The WSL has not run a heat at The Box in Western Australia since 2019. At that time, Griffin Colapinto was still a wet-behind-the-ears Championship Tour surfer in his second year on the circuit. At the Margaret River event that year, Griffin’s friend and mentor, Kolohe Andino, in the midst of his best year to date on the CT, showed his pal the door at glistening overhead Box.
Meanwhile, younger bro Crosby Colapinto, a bit rough about the edges for full-time CT competition at the time, had two wildcard appearances at the Surf Ranch and Portugal (both 17th). Four years later, Griffin and Crosby are not only on the CT together, they’ve both dodged the mid-year cut. Griffin is ranked No. 1 in the world after five events; Crosby is in 12th. At age 22, Crosby is one of three rookies (Cole Houshmand and Ramzi Boukhiam) who will surf the latter half of the 2024 CT.
Though Crosby hasn’t (yet) matched his brother’s pedigree, it’s impossible to deny that he’s become elite at leveraging his bigger frame when waves go square and hucking himself vertically. Just sample the first five minutes of The Box footage above for further proof.
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Their performance is indicative of a shift in the CT leaderboard, which features a heavy dose of Southern California surfers as of late. Cole delivered a clutch win for the ages by winning Bells and securing his spot. After getting axed in 2023, Encinitas’s Jake Marshall is having a career year and sits at No. 6 in the world. On the women’s front, Caity Simmers jumped to an early lead by winning two of the first five events. And don’t sleep on Caroline Marks, only 22 years old and already a World Champion and Lower Trestles savant.
Before the 2024 season started, SURFER talked with the Colapinto siblings about what it meant to join the list of brothers competing on the CT (think Derek and Michael Ho, Bruce and Andy Irons, CJ and Damien Hobgood) and what it might feel like to go head to head.
“Just to have your friends and family in it is so big,” Crosby said. “It makes us feel like we’re at home. Everywhere we go we have a big squad. It’s like everywhere we go we’re going to have fun no matter what.
“To be in that brother legacy is pretty cool,” he continued. “There are so many good brothers who were on tour, so it’s pretty special we’re on tour together and in that group.”
The brothers did get a bout together at Bells in the Round of 16, but in a cruel twist of fate, it was arguably the most anemic heat of the event, with hardly any legitimate opportunities. Griffin advanced, no doubt to the chagrin of his brother. The good news for Crosby is, with the grace of matchup gods, he could have more chances in the coming months.
“We run heats at home together,” Crosby told SURFER “It gets super competitive. Usually, one of us will get mad and start chirping to each other. I think it will be funny and exciting to watch.”