Lucas Godfrey broke his back surfing Backdoor, but he’s on the mend. Photo: YouTube//Screenshot
Lucas Godfrey is one of those people who quietly goes about the business of surfing Pipeline about as well as it can be surfed. He doesn’t market himself, not really, but he’s about as core as core gets. If you regularly watch Jamie O’Brien’s vlog, you’ve likely seen him — the guy is basically a 2025 version of Turtle from North Shore, abs and all. But on February 7, Godfrey broke his back while surfing Backdoor. Luckily, he’s bouncing back, and he sat down with Jamie O’Brien and Mason Ho to explain the whole wild tale in detail.
“It’s a heavy reminder of how gnarly things can get during winter on the North Shore, especially at one of the most dangerous waves in the world,” Jamie wrote. “We’re super grateful Lucas is on the mend and was able to sit down with us along with Mason to talk story and share what really went down. This one gives you a real look into what it’s like surfing Pipeline and chasing crazy waves along the 7 Mile Miracle.”
Godfrey did compete for a bit when he was younger, but it never felt right to him.
“I never really saw myself as a natural great competitor,” he said a few months before his injury. “I always did better freesurfing, looking for hollow, barreling waves. Just kind of doing my thing, surfing with my friends and having fun.”
By his early teen years, he found himself surfing Pipe and Backdoor. It’s a tough thing to do because it’s one of the most intimidating lineups in the world, but Godfrey just kept on paddling. Eventually, he’d earned his place.
“I never thought of surfing as a career,” he told Freesurf magazine. “It’s my passion, how I have fun, what I like to do with my life. I love the ocean, the beach, and Hawaii and as long as I can stay in this place and keep surfing, I’ll be happy. I don’t have much of a focus or determination to do something in particular other than having a good time. It’s about the adrenaline rush. Any wave out there is a good wave, it doesn’t matter what happens as long as you’re ok and come up laughing.”
But a broken back can be a tough thing to come back from, especially for a Pipe surfer. Thankfully, Godfrey is surrounded by good people, has a strong body, and perhaps most importantly, has a goal: to surf firing Pipe again.
