When John Michael Van Hohenstein was 6-years old, his family moved to Hawaii. His father wanted him to surf better waves and decided Hawaii was the place for him to do it. After living in the Philippines and Thailand, the Van Hohensteins landed in Hawaii, and John began surfing in earnest. At first, it was on a shortboard, which he quickly excelled at. In 2014, he won the T&C Surfer Magazine Grom Contest on one. Soon after, though, he found his real passion, and unlike many teenaged surfers, it’s on a longboard. Now, at 15-years-old, he’s a staple at Queen’s, surfing like a man from another time.
Follow him on Instagram@johnny_the_ripper
