A Pipeline super session requires that these three be there. Photos: YouTube//Screenshot
When you think of Pipeline surfers, you probably think of a select few names. Depending on your age, you might say Gerry Lopez or Kelly Slater. Maybe Sunny Garcia, Johnny Boy Gomes, or Derek Ho. Maybe John John Florence and Jamie O’Brien. And you wouldn’t be wrong.
The latter two are featured in O’Brien’s latest vlog, entitled “Backdoor Super Session with John John Florence.” Both, as you know, have Pipe Masters trophies on their mantles. Both grew up with that fabled stretch of reef as their playground. Both built careers at Pipeline, and neither of them has managed to temper their passion. So when Pipe season rolls around, you can bet they’re both going to make sure they’re in the water.
Both are also relatively new fathers, and Jamie has found that having a baby in the house, with all the sleeping issues that come with it, has been helpful for his dawn patrolling.
“There is a good thing when Tina wakes me up early going, ‘wake up, Kolohe wants to see you,” Jamie said. “I get to see him first thing when I wake up and then obviously I’m up early so I’m checking the waves a little bit earlier. It’s kind of a cool thing to be up early.”
Now, the term “super session” doesn’t mean just Jamie and John John. When Pipeline is firing, some of the best surfers on the planet can be found in the lineup. Michael Ho, Mason Ho, Koa Rothman, Ivan Florence, and more were all out there, and if there ever was a session that was actually super, it was this one.
