Surf fans around the planet had been languishing in the hopes that the prodigal son of surfing would return soon. The good news is that he has, if even just hy releasing some unseen footage. John John Florence is still injured, though rumors are rife we will see his return for Europe.
What makes him so good?
It was only when I started watching, Space, that I realised how much I had missed watching Mr Florence surf. He brings a certain wild freedom to the tour, a sense of abandon and noir that no other surf does. The video is dramatic, but it should be. John John’s surfing is dramatic, while at the same time incredibly relaxed. Simply put, the “Championship” tour has not quite been the same without him.
Watch “Space” Now
Watch John John Florence at his best right now, right here:
It took a few days to sink in really, that the World Title was done and dusted. It had been such a see saw year, with Matt Wilko holding on for months, then Gabriel fighting back, then John John into the lead and at the death we had, Jordy Smith, suddenly in the hunt right till the semi finals in Portugal. As a South African I would have loved to see Jordy taking the fight to Pipeline, but sitting in 3rd place he is in a great position for next year and we will take that. At the end of the day I don’t think there is a surfer on the planet unhappy right now, the most popular surfer in the world won the world title.
Lets make it plain, John John Florence is the people’s champ! More fans, more video views and more picks on Fantasy Surfer than any other guy. On top of this, the win does not just reflect on John, but on a whole family and clan of people that he travels with, lives with and adventures with. They all put so much energy and effort into what John has become that they all deserve some of the credit and the fantastic thing about it is, he gives it to them. Our new world champ is not only the best surfer in the world, but also the one with the most humility.
Congrats John! You are the man.
First wave ridden: age 3
First contest win: age 7
First wave at Pipe: age 8
First win at Pipe: age 18
First World Tour win: age 19
First Eddie Aikau win: age 23
Ok, so John John drops the second video in his new Twelve series with Hurley and I watch it and it blows my mind. From huge waves, to doing massive punts in big waves to surfing Pipeline, he rips it all. By the end I actually said to my mate, I wonder when Jordy Smith is going to drop a boss edit like this again and true as all hell, a few days later he drops a new web video, with some insanely progressive power surfing. Pound for pound these two videos will get you frothing for your next surf (Or maybe not frothing as you realise how far ahead these two gents are!) Either way, prepare yourself for 20 minutes of radical surfing from my two favorite surfers to watch…
Must be wonderful to have your own video making machine like John John Florence does. While you in Tahiti for the tour, you just cruize, surf and film for another mind bendingly good web short. I am pretty jealous of the camera guy to… Nice work Blake Kueny 😉
A short featuring John John Florence titled, “& AGAIN”. The sequel to AGAIN. On Location in Tahiti.
Directed by Blake Vincent Kueny & John John Florence
Surfing by John John Florence & Raimana Van Bastolaer & Albee Layer
Filmed by Blake Vincent Kueny & Daniel Russo & Erik Knutson
Edited by Blake Vincent Kueny
Colored by Trevor Durtschi
Special Thanks to RED Digital Cinema and Wedge & Lever
Most people when talking about this event have mentioned 2 words, airs and tubes. But take one look at the photo of Jordy Smith above and just let it sink is a little – the Oakley Pro Bali at Keramas could well be won by big monster turns! So lets look at who the favorites are…
Kelly Slater sits atop his number 1 throne once again after Cloudbreak and lets be honest, he is always going to be a threat in perfect right handers. Not much more needs to be said on this one.
Taj, Mick and Joel are all threats. They have surfed these waves in bali for years and they all have lethal forehand attacks made for perfect tube to wall right handers.
Jordy Smith has slowly been building momentum, doing the biggest turns on tour and with plenty time in the water in Bali over the years he is my number 1 pick. He has it all from the tube, to the air to the gouge! Make no mistake, no one on tour wants Jordy in their heat at this one. He has the eye of the tiger at the moment, is super relaxed and you can see how much he wants to win.
John John, Gabriel Medina, Kerr and Julian Wilson are all good picks, as is Adreano if you can stomach that style of his on a perfect canvas. I watched some warm up surfs online and it is not pretty. The underdogs to keep an eye on will definitely be Kohole Andino, who has plenty contest experience at Keramas and has been slowly getting better each event this year. Dusty Payne has alot of time in at Keramas, just search online for footage, and lets be honest its about time he did something on tour. Sebastien Ziets is going to rip it and Nat Young always looks so good on the backhand, he could go really far. Lastly, keep an eye on Travis Logie – no joke, that backhand snap of his could go to town out at 4ft Keramas! (Oh and Yadin, he rips this kind of wave.)
All in, this should prove to be one hell of a contest!
