Riaru Ito Is Cooler Than His Cucumber Garden

Riaru Ito has been quietly charging all over the globe. Teahupo’o, Mexico, and Hawaii — the 20-year-old is on it.

In our last Vans Pipe Masters competitor profile (comp starts December 8!), we chat with Riaru in a pristine Japanese cucumber garden, a world away from the chaos of the North Shore. But the event and its significance has been on Riaru’s mind for some time. 

“I’m definitely scared,” Riaru says. “But Pipeline is the kind of wave I’m pursuing, so to leave my mark out there is one of my goals.” 

Riaru has a lot of goals on his mind for Pipe. He wants to do well, but does not want to draw John Florence in his heat. Nor does he want to pearl and get flogged — but he’s willing to wait for the ones that make you sit up a little straighter.

“If you try to chase waves aggressively, I think you lose sight of your surroundings,” he said. “I want to sit and wait for the best wave to come in. “

Watch our final competitor profile with one of Japan’s finest as he strolls through his pre-pickle garden, explains why he wants his Japanese fanbase to “moderately” cheer him on, and shows us what might be surfing’s first-ever Dragon Ball Z claim.