Banzai Pipeline: A Love Story

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There is no stretch of beach more famous and more fabled than the great North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. Here, rare reef formations create some of the greatest waves known to mankind. It is the magnum opus of the surfing world; and every winter, the world watches with bated breath for the competitions that come out of this area.

There’s a lot to draw from the North Shore. For me and other surfers, it is the raw embodiment of forbidden fruit. For those outside, it is an amazing example of the end game to a passion. Located in the deep Pacific, unaltered northern swells traveling through deep water suddenly spike on a sharp incline reef. With little sand to alter wave shape and ideal winds, a hollow monster pounds over shallow water to create the perfect wave.

There’s nothing safe about surfing this kind of stuff. It’s fast, the wave is hollow, and there are about a thousand ways to screw up. You can get held under too long and drown, get pounded on razor sharp reef, or get stuffed underneath a coral cave and not find your way out.

But if you make it out? There’s nothing quite like the feeling. You’ve barreled out of the maws of death, glistening in tropical paradise with hundreds of tons of water pressure gushing behind you. The sheer adrenaline you feel can’t really be described; words can’t put it to paper.

It’s dangerous to you and to me. But to those who grew up on it, who’ve made a living surfing this world? It’s just another day. That’s what makes this wave the poster child for all of our dreams and goals. It’s dangerous, its intimidating, its outright straight out of our reach: and yet a goal we nevertheless desire. Girls are all around you, locals are staring you down, the waves want to kill you. It’s tropical paradise with every kind of requirement keeping you out.

That’s what our end goals are, huh? If you’re a track sprinter, you want to be up there with the greats. But to run in the olympics, you have to be elite. You’ll be in a stadium filled with thousands of people critiquing your every movement. You’ll be held to standards you’ve never anticipated before. The goal is desirable, yes, but intimidating none the less. And I think that’s a great thing. Look forward to the future, anticipate the struggle and hardships, and move forward despite all obstacles.

I think there’s a lot we can learn from the North Shore. I hope you’ve taken something from it too.