San Clemente Kid Woke Up To Phone Call That His US Championships Heat Was Starting, Jumped Out Of Bed, Raced To Lower Trestles On His “Fastest E-Bike”, And Won The Heat With 9 Minutes Remaining

Remember that ISA World Surfing Games in Japan where Italo Ferreira, who’d been dealing with passport issues, showed up with nine minutes left in his heat and surfed on Filipe Toledo’s board and a pair of jorts, and still won that heat?  Pretty dramatic, huh. 

Now, imagine that exact same scenario, except it’s an e-bike-toting, brace-faced, San Clemente kid at the recent USA Surfing Championships at Lower Trestles. Which San Clemente supergrom? A regular-footed ripper by the name of Rex Hennings, who surfs kinda like Griff and Kolohe had a baby.

As the Instagram Story below explains, Rex got the unexpected call up for his Lower Trestles bout while lying in bed, about thirty seconds before — and at least a few miles away from — the beginning of the scheduled heat. Rex didn’t bother with a wettie, opting instead for a pair of very spicy Quikky trunks to match his Mayhem blade. After presumably scarfing down a peanut butter banana sandwich made by Mom, Rex recruited his “fastest e-bike” and raced towards the fabled cobblestones.  

Arriving with nine minutes on the clock (just like his Brazilian counterpart), Rex needed to forget about how many sodas he’d had the night before and surf out of his skin. By summoning the combined might of Beschen, Archbold, and Herbie Fletcher himself, the local kid did just that.

Although he didn’t win the entire competition, he won this heat, and he won our hearts.

Good on ya Rex. But maybe try jorts next time.