no.

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b l u e f r i d a y

Su Mo Tu We Th fr Sa

The Volcom fiji Pro was… well, it was something else. as far as contests go, you really couldn’t ask for much more. Maybe just to be a goofy-footer. The world’s finest got a crack at one of the world’s finest lefts, and then friday came, and most of them didn’t want a piece anymore or were undergunned or wanted a piece but the contest was called off or…whatever. So the big-wave calvary had at it — and they made us gasp. They made us cheer. That friday took surfing to another level. The contest wrapped in epic restaurants/Cloudbreak the following two days and, quite deservedly, you know who won. but who’re we kidding, surfing’s collective final was that friday, and the man with the highest wave count that day was Kohl Christensen. here’s what he had to say:

a n d t h e n t h e r e w a s F r i d a y

photography by

STu GibSon unless noted

KOHL: We always have a choice to make. How we make it depends on the information we gather, what our peers may be doing, but ultimately, it comes down to ourselves. The crew that showed up to Fiji for the big swell showed up because they wanted to get the best barrels of their lives. Many of them did. Some were guys that missed last year’s opportunity and would rather step in front of a bus than have to see those ridiculous photos again. Ramon [Navarro] was one of them, so was Twiggy [Baker]. Both those guys traveled across the planet

last minute to make it and it paid off. Fiji delivered and they got the waves of their lives. So did all of us. We got to feel it, breathe it, be there and witness some of the best paddle-in tube riding in the history of our sport. Reef [McIntosh], Ian [Walsh] and [Dave] Wassel muscled through cartoon-sized dream waves backhand. [Mark] Healey and Nate [Fletcher] pumped big boards through sections that looked like impossible closeouts. Those guys are veterans, they’ve had a stab at it before and took that experience to the next level.

And it was “next level.” But what’s next? Have we peaked? Is that it? Is that all the world’s gonna give? But there were a couple of waves that came through unridden. And those waves will be ridden. How? Shit, I don’t know. Ask Healey. But all I know is if you would have showed the world any one of these photos from that day four years ago, they would have told you to piss off. They would have told you, “there’s no frickin’ way he paddled that.” But he did.

a n d t h e n t h e r e w a s F r i d a y

editorial

Editor-in-Chief Taylor Paul

Managing Editor bEau FlEMisTEr

assistant Editor naTE ZollEr

Photo Editor PETEr Taras

associate Photo Editor jiMMy wilson

art Director ChaTo aganZa

associate art Director noa EMbErson

online Editor jason MillEr

Photography by sTu gibson

anDrEw ChrisTiE

DErEk DunFEE

on ThE CovEr

rEEF MCinTosh. PhoTo: sTu gibson

linEuP PhoTos by DErEk DunFEE

04

Chapter 1

TheConTeST

Chapter 2

and Then There WaS friday

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The ConTeSTdrink that Kava, gentlemen. you’ll need the liquid courage in the days to come.

chapter 1

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The ConTeST

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look familiar? Mick fanning, posing for a shot that never gets old.

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Cloudbreak: the contest site for sore eyes.

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Jordy Smith, one hand in his pocket and the other on the rail.

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Gabriel Medina, showing the critics how he surfs “real waves.”

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John John.the abominable admirable snowman.

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said Mitch Coleborn, referring to his wildcard spot in the WT event. he beat Slater and got a 9.27 in his first heat. So...makes sense.

“i feel like this is where i want to be,”

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“i feel like this is where i want to be,”

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C J h o b g o o d

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d a m i e n h o b g o o d ,

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r e s t a u r a n t s .

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“tell me that wasn’t heaven sent.” —Kelly SlaTer

in the round 4 no-loser round, words were exchanged between CJ hobgood and adriano de Souza after adriano spent the heat jostling CJ and Julian Wilson. in their Quarter final rematch CJ got his revenge, posting a 9.97 on this wave with just a couple minutes left. Said Kelly Slater about this wave, grinning, “Tell me that wasn’t heaven sent.”

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Mick’s stoke.John’s stroke.

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yadin’s broke.Mick’s stoke.

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Cloudbreak’s thiner, hotter younger sister: restaurants.

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a d a m M e l l i n g

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Pat Gudauskas went for it in both his heats and on the big day. he has the scars to prove it.

lookin’ tough in a short-john — impossible. Mick tries anyway.

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Travis logie, ejecting.

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“everyone’s a critic these days,”

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said Kelly Slater. “We called it off yesterday and the waves pumped today. let’s celebrate that instead.” Slater, dragging through the semis and on the verge of celebration.

“everyone’s a critic these days,”

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‘Course he did. Kelly, Kalani and the Tavarua cheerleading squad.

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no worries Gabs, you can’t get him every time.

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breathe...

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breathe...

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and Then There WaS fridaychapter 2

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raise your hand if you just saw the best three waves of your life.

and Then There WaS friday

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w a v e

ThaT’S MarK healey oVer There in red (deePeST, obViouSly). and ThiS iS The biGGeST SeT ThaT rolled ThrouGh ThaT day.

healey: “i knew i wasn’t going to make it. i was just hoping i’d have a fighting chance. i was already tired from getting pounded all day, and i wasn’t excited about getting caught by a 25-footer. Waves like that draw a lot of water off the reef, so you’re just trying to paddle to keep momentum with the water, trying not to get sucked into it.”

1st

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shit.

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healey: “i didn’t have a pull-pin leash, i had to scale. i had 3 more strokes before i went under so i had to sync my left hand to pull my leash at the same time. luckily, i got it off. but i still almost got pulled over...”

w a v e

2nd

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ohhhh shit...

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3rd

healey: “...i took a look to the left as i dove under the pit and it was the most ridiculous view i’d ever seen. i had the best seat in the house for that one.”

w a v e

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holy f--Kin’shit!

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Photo: Derek Dunfee

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Kohl Christensen said that the biggest waves unridden that day — the ones nobody wanted a part of — will eventually be ridden by “some Maui grom.” ian Walsh, solidifying Kohl’s prediction.

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s h a k a - a n d - a w e .

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ian Walsh,

s h a k a - a n d - a w e .

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Photo: Derek Dunfee

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a few WT surfers accept the challenge

s h i r t sv s .

s K i n s

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“When another swell comes again, i think everyone is going to be that much more prepared and ready to catch one of those waves,” said damien hobgood. “it’s possible to get one of the longest barrels of your life out there. So hopefully it

happens again sometime soon.”

damien, ill-prepared but going anyway.

Photo: andrew Christie

053

ummm, so how much time we got left?

adam Melling

Contest on

friday, June 8th | 11:15 aM

friday, June 8th | 12:25 PM

Contest off

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bede durbidge

“Want this one?” “nah, it’s yours!”Good sports, those two.

adam Melling

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Mickace

yadin

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wt donUts

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“The drop was in the middle of the session, when the swell really started pulsing,” said Pat Gudauskas. “i was on one of dane’s boards that was a little shorter — it was a 6’7” — because i broke the 8’6” in the morning. This wave picked me up and i was like, ‘it’s on.’ i couldn’t see much so it was all instinct. i was just free falling, trying to touch down, and luckily i landed on my fins and was able to come down straight. i was in a classic Waimea stance. That was the most violent beating i’ve ever had, for sure.” Pat Gudang on what Slater’s calling one of the best drops in history.

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“We should have run,” said Joel Parkinson, after the contest had been officially called off for the day. “We looked like pussies. The first thing i’m doing when i get home is ordering an 8’8” quad.”

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“ W e

l o o K e d

l i K e

P u S S i e S ”

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Parko — not a pussy.

ace buchan — not a pussy.

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— definitely not a pussy.

CJ hobgood

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Slater, thinkin’ about it.

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“Sure ya don’t want just one?” ian Walsh and Kelly Slater.

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c l e a n U p

“everyone would have gone out there and done their best. Someone just might have drowned, that’s all.” —Kelly Slater

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c l e a n U p

“We need 9’0”s and vests” —Taj burrow

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“i joked that it was nice of the big wave crew to fly in from around the world to lend the Tour boys their boards,”

said australian surfing life editor Chris binns. “little did i realize that Kala alexander was standing right behind me and goes, ‘lend!?...rent!’ he stared at me for a sec and then broke into the biggest smile.” John John florence, Tour boy with Pancho’s board and Kala alexander — waiting for the rent check.

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said Mick fanning. “if it happens again i would love for us all to be prepared and i’d love to have a dig in a heat for sure.” Mick, renting Kala’s board and having a dig. he later broke this board...gulp.

“it was a smart deci-sion to call it off, i’ll stand by the contest director on that one,”

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“Some seemed happy to be free surfing, but a couple hinted they would have preferred to be doing it in front of a panel of judges,” said Chris binns. John John florence, in the moment and not missing the jersey. PhoTo: andrew Christie

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dave Wassel, comfortable inside a room much larger than the commentating booth. Photo: andrew Christie

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dave Wassel...still.

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Photo: Derek Dunfee

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Kala alexander.

Twice exposed.

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Photo: andrew Christie

BaBy got BaCK.

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learning from past Tahitian mishaps, the boats kept a safe distance from the channel. a real safe distance. “There was all sorts of sounds out there: all the boats, drunk people, house music from the big boat, people shouting, waves crashing. it was a full sensory overload,” said Volcom’s Matt Shuster.

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We doubt rusty long needed a hurdle on this 100 meter dash

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over the falls or under? lapo Coutinho, pergatory.

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Kala alexander, asserting dominance on a far-southerly shore.

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Tavarua boatman Jensen hassett was actually on the clock here. Getting paid in tube time.

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said Kohl Christensen. “i was a bit hesitant to go because of the contest. We didn’t know if we would be twiddling our thumbs, watching the WT guys surf.” Who knows what Kohl is twiddling here. Certainly not his thumbs.

“it’s funny because we honestly thought it wasn’t going to be quite as big as last year,”

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lotta these guys just didn’t have the boards to do it. and God bless that excuse.

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“This year was so much bigger than last year, and it was better,” said healey. “There were more make-able waves. it was peeling at a perfect speed.”

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Parko

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Kaiborg and healey

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dane Gudauskas. “i could feel the camaraderie, this super positive feeling, like something special was going to happen. i just kept telling myself, ‘you’re right here, this is the moment, this is where you want to be, this is the coolest

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stuff and it’s happening right now!’ i got washed into the tower twice that day but you couldn’t let yourself get beat down.”

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S e c o n d t h o u g h t s . . .

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S e c o n d t h o u g h t s . . .

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“i’ve seen a couple big paddle days at Maver-ick’s and Todos, but this was different,” said Matt Shuster. “This was like Pipe, Maver-ick’s and desert Point all mixed into one.” danny fuller enjoying the Cloudbreak cocktail.

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Photos: Derek Dunfee

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leaning on his experience in barreling Chilean lefts, ramon navarro weaves through one of the deepest tubes of the day.

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This was Punta de lobos on crack, steroids, speed and every other performance-enhancing upper on the market. Still, ramon comes out clean.

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When you can paddle like this man, your chances of catching a bomb go way up. Water patroller Jamie Mitchell — work hard, play hard.

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Makua rothman

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Joel and Makua

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few people had one, but Kohl Chris-tensen had more than a few. Kohl, tallying his wave-of-the-day count.

KohlChriSTenSen116

KohlChriSTenSen 117

not to say that getting those few didn’t come with some hardships.

ChriSTenSen

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ChriSTenSen

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Kohl Mother f--king Christensen

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reef Mcintosh

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Take a look at the guy on the shoulder. hands up, hands on head, hands back up...reef and friend, going through the several stages of disbelief.

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“yeah, people online are going to say the boys are pussies and all the rest,” said aSP head Judge richie Porta. “but we’ve all gotta move on from that. ask CJ hobgood about it — there’s a guy who can’t be questioned in any size and he’ll tell you straight up, ‘would you rather see a biggest-wave catching contest, or do you want to see who can surf the best?’”

answer: We wanna see both.

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dreaM