucking here, let's go chase them away.

SPEAKER_05 20:08

Dude, that's what I always tripped out on. Was like, I I thought about doing the kiosk a couple times. Thank God I didn't. But um I was like, I would have always thought like, don't you don't you think Tori's not done. Yeah, I'm ready. I'm coming back.

SPEAKER_02 20:24

You find me out smoking me.

SPEAKER_04 20:28

I'm all flying out, dude. You're ready. Hank said you could. Oh man. I didn't kind of blitz you guys at Rockies.

SPEAKER_05 20:34

Let's go back to the kidding. Um, but I always thought you could do like a. We always we actually pitched this. We actually made a full thing, me and Dan, about this, about like chasing the QS, but like doing it like a documentary style, but like every spot you went, you stayed a month or three weeks or whatever it was, and just like went and filmed the surf part too. Yeah. And then we tried to pitch this as like a full like doc you style surf movie. And I always thought that'd be a good deal, a good idea. And I don't know why no one ever tried it. I feel like you'd like you'd give yourself yourself such a good chance at qualifying if you did that. No. But maybe you'd be juggling too many things.

SPEAKER_10 21:13

No, I think if you showed up early, you'd be site. Because, like I said, the ways on the QS are probably like the hardest ways you've ever surfed.

SPEAKER_05 21:20

So if you showed up like a month early, yeah, but you wouldn't even be like focused on that. I was thinking you'd show up early and go try to film a segment, and then you show up to like the because I remember what gave me this idea was I a couple years in a row, we did that trip with John. Florence, name drop. Yeah. Yeah. This is my buddy. Kind of coming up wrong. Yeah. Yeah, we used to compete. But he would always do that at West Oz. He would he would bring me and Matt. He would bring me and Matt to West Oz, and we'd film for like two, two or three weeks, and then he would always smash that fucking event. And I was like, I swear he was just rolling into it with like the craziest amount of confidence. Like, yeah, you're getting sketchy with maybe getting hurt.

SPEAKER_13 22:07

And I was like, Explain what those sessions were. Those happened before the contest.

SPEAKER_05 22:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_13 22:12

Those cobble sessions and like fucking. Yeah, yeah. All that crazy shit. Explain what that is. That's like those video sections are like it's more like that was a skate video, it would be like a fucking iconic part of that session.

SPEAKER_02 22:25

You, John, and and Matt, yeah. Just going nuts. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 22:29

Yeah, yeah. The the the Margaret's the the first time we went for done is the yeah, what we were filming for. Which is the funniest. Yeah, there's all kinds of funny stuff that was.

SPEAKER_09 22:39

Is that the one I saw you guys down there?

SPEAKER_05 22:41

No, no, no, that was beautiful from a blue moon. You saw me. It's all the hotel. Jones are the movie, you know. Yeah. Tori saw me running down the street and soaking wet jeans at six in the morning with a no-shirt on.

SPEAKER_03 22:55

Which is a whole other story.

SPEAKER_02 22:57

We're not gonna tell today. I gotta really I kind of really want to hear this story more than I want to hear you doing airs at Cobblestone.

SPEAKER_09 23:06

Yeah, what air is a third party done.

SPEAKER_02 23:08

Yeah, dude. No one knows about this. Yeah, so wait, what happened? That night? Yeah, that night. Yeah, I want to hear more about that night right now than Cobblestone's.

SPEAKER_05 23:19

I don't know.

SPEAKER_09 23:19

I am our tell it's right. Yeah, no.

SPEAKER_05 23:23

Yeah, but that was the third, I think third trip we did to West Oz, but John always did. He planned it before the event, which I always thought was trippy.

SPEAKER_02 23:32

But did he only do it in West Oz or did he do it everywhere?

SPEAKER_05 23:35

Nah, he did it kind of a little bit here and there. You know what was like a funny thing he did? It's trade secret. Gonna really blow the lid off. Is for a view from a blue moon, he he just wore the same outfit for literally two years filming that movie, and he would do a trips to the place twice, and we'd usually only get invited on one of the trips. So he'd get twice as much footage as us every single time.

SPEAKER_10 24:03

This is worse than talking about your story of running down. Oh no, yeah, this was his theory.

SPEAKER_02 24:09

I think that might be the last trip you get invited on after giving out that.

SPEAKER_05 24:12

Dude, he's not, I've been asking to come on the boat forever.

SPEAKER_02 24:19

John Von Slater. Next video is gonna be your apology to John Jones. Yeah, next podcast.

SPEAKER_04 24:27

This is gonna be a solo podcast. Just you and him. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_10 24:34

Listen, man, I'm really sorry.

SPEAKER_05 24:35

Oh shit. No, John knows he did. John knows he did that. And he was already so much better than us, that's why it wasn't even fair. Okay, so going back on topic.

SPEAKER_02 24:44

So the the the the the the sessions that you guys had at Cobblestones and all that, like John was there, he would, he would plan that in advance and he would film those sessions.

SPEAKER_05 24:54

Yeah, because he would come from Bell's straight there. Was he on tour? No. Because the f the first cobbles part that we filmed for Dunn, I don't think he was on tour. Yeah, I think that was before he qualified. No, no, no, it was. He had just qualified because the Tahiti segment in Dunn was when he found out he qualified, and I was there for that. Oh, okay. Yeah. Um so yeah, West Oz was after that. But he would he would planned two weeks beforehand, which was like, it was funny because I remember like his like whoever, it must have been Sean Ward, yeah, was like his like coach Chandler guy at the time. And I remember he hated the idea of like did he, yeah. Someone did. Just hated the idea of like, oh, you're gonna go try Airs for two and a half weeks, like before a freaking CT event. Like, good idea. But like, and then he became like he just blitzed that event every single time he did that trip. And that was something I always thought like people should do more of. Is like and also it's just like I think the freshness of surfing with us and not all the tour guys for a little bit, yeah, yeah, yeah. Just like gets your mind working in this separate way. Because I feel like, dude, the the QS, you just watch surfers just go in here and just get beaten down to here. Yeah. And then they leave, like, with their tail between their legs. Yeah. And not all of them find big waves, you know, to like come back on.

SPEAKER_04 26:20

Oh, we're gonna have we're gonna resort this back to you, aren't we? Yeah.

unknown 26:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 26:24

I'll be enjoying it.

SPEAKER_02 26:30

No, no, no, we're good on that. No, but that's true, man. It's like so you gotta have like so much mental, you just gotta be so resilient in your to to get through the QS. It's a grind. And that's probably like a good thing for him. It's probably like just like a mental for John. It's probably like just a mental restart, like, yeah, oh, I'm constantly around people doing events, like I got my two friends here, just film doing what I want to do. Like he probably wasn't.

SPEAKER_05 26:59

He just changed it to something else that he was like more passionate about. Just a little reset. Yeah. Yeah. So Dan was a different thing. When View from a Blue Moon came out, I yeah, he was Hurley was throwing dollars at that thing. So how much do you reckon they spent on that? Yeah. 1.2 million dollars.

unknown 27:20

Wow.

SPEAKER_05 27:20

Trilogy is more?

SPEAKER_02 27:21

The new the new trilogy. Yeah. The newish trilogy you're talking about, right? Yeah. Hang on, wait. Who produced Blue from Moon? Was it Brain Farm? Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 27:33

It was Brain Farm and Blake.

unknown 27:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:35

Are you serious? Okay, yeah, they're not cheap.

unknown 27:37

It was bad by and then half and they were like the end of early.

SPEAKER_05 27:41

And how much how much do they spend on I heard it was $1.2 million for View from Blue Moon. Oh my god. This is gossipy. This is a gossip, right? Dude, I remember though, like public knowledge, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:53

I heard I heard it was I heard it was around that. I heard it was around that too. I heard it was stupid amounts. Hang on, so how much was trilogy then?

SPEAKER_13 28:01

I want to say like three or four mil.

SPEAKER_02 28:03

Are you serious?

SPEAKER_05 28:04

I haven't even watched that movie yet. I've never seen it either.

SPEAKER_13 28:07

They filmed it in like helicopters and iMacs cameras.

SPEAKER_05 28:09

No, but they I dude, I know the kids who did that. It's Ether. They're like homies. Um they I mean they they they're high production. I'm not like belittling that. Well, they usually do mostly drone stuff. Do they really do that much IMAX?

SPEAKER_02 28:23

So you So, okay, this is a funny thing. That's probably the reason we all got dropped by Billaball. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:32

No, this this does bring up a good point.

SPEAKER_09 28:35

It's like we did all get dropped by Billaball.

SPEAKER_00 28:37

Yeah, collectively, yeah, we were talking about the ball.

SPEAKER_08 28:40

That's why I'm your first guest. Yeah. You could have a lot of guys on here that got dropped by Billaball.

SPEAKER_02 28:44

Well, you're not really, you're not really a true surfer unless you've been dropped by Billabong. I think I'm I I did it first, right? I was actually you've been dropped by Billabong yet? Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 29:00

Well no, let's go through, let's go through what happened. My drop by Bellabong. I remember it exactly. My infatory. So it was mostly to make your infatories contract. No. Mine was I went on a trip with um. So this is a conspiracy. This is just there's no this is not factually based. I went on I went on a trip with Calohi and Dino and Dino and like Snips. It was like the Dino and Snips camp. Yeah. With all like the Billabone guys. Well, this is crazy.

SPEAKER_04 29:30

This is a long time ago.

SPEAKER_05 29:31

Oh yeah, yeah. And then so it's a to Mexico. We went to Barra like. But how old were you, you reckon? I was like 14, 15. 13, 14. Yeah, okay. And it was so funny because it was all about like training us for like nationals and stuff. Yeah. And I went there and just like fucking, I was like, these are the best waves I've ever seen in my life. Like, I hadn't traveled much. Yeah. And I was just like, I'm gonna try to get barreled on every single wave. Like, and it was like some of them were this big and it was just kind of funny. And I would try to do shove it, and I was just, they were like, sh they were just loving Tonino and Corey RBD like doing backside snaps, they're like, this is what's up. And they just like, we they literally graded us and just I was always last. It was like, yeah, it was like me, um, Corney Connolog was there, Leila Hearst, like Tonino, Corey, Alex King. Hey, and what was it like a And Calloy and Dino, but um I like I swear I crumbled this wave that Dino and Dino, and I was like, You're supposed to be a coach, like out here helping us. And I crumbled like a really good wave at Chiba, and he freaking came up and snapped on me, and then he like didn't talk to me the rest of the trip. What? Yeah, and I was like a grom, and I was like, You're a coach. I was like, you should just let me have that wave. I was like, this is the first surf trip of my life. And like, um, it was not that long after that that they dropped me, and I swear it was just because like Dino and those guys just like that trip, I was like, that is enough. Yeah, and I remember I remember specifically being dropped. I was on my way to high school. Uh so maybe uh I made it like a little further actually, like maybe a whole year after that. But like I remember never they never included me in anything after that. Yeah. And it was just like I was just kind of like waiting, you know, circling the drain. Yeah. And um circling the drain. And then, yeah, I remember being on the way to high school. Yeah, we all gotta go through our shared trauma of billowbong drama. Oh, this is super funny. So I was on the way to high school. Well, it's horrible. I was making three thousand and six hundred dollars a year from them, you know, balling. Yeah. Balling. Got like that.

SPEAKER_02 31:37

Well, especially at 14, 15, you know.

SPEAKER_05 31:39

No, no, no, so I was like 16, 17. So I might have gotten that timing a little off.

SPEAKER_02 31:44

Fuck, what was it? You were 25.

SPEAKER_05 31:46

No, you're a year ago. This is actually my last contract. No, so I was coming up, it was like my junior year of high school, I think. So how old are you then? 16, 17, right? Yeah, around that. Okay, so maybe the trip was 15, 16, 17. Um, and I was like on my way, and it was I got dropped. I just remember driving to high school and Raynels calling me and just being like telling me. And I just like, it was the craziest thing because it was like at that point, you know, like 16, 17, like junior year, like you gotta be kind of on your way at that point. Yeah. Like, if you're if you got nothing going on, like parents were like, you better buckle down, have a good senior year, and you're going to college. Yeah. And I remember just being told that, and I just bawled crying for like the whole way up to my high school, which I'm like a little old to be bawling crying this hard. And then just like barely pulled it together and like got dropped off and was just like, my world shattered. And I just like remember walking through that whole high school day, just like, oh my god, like yeah, I was like, my dreams are over, like, this is it, this is the end. And yeah, that was that was my billbong story. Yeah, that's where my dream started.

SPEAKER_03 33:06

Tori got exactly $3,000. Oh, that was so good.

SPEAKER_10 33:14

Oh, that was so good. Oh, that's so ruthless. But no, it's actually kind of crazy because you're gonna trip out of us. I don't really think we've even talked about this before, but I went on a trip with Dino and Snips, and it was a Dino Snip surf count. I'm not even lying. This is a thing, no, I wouldn't. I'm not even lying now. And I wrote, I wrote for Fox at the time. I think I was like 17 or 10.

SPEAKER_05 33:39

How the fuck were you going on a Dino Snips Bilbong trip? No, it wasn't.

SPEAKER_10 33:43

It wasn't a billong. It was like when they did like a coaching thing, so everyone could be on it. So Ian, that's when I met Ian Crane, he was like 11 and just like the most pissed off little kid ever.

SPEAKER_02 33:52

Were they scouting more so? No, it was more just like Because Dano used to work for Bilbong, didn't he? He didn't work for Bilbong really yet. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_05 34:00

What do you mean? This is after your timeline's off. Oh, because my timeline's off.

SPEAKER_10 34:04

This is after I think he still, I don't know. He no, he did work for Bilbong. Yeah. Kalloe rode for him, but he wasn't on the trip, I don't think.

SPEAKER_02 34:11

Kalloe wasn't on the trip.

SPEAKER_10 34:12

Kallo was probably already on the trip. But it was like Dane Ward was on, or Dang Zahn was on it. Okay. It was like, and like Ian Crane, and there was like a couple other kids. It was just like a it was a camp. Yeah. That's what it was. It was kind of something that Dino and Snips did on the side to coach some kids. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And whatever. And um, and there was uh these two broms that I they were like family friends, and they invited me to go chaperone the kids. Yeah. And um, yeah, they were the foreigners, they were cool. And um, so I went on the trip with them, we went to El Salvador, and um I kind of had the opposite effect of like what you said, like how they hated your super nice to them. I didn't try to pronounce them, I really liked my surfing for some reason.

SPEAKER_05 34:57

You were three to the beach back then, that's it.

SPEAKER_10 34:59

Yeah, I was three to the beach, and I don't know, Dino got me on Bill One pretty much. Oh, yeah. So he was like, Yeah, we got this crazy contract for you. It's like three grand or whatever. We just got it. 3,600. So I was like, well, that's more I'm making from Fox. No, and that that's actually how I got on Bill One.

SPEAKER_05 35:21

Okay, well, I want to care about when you got dropped. I don't care about when you got on.

SPEAKER_08 35:29

We're talking about shared trauma. We're gonna go into Jack right now. It's like, yeah, and then I got dropped. And then my career starts. See how this is working here?

SPEAKER_05 35:38

How old were you when you got dropped? Well, okay, I remember, I'll give you credit because I'd never compliment you. Because we're too good of friends. Yeah. But um, so you were in it for I remember. Did you did you have any other other parts with him besides Still Filthy?

SPEAKER_10 35:57

No.

SPEAKER_05 35:57

Okay. I got on him like right when um it wasn't Passion Pop. Because Still Filthy was fucking Stepping Stones? Stepping Stones.

SPEAKER_10 36:05

That's I got on him right after Stepping Stones came out. So whatever you remember that is.

SPEAKER_05 36:11

Such a good movie.

SPEAKER_02 36:12

Was it Stepping Stones?

SPEAKER_05 36:13

No, it was Frothing. Frothing. That's because that's the one I was in. I got my two waves from the trip. You were in that thing. Yeah, two waves. And I swear I had like the best trip of my life and got all the best barrels of my life, and I had these two shitty waves. And I was like, those assholes don't like me. I got them right up right after that.

SPEAKER_10 36:29

Well, I might have been on Bill Long when you were on Bill Long then.

SPEAKER_05 36:32

No, man. No? No, I think it was literally like the year lap.

SPEAKER_10 36:37

The year lap okay.

SPEAKER_05 36:38

Okay, but so how long were you on them for?

SPEAKER_10 36:40

And then I was on them for four years, I think. Um right when I got on them, I got hurt for like nine months. It's crazy. Yeah. Yeah. What'd you do? I had this high ankle sprain, pretty much the same thing I've done to my ankle like a million times. It was like the first one, I went to the wrong doctor's. Anyway, ended up getting surgery at the end of it.

SPEAKER_02 37:02

How old were you? Like 16, 17? 18. 18. Oh yeah, that's young to be getting surgery, yeah. Yeah. Especially straight at you is like that's like a straight at the start of your surfing career. Yeah, it was actually.

SPEAKER_05 37:13

Was that in the still filthy, like, no, no, no. What part was that where you're talking about the injury? Like in your driving, was that pursuit? Oh, that was a pursuit. Yeah. I remember your part story. I used to watch them, bruh.

SPEAKER_10 37:25

So what happened like that song?

SPEAKER_05 37:26

Didn't follow your didn't QS career very closely though. So what what happened after that?

SPEAKER_10 37:32

So what happened after that? So then I was on them for four years, and we were renegotiating the next contract, and um it was like a it was like burned Dino. Huh?

SPEAKER_04 37:44

Then you burned Dino.

SPEAKER_10 37:47

No, it was like a really weird time because it was like Andy had passed away that year. Oh shit. And um I remember like going over to the house, and it was kind of like this, we were all just kind of depressed. And like I didn't really like want to go over to the Billbound house very much, and it was like it felt really weird to be like negotiating the contract at the same time as well, and like it was just like a weird thing. And I think that they like before that, we had kind of voiced it like, all right, we kind of like we're like doing the QS, like we kind of need a little more money to like do this. We're like, you know, we're not making enough to do it, and um, and that kind of stuck with them, and then like me not going over to the house very much, but they thought like I was like super pissed and like oh I'm over these guys and whatever, whatever. And um yeah, I don't know, it was really weird. And then and I was actually I was talking to Nike at the time too, so I was kind of like, oh that's kind of sick, like that would be cool, yeah. I was trying to take your other contract. Yeah, and uh and like at the very they pretty much told me like they were like oh you don't seem stoked, like I think we're just gonna like separate ways. And I was like, what? And like they're like, yeah, you don't seem safe at all. And I was like, no, I thought we were like negotiating and it was weird. It was kind of like and like that guy Blake came to the house and like it was really awkward, and he had like it was just I felt horrible for him, and he had to like tell me that.

SPEAKER_02 39:17

Oh dude, that's that's a hard conversation.

SPEAKER_10 39:19

Yeah, it's like oh it's so awkward. I mean, it was a little awkward, yeah. It was really weird because he they kept trying to get me to come over to the house to like, and everyone was there, and I kind of had a feeling like they were over me for some reason. Yeah. Oh, I'm not gonna come today. Like a weird thing. Like a weird thing, and it was like they almost like wanted to like drop me in front of everyone. It was the weirdest thing.

SPEAKER_03 39:42

There's no way they wanted to.

SPEAKER_10 39:47

It was so weird. It was like, oh, you're not happy? Like, this is what we're gonna do to people who aren't happy. Like made an example of that. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, but I was like, dude, I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 39:57

I don't know if like Blake was never that cut. Yeah, but super weird, you never know.

SPEAKER_10 40:02

And like every time I went to the house, it like reminded me of Annie and made me sad, and it was just like it was just like a weird time, weird time, and like it seemed like I don't know. I don't it just yeah, it just kind of fell the wrong way. And then uh and then your Nike deal didn't work out for me either. So I went, yeah. So then I didn't have a sponsor for three years. Two years. Yeah, I was sponsorless.

SPEAKER_02 40:25

So what what kept you going in those three years?

SPEAKER_05 40:28

Um how much debt did you rack up in those three years?

SPEAKER_10 40:31

I think it was it wasn't I moved to California, so I don't know. It was a fair bit.

SPEAKER_02 40:36

Because that's like a crazy time in a surfer's life. Yeah. Part ways with the main sponsor and then also like keep trying to stick with it.

SPEAKER_10 40:44

Get sponsored by anyone.

SPEAKER_02 40:45

Yeah, like were you trying? How old were you?

SPEAKER_10 40:48

I was 21. 21, 22, I think. Oh.

SPEAKER_02 40:52

And uh that's like and nowadays that's like right around the cut, like I don't know, that's like the cutoff, yeah. That's your done. Yeah, yeah. It is. It's like you're lucky, you're lucky that you kind of got another sponsor, right? Yeah, I'm super lucky, very blessed that that happened.

SPEAKER_10 41:08

But yeah, no, I mean, at that time though, it was weird. We had there were so many like events in California. Yeah, I think I was telling you about this. Like we had like this Bud Light tour that was like super sick, and like you'd show up to that thing and you made like 1600 bucks just for showing up in cash, like it was the sickest thing ever. So you could like literally live in California and like do these programs and like make rent, yeah, like make money, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, and then the girl that I was dating at the time, her family moved there too, so I was able to stay with them, so I wasn't paying any rent, so I was lucky there. But I was still traveling though and still doing all the primes. Yeah, okay. Yeah, a couple I mean a few of them. I did like any place that I could stay for free, I would go and stay. Like, so I had like really good friends in South Africa. Yeah, I would use miles, stay with them, and do the events, and then I um had a couple, like I had enough to keep myself in the top 100.

SPEAKER_02 42:03

So I just I just want to hear him talk about more like um No, no, well I want to talk about so you had three or four years.

SPEAKER_05 42:11

What was it?

SPEAKER_10 42:12

It was from 18 to 21, 20, 22.

SPEAKER_05 42:15

Wait, I thought you said you got dropped at 21.

SPEAKER_10 42:17

21, 18, I wrote from 18 to 10.

SPEAKER_05 42:19

Oh no, I'm talking about your your unsponsored years.

SPEAKER_10 42:22

Oh my unsponsored years.

SPEAKER_05 42:23

We already went past those.

SPEAKER_02 42:24

Yeah, so when yeah, so the the three the three years when you were like, because that that's that's pivotal.

SPEAKER_05 42:29

Yeah, it was.

SPEAKER_10 42:30

It was for sure.

SPEAKER_05 42:31

And it was uh Did you have any pressure from like family and shit to the like dude give up?

SPEAKER_10 42:37

Uh a little not really. No, for some reason. More support. It's more support, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 42:44

For real. Um I mean it depends how you look at it. Maybe they were just really neglectful parents.

SPEAKER_10 42:50

No, my parents were really supportive. No, I know. I'm kidding. You might want to start thinking about doing something else. And it was it the the last year, the third year, it had gotten to the point where I was like, this is gonna be my last year. Yeah if I don't qualify, like and during this time were you getting pretty close? Or I was no, I was like staying in the top 100. But that's it. And then I was like, alright, I'll just try to stay in the top 100 and then like have try to have a really good triple crown or something or whatever.

SPEAKER_05 43:20

And then like things shop that and then the next year. Yeah. Because you could almost like You could have. Dusty did it. He won, he just made it through the triple crown, basically.

SPEAKER_02 43:28

Yeah, yeah, he won. He didn't he win, he went like first, first, second or something.

SPEAKER_10 43:31

He went Hollyva first, second at Sunset, and then qualified.

SPEAKER_02 43:35

Yeah, yeah. And being yeah, well, I mean Ryantero did it every single year, basically.

SPEAKER_10 43:40

Yeah, so it was like you could set yourself up pretty easily by you know doing a couple events. And you there was events in California too. Like there was events on the East Coast, it was it was doable event.

SPEAKER_02 43:52

It was doable, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_10 43:53

Yeah, now it's not, but just like they just poison your soul with hope.

unknown 43:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_10 44:00

Yeah, I mean that's how you gotta get I mean the the reality was is that like he got close a fair few times that's no I know that's so Harley dude it's like I just can't imagine that that was one of the things I never did with competition was I just like couldn't imagine that head trip like of it always being right there okay so but let's go so you're going through that I want to get to the enlightening part of the story yeah yeah so I was like this is my very last year no matter what like whatever I mean I'm sure I would have done the triple crown if I could have got into it yeah yeah but I was like I gotta figure out something like and um it was like I don't know what time of year it was but I got this crazy email about like how they're doing this event the Cole Water Classic and they're making a specialty event 16 unsponsored surfers and you're in one of them you're invited to be one of them yeah those things are you're good you're good keep going and I like thought it was a scam message at first I was like what like who would do this like here's my social security cool initiative it's a super cool initiative yeah and it was from this guy Shane Skelton who was my team manager prior after that for a long time and um I wrote back in like 30 seconds. I was like yes I'm in or they're like confirm that you're in yes I'm in I don't care if it's a scam what do you want social security number? Take them all they're maxed like that way and um yeah and then it was it was obviously a real thing. Yeah I was doing uh an event here at Sunset Beach when the boat bank got called on yeah so I served the heat got on a plane that night went to that event and uh somehow won that event and no like let's not just linger on that a little bit how was how was it like were the waves good?

SPEAKER_02 45:50

The waves are fun because there's a triumphant moment and the Tory Meister's part of pressure on that event right because you got you got 16 people who are all unsponsored and was there like a rule whoever wins the event gets a sponsorship or something like that?

SPEAKER_10 46:03

Yeah so it was the winner take all 50 grand and one year sponsorship with uh with O'Neill but okay so was it a 50 grand contract? $50,000 contract to do the QS. Okay. Yeah so you would have hated that you had to do the QS because take it and like well I wanted to too at that time. No I know but I think that was kind of part of the fine print.

SPEAKER_05 46:24

Okay.

SPEAKER_10 46:25

Yeah because I wanted I don't know exactly well there's and I mean I did end up turning into a free surfer so maybe it wasn't.

SPEAKER_05 46:33

Yeah yeah but so it was just and it was just a one year contract.

SPEAKER_10 46:36

It was a one year contract so I didn't know if I was going to get re-signed or or anything. Yeah well first talk about the event though like the event was I don't know it was weird it was very stressful obviously because you know I didn't have a sponsor for three years. And probably coming up against some good guys. Really good surfers like Ricardo Christie was in it uh Stuart Kennedy was in it um Hank Hank was in it was Ranger was in it wow Wade Carmichael Wade Carmocle that's that is final like that's like a nuts like that is yeah that's crazy crazy and it was so sick like the way they did it like they had us all come to like the Neil Surf shop we like pulled out like I think it was ping pong balls and that that's who you drew. Like that's how it was like you that's who your first like draw was what a cool fucking event yeah it was in so how did can you remember how the the the yeah I want to hear everyone you beat yeah who'd you beat to get to how was it like quarter semifinals kind of thing? I think it was around a 16 quarter semis okay who who did you have to surf against to get to the final my first he was I I think I surf when I remember this stuff. It was Clay McChrystal. You remember every single one was him and then and then I had Hank I think it was Hankard dude and then I I want to say it was I had Ricardo Christie and he almost beat me. I think it was like really close yeah it was he was tap he was really good and he made tour and was on tour after that for years and so did Wade Carmichael after all that too which is really and they got sponsors and everything. Yeah yeah so it all worked out for a lot of people but yeah Ricardo Christie was Ricardo yeah and I remember it was he like almost got the score at the very end yeah and then Wade Carmichael in the final wow that's stacked man that must have been such a crazy energy at an event that must have been so fun to watch but like traumatizing for so many people like because a lot of those pretty much everyone in it probably felt the same way you did where like this is my last shot you know kind of a thing.

SPEAKER_02 48:36

But it's kind of crazy looking at that like you were saying the names like Ricardo he you know actually had a pretty good career after that he made the tour and was on tour for a little bit Wade Carmichael Stuart Kennedy yeah like there was some heavy hitters still on Patagonia and Ripping too he's still got a Zerf career like heavy hitters in that heavy hitters yeah it was nuts.

SPEAKER_10 48:58

It was yeah it was it was funny it was all happening so fast I think you can kind of like you know like when you just feel good about an event yeah have that happen you like I don't know for in my life there's only been a few times when it's happened but where you just feel like really calm for some reason and like things just seem to click it's like you're in a weird flow place that yeah yeah once the Junior Pro A Kualos.

SPEAKER_05 49:19

There we go.

SPEAKER_10 49:20

And at Rocky's the saving for whatever reason that event like thank god that was the event. Yeah Rocky the seating and Rocky's the same exactly but yeah thank god that was just happened to be the event where it felt like that for me like where things were just clicking and it was like it I mean it's never easy but it's just like things just work out for you somehow and like competition is so much like that right yeah and yeah like I said thank God it was that event because that I wouldn't be talking to you guys probably right now.

SPEAKER_05 49:49

I mean I'd probably still be your friend yeah Jack would be he'd be over there I love you yeah yeah no I dude I love you talking about I wouldn't have seen you on the TV if you're anything no when I see you like a brother man I yeah exactly now yeah now yeah yeah we might have had every we might have never had yeah yeah okay but I want to keep going though so easy to think about so you you got a one year contract and then the next year how long was your contract? One year and the next year how long was your contract I've had a one year deal ever since for life it's cool but like think about that no I'm just kidding I I signed a two year deal at COVID and my founding cancel because of COVID. Oh no the timing yeah just I'm just saying like I guess time is not my thing I don't know well no I think super funny though to try and make one like actual deep point in our funny podcast um but I don't think people realize like the stress of that because it's like that's one of the craziest misconceptions that I noticed in my own life was still to this day I've never felt like I made it. Where I was like oh fuck like I did it you know like I achieved the dream because it's like every contract's like like I've never had a contract that was more than two years I think in my life or like three years and I'm like okay well I have the dream for two years. Like okay like at 27 or whatever it is like the dream might be over.

SPEAKER_07 51:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 51:27

Like at 29 it might be over at 31 it might be over it's impossible.

SPEAKER_09 51:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 51:33

Yeah but it's like it's so shitty like that's one of the things like a whole year.

SPEAKER_10 51:36

Exactly and I had that yeah we both did you know yeah the year I rushed through my spleen dude I was out for a year.

SPEAKER_05 51:44

Oh that's that's a perfect segue though. Let's just go straight into your injuries Tori.

SPEAKER_02 51:49

Okay this is crazy because I feel like a lot of people don't know how badly you've battered your body like you have you have been through some we first we all have yeah we have not like you maybe you're a little bit different.

SPEAKER_05 52:02

Um no no okay I would argue I would argue you're as as maybe the most pounded surfer. The most pounded surfer of your uh at your age can you think of someone that you would think is taking more hits like a maybe like a Lori Towner or something.

SPEAKER_02 52:15

Yeah Lori would be up there he'd be up there like Laurie's insane yeah Lori's been buckled I don't know he had the shoulder thing he had the shoulder thing that would dislocate like when the wind direction would change I mean there's a handful but I would top three yeah for sure kind of a cool category about three most injured old guys but let's yeah okay but let's put that into reference like a lot of that's weird challenging yeah yeah I mean you enter your injuries what did you earned your injuries though it's not like you were doing them like on the QS.

SPEAKER_10 52:47

Yeah no it was in between yeah they're small age they're actually most is the funniest part is most of them are on small age it's crazy. So my very first interview was doing an error at Aukai the one that I was talking about earlier when I just signed the bill bong okay was a high ankle sprain and like I said it ended up being like an eight month injury and then yeah because it was I went to the wrong I was I didn't know doctors mattered. Anyone's listening kids if you get hurt go to the right doctor I didn't know doctors mattered at that time my first injury no one told me anything and I just had no idea so I saw this guy he saw a bunch of Ironman people yeah he read my MRI wrong and I I mean that's how I met Warren Kramer yeah and he was like oh you have a high ankle sprain and then there's so much scar tissue now we have to do surgery so that's how he told you that that is how I met him and he's been the biggest blessing ever in my life he's done Warren Kramer yeah so what so since then since that high ankle sprain what like go through the list of injuries you've had okay so then it was so it was that high ankle sprain and then I did the left side after that like five months later. As an ankle ankle left uh no it was a roll this time it was an ankle and then after that I did I did an MCL I think I yeah I remember your knee brace for a while. Yeah I did an MCL and then I did oh and then that that's no no no MCL was later sorry whatever it's on we're not in category here I wrote I signed with O'Neal and then that at the end of that year I ruptured my spleen. We got this one year deal right yeah I ruptured my spleen at pipe at backdoor and like yeah that was a crazy story like I thought I was gonna die. It was that's insane I went to Kabuku Hospital they put a catheter in me which is worse than rupturing your spleen that's not fine yeah and uh and then I was in the hospital for like three days and they were poking every few hours to make sure I had the right blood count and any anyway and then I did I did six weeks of not doing anything and then when I came back from that I went on a trip with you or not with you but you were there in West Saws oh yeah I ran by you. Yeah one you ran by me and that was like my first trip back and my hip was just like killing me my right hip I was like dude what's going on with this thing and then me and Ian Crane went to indo after and we and the whole time I was like dude I can barely like walk and sorry it was and then so I ended up getting that check and then I had like a nuts labor tear. Yeah so then I got and a bone spur and everything. Same thing you you did yeah and then so I had so I had hip surgery and then and then I did let's see and then after that I did my MCL and then I did my left ankle again high ankle sprain this time at holl practicing for Hollywood like the day before the Hale Eva event uh I like did a turn and like a lip hit me and like destroyed my ankle so that I couldn't do the triple crown. And then that was the year that I was able to do the Jaws event remember I had Oh yeah I was just gonna say all these injuries are pre-surfing Jaws. Yeah for something pre-JAWS this is just getting warmed up and yeah I got invited to the Jaws event and that was the same I think Hollywood was in November Jaws was was it December or something or okay so this is like you so you did MCL after your first jaws session yeah no MCL actually might have been later I think I did the ankle first. Okay yeah yeah I think it was it went that way whatever MCL's whatever they're fine yeah MCL's mile yeah they're mowed and then um no the the the high ankle sprain sucked because I did it during the Hollywood event I had to skip sunset and then I was in the pipe trials I did the pipe I was like okay I'm gonna see if this thing works because they're like we're gonna run Jaws it's on and I was like what year were you in Jaws?

SPEAKER_05 56:41

19 the last time they ran oh really was it 19?

SPEAKER_02 56:45

Oh yeah that was the year I got concussed I don't remember shit yeah I think asking you was it 19 yeah I think oh yeah um as as a fellow Dave as a fellow big wave Dave yeah as top 200 uh jaws surfers in the world yeah you know what I think it was 19 yeah I think it was 2019 anyway and then so I was I was able to kind of like serve a heat up pipe and I was like no I can do jaws yeah and then uh the shaft would go up and how'd you do you make any heaps of Jaws?

SPEAKER_10 57:17

I made well made sound nice.

SPEAKER_05 57:18

Really?

SPEAKER_10 57:18

Yeah I almost made the four again I was yeah I was I know I won't next heat after you did that yeah you were probably psyched you really you were like not even talking sense at all yeah I I I I heard yeah so since then when I went over the falls that on the my wipeout of the yearway and then I remember after that I was like almost like drowned almost wait which was that the one the one like where I was like falling back and I landed on my back and my ankle brace is like flying in the wind do you remember this? No you wouldn't but but it was up for but it wasn't wipeout I didn't win. Oh yeah I said it was up for it anyway and after that wave I was like oh man I'm out of shape real bad. And um and this isn't even counting all the residual concussive damage you had to your brain well I saw you get concussed and I was like hey that sounds cool on this one we're not making it so is there any injuries past that that will like yeah then so that was that the ankle and then after that I I have a torn labro now on my left side and then I did and then I I was towing with Albie that day we towed.

SPEAKER_05 58:35

Okay you were towing you glossed over though two days before this you went to he was like oh I'm gonna just go surf airwaves with Matt the day before the biggest jaw swell ever because I'm smart. And um he did you you broke your nose right you broke your nose I mean in retrospect I was being an idiot that time too because I surfed jaws with a broken sinus wall yeah and then I ended up breaking my nose he blew it right before me no no no you broke your nose and you were out of jaws with like a band-aid off and I was just calling you an idiot. That was the day before I towed a wave and I broke my nose sat on the thing and I had just broken my maxillary sinus wall and so there was like this it was the dumbest thing ever. It was three weeks healed so but my doctor told me like oh if you fall the wrong way and that thing re-breaks and water goes up there you can get a brain infection and die. It was this really dumb thing that I surfed this day and I ended up getting so close. And we were towing which is And we were towing it was just the stupidest thing we did not belong out there. But I remember just sitting there and I was like this is funny this is why I gotta get Kip more on this podcast because we took him out this day and he's still traumatized from it. And I'm sitting there just like bleeding out of my nose like and I'm just panicking the whole time like did I break my maxillary sinus ball do I have fucking salt water in my brain like am I fucked?

SPEAKER_10 59:52

Yeah and then we're just watching and Tori just gets whipped into the fucking such a big one and then you like broke your ankle that time right yeah well no I tore my ligament high ankle sprain again but then I tore everything inside of it and I bone bruised it. That was the worst one.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:06

And a bone bruise?

SPEAKER_10 1:00:07

Yeah wow like all the little ankle high ankle sprain deltoid or something I don't know how did you do that bottom tone or no I like I I kept like outrunning waves and I was like bro this is ridiculous like I'm so sick of just being in front of overhopping these waves and like trying to do errors like Kylie remember we were trying to do errors and just landing on our back on the track this is embarrassing I was like the very next one I was like maybe Kyle's got these yeah I was like the very next one I was like okay I'm just gonna pull in no matter what like I if it looks like it's gonna barrel and it was like a super west one and I was like oh my gosh this is it I remember Billy saying go and I was like yeah we're on and I was way too deep I wanted to say it's your fault too because like both of us the ways we felt we just fade we did the same thing.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:56

We like pocket road and we're just like goddamn it and two waves in the road we're just like fade fade fade fade fade try to get broad and then just eat shit.

SPEAKER_10 1:01:02

Yeah I faded way too hard we never towed like yeah we never towed one time there before when I was like 18. Yeah yeah and um anyway and then my foot got stuck in the ankle or in the strap yeah and then like the wave the vortex away just like wow I'm like super nuts and yeah I thought I broke my leg. I was like yeah it hurt pretty that's insane yeah and then um and then yes then I had a broken nose and a broken ankle. Yeah we were battered after that one that was right battered after that and then I went out back out the next did you surf the no no you couldn't surf I went back out the next day and rebroke my nose again too oh yeah so what so after that has there been anything yeah and then I just uh I just tore my meniscus and I high ankle sprained again so I've done three high ankle sprains on my right and one high two on my left one was a roll on I's insane and then I have a torn labrum and now I have a torn meniscus.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:01

Yeah okay and then I've broken a bunch of ribs and stuff too but those are just so this is bringing me to a a topic that's not as much fun to talk about. So what so right now you s you still have sponsors and you're still technically a pro surfer right are you? Yes would you call yourself a pro surfer at this point?

SPEAKER_13 1:02:21

I don't know I mean it's I mean you can you can't pay all your bills with yeah yeah I don't know what the technical term is okay so I mean I considered like being that's an interesting like topic if you're a pro server are you always a pro server? Yeah yeah like are you yeah it's like skateboarding is like winning you know still the pro game out or whatever is more amazing. It's like if there was ever an opportunity to you could be more money you would fucking do it if you ever could get sponsored if the sponsor wanted to bring you on you do it.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:54

You're still a project I mean I'm still with One and yeah but I'm I'm still saying break that down though but yeah I see what you're saying yeah like yeah how are it's yeah I guess that's the point is it that is a good point. Because in skating and stuff there's like a skating it's all decks right that's like what how you define a pro. Like I have a signature deck. Whereas surfing it's like a signature pads like but surfing it's just like it's weird how we get phased out and it's it's not there's not like one yeah it's not like oh okay your deck's done or whatever. It's like are you phased out? And it's like well no like if there was a JAWS event I'd still think you'd be in you could easily be a wild card and then you're your pro surfer and then maybe like so there's like always a door open to it. But like as of right now are you paying all your bills with surfing?

SPEAKER_10 1:03:53

No. Yeah not for the last couple years.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:56

Yeah so yeah but I mean it's not like you're you're any less of the surfer you are just like financially supported is changed and you're like you know you're still supported and whatnot. But like yeah this is like a bigger topic that I want to get into more but I do want to just touch on it with you. Yeah is it's so funny because like so I want to I want to preface it K yeah because we just talked a lot of like funny stuff but I want to this is like a deeper topic that I'm actually like really passionate about.

SPEAKER_10 1:04:26

So I'm not talking about him getting dropped we can we can skip straight past that's a weird crack when I got dropped too when I was 22.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:36

No no no okay so but what like no one's gonna feel bad for you for losing a pro surfing career. Because everyone just views you as you're so lucky that you ever got to do this. And there is a whole lot of truth to that statement. Yeah like of course we're fucking lucky like we're so lucky to be born with places with ways we're so lucky to have parents that took us surfing we're so lucky for all this shit. But like that being said there's a lot of people that lucky and like I'll use Tori as an example to not like be cocky myself but like I get kind of frustrated when I hear that like and and people have like no empathy when your when your career starts to end. And it's like oh yeah well you were so lucky to be a pro surfer. It's like dude you wouldn't last a fucking week in Tori's life in a winter like it's not fucking just luck you know so like that that like narrative always kind of pisses me off and then it's like the transition out of pro surfing because you're kind of like I mean I just I lived with you so I've got to see like some of this happen. Yeah is like you're we just went through your list of injuries and then you're just like so you're not gonna be you can't pay your bills with surfing anymore and you you can either you have like very few options and you're like expected to like you now you're working construction Your dad, are you not?

SPEAKER_10 1:06:00

Yeah, and that's like a I'm super blessed to have that, but my dad worked construction and he's actually gonna do that.

SPEAKER_05 1:06:06

You know, it's crazy because and that's like a you have it's a good option, but it's like fucking working construction on the body you have is not fucking easy either. Like that's a gnarly thing to like go through, and it's just I always thought it was just so interesting because no one will ever feel bad for you, like, oh like that's so tough. You were a pro surfer for 15 years. Yeah, it's like, yeah, but it's also tough to be 37 and have to fucking start a career and start it on like a body that's been through fucking L and back. Yeah, it's crazy.

SPEAKER_10 1:06:35

I know I like I've been dealing with it like the last couple years, you know, and when I kind of stopped making as much money to be able to support myself, I was like, okay, well, we gotta just work and do something, you know. And Alvy knows kind of all this story, but I was like living on Maui at that time, and I was like, all right, well, surf lessons, I can do this for a while. It's pretty, you know, you're in the ocean, it's cool, it'll pay the bills for now, you know. And I started like diving into the fireman thing a little bit as well. And um and I don't know, I always kind of told myself when I was doing that, I was like, well, you have two jobs now. Like, you know what I mean? Like because it's weird, because you could easily feel super jaded and be like, you know, F-surfing, F this industry, like this is BS, like I'm gonna, I'm just gonna do surf less. I'm just gonna do construction because you know, I need oh yeah, we all need the money, but you know what I mean. But so I always told myself I was like, okay, like I'm just gonna stay in the best shape I can surfing wise. I'm still gonna surf as much as I can, and not just because an opportunity maybe an opportunity will come around, you know. Maybe I'll get into the eddy and I wanna be ready for that, or the Jaws event or something. So it's almost like you have two jobs now, which is a weird, weird way to do it. Think about it, but I was always it was funny, like when we first started becoming pro surfers, right? We're like, it's all about this, right? And you now it's kind of funny. I got to that point where now I'm starting to work at a normal job, and I'm like, wow, surfing like made me so happy. Have to do it just to like be happy, yeah. It's crazy, you know. It kind of comes back to that like weird goal for it. Like I was like, and you always kind of set it, you're like, Oh, I'll be surfing until the day I die anyway, but I feel like I'm getting to that point of I'm at that age where I'm like, wow, I will actually be doing this till the day because it makes me happy and it makes me a better person. Yeah, which is weird, you know. So the whole job thing is like, yeah, for sure. I get when I'm you know digging holes and stuff like that, I'm like, wow, whether I wish, you know, you think about the opportunities that maybe you didn't take or whatever, the heat seat in exactly that. Or whatever, you know, and and there's no insurance plan for us after this, you know, and whatever injuries we have, you know, you know, those are with your own. Those are with our free forever, exactly. For sure.

SPEAKER_13 1:09:02

But um can I have you break that down a little bit more? Because I think that there's two things that one, you were talking about how there is like this mixed juxtaposition of like you're so lucky to have one-year contract, even as a pro server that you're like, fuck I can't believe we can still do this. What do I do if it doesn't have an actor? Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 1:09:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_13 1:10:05

Like this contact, you know what I mean? Like all of a sudden you're not it's not like the end of the world if you're not gonna pay for it.

SPEAKER_10 1:10:12

Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think I think this day and age, and we kind of all see it too, like you almost being a pro server, you almost have to have a side hustle somehow, you know? And I'm blessed enough to have a dad who's done construction and he's willing to teach me and stuff like that. So that definitely helps a lot, you know. There's guys that are just going into an arly job and they're just at the bottom of the pit, you know. Like where my dad will actually take the time to like explain things to me, because dude, I mean to be honest, I could barely even swing a hammer. I'm still learning, you know, like it's like I don't know how to do shit. Yeah, exactly. As soon as this is over how someone is patient with you is very, very nice. And um, but yeah, no, it definitely does. I haven't gotten to that point yet where I'm like, this job takes the pressure of not getting, you know, dropped.

SPEAKER_06 1:11:05

Or whatever.

SPEAKER_10 1:11:06

Because you're still technically with O'Neil and stuff, yeah. Yeah, for sure. But I definitely when I I think when I do have that, it's gonna help so much. And it's so cool. There's there's so much you can learn in life, and we've always been on this one-way street, right? We've always just searching for nothing, and that's kind of but changing flipping that script and trying to change something and like learn something new, I think is is a really cool thing. But yeah, yeah, I mean, there's two, there's you know, it's a double-edged sword, right? It's it's kind of one of those things where I feel it's really hard to give up on the dream, too. Yeah, yeah, for sure. I feel like that's been a hard thing for me because I just I'm like, I don't know, I feel like I'm in the best shape I've ever been. I feel like I'm surfing better than I ever have. Like, but you know, this is a weird time, you know? Yeah. And so, um, yeah, I see both points though, what you're saying. Like having a job that I think that would be the best thing is having a job that totally sustains you, and you can just surf because you want to. Yeah. And not because you have to because of the.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:09

Do you reckon if you ever did that or you got to that position that like that would be like a like the missing ingredient? Like, do you reckon that would like fulfill you to the point that you're like, oh, I think I'd probably perform the best of ever performed.

SPEAKER_08 1:12:22

Maybe.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 1:12:23

Yeah. That is crazy to think about. Yeah. I know it might.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:26

Because you've got no outside pressure. It's just you surfing competition.

SPEAKER_10 1:12:31

Yeah. Yeah, that maybe. I mean, I know like the years that I did the QS and I was not sponsored and didn't have any, wasn't making any money, that was like some of the most stressful stuff shit ever. Yeah. Because I'm like, alright, I just spent, you know, four grand on this trip, and like I'm not making four grand this month. Like, if I don't make heats, I would eat or not. But yeah. He's did. Oh fuck. Yeah. Me and Grizzly should hang.

SPEAKER_05 1:12:58

Yeah, he's got a he's got a lot of. We won't put this in, but don't you think um I think it's even worse because it's like uh you attach your glory days to that person you were with during your glory days. Oh yeah, for sure. When that leaves, it's even worse. Um we won't go into specifics about that.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:17

But yeah, wait, wait, wait.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:18

Let's take take up No, but just to just to put a bow on that last one, is just yeah, like it's I've seen it break people where they like they finished their life of whether on their own tour or just a bad surfer or whatever. That sucks. Yeah. Yeah, and and like you are in some sense, like you know, like if you if you weren't like a world champion or you didn't have the best movie or you weren't like one of these like five or six people, yeah, and on some level, like yeah, to the to the outside world, like yeah, we're fucking so lucky, like it's amazing, but like on some level, like to yourself, you are a bit of a failure. And like coming to terms with that shit and fucking letting it go and moving on, because like I know that's not that far off for me, or it could be, who knows? I don't know what the future holds.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:11

I mean, let's be honest. Yeah, yeah. All of us, myself.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:15

Why the fuck do we do in a podcast? I'm dreaming.

SPEAKER_06 1:14:23

No, you wouldn't have done this by the way.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:26

If my career was just soaring right now, you think I'd be serious sitting on you.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:32

I think you would, dude. I think you would. I think you'd love to talk about yourself more.

SPEAKER_10 1:14:42

Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:48

A bunch of times.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:49

So, so whereabouts are you from originally? Are you born and raised on the big island? I was raised on the big island. Okay, where were you born? I was born in California.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:56

Oh, how are we?

SPEAKER_02 1:14:58

Okay, no, I'm just kidding. So you're born born in California, moved to the Big Island. How old were you when you were?

SPEAKER_10 1:15:04

Actually, moved to the North Shore first.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:06

Oh, you went to the North Shore? I moved to the North Shore when I was three. And then to the Big Island?

SPEAKER_10 1:15:10

My mom didn't want me to be a surf rat. Oh no. Yeah. So I want I want him to have an education. I don't want him to be a surf rat. So then we moved to the big island. And where I grew up on the big island, there wasn't much waves at the at that particular place. It was like this bay, and there's little ways, but yeah, it was like the worst place ever if you wanted to be a pro surfer. Maybe not worse than some place. But pretty, pretty bad.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:35

So when did you move from Big Island? Did you go to Big Island Maui?

SPEAKER_10 1:15:38

I stayed on no, I stayed on the Big Island for until I was well my dad actually he was staying on my parents got divorced, my dad stayed on Oahu, and then when my mom got trusted, my dad moved to the Big Island, so then we lived on the Big Island for till I was like 14 or 15, and then he moved back to the North Shore, and then my mom stayed on the Big Island, and I was going back and forth. Okay. The North Shore and the Big Island.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:05

Okay. So what made you so what prompted you to move to go to Maui? Oh, we weren't both. It was a relationship. Oh, it was a relationship. Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so a relationship led you to Maui.

SPEAKER_05 1:16:18

But it was really funny because when we were growing up, I yeah, I've known we met when you were like 12, and I was probably like nine or something.

SPEAKER_10 1:16:27

Yeah, I remember the very first memory I have of you was doing hop snaps at Turtle Day.

SPEAKER_04 1:16:32

Oh yeah, I was famous for hop snaps.

SPEAKER_10 1:16:33

Yeah, that was a very I don't think I've outlived that. Because he used to ride for Carol's Surf Or we both used to ride for Carol Swerve 4. Yeah, we were like, yeah, yeah. And I remember watching him, and he was like, gosh, dude, you were so young. I don't even know. I think you were probably like eight. And he would do he instead of doing it, he'd like come up, and instead of like doing a snap, he'd just hop. Every time. Like, oh.

SPEAKER_05 1:16:56

And then like, oh it was crazy. Well, no one did it. And it worked out, rah. It did work.

SPEAKER_10 1:17:06

No, it was it was crazy. It was the most crazy.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:08

He's carried that all the way up until nice funny guy for that. I swear that's what you're doing at Rockies today. I was smashing the Rockies today.

SPEAKER_10 1:17:17

Let's not even go back there. And then I remember me, I don't know, I remember me and this guy, we used to like always have super we would stay at the Larson's house. I stayed at obviously he stayed with me sometimes on the big and aisle to stay with him. And we'd always, even at that age, we'd always have like just dramatic girls.

SPEAKER_08 1:17:40

Yeah, just girl drama.

SPEAKER_05 1:17:41

Like, oh I like God, we've never fucking grown out of that, Tori.

SPEAKER_08 1:17:54

This is like weird. Should we run it again? Maybe we should.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:58

Yeah. Some Sum 41 and black hair dye. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:18:02

Holy shit. That was Blick of Me too. I still listen to that song. That was hard. Oh my god, that was. I think that was the first time we bonded. Yeah, how we bonded. Sum 41 and freaking heartbreak. Yeah.

SPEAKER_10 1:18:15

Oh, that was good. It was super funny. And then um, yeah, that was uh we became really good friends, and then I was older, obviously, and then we didn't talk for a long time. You were on the Kiwi, bro. Yeah. But I remember when I got dropped by uh Bill Bomb. Oh, maybe that's why I was holding a grudge. You were, I guess. You must have, because you were like one of the first people to write me and say, like, oh, I'm so sorry, like, screw those guys. You're your your uh uh your parent still feels my favorite or something. I remember like almost like shedding a tear or something. I was like, That's sick. Yeah, I was like, that feels I can that on my space, I think. Wow, wow, crazy, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:18:57

Anyway, um we were probably like 19 at this point. Yeah, once you were finally we weren't that young, yeah. Yeah, you were 21. I was like, yeah, 18. Yeah. No, I remember when you got dropped by Bill of Mong, I felt really bad. Because I I did watch your part and still filthy a lot.

unknown 1:19:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:19:14

And then, but yeah, I always thought it was funny because the like in Surfline and shit, whenever they put like photos of you, they would always say Tori from Maui. Yeah. Like that happened all the time. Yeah. Like on like whatever. And then it was like so funny because eventually you ended up moving to Maui, and then you ended up being roommates for over three years.

SPEAKER_10 1:19:34

Yeah, that was funny. It was an easy move, it was an easy transition to move to Maui. I mean, like all my best friends were there, so it was like a perfect situation. Yeah. I'll be a match, like you know, like guys I've grown up with and known since we were eight years old.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:49

Yeah, and everyone's so level-headed and so inviting over there, man. For sure. Yeah, it's really, really cool.

SPEAKER_10 1:19:55

NSSA. Yeah, NSSA was like the bee's knees.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:59

Dude, every every like Well, that's how we would hear about all these guys. It's like NSSAs.

SPEAKER_05 1:20:05

So when when we were growing up, doing the NSSA was the sickest thing in the world. Like, I can't even like I thought about this recently. It was so funny because I remember talking about it with people, like, and just being like, oh, I hope when we're like older we have kids and we're all coming to these contests again, and now it's like not there. I'm just like, ah, I know. Is NSSIs we also don't have kids? Yeah, I agree. Is it another thing? So it's National Scholastic Surfing Association, it was the one where nationals was at lower trestles. And so that was like the pyramid of amateur surfing in America. That was like the top of the tier. But so like in the case. And two or winning cars. Yeah, you got one cart. Oh my god, this is a great place to finish. But okay, so anyway, just to explain in a situation don't spoil it. Um, that's a bad place to finish, but you want to. But no, so NSSA when we were kids, um, we had two events on each island. There's two on Kawhi, two on Big Island, two on Maui, and two on Oahu. Yeah. And it's so that's like a packed freaking season. Yeah. And dude, it was so nuts. Like, it was like kind of a lot of money, and it like, but it was the funnest thing in the world. So fun. Like you got to see, like, I still am friends, like, that's how I'm friends with John John, that's how I know Zeke, that's how I know Carissa, like, but you it's who of surfing. And dude, that's what's crazy, is I think this set them up in a way, for whatever reason, some of us more than others. But like the it was like a crazy battle, and we were like, like, when I was young, I was um, me and John John were like, I remember we tied one year for conference, but we were like following ratings each event, like as 10-year-olds. Yeah. You know? And it's like, it's it was the coolest like event series ever, but like that's how me and Tori met. That's how like so many of my friends I have today were that, because it was like six or eight events you'd go to in a season, and then you'd go to regionals at Turtle Bay, which was like another like kid cella party, like back when Turtle Bay was affordable, kind of. And um, and then you and then the you know, a good chunk of us would make it to nationals, and then that was like the best thing in the world.

SPEAKER_10 1:22:22

You'd be trestles so gnarly, like everything was crazy. Like the names that were in there at our time in our generate, yeah, we would always like you would always surf up too, right? So then we'd surf against like TJ Barron, Hank Gaskell, Ola, Ellen Grant, like all gnarly guys, right? And then you have like your group, which was like super nuts, and then like guys like Albi, Claymarza, John would surf up in our group. Yeah, yeah. So you have these like psychotic heats, like six-man heats with the nuts. Like the gnarliest surfers.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:54

Yeah, it's like you, Albi, Granger Losses, like Calvin Smith, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:23:01

Oh yeah, the Smith brothers, yeah. All those like were and we're friends still to this day, and that's where it all started.

SPEAKER_10 1:23:07

And it was so sick too, because like it was like you were said, it was so expensive to do it. So you'd like you'd make friends with people and then they'd stay at your house. Yeah, we'd get through house pop. Yeah, your island hopping and a house pop.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:20

Yeah, and then you had like your little crew. But that's at the start of friendships where they're like, because I'm sure a lot of you guys probably hold friendships from then still to today.

SPEAKER_10 1:23:29

Oh, yeah, all of them. For sure. Yeah, it's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:32

Yeah, that's wild.

SPEAKER_10 1:23:32

Yeah, there was so and there were so many good surfers too during that time. I swear, like, even people you never heard of were so gnarly that would just wax you in those contests. Yeah. Yeah, like guys who didn't make it that that were just it was just it was so competitive.

SPEAKER_05 1:23:47

Winning open men at NSSA nationals, yeah, it was the craziest experience ever for all of us. Yeah, like you said, the Outer Island kids.

SPEAKER_10 1:23:55

I think that's like the Oahu was gnarly for me. Yeah, I was just like, whoa, this place is crazy.

SPEAKER_05 1:24:00

I I do think like um in those NSSA days too, like the the kids from Big Island, Kauai and Maui definitely like got along with each other more than the Oahu kids. Like, because there was like, you know, there was surf industry on Oahu, it was the Mecca, and there was like, you know, a thing there that that they had that we didn't. And you know, we were like the outcast in a little bit of a way, and I feel like that bonded our friendships in a little bit.

SPEAKER_10 1:24:23

And that's why it was even more of a culture shock when you went to Lowers.

SPEAKER_05 1:24:26

Yeah, then you went to California and it was just like, holy crap, yeah, these kids are like so sponsored, and holy crap. Yeah.

SPEAKER_10 1:24:35

She's gonna play more sponsored than us. Yeah, Chloe Ron 30 events out of the 35 events they had this year.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:41

Yeah, yeah, I remember that.

SPEAKER_05 1:24:43

I remember hearing about like Calohe's contract when he was like 10. I was just like, what? That's more than my mom makes. Yeah. But yeah, should we finish with your most dramatic loss of all time? I I kind of want to tell a story. Do you know, okay, there is so if you won open men and at nationals, you were like, in that era, shooting. Like, yeah. Dude, Greg Long, like, I swear Dane Reynolds like won it or something. Did he?

SPEAKER_10 1:25:16

Pat Gadalskis won it. Pat Gadalskis. Crazy final, I remember from that one.

SPEAKER_05 1:25:20

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_10 1:25:21

Dane did that huge double grab.

SPEAKER_05 1:25:23

Yeah, Greg. I swear like the Malloys did before that, like back in the day.

SPEAKER_10 1:25:28

Dustin Cuzon won that thing like every year.

SPEAKER_05 1:25:31

Did he win open men? Yeah. Um wow. But like the most famous heat, I swear, ever in NSSA history, is Clay Marzo winning open men final because he got two tens. He was just like he j he could do the blow-to-reverses. Yeah. It was so funny, he searched in trunks, and he could he got two tins and like a nine-five. And it's to this day probably the most famous NSSA heat ever, yeah. Yeah, it has to be. He remember it?

SPEAKER_10 1:26:00

The water was like really brown. It was like all like what's it was in California.

SPEAKER_02 1:26:05

Oh, it's the red tide. Yeah. I feel like I've seen everything. I I can remember, I can't remember that scene.

SPEAKER_05 1:26:09

Did he was doing like a blow till and then like a reverse on the inside?

SPEAKER_02 1:26:13

Like hearing about Clay, he was nuts. And also seeing him in all the quickie movies and stuff was like that.

SPEAKER_05 1:26:18

Okay, so that's what that's where this all started. Oh, okay. Was this performance, and it's the funniest thing ever because Tory was in that final and got like two nines and an 8-5. No one. No one gave a shit.

SPEAKER_02 1:26:31

Second place, baby. Second place was like flicking almost, yeah, 18 and 8.

SPEAKER_08 1:26:36

Some people remember second.

SPEAKER_03 1:26:39

Some people remember. I got you back, dog.

SPEAKER_05 1:26:42

I appreciate that. But that was the funny. Any other year for like the entirety of NSSA Tori with a one-to-find. I'm gonna have the best heat of his life during the most like iconic NSSA heat of all time.

SPEAKER_10 1:26:59

And you got booted off the yard strip.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:01

And then he got a lot of people.

SPEAKER_09 1:27:02

Hell yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:04

No, we are really sponsored. We've been dropped by the same two companies. Albany you're only half a surfer, dude.

SPEAKER_04 1:27:11

Yeah, dude.

SPEAKER_10 1:27:12

I bet I've been dropped by more companies than any of you guys.

SPEAKER_08 1:27:16

Oh no. Um, okay.

SPEAKER_10 1:27:18

I thought I dropped by Snook.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:20

Did you get dropped by Sinook too? I left Synol. Ah, boom. No, no, I left an off because someone else. Yeah. Those are freaking stupid sandals, man.

SPEAKER_05 1:27:31

We should get a sponsor.

SPEAKER_07 1:27:32

Okay, so I agree with that.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:36

Oh yeah, we didn't do Adrian. Yeah, let's not do Cynok, yeah. So we've got one of the Living in Sunshine spirit racks right here. It's just been unboxed. We're gonna have Albi come in and see how long it takes him to set this up. My record is between five and five minutes thirty seconds. So let's see if we're gonna do it.

SPEAKER_05 1:27:53

You have to have a specific record.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:55

What what is the time to do?

SPEAKER_01 1:27:56

Okay, five fifteen. Okay, and three, two, one, go.

SPEAKER_02 1:28:30

I think I I give that a count, yeah. That's four minutes and thirty-two seconds in. You almost don't even need the instructions. It just feels like a Legos. Legos.

SPEAKER_10 1:28:45

I went on a couple of trips with Grant and he had this. Grant Ellis was the editor of Surfer magazine at the time, and he had this uh this garage that was turned into a unit and it was the sickest thing ever. Um I remember that space. Yeah, you can't you came up with it. I came through.

SPEAKER_09 1:29:01

Remember the bicycle table?

SPEAKER_10 1:29:02

Yeah, Grant hated the bicycle table.

SPEAKER_09 1:29:04

Brew, get rid of the thing, it's so ugly, Bru.

SPEAKER_10 1:29:06

You can't have this in my house. I'm like, Grant, I'll pay that. I'll sit at it, I don't care. It was like this TJ Maxx bicycle table, and it was all like crooked. Like, it was hilarious. And um anyway, and so uh that was like right when I got on O'Neill, and I was like, okay, like let's let's move closer to the beach. We're I was living, we were living in El Cajon. I don't know if anyone knows that you don't know about it for sure. But it's like or one beer from El Congolas. It's like 40, 30 minutes inland, like where from in San Diego. Oh, okay. Yeah, it's hot, it's hood, it's it's a weird place. And you're living in it. That's where I was living. My the girl I was dating at the time, her family lived there. Okay. So yeah, so we were living there, and then so when I finally got a contract and stuff, I was like, alright, let's move closer to the beach. So then I ended up staying with Grant and living in his place for a few years. And um, that relationship was the best. I mean, um, I the surfer magazine thing, they would always cover all our trips, and it was just like the best time ever having me and Grant got so close, like we almost got like too close sometimes. Like, I think people like listen to me and him talk to each other. It's kind of like me and Al we're like, wow, these guys like hate each other. And it was super funny because he's like, you know, he's the editor of Surfer Magazine, no one really talks to him that way, but we're like rouseing each other so hard. But um, no, that relationship with the magazines, that was that was a really cool time too. That was, yeah. It was like the last thing. So sick. I remember when I I was actually on that trip to West Hall as I got the cover of Surfer Magazine. Oh, you did? Yeah.

SPEAKER_11 1:30:45

I remember that.

SPEAKER_10 1:30:46

Yeah, and I remember going into the office and just like, yep, and going in there and like bringing them all a bunch of beer and just like and it was like they were like, give me high fives, and it was just like the coolest. Oh, it was like you you it felt like family, you know, in a way, in a way. Yeah. It was like really, really cool in that in that relationship that you had with photographers and uh Tog Laser took that photo, and you're also a really good friend. And I don't know, it was it's so it was such an amazing time that we grew up in that era. Yeah, you know, like that you like actually became really good friends with the guys who were like shooting those photos, and they were like so artistic way, and we were doing our thing on surfing-wise, you know, it was such a cool, and then you had this like friendship, and you got to always go on these trips with those certain guys. Dude, and it was so euphoric. Some people have that with their film or now, but like I mean, so same with stills, still's is different.

SPEAKER_05 1:31:43

I don't know. It was not to play devil's advocate, but some people were outside of that little circle of love and didn't get to go on those trips.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:52

I swear getting I swear getting a cover like you know, in the heyday of surf media with the magazines, dude, that was just like winning an event. Yeah, honestly. It was like winning an event, exactly. It was so sick. Like if you if you got the honor to grace a cover of a surfing magazine, yeah, man, you're lucky because that's just like yeah, that was such a like a prestigious thing.

SPEAKER_05 1:32:12

Yeah, dude, I remember the you remember the um going through the Honolulu airport, there was that that shop, the you know, like the little where you get all the snacks and stuff. Yeah. And they had the surfer mag covers like all across the wall. Do you know what I'm talking about? Right on the inner island thing. Yeah, yeah, in the inner island. And I remember like getting my when I got my cover, I was just like, oh my god, like when am I going there? Because like I had stay up for months.

SPEAKER_11 1:32:37

It would stay up for months.

SPEAKER_05 1:32:40

And I remember just like going through, and I remember that was like my big moment where I just like walk by like you're walking by while we do this.

SPEAKER_09 1:32:49

Oh, oh I'm out, I'll be okay.

SPEAKER_10 1:32:55

I love the name of that article.

SPEAKER_02 1:32:57

It's like I think you can, yeah, you the only person that dictates if you're a pro-surf or not is yourself. Yeah, for sure. 100%. There's just different ways to go about making a living from surfing.

SPEAKER_10 1:33:07

For sure, definitely. Yeah. It was funny. This is actually kind of a cool story. It's a little bit off topic, but it's similar to what we're talking about. When I was super young, um, obviously Shane was like a huge mentor for all the kids on the Big Island. He's our guest tomorrow. Yeah. And I remember he was nice enough to have me and my dad come up to his house for dinner one night to like talk about like how pro surfing works. And this is like when Shane was like in his heyday. He's had like three heydays, but yeah, this is like on tour. Yeah. And yeah. Um, and I remember he was draw he drew this graph, and he like so like you know, Shane, so professionally. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's Professor Shane. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't know if you guys know this, but he's like one of the best artists ever. The guy's like incredible at art.

SPEAKER_05 1:33:54

Really? Yeah, it's not that. He can also break dance.

SPEAKER_02 1:33:56

Yeah, this is a fun fact.

SPEAKER_10 1:33:58

Is it George Bush of surfing?

SPEAKER_02 1:34:00

I guess the question is what can he not do? Yeah, that is a real question. But anyway, he had compliment my jaw surfing?

SPEAKER_10 1:34:08

Yeah. You'll get that one day. But I remember he made these graphs with like these percentages and stuff, and it was like, it was like I don't know, like sponsorship work and how important that was, and then like contest, and contest was a very, very small sliver. He's like, Yeah, this is like pretty small, and then he's like, and then media was like 75%. He's like, that's for my career, that's what it's been. Like it was kind of yeah, it was really interesting.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:35

This was like that's that was hugely insightful.

SPEAKER_08 1:34:38

10.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:39

Yeah, yeah. That's crazy. And he was already investing that much energy into media at that stage. Yeah, and he was on tour.

SPEAKER_10 1:34:48

He's like contest was a very like a little carrot, and then there was like, I think it was some of the sponsorship and stuff, and like, and then he's like, Yeah, media for me, this is all this right here. Crazy. Wow, really? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:04

That's that's hugely insightful because yeah, especially at that time. For sure. I mean, because no one was probably really even conscious or aware that like how much.

SPEAKER_05 1:35:13

Yeah, that was probably like after the first couple Taylor Steele movies around that time where he started to see the feedback from that.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:35:19

That must have been it. That made that light go off in his head.

SPEAKER_09 1:35:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:35:23

Oh, that's gonna be interesting to talk to him about.

SPEAKER_10 1:35:25

Yeah, because he's probably- I don't know if he'll even remember it, but maybe he will. Dude, Shane's been amazing though, dude. He that guy used to pick me up when I was 15 and take me to 24-hour finished at Millani. And I swear, we'd throw the gym together. Him and like Benji and like Taylor Knox would come in and just eat iron, like he was so gnarly. Like, wow. It was so that's sick.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:50

Yeah, that is really cool.

SPEAKER_10 1:35:51

Yeah, it was cool. But anyway, yeah, media.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:55

Yeah, that's it. I I got a question, and this is gonna put you on the spot. But this is I was thinking about what advice would you give yourself for the what would advise what advice would you give your 12-year-old self? Yeah, that's a put you on the spot kind of question.

SPEAKER_10 1:36:11

My 12-year-old self?

SPEAKER_02 1:36:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_10 1:36:19

With the power of hindsight that you have, right? I would say focus less on relationships with women and focus more on surfing. Yeah. Yeah, like on it, yeah. I would say that don't worry about what? Well, Alby can relate to it, that's why he's laughing so hard, dude. No, it's like it's like the opposite, man. No, what?

SPEAKER_09 1:36:44

Like, I guess women, like, when you're successful, women just come, but when you're like But um for some reason you think like, oh I gotta get Holy shit, that was so fucking good. That was not the answer you thought you were getting. No, I love it.

SPEAKER_02 1:37:00

I thought I was tickant.

SPEAKER_09 1:37:02

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_10 1:37:03

There's truth in that, which is cool. Yeah. Yeah, I could have, yeah. Yeah. Myself. Yeah. And at a super young age, too. I was really interested in that relationship stuff. Yeah, good answer, man. Yeah, I love that I was 12, 12, my 12 real.

SPEAKER_02 1:37:22

Yeah. That's perfect. Hey, dude, thank you so much. No worries, dude. Yeah, dude. I'm not gonna talk about Jaws. Well, I mean, I'm pretty Jaws out. Oh, you want to talk about Jaws? Steering back into Jaws, which I know Albi will hate. But um We almost haven't talked about me at all. We almost haven't talked about Albi at all. But the the so is he?

SPEAKER_05 1:37:46

I can't tell. We always steer it back to my Jaws career.

SPEAKER_02 1:37:50

Paddle paddle surfing at Jaws is like a it's a pretty recent thing. It's not it hasn't been around for you know forever. Um and you know, Albi was, you know, one of the pioneers with paddle surfing and pulling in, like he was the first, you were the first guy to ever get out, you were the first guy to ever get barreled paddle surfing out there, right? Make make one. Make one. Yeah, make one. And you were kind of around to witness part of like the introduction of paddle surfing as well? Yeah. I mean, or did you come in a little bit later? Okay, you started a little bit later. Yeah. So tell tell me about like how you entered your surfing and like big wave surfing. It's kind of a weird story. It's gonna actually go back to an injury, which is super strange.

SPEAKER_10 1:38:28

Oh, really? Yeah, let's hear about it. So, well, when you rescued me on that Portugal trip. Yeah. Yeah. And we went and surfed like those creat uh that cave wave, and we're and it was like Okay, the cave thing.

SPEAKER_02 1:38:41

Do you know how like that went around like that how hard you charge the cave? The the crazy wave in Portugal you're talking about, right? Yeah, dude, yeah, that went wild. Everyone was talking about that for so long.

SPEAKER_00 1:38:53

Like, did you hear about Dory at the cave, like charging this crazy slab? That's quite a good thing. Because no one, yeah, it's cutting this.

SPEAKER_05 1:39:02

Which what trip? The the first one?

SPEAKER_02 1:39:04

I don't know. I don't I I don't know.

SPEAKER_05 1:39:06

It was fucked up.

SPEAKER_02 1:39:07

It was fucked up, him charging, because I like I've I've been there a few times and I don't think I'd ever heard of anyone surfing it.

SPEAKER_11 1:39:13

Oh yeah, when we went there for the QS. Yeah, the QS.

SPEAKER_02 1:39:16

Yeah, and then you would and then we hit everyone's like around the comp site, you're like, Did you hear about Tori fucking charging this slug? Like, what? Really? So funny.

SPEAKER_10 1:39:24

So it was late later on. That was later, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:39:27

That was like when no, we flew from fucking London. Oh my god, that was the funniest fucking trip ever, dude.

SPEAKER_02 1:39:35

So just let's stay on topic. So you got injured?

SPEAKER_10 1:39:38

So yeah, so anyway, he rescued me from that horrible QS trip. Yeah, that you left the key on it. And like that's kind of like when our friendship really rekindled, I feel like. Yeah, yeah, extractions, the Portugal trip. Yeah, and that's like and I was like, Did you do any other trips for Tractor Distractions? No, that was the only one. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:39:57

Didn't rekindle that much, I guess.

SPEAKER_10 1:39:59

Well, you guys were almost done with the movie by then.

SPEAKER_03 1:40:01

That was the first trip. Was it? Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:40:03

Oh, that's your fault. You didn't invite me. I guess you didn't like me, I like it anymore. Don't worry, typical relationship. That's probably damn, Dan cut you. Yeah, I was didn't get a call up. Draco's onto our rock. Yeah. Oh, you might as well win the junior. No, I guess. Yeah, I was.

SPEAKER_02 1:40:20

I was just coming out of the pro junior second, yeah. Oh, you old fuck.

SPEAKER_05 1:40:25

Okay, but go on. So how about Leo Jaws?

SPEAKER_10 1:40:27

I remember having like the best time ever, and I was like, wow, this is like what surfing is about. I remember like thinking that. I was like, going on trips with your friends. Like, I can't believe I was doing this horrible QS and just having the worst time ever. And then I literally drove 30 minutes with up the street with a couple of my friends, surfing one of the sickest ways ever, and had the best time ever in life.

SPEAKER_05 1:40:48

And all of a sudden we're just drinking wine, having great food, getting barrel out of our minds.

SPEAKER_10 1:40:52

I was like, wow, this is insane.

SPEAKER_02 1:40:56

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And um did that point the say you then like, oh maybe I could turn this into like free surfing career.

SPEAKER_05 1:41:03

Uh yeah, a bit, yeah. And um Well, you you weren't you were no stranger to really good video parts of that part of your life. Like you had Still Filthy, you had Pierce Pursuit, you had This is like my laptop. Basically just those two.

SPEAKER_10 1:41:16

When you guys picked me up, that was my I had I won the Coldwater right after that.

SPEAKER_02 1:41:21

Okay. So had to dis had to dislate back the Joy's.

SPEAKER_10 1:41:24

Yeah, so so anyway, um, so then at the end of my whole year, this was like, I think that was 2013, right? Or four or whatever. 13, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. And so I won the Coldwater, and then I didn't qualify when I with my whole year with O'Neal. Yeah. And at the end of the very end of the year, and I was close too. I needed, I don't know, I think like a semis or a quarters at Sunset, and I lost in the first round or something. And it's pretty much.

SPEAKER_02 1:41:48

See, but that's I was saying that to Albi, I was saying that to Albi. No, I was saying this to Albi, like there's I feel like there's been a few times where that's happened. Like you you've you've needed a result at like Holly Eva and Sunset, which are for you really obtainable. Like you could, like you were you were like one of the powerhouses at those two events. So I was like, I feel like that happened a few times. But anyway, going back to George.

SPEAKER_10 1:42:12

Same area that Dossi one was always in qualified. But anyway, um I like uh encyclopedia because it's really depressing.

SPEAKER_02 1:42:20

Well when you do it when you do it long enough, yeah, you kind of see it in your brain. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, did you uh Pablo Paulino? Yeah, yeah. Oh, can you remember that can you remember that heat in 93 with his anami battera? Yeah. Your kids will tell my dog.

SPEAKER_09 1:42:36

But shit.

SPEAKER_03 1:42:42

Oh, that's really funny, Torah. Go. We haven't even got the jaws yet. Okay, we're getting to you. Relax.

SPEAKER_02 1:42:48

Yeah, relax, dude. We're trying to make this a little bit more of a gifts.

SPEAKER_10 1:42:52

Yeah, at the very end of that year, I ruptured my spleen like we talked about earlier, right? Yeah. And I remember having that whole year I got and I had the hip surgery thing, and I was like, dude, I don't feel like I'm doing like the surfing that I like really want to be doing. Yeah. Doing this QS thing. Like I had and I would always come back to our trip, and I was like, dude, that was so fun, like surfing those scary waves and like whatever with my friends, and like I was filming. I was so much like I had way more fun doing that the whole you know what I mean than the whole year. And then Alvi started surfing jaws and doing all that craziness. Yeah. And I was like, dang, that looks that looks nuts. And that it just oh I want to give that a crack. I went over there before that, before you I mean, you said we were surfing it before, and then you were still really good and gnarly out there, but you had I think you had gotten your barrel there. Like that was like the very beginning. And I came over first of all and I broke my board. Remember, I tried to pull an only and I broke my board, and I didn't come back for a long time.

SPEAKER_05 1:43:53

Oh yeah, you try to surf it once when it was like shitty.

SPEAKER_10 1:43:55

When it was bad, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:43:56

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_10 1:43:57

And then the year that I was like, okay, I wanna like I wanna go surf Jaws this year. Like, there I was like, I wanna go hang with these guys and have a good time. And I just happened to be the last El Nino year, and it was like his big.

SPEAKER_05 1:44:11

It wasn't just just the last El Nino year. You were you you rocked in halfway through. Like, we'd already had like so it was already had the Jaws event. We had the Jaws event, and then we had like 10 other spells that weren't that big. It was the most fucked year ever, and then he just rocks into the day that Aaron Gold caught the world record wave. It's still like top three for four-ish biggest days I've ever seen.

SPEAKER_02 1:44:37

That's insane. And that was like your introduction to Joe's.

SPEAKER_10 1:44:40

That's pretty much my introduction, yeah. That's insane. Yeah. And I remember what happened. Yeah, what happened? Go ahead. I was I couldn't believe the waves that were coming in, never seen anything like that. Isn't it like a spectacle? Dude, it was I remember like sitting next to you, and there was this like barrels that were like the size of this, like we were just like looking at them like, huh.

SPEAKER_04 1:45:01

Remember yeah, the deep ones, just like ha it was like a photo, I think, of me and you were just like, Oh yeah, that photo's sick. I gotta find that for this.

SPEAKER_10 1:45:09

Yeah, and it's um, and I remember I was just so scared. I was like terrified. I was like, dude, I don't know if I'll catch a wave. Like, this is ridiculous. Like, how do you even do this? So freaking big. Did you have flightation? I did, I had a pull vest. I didn't, I could never get a pull vest, too. That would kind of held me back for a while. And then um I borrowed one of my really good friends, he was a lifeguard and he had a paragonia and he had to borrow it for like the whole El Nino. That's pretty sick. And um, yeah, it was sick. And uh, so anyway, a huge set we were out there for like two hours and still caught a wave, and I was like, wow, he's really kind of bitching out right now. Like you know, you need to catch a wave, and then I get caught and go over the falls.

SPEAKER_03 1:45:47

No, you didn't just get caught, dude. It wasn't like you got caught.

SPEAKER_08 1:45:52

What happened? I like tried to pass over it and got stuck over the falls back.

SPEAKER_03 1:45:58

What is that?

SPEAKER_05 1:45:58

Like a common theme this year. Like barreling, shorty just palest through like people were you would swim under it, it was new to him. And he just goes like this, like through the top of the lip, and then sat on his board, right? Oh no, no, you were still paddling, right?

SPEAKER_10 1:46:16

I was still paddling, and then I was like, oh my gosh, I made it. And then I got stuck backwards, and then the board was like in between my legs.

SPEAKER_05 1:46:22

Yeah, he was sitting on his board just imagine that. Like it's 60 foot.

SPEAKER_08 1:46:27

How kind did you get? It was so dude.

SPEAKER_10 1:46:30

I don't know how like my legs didn't get cut by my fins, because that was like this, you know?

SPEAKER_11 1:46:36

Going over the barrel. And our boards are like 10 sixths of a cut, you know?

SPEAKER_08 1:46:43

They're like full on like canoes, you know. I have this clip. Like I played this case.

SPEAKER_02 1:46:48

Hey, cause now he's done this twice. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:46:52

So what I haven't seen one other person ever do this in all the years of Jaws. Hey, so what was it?

SPEAKER_11 1:46:59

Not like that.

SPEAKER_05 1:47:00

They don't paddle and then sit on their board and go over backwards.

SPEAKER_07 1:47:09

And then like, oh, this is quick.

SPEAKER_08 1:47:12

Like, I was gonna catch this thing. Like that.

SPEAKER_02 1:47:16

Albie, Albie, Albie, tell me what was worse.

SPEAKER_08 1:47:18

Haven't you ever been caught backwards and you go back like that?

SPEAKER_02 1:47:22

Hey, what was worse? His first one. That was what was worse? What was worse? The the the wipe out that one. Exactly. Yeah, the exact same. Exactly as that. I'm not gonna lie, dude. That was one of the heaviest things I've ever seen in my life. This is the same. Watching you get watched.

SPEAKER_08 1:47:43

That one was probably better.

SPEAKER_02 1:47:44

That was that was it was funny afterwards, yeah, but when we were going through it, I was legit concerned for you because of how big that wave was, and then the next wave that was in here. I have never seen a wave so big, so round, so thick in my life. Yeah, that was and I look over and I your board was just tombstoning. You weren't even popped up. Yeah, like your board was tombstoning, and I'm like everyone was tripping, right? Yeah, everyone was tripping, because that was one of the biggest.

SPEAKER_05 1:48:16

That was one of the biggest things ever, and yeah, but you did the thing, but that one, okay, I didn't get to see. The other one I got to see, but that one we just all paddled over, and there was like a bunch of us. I was I think I was kind of far off the shoulder. I think I might have just got out.

SPEAKER_02 1:48:29

I was right next to the unit. Okay, I was pretty close to the end. Yeah, and I can remember you with my phone.

SPEAKER_11 1:48:36

That was not because there was a guy that was right next to me, and you kind of blocking a bottle. You made it, and I did it. Yeah, and it was like this weird company comment.

SPEAKER_02 1:48:47

Yeah, and just oh man, because I felt like I was really close to you. You were there. Yeah, no, but uh, I don't know. We were all really close together. We can talk about pretty far off.

SPEAKER_11 1:49:07

I felt like we would not think that. Um, because I feel like you would run everything up. There were like three people who made it over that were like a little bit from the meeting. And I didn't have the word top or something. I mean like fucking back over. But that wasn't even back. The next one, the new one is like totally back. Why didn't we not become a lot of the other one? I remember looking up and it was a white water, you doubled up the other way, and I was like, oh, it's not the one we're talking about that we thought.

SPEAKER_02 1:49:45

Yeah, you're talking about the first one.

SPEAKER_05 1:49:49

Yeah, and then we'll code big account out of that line.

SPEAKER_11 1:49:54

And then they're gonna code at the each other. I was gonna be on the map because we both made it.

SPEAKER_10 1:50:00

I know I was next to you. I've never really now the biggest West Bowl I've ever seen.

SPEAKER_05 1:50:03

Oh gosh. It was the one that barreled then.

SPEAKER_02 1:50:07

Yeah, no, no, I'm saying that's what I'm trying to say. He went over the fold of the first one, and the one that Tucker got. Yeah, the crazy barreling one is what landed up here.

SPEAKER_10 1:50:15

That was after. I got pounded. That West Bowl wave that we that we did. What? Yeah, that was a great point.

SPEAKER_02 1:50:23

Yeah. Everyone in the lineup was like, Tori, dude. Like, we love you. Like hands on hands, like gonna sit in the car.

SPEAKER_11 1:50:32

I think we almost got because we almost got caught by that West Bowl, and that was after I got pounded like that. Oh, dude.

SPEAKER_05 1:50:38

That was, yeah, that's and I remember telling you you should go in after that. Yeah. Yeah. Because I was like, dude, if you get caught by that after just going over the falls on like a 60-footer, like I might be a chance to not come up.

SPEAKER_02 1:50:49

I wasn't really a person during the editing the next day.

SPEAKER_00 1:50:52

Because that's why you have to bring it up.

SPEAKER_10 1:50:54

And then you had to start the editing the next day. Yeah, it wasn't very smart. Oh no. Change of code.

SPEAKER_13 1:51:01

Memory cards.

SPEAKER_05 1:51:03

We went on a rant there.

SPEAKER_13 1:51:05

That was great. I can't believe you can get anymore to talk about that shit.

SPEAKER_02 1:51:10

You don't have to edit that so much of the thing. Oh yeah. Yours lasted a year, too. I mean, it's still different. Because I swear I was saying it's a bad Wi-Fi, and then like doesn't invite you. Dude, that one that uh Japanese guy was really bad. That was the guy that was that learned the single pin? Yeah. Yeah, the guy was resuscitated. Yep. Really?

SPEAKER_05 1:51:44

That they were out the same day we were talking. He got resuscitated. He was unconscious when they pulled him, John B. pulled him out of the water.

SPEAKER_02 1:51:53

We don't know. No one knows.

SPEAKER_05 1:51:55

That was like the weirdest thing.

SPEAKER_02 1:51:56

Have you heard about this, Ashton?

SPEAKER_05 1:51:58

No. This random Japanese dude that rides like a fin? Just went and sat on the very outside of the second biggest Jaws day in like 10 years. Yeah. Random. It just almost done.

SPEAKER_11 1:52:12

He got no wave the day before. He was looking the day before. He doesn't wear a bull vest. No.

SPEAKER_10 1:52:18

He only wears rotation. Oh, I think. I think I think one of the coolest parts about photos, like still photos, especially, was did you guys ever notice like when you shot with like a really good photographer that he would just like make you look so much better? Yeah. Dude, it wasn't crazy. Yeah, yeah. Like, yeah, like you no, I tell you.

SPEAKER_08 1:52:42

This guy's a video guy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:52:44

No, but like, exactly what you're saying. Someone who knows angles and like everything. It was nuts. Yeah, it was swimming. Yeah. Swimming.

SPEAKER_10 1:52:53

Swimming were really crazy. Yeah. The first time I like shot with Daniel Russo, it blew my mind. Yeah. Like I was like. Wait, sticks and jaws. You're getting so off subject. Well, we were talking about media, so sorry. Okay.

SPEAKER_13 1:53:05

But Russo would have been swimming jaws, and there's got one like all the mind, like all the guys that made a career off of shooting that wave. Like between Mavs and Jaws, I feel like there was like a whole ecosystem of guys at that point that if you have a relationship with them and they were on the swells with you, it was like you, it was like this killer.

SPEAKER_05 1:53:22

I also think during that time, though, this I mean, maybe this is just my thing, but there is like I mean, the first year we did it, you did it, you were a character in Nervous Laughter. And that was like an unplanned thing. Yeah, that was cool. Was like your first full year of paddling Jaws.

SPEAKER_10 1:53:44

That was pretty much the first time serving Jaws.

SPEAKER_05 1:53:46

I mean, yeah, we had like kind of those little things here and there. But um, but that was the thing, is like we were in the middle of shooting a documentary about that because we just there was all the hype around El Nino and that. And we had our characters, it was like me, Billy, Dejes, um, Kyleny. And Tori was not planned at all as a character in that movie. And then he showed up, got absolutely fucking smoked, and then caught like a pretty good wave. Got like two more waves that day? Yeah, so after I got demolished, I was like, oh, that's what it's like.

SPEAKER_10 1:54:16

I survived. My board's still in one piece. And then I caught like, I think I caught like four or five waves that day. Yeah. Yeah. And it almost like I tell myself, I was oh I can tell people I was like, Jaws have caught me first. I didn't catch it. She caught me first.

SPEAKER_05 1:54:32

You had some nuts rides out there over the last few years. That year. You you have like this one underrated ride, and that was, I think that was when we were like, the day that I got kind of hurt. Remember when I went over the falls and the Dorian got rid of the air? Yeah. Um, yeah, right. That was like my first barrel. Yeah. That was the day where where you did, where we're like, okay, like I think Tori's like. Yeah, I remember going through the footage of that day, and we watched those waves, and Dan was like, dude, I think Tori's like one of the characters in the movie now. And I was like, holy shit, you're right. That's sick.

SPEAKER_12 1:55:06

Thanks guys.

SPEAKER_05 1:55:07

Yeah, but that was like in your first barrel. Yeah, that was fucking sick.

SPEAKER_10 1:55:10

That was sick. No, no, no, but that's what me in here. No, but it I gotta say though, like the initial seed that was planted to serve me jaws was was definitely you. Like when I saw when we went on that trip to Portugal and we like surfed that cave wave and it was so scary, and then I started seeing what you were doing a job, and I was like, dude, I want to do that. Like, that sounds so much cooler than what I'm doing right now. I just spent five grand to go to Brazil and lost first round again. Like, this is ridiculous. Like, if my contract ends this year, at least I want to go like surf, if surf a big wave, and and then I was like, and if I'm gonna rupture my spleen, I want to do it on a huge wave.

unknown 1:55:52

If I'm gonna die, I want to do it on a huge wave, not a portable wave of back door.

SPEAKER_10 1:55:57

So I had this weird, like, yeah, piphany or whatever it was. We started with this guy and our trip to Portugal, and and then when I had that, and then I started surfing jaws, and it was just like the sickest our crew that year was just so wrapped. We almost go back to like being in the NSSA again. Yeah, it was like classic.

SPEAKER_05 1:56:17

It was like, yeah, we had freaking like six four countries or whatever staying at my parents' house. Yeah. And like because there were so many swells back to back, like everyone came like, oh, we're gonna cover one swell, and it's like usually two or three days, like you're done. Yeah, but it was like by the time that two or three day window was done, there was another one on the forecast less than a week out. Yeah, it's like that one that was a week out is looking good for Friday, yeah. You know, and then it was like, oh then, that one for the next week out on Wednesday is already like looking pretty good. Yeah, I kind of stint for like two months.

SPEAKER_02 1:56:48

Yeah, I can only imagine how like fatigued you guys must have been. Because I've like I've never been the same since that year. It's crazy. I swear to God, dude. I've I've I'll do one, I'll do like one little stint over there, and I'm like just I think it's more certainly endorphins, or like I don't know what it is, it's just so much mental stress. Yeah, it is stressful. It is so fatiguing, it's wild.

SPEAKER_05 1:57:11

Dude, I had a funny um really quick story, but after that year, I was surfing, it was I was next to Emosh when this happened. Um there are so many spells that year that we surf jaws like every like two weeks, it felt like, or like a week or two, for like four months or some shit. And I had a moment at Hakipa after that year, at the end of the year, where I paddled over a wave, and you know when like a big one comes to Jaws and the spray blows over and you can't see anything for a couple like seconds? It's the scariest moment in the entire world. Yeah. I was out of hookipa and that happened, and I started fucking paddling like I was at Jaws and a hole.

unknown 1:57:51

Like PT.

SPEAKER_05 1:57:56

Like when like stuff that happened, I was like, Oh my god! Like, I just got a full flashback, like legitimately for that.

SPEAKER_02 1:58:06

Everyone's guilty of that. No one sits there just like wholeheartedly and just like, yeah, I'm good. Everyone's just like hard in their throat, you can't see anything. The whole everything just goes wild. I thought that was too those like. Yeah, you're not allowed. Um but yeah, I think that's that's sick. You guys pretty much And then it was just it was just so fun too.

SPEAKER_10 1:58:32

Yeah, you're hanging with your friends, and then you're so scared, and then but then you just start laughing because you're so scared. It takes you back to those girls days. Exactly.

SPEAKER_12 1:58:41

It was like a whole other avenue that I never even like knew I was missing. Yeah. And I was like, wow, this is so fun. And then I remember I like was still doing the QS, and yeah.

SPEAKER_10 1:58:54

And I uh um left to go to Merriweather or Manley or some fucking culture, and Alley got like the best way of his life. Oh yeah! And I was like trying to fly back. I was like I lost some Merryweather, and I was like, oh maybe I could like fly back and then get back for Manly with like tickets for like five grand or something, like some tired crappy tickets. And he got that crazy wave and I was like, okay, why don't we do that?

SPEAKER_06 1:59:21

Yeah, well yeah, I mean but anyway.

SPEAKER_05 1:59:24

But jaws is gonna be something you probably do for as long as your body lets you uh yeah, that's true too, huh?

SPEAKER_10 1:59:31

That was a question. Oh, I don't know. I thought we were gonna tell 50.

unknown 1:59:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:59:35

Yeah, yeah. Or 60. That's that's our body lets us. Do you guys feel like you'll be like, yeah, that's why I had a track for you guys, right?

SPEAKER_13 1:59:43

Do you guys feel like when you guys are older that you're gonna be able to look back the way the guys, like you were saying, that like fucking summoned Everest for the first time? Oh yeah. Dude, yeah.

SPEAKER_10 1:59:53

I don't think I I'll be a part of that list, but for you for sure. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:59:58

Yeah, I mean, nah, you should have I mean, 2015-16 was pretty early days. I mean, still like four years after it was you were in the peak of like the PAL revolution in big waves at Jaws.

SPEAKER_10 2:00:11

Like that was the peak year. That was crazy how the performances changed after that year with wars and just like the waves that we were possible. Yeah. That year's like changing every day.

SPEAKER_12 2:00:22

I mean, I don't really actually have any history of that year. Oh, obviously this guy. Yeah. Um for sure. I mean I would say I would say really.

SPEAKER_10 2:01:01

Yeah. Yeah. That's that's a good tough one.

SPEAKER_02 2:01:09

That's a good tough. Yeah, that's a solid tough. Am I forgetting one?

SPEAKER_11 2:01:14

I feel like I have.

SPEAKER_02 2:01:15

No, that's a pretty solid tough bottle.

SPEAKER_10 2:01:17

I mean, yeah. Can we do top six and put a title wrong? Yeah, for I mean, for me, yeah, that's definitely it. I, yeah. I would say I'll be the best free server out there. Yeah. And I would say Shane is the gnarly. He's caught up in the craziest ones. I don't know what kind of category he's in. He's like, I think he's just moved the needle more than anyone else. Yeah, for sure. He's going to do that. Yeah. And then Kai's just Kai. He's his own deal. And that way that Ian Walsh got during the event. I always think about that way with the early one. That's gotta be one of the better ones. That was crazy guy. And he's been doing it for so long, too. He's still at that. Oh, yeah. And then Tyler, I just love Tyler's approach. He's just so hard on the mouth. He's not scared of anything.

SPEAKER_12 2:02:10

I just love that. Yeah. I'm going top six. Sorry. There's too many six guys are too good.

SPEAKER_08 2:02:18

Um I mean that's good. Can we please go with your food?

SPEAKER_02 2:02:20

Yeah, no, have it up real quick. So, this episode was brought to you by Liz, one of our sponsors. We're very stoked. Right here, you can see uh we've got featured the spirit rack over here, Tori. I don't know if you've seen this. It sets up in five minutes and uh declutter your quiver right there and make it look all nice and clean and polished. I gotta I gotta upgrade my racks too. My racks have capper and fleece all around.

SPEAKER_11 2:02:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:02:49

And then also, uh yeah, and another one of our sponsors is Third Stone, with uh we're very stoked to have help um support the podcast, which is cool. I think every surfer is who's come through Hawaii's got a board done or shaped or glass or created at Thirdstone. So we're very stoked to have those guys on board and Albi.

SPEAKER_05 2:03:09

Our last sponsor is Junestein. You can see me getting barrel of this can because that's the best flavor.

SPEAKER_02 2:03:16

Um what is this flavor like? This is oh, this is the pineapple one. I it's it's based off a Capri Sign, but I don't think I'm allowed to say that.

SPEAKER_05 2:03:24

And also giving me and Jack a place to burger tourist guys. We can go if we go to all of these. Oh yeah, can we do that? Yeah, bad, yeah.

unknown 2:03:36

I want to sit on that.