Spreading the Love

About an hour into our first session on the island of Trinidad, I noticed this local kid making his way out to the line up with a piece of wood under his arm that resembled more of what use to be part of a staircase than a surfboard. To my surprise, he was actually able to belly ride waves on it. I made my way over to him and asked if he wanted to learn to surf? His eyes lit up so large I barely noticed him grab my board right out of my hands in excitement. I spent the next hour or so pushing "Landon" into waves. He asked me when I was going to be back down at the beach so he could coordinate his schedule.ha Sure enough, when I made my way back down that evening for another session he and a few of his other boys we there, frothing at the mouth to go back out on my board. I told them that I was going to go warm up for a little bit and I would get them a few before I left the beach that night. As badly as they wanted to get out there, they were stoked with that and waited patiently on the beach for me to come in after every wave...Needless to say, throughout the rest of our stay landon and a whole crew of other groms were trading off on all of our boards. It was pretty hilarious, we all were put into a situation wear we had to borrow our own boards back, just to ride during out heats.haha
Here are a couple shots from the first day I met Landon. It was really inspiring stuff, seeing how excited he got about something so many of us surfers take such advantage of. Take a closer look at his board, complete with holes that were once created by a hammer and nail. Remember this photo when you go to complain about your stick!!

Trinidad!!!!

This past week a whole crew of East Coast pros journeyed down to the land of KFC (more Kentucky Fried Chicken sold per capita than anywhere else in the world), to compete in the first major professional surfing event on the island of Trinidad. Not knowing what to expect, I linked up with several other surfers from our area, and helped persuade a couple photogs to join us on our journey. I think my quote on ESM's website sums the island of Trinidad up in my eyes, "The trip down to Trinidad & Tobago was pretty mental... the locals there are some of the nicest people in the world. It's pretty rare to have local surfers welcoming dozens of traveling pros to their normally empty lineup. When it comes to local talent, quality surf, good food, and good vibes, Trinidad is one of the most underrated islands in the Caribbean." Check out the rest of ESM's online feature here. There were surfers throughout the whole event that blew me away, I could not believe some of the talent from these islanders that I have never even heard of before. Some of them were even riding borrowed or handed down equipment. It was pretty inspiring to see, and definitely pushed all of us to surf harder. My goal before heading down there was to come back with the ratings lead for the WAPSS (Western Atlantic Pro Surf Series) and by being the only American surfer to make the final I accomplished that. I felt really good during my heats. I was riding one of my Firewire's that was actually shaped for good waves, but it was somehow going insane in the grovelly conditions. The final was a tough one. I was in the water with three Venezuelan surfer's who were able to work together and ensure that they had the best waves for the duration of the final. I did my best to get post some scores, but in the end had to settle for 3rd. Either way I am super stoked on how the event played out, and was really stoked to hang with the crew we had.

Here are a couple shots from the Event, I will post more photos, as well as video as soon as I can....
I actually landed this tail whip air!!, To bad it was about 1 minute before the Final Started......It would have been over if that was during it....

Maui Nix surf shop Window

The new Alpinestars window display at Maui Nix is looking good. Here are a couple pics of the new display featuring me. There is also a light display inside the shop directly above the Astars product table. Be sure to check them out next time you are around the shop. Also, dropped off a few of my older firewire's at the shop, check them out if you're looking for a new stick.