John John Florence, hands-free in a west bowl, Tahiti

On day two of the Billabong Pro, Tahiti, John John Florence posted a 19.10 combined heat total. This is the perfect 10 he scored in that heat – a no hands takeoff into a west bowl. The west bowls are John’s favourites. They’re kinda like Pipe, they catch the rest of the pack out and if you take off right (which he does every time), they throw wider than any other waves. “That 10 was one of those lucky wide ones,” John said afterwards. “To get those wide ones, you have to be so close to peak to get the wave and I was over far enough to get it. I thought I’d be deep and I had to grab my rail. It was a bit of an emotional roller coaster on that one. I was trying to get out of the barrel any way that I could and then I had a nice lip to do a turn on.”

Dom Mosqueira, our photographer, knows Chopes well and says that while bluetoothing (hands-free) a takeoff on a west bowl ain’t easy, John makes it look like a cakewalk. Expect, hope for, and don’t miss more moments like this tomorrow. The biz end approaches!