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Kolohe Andino, frontside hit under the cliff, Santa Cruz

You knew the world tour just rolled into Santa Cruz for the O’Neill Cold Water Classic, right? Of course you did. How could you not, with the title race boiling down to only four men (Joel, Kelly, Mick, John) and the possibility of a Pipeline decider very likely. The Cold Water Classic has, in previous years, been a series of six star events, but for 2012 and to celebrate 60 years of O’Neill wetsuits, the company trimmed it all back and pooled into one main event.

“My rookie performance in Santa Cruz starts now,” says Ryan Miller, who’s never shot the Lane before but will be on the cliff or in the channel for the whole waiting period. “I Walked down to the cliff with boogieboard in hand, 5mm hooded wetsuit covering my feminine frame. When I got the the edge of the cliff, even though the wave is for novices, the way down to the ocean is experts-only. There’s some little, tiny goat trail that looked about as scary as you could ever imagine, trying to waddle down with a boogie, fins and a water housing in your hands. The lineup is directly under the cliff and with all the boys heckling me from the lineup, I was getting into even more of a frenzy. I ultimately decided it’d be easiest to just jump off the 10m cliff and hope for the best.”

Men like Kolohe Andino however, pictured here loosening his fins, is no stranger to the Lane, having competed in the event when it was still a six-star. But having a WT event at a new spot is always gonna be excellent. “The sun was out and the waves were nice but not amazing,” continues Ryan. “The boys were having a good laugh in the lineup. Must be all tingly inside knowing you are at a new location for a WT event.”

Photographer profile

Ryan Miller

Ryan Miller, 33 years old, does not know how to write a bad email. Your pals at Stab have learnt to live vicariously through Miller’s red wine-fuelled letters from the road. His travels take him to some dreamy locales and, in those places, he scores all-time photos: “My favourite photo I’ve shot was of Benny Bourgeois in the Caribbean, with a fisheye. Often I just take photos, but rarely do I get to make one.” In an age of tail-highs and released fins, Ryan still most likes to shoot someone who can lay-down a big backside turn. Namely: Jordy Smith, Dane Reynolds, Gabe Kling, Kekoa Bacalso, Damien Hobgood and Peter Mendia. Like most photogs, Miller misses Scott Aichner’s work. But, as far as contemporary inspiration? “Trying to see things through my daughter’s eyes. It’s wild to think about someone experiencing something totally new on almost a daily basis when, as adults, we rarely get to experience something truly new.”

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