The U.S. Open gives the public a grand stage to introduce surfing as a professional sporting activity, now deemed worthy of an Olympic status. But an additional value may be offering the world’s pro surfers free tickets to an off-Broadway wave-theater that is one of California’s high performance South Swell venues – and home of the WSL Finals.
While the beach break bashing U.S. Open raged in Huntington, surfers swooped down onto Lower Trestles for a point break session. Trestles is a wave that makes heroes out of ordinary surfers and kings out of the pros and no one is disappointed.
Some like John John Florence saw it as a chance to run a full dress rehearsal for the WSL Finals coming up in early September. Coming down the trail, like entering an auditorium, the first thing to catch your eye even before you hit the beach seats was star-of-the-show Florence throwing buckets of spray from continuous massive turns. It was immediately obvious that a mega-talent was performing in the opening act. Sitting all by himself in the WSL number one slot, Florence was not taking anything for granted, full-rail surfing, above-the-lip creativity, and flowing, effortless cutbacks. After a half dozen set waves, he came back to the beach for a board change and water break and returned promptly to repeat the monologue as if he was in a reenactment take two.
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Surprisingly, there were not that many cameras on the beach during the swell. In a 3-day window of waves that barely stopped for a film change, there were star-studded cameo appearances galore.
Kolohe Andino, always slipping under the radar, took the casual approach to his session on stage. When you’ve been surfing a spot like Lowers competitively since junior high school, you don’t have much to worry about when it comes to getting waves. Brother came down in his wetsuit, casually paddled out, and set his lineup. Oozing that quiet confidence like he knows a secret nobody else is in on, Andino caught just three set waves, ripped them to shreds, took a breath and paddled in. “Not much to think about,” he quipped, “Getting three at Lowers is like a full beachbreak session.”
Sammy Pupo was another “walk-on” appearance that stole the scene. Whipping through down-the-line sections so fast the image seemed blurred, he was still throwing gouges; his style set him apart immediately as a tour level pro. Milking waves from the peak to the shore he seemed focused on solid completions like an Olympic gymnast sticking his landing. After his session hanging with friends along the cobblestone berms he and his crew seemed to be doing nothing more than enjoying a great summer day at the beach.
Best guest performance in a leading role would have to go to Lucas Silveira. In a sea of black neoprene, Silveira’s electric blue Xcel wetsuit popped like a lightbulb flashing on the pink siderails of his stick, a color combo that made his rides unmissable. Focusing on massive front-side carves going right, the world junior champ from Brazil stealthily grabbed a handful of lefts as well, notching the highest wave count of the day with over a dozen.
The easiest man to pick out however might have been Carlos Munoz. Bouncing around in his stretching routine he looked like he was preparing for the heat of his life. In the water his super-fast rail work and sword-sharp turns had people on the beach abuzz.
In many ways it was just another day at the beach – the kind that makes surfing so different from other sporting events. Unlike the gridiron or the court, on the surfing stage, the stars of the show can hang backstage and the occasional mortal can grab a wave and slide across the stage in their midst to make a curtain call.
Related: Photos: John John Florence Sneaks A Hurricane Swell Session At Lowers