Jamie O’Brien was certainly blessed with a great deal of talent and exceptional ability. But there’s a hefty dose of perspective to gain when you watch him play around in Hawaiian shorebreak-backwash-sidewash-wompy waves.
We’ve all pulled up to beaches like this when we can’t find a proper wave to surf and suddenly thrashing around in the shorebreak sounds like fun. So what if it takes another week after to get all the sand out of your ears and hair? You’re going to take your pounding like a champ and love every minute of it.
In this sense, J.O.B.’s just like the rest of us. Only that funky, wompy, backwash wave he and his friends pull up to on a flat day hands out beatings that look 10-times heavier. No wonder he looks so casual and cool surfing every other wave on the North Shore when winter comes around.
