John Florence, backside roter, Hawaii

The 2012 ASP World Tour finishes in a few weeks and John Florence, pictured here, will be rookie of the year. He’s currently number four on the world championship tour, and number one on the world rankings (which includes Primes and Star events). This year he’s scooped over $300k in prize money. He’s entered 15 events this year and made it to the quarters or better in 11 of them. He was in the final of four of those events, and won three of them. But regardless of all that, as photog Trevor Moran says: “Nothing’s more impressive than watching John surf his home turf on the North Shore. On this cloudy day with shifty winds (pictured), while most of his peers were struggling to find a section, John seemed like his feet were nailed to his board. No matter what the move was, he landed it – flips, spins, airs, and carves – a full clinic. With one month left in 2012, all eyes will be on him to finish out this year with a bang. Not bad for a kid who still isn’t old enough to drink the champagne so frequently sprayed on him.”