Swells as memorable as Oma don’t pass by without retiring a few boards first. It’s funny because for as much as we celebrate the highlight-worthy waves and the viral, triple barrels there are far, far more beatings handed out to the Average Joe. It’s the price we pay for a select few to take all the glory.
These four minutes are a testament to that. They’re a reminder that for every fist pump claim, there were five guys too far behind the peak to make that same section, standing tall in its dust and throwing up the double middle finger. For every airdrop, there were a handful of people flying over the handlebars headfirst into a headache and some whiplash. For every surfer who tucked high and tight under a perfectly pitching lip, a dozen others probably had a very similar window slam shut right on top of them like a guillotine primed to take their head off.
Gosh, Oma was great, wasn’t she?
